Ask the dutchman

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
deep said:
I was taught about the Benelux Nations in school.

Is there any official Federation?

The Benelux is a kind of free trade federation of The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg established in the 1940's
Though it still exists, much of its tasks have become obsolete due to an increasing power of the EU.
 
s_tielemans said:


Nope. One of the few dutch I think that is an absolute nightmare on ice-skates. I tried. I failed. I quit.
:ohmy: I am also a nightmare on skates .
 
AcrobatMan said:
1) What is your age

2) Can one survive with just speaking English in Amsterdam. Do shopkeepers etc speak english.

3) When dutch people go for a party, is it always a DUTCH party ?

4) Is an average dutch people taller than average non-dutch european ?

1. I'm 28.

2. Never tried of course :))) but I think you can. Especially when you're just staying in Amsterdam/the Netherlands for a short visit. Most if not all of the people working in shops/bars/restaurants speak English.

3. What is a Dutch party? :huh:
*search on Wikipedia*
Interesting... ;)
In the Netherlands, the expression "American-style party" is used instead.
And no, we (almost) never have a Dutch party. Although when the Dutch are partying it is of course a Dutch party. :D

4. Yes. The Dutch are among the tallest in the world (and thus also in Europe). Maybe the Swedes are even taller.
:hmm:
 
Popmartijn said:

4. Yes. The Dutch are among the tallest in the world (and thus also in Europe). Maybe the Swedes are even taller.
:hmm:

In fact we were the tallest last year. It always seems to be close with Norwegians.
 
My knowledge of Dutch history is limited to what is relevant to art, but it is also the cause of my questions lol. Flemish painters, are Dutch, but are always referred to as Flemish. Is this related to Flanders? And if so how? Prior to your 7 northern provinces being rebellious (Utrecht, Groningen, Friesland etc), it was North and South Holland, yeah? South Holland later becoming Belgium? I think what my question is, is what region exactly did these Flemish geniuses come from? Is the Lowlands loosely known as the area which borders the south, and north Belgium?

I've tried for many years to work this out. Even looking at the biography of artists who are still known as Flemish, like Aelbert van Ouwater and Geertgen Tot Sint Jans, but when they moved south for work it was still known back then as South Holland, right?
:huh:

Cripes lol. If you can follow this you'll have my eternal respect :D
 
Anna,

Yes, Flemish is the adjective form of Flanders and that is currently a region in Belgium. Until 1830 (part of) Belgium was part of the Netherlands, but they rebelled/seceded. Thus, the 16th and 17th Flemish painters were Dutch in that era (although many consider them Belgian now).
As for the distinction North and South Holland, it does not refer to the total country. Of the 12 provinces we currently have, one is called North Holland and one is called South Holland. Together they form the Western part of the Netherlands (North, South, West, are you still there? :huh: ), excluding the Southwestern part of the Netherlands. So when people refer to the Netherlands as Holland they're actually referring to just a part of the country (it would be a bit like referring to the USA as Virginia).
The Lowlands is more or less a nickname for the total Dutch/Belgian region. Because the country IS flat. It's kinda like referring to Australia as Down Under. BTW, the French (Pays Bas) and Spanish (Paisos Bajos) names for the Netherlands literally translate to Low Countries.
 
:yikes:
Ok, I've been mistaken on a couple of things. Of the 7 I mentioned rebelling etc, I thought 'Holland' was one of those provinces. But there is no province called Holland on it's own - one is South Holland, the other North Holland? Which together form the western region? The western bit does seem to make a bit of sense, but it's where Belgium gets sneaky which confuses me. And France as well actually. Is Dijon in France? Some of the Flemish dudes also got known by working for the dukes of Burgandy whose court was there, in Dijon. It influenced a crapload of your art during the middle ages.

Your history is fascinating. I will come over and visit you all one day.
:up:
 
It isn't, at the moment.

AFAIK, we're at ~ 16.3 million and counting.
However, the average age is getting higher here.
 
AcrobatMan said:
Which is the most popular rock artist from Holland ( with lyrics in English).

I had heard some songs by Ayreon and I remember loving it !!

Anyone bigger than Ayreon..and better ?

I think the most popular depends on the region. Golden Earring is/was very popular (and they're still going strong!), especially with their hit Radar Love (which is already 30 years old or so).
Then there is the best Dutch rock band ever, Urban Dance Squad. :D :up: They had some success in the USA with Deeper Shade Of Soul (and were also quite popular in France, IIRC).
Since many know the song Venus and because Nirvana covered the song Love Buzz on their debut single (and album Bleach) I think the band Shocking Blue also deserves a mention.

