Is Holland the Netherlands ?

During this first year in the US we got a lot of strange questions about our ancestry. For a lot ofAmericans whole Europe is one big country and the inflatable world-globe I got from my brother(on which The Netherlands appears as a tiny spot, but it's there)is a very helpful educational thing. Most people do not know that we have our own language: Dutch (and not German as a lot of people guess). Ofcourse they think it's pretty normal that we speak English and German and French.There are 15 million people living on an area 25 times as small as Texas.

Apart from this the biggest misunderstanding is that what most tourists call Holland actually The Netherlands is. So to answer the question: Yes, Holland is The Netherlands, but the Netherlands is not Holland. For all the people brainwashed by the Dutch Bureau of Tourism who almost without exception put HOLLAND on their posters and brochures:holland is just a part of The Netherlands. To be fully correct The Netherlands consists of 12 provinces. Two of which are North- and South Holland.

Tourist in the Netherlands

Amsterdam

Even if people do not know where The Netherlands is in the world, that we have our own language
and our own royal family, one thing everybody knows: the "strange" things in Amsterdam. It's too bad that most people that actually visited the Netherlands spent more time in the red-light district and the
famous sex-museum than in one of our great museums or really simple looking at the city itself. A good advice : if you like to know more about the Netherlands check the website www.amsterdamhotspots.nl
My personal favourites are: the Rijks and Van Gogh museum (also because the neighbourhood around it is very worthwhile), the Begijnenhof (close to the Dam), and waterbiking on the canals.

Delft

In December 2000 I had the lucky chance to play tourist in my own country, I was invited to attend a demonstration of a new crane (actually a tower) at a Dutch vendor. The company I traveled with consisted mostly of Americans so I was quickly named tourguide for the whole group.

Where to stay
I stayed in a very nice hotel, the rooms are not spacious, but it's located near their own bakery and the breakfast and pastries are delicious. Great for people who want to stay in midtown Delft. It is called Emauspoort and is close to everything in Delft. For Dutch visitors, this hotel has 2 Gipsy caravans you can stay in called Pipo de Clown and Mammalou, named after a very popular children's tv series in the 70's. The caravan's have shower, toilet, tv and telephone, so you don't have to deprive yourself. There are lots of more great hotels in Delft and since we were all spread out throughout the city I know that everybody liked their stay, but I think the bakery was the best deal for me.

What to see
Delft in itself is worthwhile seeing to start off with. The town is one of Netherland's oldest historical towns with a pretty well preserved center. The cobblestone market is a great place to start especially on market day when you can try some of the Dutch specialities like broodje haring (bun with raw herring) ,stroopwafels (cookies with syrup) or drop (licorice, but beware it tastes differently than the American stuff). Make sure you take a look at the Old and New Church. Well, old and new is ofcourse only relative, the old one is from 1246, the new one from around 1400, so for my travel companions it was called old and very old. There are lots of other historical buildings that are great. Just take a stroll, or walk a city tour that you can get from the Tourist office. Have a drink in a cafe or on a terrace outside. And if you're done with all that, then check out Delft's pride, the Delft's blue pottery. You can get guided tours and of course buy presents for yourself en everybody else. It's not cheap, but it is traditional and handmade.

Facts and fiction

Want to know more about some facts and fiction we had to straighten out about The Netherlands,
Netherlanders and other Dutch subjects ? Check this list, or if you can read Dutch, read my " Dutch in
Texas, a humoristic approach to the Texan way of life.

The fiction remarks here are not something I made up. They we're actually questions people asked us !

Fiction Fact

There is no room that's why we live on boats The Netherlands is one of the most densely populates countries (373 people/sq. klm: Texas has 25/sq.km)

We live in windmills Most Dutch people live in townhouses or highrise buildings

We eat rat on a stick We love cheese and raw herring

We have to take a bath with the whole family Most Dutch houses have only 1 bathroom

Listen !,from the movie : Pulp fiction We prefer mayonaise over ketchup

Once a flood was prevented when a boy "plugged" a hole in a dyke with his finger This story was made up by an American woman who had never been to the Netherlands, most Dutch people have never even heard about this. For more info
http://www.rvc.nl/historical/haarlem/Hansje_Brinker.htm

Fiction	Fact
There is no room that's why we live on boats	The Netherlands is one of the most densely populates countries (373 people/sq. klm: Texas has 25/sq.km)
We live in windmills	Most Dutch people live in townhouses or highrise buildings
We eat rat on a stick	We love cheese and raw herring
We have to take a bath with the whole family	Most Dutch houses have only 1 bathroom
Listen !,from the movie : Pulp fiction	We prefer mayonaise over ketchup
Once a flood was prevented when a boy "plugged" a hole in a dyke with his finger	This story was made up by an American woman who had never been to the Netherlands, most Dutch people have never even heard about this. For more info http://www.rvc.nl/historical/haarlem/Hansje_Brinker.htm