  Netherlands
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 tompt's Netherlands Travelogues | | | |
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| Page Views: 1,275 Last Visit to Netherlands: - I Used To Live Here | Just dutch by tompt - last update: Feb 17, 2005 |
Dutch are famous for their wooden shoes (clogs). In 2002 the dutch factories produced 3,500,000 pair of clogs from this number 1,000,000 stay in our country and the rest is for export. The clogs are made from willow or poplar trees.
Some clogs are still made by hand, mainly as tourist attraction. These pics are taken in Marken. But you can also see clogmakers at the Zaanse Schans and other tourist attractions.
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the colors of....
An outline map of the Netherlands colored like the dutch flag: red, white and blue.
The flag changed colors many times from orange to red and back but in 1937 the prime minister asked Queen Wilhelmina to sign a document stating the colors were red, white and blue. And it has remained so since. |
The color orange is the other color associated with our country. Orange is the color of our royal family. Their name ´van Oranje Nassau´ dates back to William of Orange.
The logo is from the dutch tourism board website: www.holland.com |
tulips
This colors brings us to another typical dutch item: the tulip. In spring you can find many tulipfields in bloom in the west of the country between Hillegom and Lisse. Near Lisse one can visit the famous Keukenhof, a park full with flowers. We have never visited the Keukenhof, so no pics of the Keukenhof but some of the tulipfields. |
| Our future queen Amalia, born 7 dec 2003 |
The Wilhelmus
Our National anthem written in 1568 by Marnix van Sint-Aldegonde.
Usually only the first two verses are sung:
Wilhelmus van Nassouwe (Wilhelm of Nasau)
ben ik van Duitsen bloed (am i of German blood)
den vaderland getrouwe (loyal to my country)
blijf ik tot in den dood. (untill my dead)
Een Prinse van Oranje ( a prince of orange)
ben ik, vrij onverveerd, (am i free and not afraid)
den Koning van Hispanje (the king of Spain)
heb ik altijd geëerd. (is the one i always honored)
Mijn schild ende betrouwen (my shield and trust)
zijt Gij, o God mijn Heer, (are you o, God my lord)
op U zo wil ik bouwen, (i want to built on you)
verlaat mij nimmermeer. (never leave me)
Dat ik doch vroom mag blijven, (i hope i will stay faithfull)
uw dienaar t'aller stond, (your servant for always)
de tirannie verdrijven (i want to beat the tiranny)
die mij mijn hert doorwondt. (that spears my heart)
(All my own free translation)
Don´t ask me what it all means because it beats me why we have a national anthem that could easily be an european one. Ofcourse i know our Royal family is coming from Germany originally. And i also learned about the spanish connection with our royals. But why all these things in our National Anthem?
Sometimes i wish we could vote for another anthem. One with a little bit more catchy tune. And ofcourse a bit more realistic text.
The complete text, if you like the old dutch, can be found on the same website as the tune: http://www.rnw.nl/ |
| Tom (as Zwarte Piet) helping Sinterklaas |
Sinterklaas The Feast of Sinterklaas, or St. Nicholas, is an annual event which has been uniquely Dutch and Flemish for centuries. St. Nicholas' Feast Day, December 6th, is observed in most Roman Catholic countries primarily as a feast for small children.
But it is only in the Low Countries - especially in the Netherlands - that the eve of his feast day (December 5th) is celebrated nationwide by young and old, christian and non-christian, and without any religious overtones.
Although Sinterklaas is always portrayed in the vestments of the bishop he once was, his status as a canonized saint has had little to do with the way the Dutch think of him.
Rather, he is a kind of benevolent old man, whose feast day is observed by exchanging gifts and making good-natured fun of each other. It so happens that the legend of St. Nicholas is based on historical fact. He did actually exist. He lived from 271 A.D. to December 6th, 342 or 343. His 4th century tomb in the town of Myra, near the city of Anatolia in present-day Turkey, has even been dug up by archaeologists.
Funny fact: It were the dutch who brought Sinterklaas (Santaclaus) to the USA. |
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 Comments for tompt about Netherlands | | | | |
JessH Wed Jul 18, 2007 06:09 UTC
This page is a superb introduction to life in the Netherlands... well done! I really enjoyed reading your tips, and learnt a lot of new facts :-) Have a lovely day, and thanks for sharing / Jess | VeronicaG Wed Nov 23, 2005 20:09 UTC
The Netherlands are beautiful--I liked the castle alot! THANKS! | catnl Wed Oct 12, 2005 05:35 UTC
great travelogues here, didnt read them before... fijne week nog | IceBear7 Mon Apr 18, 2005 10:21 UTC
fantastic page, great info and pictures! |
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