Holland is flat!

OK, so there are some things about Holland which you know before you arrive. Like the stuff about the country being flat, and the dykes and the whole windmill thing. None of which means its not nice to actually go and see these things yourself. I mean, it's one thing to know that large parts of Holland are below sea level, its another thing to be driving around an entire man made province, looking at the dykes that turned it from being a big chunk of sea into a big chunk of land.

Tuesday was spent taking our Easy Rent a Car around some of the old fishing villages near Amsterdam, aside from the above mentioned waterworks and flatness I got to see a lot of the old sailboats they use to fish the big lakes that make up so much of Northern Holland, and which eventually turn into the sea after passing through a few locks and dykes. We got back to find our hosts attempting Holland's annual educational challenge, ''Het Groot Dictee'' (spelling?) whereby the entire nation watches TV and attempts to take a dictation class. The aim is to encourage proper use of grammar and spelling, adapt to new words and new ways of doing things. (a few years ago the dutch revised a lot of their grammar) the whole thing is conducted from the Dutch first chamber, equivalent to the House of Lords or the Senate and as well as the nation taking part by TV some celebrities and more formal contestants are inivited in to compete. This year the first ever perfect score among the contestants was achieved. By a Belgian. Apparently the Belgians think it's great fun to outdo the Dutch at their own language.

Yesterday was all about the Kroller Mueller Museum which is one of the most famous art galleries in Holland. The permanent collection included over 50 Van Gogh's, as well as stuff by Mondrian and a fantastic painter called Fernand? Leger who's done some really great stuff. They also had a number of portraits from the sixteenth century which were exceptional for their detail and realism. What little I remember of the history of art suggests that this style both began in Holland and was perfected here.

The museum is set in the middle of a national park and is inaccessible by car, you have to borrow a bicycle to get there, or walk it. (its about 1.5 miles from the nearest car park). Around the museum is a sculpture garden containing more great stuff to look at, although yesterday our stroll around the garden was punctuated by the sound of machine gun fire and the thump of heavy mortars. Turns out the army use the nearby woodland for practice.

We ended the day in Arnhem, which is lovely, and today will head for Delft...

Why I'm in Holland

This is being written from Holland. The reason being that when you go to business school you meet lots of people, and they're nice, and you like them. Turns out some of them like you too, which is how I ended up with a dutch girlfriend and thats the short explanation of why I'm writing this from Holland. The plan is to spend a week here (we're based in Amsterdam, staying with her brother and his girlfriend who so far have been fantastic hosts) and then head back to Newcastle for Chirstmas and New Year. Top stuff.

So far Holland has contained many fantastic things, including the local delicacy Croquete (I'm sure they don't spell it like that) and some really really nice dark beer. There's also been a chance to wander round Amsterdam and the inevitable visit to the red light district. Having seen it I can confirm that one area full of hookers and drug dealers is much like any other, even if there are windows involved. Quite why this is a tourist trap kind of escapes me when most major cities have had similar attractions 'en plein air' for a while now.

The best thing to date has been the Theatre Tuschinsky, which has been converted into a cinema. It is without doubt one of the most fantastic buildings I've ever been in. Lots of glorious art deco? design and the whole thing is absolutely gorgeous, from the amazing ceiling decorations to the feet of the furniture. Apparently they restored it to its former glories a few years ago, so if you saw it before and weren't that impressed go again. There is also the small matter of being able to buy beer at the cinema, things really are that much more civilised in Holland.

ps : I am now informed that Croquete should in fact be spelled kroketten, (don't pronounce the n)

And then it was over

Finished exams on Friday at 12:30 and promptly headed for the Kings Arms, I haven't really had the chance to blog much since then so there's a lot to catch up on. Suffice to say that beer was drunk, then more beer was drunk and then we went to Frueds where... You've guessed it.

So I've survived the first term more or less intact. No results yet, (probably not till January) but I'm pretty sure things went ok.