The final post

Hi all,

With this little post I wanna let everybody know that my blog has been moved to:

mldamblog.wordpress.com

I used this platform to set up a blog and get familiar with the majority of technical aspects.
However I realised that the layout wasn't as good as I wanted.
And so, to gain more artistic freedom, I moved my blog to Wordpress.

See you there.

Mark.

Orange Color Sentiment

Orange color sentiment... nothing screams more Dutch than this, doesn't it?
Nowadays it's impossible to watch an international (soccer) game without staring at a sea of orange dressed people. Where does it come from and when did those soccer fans become so utterly ridiculous leaving the rest of the world gobsmacked?

The history of orange

Sorry guys but I'm afraid we have to go Dr. Who on this. So step into the TARDIS and let the journey begin. First stop 1544 (pfff, I hope it is not going to be that kind of article...).

1544 is the date that Willem, son of Willem de Rijke, at the age of eleven inherited the principality of orange and automatically became 'Prince of Orange'. This principality, or princedom, was located in France.

With the principality Willem also inherited vast estates in the low countries which are now known as The Netherlands and Belgium. As Prince of Orange, Willem also became the founder of the branch 'House of Orange-Nassau' (which, by the way, is the official name of our Royal family).
In those days, the French name 'Orange' became 'Oranghien' which later became 'Oranje' which is the Dutch word for ... Orange. Makes sense right?
And so the little town of Orange,with only 30.000 inhabitants these days, became responsible for the colour the Dutch love to dress themselves in. I wonder if they are aware of that.

Ok, this explains our connection to the color orange. But when did the madness get to us?
Let's jump forward and set the timer to flower power central: 1966.

A reporter called Marnix Koolhaas discovered that this was the year the so called 'orange legion' was born. Fellow Dutchmen Art Schenk and Kees Verkerk were busy dominating the speed skating sport and because of their successes loads of people wanted to see their victories, even in other countries.
To be able to meet this demand, the Dutch Railway organised special trips to speed skating championships in Norway, Sweden and Germany. This is the first recording of a large crowd following their sport hero(s). However, those people did not wear any orange clothing so the name 'orange' legion is not applicable yet.

Are you still with me? Don't despare, we're nearly there.

Combining it all

The year is 1968 and the world watches Art and Kees wearing orange berets on the podium. Fun fact, these berets were made in Norway, Hollands biggest opponent at speed skating. The Dutch viewers liked these berets very much and from 1971 our legion finally became orange when almost every Dutch spectator wore an orange beret during all major speed skate events.

So, the speed skating fans are responsible for the creation of the orange legion but it wasn't until 1974 the Dutch spectators started to wear orange at soccer matches.
From there the legion evolved towards the dubious highlight as shown in the first picture.

Shall we ever overcome this mental malfunction? I guess not and frankly I hope we never do. In my opinion it's quite harmless and it brings a bit of camaraderie with it.

See you next time.


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Dutch Food (1) - The Bitterbal

When it comes to food, every country has its own specialities. Sure, one country more than the other, but they all have something they can claim as their own. The Netherlands is no exception. In fact, some might even say that we have a rather peculiar taste.
The type of food that blends perfectly into this peculiar category is the 'Bitterbal'.

The bitterbal is a typical Dutch (hot) snack which is extremely popular in the Netherlands. Just ask for a bitterbal in any Dutch bar or restaurant and they will gladly serve it to you.
But what is it and why is it so popular ?

According to Wikipedia (yes, I sometimes do my research) the definition of a bitterbal would be:

A savoury Dutch meat-based snack, typically containing a mixture of beef or veal, beef broth, butter, flour for thickening, parsley, salt and pepper, resulting in a thick roux.

Oke, so much for the cooking lesson.
Let's proceed with analyzing the name. That's pretty straight forward: bitter is bitter and bal is ball. So bitterbal in English would be ... bitterball. I bet you didn't see that coming?

Is the meaning of the name in English as strange as it is in Dutch? One is tempted to say yes because the name actually didn't change, but in fact the name in English is indeed as strange as it is in Dutch.
Hold on: didn't you just say the same thing twice?
I did, didn't I.
Isn't that confusing?
Ofcourse it is, but that's part of the fun. Wait until you hear my explanation before you judge.

When did the bitterbal originate? To understand that, we need to take a little tour down memory lane. Over a hundred years ago people in the pub wanted to have something savoury to snack.  Some smart pants came up with this kind of meaty snack and eureka: the bitterbal was born.
Did it taste bitter? Well, no!
If you read back the Wikipedia definition, you will notice that the bitterbal does not contain any bitter ingredients at all. It is basically a deep fried piece of meat wrapped in a cocoon.

The reason why it is called a bitterbal, is because back in the day people in the pub used to drink (pints of) bitter like Jenever and therefor, since there are numerous bitters in both the Netherlands and the rest of the world, the name is as strange in Dutch as it is in English.
Thinking about it, maybe strange isn't the correct word. Let's go with surprising. The name is as surprising in Dutch as it is in English. Yeah, that's better.

At the start of my topic I asked the question why the bitterbal is so popular in the Netherlands. To be honest, I don't know. True, we Dutch love our snacks and are very creative about finger food, especially when it is deep fried. Maybe its popularity has something to do with the fact that the bitterbal contains meat. We Dutch love our meat.

Bonus question: Is the bitterbal healthy?
Come on guys: it's a deep fried snack with meat in it. Need I say more?
I would suggest to enjoy it whenever someone offers you one. Make sure to ask for the complementary Jenever to fully appreciate the hundred year old sensation. I promise you, it will rock your world.

Final tip: A bitterbal tastes best when served on wooden picks holding the Dutch flag.

So let me ask you: what's your favourite snack?
You can write it in the comments below. Make sure you mention the country from which the snack originates.


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Introduction to 'A Dutch Perspective'

Hello everybody,

My name is Mark Dam, born in 19.. well, let's leave this open shall we?
For those who have been looking at my photograph,  don't let the grey hair fool you. I'm not thàt old.

I was born and bred in the Netherlands. You know, the little country west of Germany, north of Belgium and east of Great Britain. This is how it looks like:

The Netherlands, also known as Holland, is in many ways a rich and colourful country. And I guess that's the reason why I am starting this blog. To let the world know what it is like to be Dutch and to give a little insight in our ways and habits.
This blog will focus on Dutch topics such as food, phrases etc., but explained from my point of view. This means that the topics will have actual facts, but written with a little fun twist.

So how did I come up with the genius title 'A Dutch Perspective'.
Eh, good question. Just tried a couple of phrases with the word Dutch in it and this is what I ended up with. So no particular reason, just has a nice ring to it don't you think?

That's it for my little introduction. I hope you will enjoy the blog and if you do, tell your friends about it. The first Dutch topic that will be seriously analyzed is: 'de Bitterbal'.

Curious?  Stay tuned..

See ya.


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