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In the Netherlands, meeting friends at a pub or café often involves enjoying a few drinks alongside a platter of bittergarnituur—a snack assortment that literally translates to “garnish for bitters.” The “bitters” referred to here are bittertje, specifically small glasses of Dutch Jenever or gin, though the word can refer to alcoholic beverages in general. Your bittergarnituur will likely include small cubes of Gouda or Edam cheese, some smoked sausage, salami or gherkins. But the brightest star of this culinary constellation will undoubtedly be the bitterballen—crispy, deep-fried meatballs that are a beloved bar food staple.

Bitterballen are traditionally made from ground beef, but veal and chicken may also be used. The meat is sautéed with onions, parsley and sometimes, finely chopped vegetables like carrots. Then it is seasoned with salt, pepper, nutmeg and occasionally curry. This meat mixture gets thickened with a roux, and stock is added to create a savory gravy. The entire mixture is cooled in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Once the mixture congeals, it is scooped into little balls, rolled in bread crumbs and deep-fried till golden brown. They’re typically served with a ramekin of spicy mustard for dipping.

In the first half of the 20th century, making bitterballen at home was an excellent way to transform leftover meat into something tasty and economical. Today, they are mainly served outside the home as a snack with a side of fries, or as part of the bittergarnituur plate. If you are in a hurry and do not have time to linger at a pub, you can often get your bitterballen fix by ducking into a raampje, an automat-style snack bar where food is selected from a wall of tiny glass compartments. Bitterballen are also popular at street carts and food trucks, especially at outdoor markets and festivals.

Though humble in origin, bitterballen have transcended their status as simple bar bites. Enhanced with chorizo, goat cheese, exotic spices, mushrooms or even truffles, they now appear at upscale establishments and receptions as gourmet finger food. Wherever you find your bitterballen, they are best enjoyed piping hot with a chilled glass of Dutch pale lager or witbier.

Flanders is a county, a region and a language area in northern Belgium. It has played a prominent role in European history since the Middle Ages, when it was among the wealthiest and most urbanized areas of the continent. Today, the official capital of Flanders is Brussels, which also serves as the capital of Belgium. But the unofficial capital of Flanders is Antwerp, widely regarded as the heart and soul of Flemish (Dutch-speaking) culture.

Located just 55 miles from the North Sea on the Scheldt River, Antwerp had already become a major port and trading center by the 13th century. During the 14th century, as Bruges’s tidal inlet began to silt up, Antwerp’s fortunes rose. The city became the region’s preeminent mercantile center, growing rich from the wool trade, banking and the sugar trade. The first diamond was cut here in 1476, and even today, Antwerp is known as the “Diamond Capital of the World.”

Flemish arts and culture also thrived. Antwerp’s painting school produced Flemish masters such as Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyke. Printing emerged as a key industry, and wealthy citizens spurred a flourishing of fine architecture. As foreign interests were drawn to the city, a cosmopolitan population developed and humanism thrived.

During the Protestant Reformation, Dutch-speaking Antwerp became a center of Protestant activity. This, along with other political and economic factors, prompted war with King Philip II of Spain, who was also the sovereign of the Hapsburg Netherlands. This was the beginning of the so-called Eighty Years War (1566–1648). In 1576, Antwerp was sacked, and some 7,000 citizens were killed in a massacre known as “The Spanish Fury.” Still, the city continued to be a center of the Dutch revolt.

During the Spanish occupation, many of Antwerp’s most privileged residents were called señores, from the Spanish word meaning a “decent” lord. The locals adopted the name but gave it a Flemish twist, changing it to Sinjoren. This name is still proudly used to describe anyone who was born within the Antwerp city limits. Some have an even stricter criteria, claiming that to be a true Sinjoor you must have been born in the vicinity of the old Spanish fort, between the De Leien neighborhood and the Scheldt River. Ultimately, the title is more a matter of identity than geography—an expression of the intense pride Sinjoren feel for their Flemish hometown.

By September 1944, three months after the D-Day landings at Normandy, Allied progress in pushing Nazi troops back to Germany had slowed. The High Command recognized that the Netherlands’ vast network of Rhine River tributaries and canals presented imposing obstacles. Securing the bridges would allow the Allies to continue their advance and, hopefully, end the war by Christmas.

One of World War II’s most dramatic undertakings, Operation Market Garden was devised to seize multiple bridges simultaneously, thereby overwhelming German forces and preventing them from securing alternate crossings. Under a two-pronged strategy, Operation Market dropped American, British and Polish paratroopers from the sky to secure sites around eight Dutch bridges. Meanwhile, Operation Garden utilized British ground forces, hoping to solidify gains bridge by bridge until the Allies had secured the last bridge in Arnhem—later immortalized in the 1977 film A Bridge Too Far.

On September 17, over 20,000 men parachuted in, joined by more than 14,500 troops arriving via military glider. The Allies, believing the German forces to be in retreat, calculated that their 64-mile (103 km) ground advance would take just four days. Meanwhile, the Reich’s fractured infantry was regrouping near Arnhem. Though Allied intelligence and members of the Dutch resistance had reported this buildup, the commanding British General Frederick Browning still decided to move ahead.

Ultimately, the battle-filled march to Arnhem took nine days instead of four. The Allies emerged victorious at Nijmegen’s Waal Bridge after a four-day battle, but by the time they arrived at Arnhem—the last link to crossing the Rhine—they found that their faltering comrades had lost control of the city. After their long advance, they were forced to retreat.

The unexpected resurgence in German strength certainly contributed to the defeat, as did the insufficient reach of the troops’ portable radio transmissions. Furthermore, the delivery of troops and supplies was delayed by poor weather and an aircraft shortage, undermining the Allied plan for using the element of surprise. By the time the Allies had declared victory in Nijmegen, the tide in Arnhem had already turned in favor of the Nazis.

Though history largely remembers Operation Market Garden as a failure, it paved the way for the capture and destruction of the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen, built during World War I to defend the Rhineland. Its loss dealt a major blow to German morale.

Today, visitors to Arnhem can ride through the fields where paratroopers landed, explore the Airborne Museum to learn about the fateful events of 1944 and witness a reenactment of the Battle of Arnhem. You can also pay homage to the Allied soldiers, as well as Dutch civilians, buried at the Airborne Cemetery at Oosterbeek.