(no subject)
I have only been learning Dutch for a little under two years. I'm way better at it than I am at German, which I've been learning for seven years. I am going to Germany for the first part of my year abroad, and Nederland for the second. Between the 10th and 19th August I will be in the country, to go to Lowlands and basically laze around in Gouda before hand (day trips- thinking of giving Rotterdam a great big miss... what about Middleburg?), and since I'm probably going to be vermoffd when I'm in Germany, I've decided that the period between now and then, aside from the essential stuff I need to do (like find a house, err), will be dedicated to strengthening my Dutch as much as possible.
So I present to you a list of reasons as to why I love Holland so much, because many people ask:
The language. It might be because I learnt German first, or because it is grammatically a lot simpler, but I find it so much better, and although it lacks the sophistication of German, I could happily speak this as my second language. Plus, some of the words are hilarious: kip (chicken), slagroom (whipped cream), prik (the stuff in fizzy drinks that makes them fizzy), u kunt (you can, and formal to boot). And the vowels! They just flow together like nothing you've ever seen: eeuw (century), vrouw (wife/woman) and my personal favourite: zeeëend (some kind of sea duck). You get the idea.
The Hague is one of my favourite places to visit while I'm there, even if it's not always as sunny as this. Once, we ate lunch with the queen in a restaurant in The Hague. She ordered a coke and smoked inside. But aside from that, the place is pretty, but doesn't have half the amount of tourists that Amsterdam does.
Fietsing. I love to cycle, even if I do go really slow... In Sheffield I lived way too far up the hill to own a bike, and so I'm holding out for when I move to Germany to buy one, although it won't be as swish as Rhian's. I love how well-organised the Dutch cycle network is when compared to the shambles that is Britain. And it's flat. And, people wouldn't look twice at seeing a business-man on a bike. And! There was a bike division of the Dutch army!
The Art. During our module on the history of the Low Countries we did a bit on art, and I wrote on it in the exam. I think it's amazing. When you consider how the rest of Europe was still producing religious and historical rubbish painting and sculpture, the Dutch began to move away from this and forge their own style. This ditty is by Van Gogh, who is perhaps second on my list of favourites, after Vermeer.
Those who know me well, and maybe those who don't, know that liquorice is one of my favourite food groups (along with coffee and my much missed snus). In Holland, they share my enthusiasm, as Sint here clearly shows. On this picture you have three of what is possibly hundreds of kinds: (l-r) peppermint, salty (mmm), salmiac. I think he's covered in pear flavour, too. This brings me onto my next reason:
Sinterklaas! It's almost like the Dutch have it perfectly arranged. No north pole, no elves, no flying reindeer. Just a Catholic bishop from Madrid who comes on December 5th on a steam boot with his slaves helpers and a big, white horse. If you're good, you get presents, if you're bad, Piet (the helper) takes you back to Spain in a sack. Genious. And, for the adults, you've got the added element of writing critical poems to your loved ones.
Koninginnendag (Queen's Day - 30th April), is another festival I like to get involved in. Slap on a bit of orange, go out, big it up for haar majesteit and get pissed. I think the appeal of this is how illicit it makes me feel. Being raised Catholic, I've been taught to dislike the Protestants. Especially those orange men. So when I do this, I feel like I do when I break other Catholic laws, like eating meat on Friday, not fasting on rogation days and kissing boys. It feels good.
I know supermarkets are always more exciting in another country, but Albert Heijn is a supermarket of dreams. Imagine an English supermarket's prices, then just switch the £ into an € and basically double the amount you're getting. I know it's the expensive one of the middle-classes, but it's wonderul. The smoothies are my personal favourite. But he also supplies the Euroshopper sherry and lemonade which is the traditional tipple for a night on the Reguliersdwaarstraat.
Bedankt voor uw attentie.
So I present to you a list of reasons as to why I love Holland so much, because many people ask:
The language. It might be because I learnt German first, or because it is grammatically a lot simpler, but I find it so much better, and although it lacks the sophistication of German, I could happily speak this as my second language. Plus, some of the words are hilarious: kip (chicken), slagroom (whipped cream), prik (the stuff in fizzy drinks that makes them fizzy), u kunt (you can, and formal to boot). And the vowels! They just flow together like nothing you've ever seen: eeuw (century), vrouw (wife/woman) and my personal favourite: zeeëend (some kind of sea duck). You get the idea.
The Hague is one of my favourite places to visit while I'm there, even if it's not always as sunny as this. Once, we ate lunch with the queen in a restaurant in The Hague. She ordered a coke and smoked inside. But aside from that, the place is pretty, but doesn't have half the amount of tourists that Amsterdam does.
Fietsing. I love to cycle, even if I do go really slow... In Sheffield I lived way too far up the hill to own a bike, and so I'm holding out for when I move to Germany to buy one, although it won't be as swish as Rhian's. I love how well-organised the Dutch cycle network is when compared to the shambles that is Britain. And it's flat. And, people wouldn't look twice at seeing a business-man on a bike. And! There was a bike division of the Dutch army!
The Art. During our module on the history of the Low Countries we did a bit on art, and I wrote on it in the exam. I think it's amazing. When you consider how the rest of Europe was still producing religious and historical rubbish painting and sculpture, the Dutch began to move away from this and forge their own style. This ditty is by Van Gogh, who is perhaps second on my list of favourites, after Vermeer.
Those who know me well, and maybe those who don't, know that liquorice is one of my favourite food groups (along with coffee and my much missed snus). In Holland, they share my enthusiasm, as Sint here clearly shows. On this picture you have three of what is possibly hundreds of kinds: (l-r) peppermint, salty (mmm), salmiac. I think he's covered in pear flavour, too. This brings me onto my next reason:
Sinterklaas! It's almost like the Dutch have it perfectly arranged. No north pole, no elves, no flying reindeer. Just a Catholic bishop from Madrid who comes on December 5th on a steam boot with his slaves helpers and a big, white horse. If you're good, you get presents, if you're bad, Piet (the helper) takes you back to Spain in a sack. Genious. And, for the adults, you've got the added element of writing critical poems to your loved ones.
Koninginnendag (Queen's Day - 30th April), is another festival I like to get involved in. Slap on a bit of orange, go out, big it up for haar majesteit and get pissed. I think the appeal of this is how illicit it makes me feel. Being raised Catholic, I've been taught to dislike the Protestants. Especially those orange men. So when I do this, I feel like I do when I break other Catholic laws, like eating meat on Friday, not fasting on rogation days and kissing boys. It feels good.
I know supermarkets are always more exciting in another country, but Albert Heijn is a supermarket of dreams. Imagine an English supermarket's prices, then just switch the £ into an € and basically double the amount you're getting. I know it's the expensive one of the middle-classes, but it's wonderul. The smoothies are my personal favourite. But he also supplies the Euroshopper sherry and lemonade which is the traditional tipple for a night on the Reguliersdwaarstraat.
Bedankt voor uw attentie.