Bits and Bobs from Holland

Part of the reason I write this blog when I’m travelling is I feel like I learn more on my trip. I tend to look around me more carefully when I’m out walking and take my camera with me everywhere in case I find something interesting. It also means that if I find one interesting thing I try to look for something related to help string a narrative together for a post. But sometimes I have a really good idea but I can’t find enough material to make it work. I have enough of these leftover half-ideas that I still want to share. This is all the stuff like that from the first leg of my trip, so these are some random bits of fluff from Holland....

I have learned from my trip that I will never understand Dutch, ever. It’s a language unlike anything else and the way it’s spoken to me sounds nothing like it’s written. For example, the ads for the movie ‘Despicable Me II’ made some sense in French, but not so much in Dutch...

There were a number of English-language stations on TV that air with Dutch sub-titles at the bottom. It is from this that I learn that in modern speaking some English words have worked their way into the vernacular, although the meaning isn’t quite the same and can mean English words get replaced with other English words in the sub-titles. Two examples...

One: Watching the show ‘Dirty Jobs’, many times in an episode the host inevitably screws up whatever job he is attempting. We were watching a segment on roofers and Mike messes something up as says “Oh Crap!”

Dutch translation: “Oh shit!”

Two: On an ad for a BBC show, James May is surprised by what I remember was an explosion (given that he is a presenter on Top Gear, explosions would make sense). He looks behind him and says “What the hell was that?”

Dutch translation: “Sorry?”

And finally, I was quite surprised to see that parks as a place to hang out in the summer are just as vibrant in Holland as they are in England (the French generally hang out on the patios of cafes instead). Near my hotel was Vodelpark, which is quite large at most nights was packed with people and portable barbeques....

Some of the barbeques were DIY creations- my favourite was made from a one-use roasting pan filled with coals and a flimsy rack above it. Not sure how well it would work but it stood out. There were also lots of food vendors, including more funny little vehicles...