Of the up and coming band, Within Temptation (goth metal or so) is gaining in popularity beyond our borders.
And is Junkie XL (or JXL for the Elvis Presley remix) still considered rock? If so, then he deserves a mention too.

And then there's of course Ayreon, although that band/project isn't really popular here.

Anyone that I forgot? :wink:
 
Angela Harlem said:
:yikes:
Ok, I've been mistaken on a couple of things. Of the 7 I mentioned rebelling etc, I thought 'Holland' was one of those provinces. But there is no province called Holland on it's own - one is South Holland, the other North Holland? Which together form the western region? The western bit does seem to make a bit of sense, but it's where Belgium gets sneaky which confuses me. And France as well actually. Is Dijon in France? Some of the Flemish dudes also got known by working for the dukes of Burgandy whose court was there, in Dijon. It influenced a crapload of your art during the middle ages.

Your history is fascinating. I will come over and visit you all one day.
:up:

South and North Holland is what it is at present. This together was called Holland. The Netherlands is the total country and nowadays that's called Holland as well by many people. In the past the distinction was very real though. Holland was the center of power, trade, culture, politics and anything important that was going on. The outer regions were there for paying taxes and growing food. So what is now the west part of our country had a different status in the golden age of Holland (when we kicked ass, ruled the sea, and pretty much did what a colonial power should do: oppress the weak, sell slaves and get rich). The south (including what's Belgium now) also had a different religion. They were still mostly Catholic while Holland was mostly protestant. Trouble was a question of time and being disregarded by king and government they had the chance to become very dissatisfied. They cut off from the Netherlands in 1837 and the dutch were more or less (make that more) to acknowledge a new state by the super powers of the time (Hungary-Austria, Germany and England)

You still with me?:wink:
 
Why are all the Dutch (or at least most of them) so damn cool? I mean it...I have been there many times and each time I come away feeling happy and relaxed. If that's what a good liberal, socialist system does, sign me up for a visa. :yes:

Also, why the hell do you guys pronounce "g" so funny? ::wink:
 
Because other languages can't pronounce that letter properly! :tongue:



:wink:

Oh, and for us being :cool: Well, that happens with all the rain (and other bad weather) you have here. That'll cool you off. :p
 
Last edited:
Vorsprung said:


Nederlands (Dutch) and German (Deutsch) are closely related, as you probably know. For a long time, the language spoken in the German/Lowlands region was called (by the people who lived there) as Diets, Duits, Deutsch, Duutsch, all dialectal variations of the same word.
Diets, Duits, Deutsch, Duuts, and (by borrowing into English) Dutch all have the meaning '(the language) of the people'. 'Diet' in Middle Dutch, for example, had as its meaning simply 'people'.

At this time (Middle Ages) there was no such thing as The Netherlands or Germany and the entire germanic region of North West Europe was known as Dutch.
When The Netherlands became independent from Spain (16th/17th century) Nederduits (Low Dutch) became more or less the official language of The Netherlands since this was the dialect spoken in the dominant province of The Netherlands: Holland.
For quite some time after that, the Dutch language was called Nederdiets/Nederduits by the Dutch themselves, where Hochdeutsch/Hoogduits (High Dutch) was/is spoken by the German nation(s).
After a while this changed and nowadays we call our language Nederlands (Netherlandic).

Just in case you wanted to know :wink:

AAAaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrghhhhh. It's like being back in the first year lecture hall! ;)

Knew all that already... but I'm senile at 27 so had forgotten a bit of it!
 
Last edited:
Angela Harlem said:
I think what my question is, is what region exactly did these Flemish geniuses come from?
:D



Lol. I did my Masters dissertation - 40,000 words - on this precise subject, and a 5,000 word essay on the difference between Flemish Dutch and Dutch as spoken in the Netherlands.

I also did a 10,000 word project on De Vlaamse Beweging, or Flemish Movement, and the Belgian Revolt. I spent a year in Leuven researching it.

Haven't slept in 48 hours so I will not start getting into the subject, as I have no concept of editing, and will end up boring you to tears.
 
Last edited:
Rono said:
What is the most positive side of living in the Netherlands ?

For me it's a country where freedom really works. People are pretty much left alone in what they do as long as they don't harm or endanger others. And although there are some changes in this policy, I think it's still pretty laid back.
 
Back
Top Bottom