About a month ago, I had the opportunity to visit a few embassies as part of the European Union Delegation's Open House - an event that occurs once a year in which all participating embassies of the European Union open their doors to the public, there are cultural performances, food samples, cultural lessons, etc. The open house went from 10 am - 4 pm and during that time I was able to make it to 4 embassies: the German/French Embassy, the Hungarian Embassy, and the Embassy of the Netherlands. I had originally planned on visiting 8 embassies but that was way too ambitious of a plan and now I'll know better for next year!
The first embassy I visited was the German/French Embassy (France had their open house at the German embassy), which was super crowded even though it was only slightly after 10 am when I showed up. The line was already around the corner, so I ended up spending about 40 minutes waiting in line! After going through security, it was like a whole other world. There were tents and stands set up all throughout the grounds of the embassy, and people were giving out Haribo bears, wine samples, stinky cheese, as well as cultural quizzes (for prizes) and many opportunities for photo shoots. After walking through the Ambassador's residences, we ended up in the gardens where there was live music and many food stands. By then, it was already over 12 pm so we quickly left and waited in line for about 30 minutes for the shuttle bus to take us to another embassy.
The next stop of the day was the Embassy of the Netherlands, which was by far my favorite visit of the day. As soon as we stepped through the gates, a lady greeted us with Stroopwafels, water, and food tickets which were good for one food sampling and one beer tasting.
I sampled some 10-month-old cheese, ate some "poffertjes," sampled Heineken in the "lounge" and then obviously had to pose for a photo with some tulips!
After this was the last embassy visit of the day -- the Hungarian Embassy! I fell in love with Budapest when I studied abroad there last year, so this embassy was a must-visit for me. It was already 3:30pm, so luckily the Hungarian Embassy was close by and we were able to just walk there. We missed many of the giveaways but there was still some food left for purchase, so I of course had to buy some of my favorite goulash soup paired with fröccs (a Hungarian spritzer). The backyard of the embassy had been transformed into a "ruin pub" straight out of Budapest, so this was a lovely place to end the day.
All in all, it was a wonderful day spent with family members before starting off my WAIP summer!
Some tips on visiting the EU Open house:
-Know where you want to go, and how far the embassies are from each other. Surprisingly, not all of the embassies are in one place so be sure to plan your day and know what shuttles/trains to take to get to the embassy quickly.
-Be prepared to stop and take a quick lunch break. Yes, there are food samples every where but they definitely cannot be substituted for a full meal.
-Be prepared to wait/stand for long periods of time. Bring company or a book or something to keep you occupied. Wear comfortable shoes!
-Be open-minded! This is a great experience and you will love it if you embrace the different cultures and stay open-minded.
-Have fun!! Enjoy the different embassy tours and don't rush through them. Don't be overly ambitious (like me) and try to limit your tours to about 3-5 embassies, so that you can thoroughly enjoy your experiences at each one.
-Mandy Chen
The first embassy I visited was the German/French Embassy (France had their open house at the German embassy), which was super crowded even though it was only slightly after 10 am when I showed up. The line was already around the corner, so I ended up spending about 40 minutes waiting in line! After going through security, it was like a whole other world. There were tents and stands set up all throughout the grounds of the embassy, and people were giving out Haribo bears, wine samples, stinky cheese, as well as cultural quizzes (for prizes) and many opportunities for photo shoots. After walking through the Ambassador's residences, we ended up in the gardens where there was live music and many food stands. By then, it was already over 12 pm so we quickly left and waited in line for about 30 minutes for the shuttle bus to take us to another embassy.
The next stop of the day was the Embassy of the Netherlands, which was by far my favorite visit of the day. As soon as we stepped through the gates, a lady greeted us with Stroopwafels, water, and food tickets which were good for one food sampling and one beer tasting.
I sampled some 10-month-old cheese, ate some "poffertjes," sampled Heineken in the "lounge" and then obviously had to pose for a photo with some tulips!
After this was the last embassy visit of the day -- the Hungarian Embassy! I fell in love with Budapest when I studied abroad there last year, so this embassy was a must-visit for me. It was already 3:30pm, so luckily the Hungarian Embassy was close by and we were able to just walk there. We missed many of the giveaways but there was still some food left for purchase, so I of course had to buy some of my favorite goulash soup paired with fröccs (a Hungarian spritzer). The backyard of the embassy had been transformed into a "ruin pub" straight out of Budapest, so this was a lovely place to end the day.
All in all, it was a wonderful day spent with family members before starting off my WAIP summer!
Some tips on visiting the EU Open house:
-Know where you want to go, and how far the embassies are from each other. Surprisingly, not all of the embassies are in one place so be sure to plan your day and know what shuttles/trains to take to get to the embassy quickly.
-Be prepared to stop and take a quick lunch break. Yes, there are food samples every where but they definitely cannot be substituted for a full meal.
-Be prepared to wait/stand for long periods of time. Bring company or a book or something to keep you occupied. Wear comfortable shoes!
-Be open-minded! This is a great experience and you will love it if you embrace the different cultures and stay open-minded.
-Have fun!! Enjoy the different embassy tours and don't rush through them. Don't be overly ambitious (like me) and try to limit your tours to about 3-5 embassies, so that you can thoroughly enjoy your experiences at each one.
-Mandy Chen
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