History Lesson - Blog Posts
On a hot air balloon, September 21st 1783
Sheep: Dear heavens, there is fire. What is happening. Rooster: Hey, hey, hey, watch this. Duck: Why are we here Sheep: WHY ARE WE FLOATING?!!! Why am I here?!!! *The sheep was chosen because it was believed to be a reasonable approximation of a human's physiology and psychology*
I imagine the rooster and duck were chosen because, presumably, birds would remain calm when flying in a hot air balloon.
Someone show me a rooster that has ever been calm.
Next interrailing escapes stop, Amsterdam!
A new destination with new possibilities! Now we have reached to the next city in our interrailing escapes - Amsterdam! Which is the Netherlands largest city by inhabitants, hence Haag is their real capital city. Amsterdam is well known for its culture and flourish of museums such as van-Gogh museum, Anne Frank house, Rijksmuseum and Rembrandt museum. Nevertheless, we want to fulfill this destination with the most experiential and authentic accommodations, bars, cafes, restaurants and activities.
So, have you ever wondering why the Netherlands is also called holland and why the people is called Dutch? Well in Old English dutch meant nation or people, which also explains why Germany is called Deutschland in German. In the early 1500s, parts of Germany and the Netherlands, along with Belgium and Luxembourg, were all part of the Holy Roman Empire. And over time, English-speaking people used the word Dutch to describe the people from both the Netherlands and Germany. Hence, they specifically phrased High Dutch, referring to people from the mountainous area of what now is southern Germany. Low Dutch referred to people from the more flatter lands, what now is the Netherlands. The Netherlands was back then used to describe people from the low-lying (nether) region (land). The term was spread and widely used in the whole Europe, and when they became a separate and formal country in 1815, they became the Kingdom of the Netherlands. However, the word Holland literally meant wood-land in Old English and originally referred to people that were from the northern region of the Netherlands, and over time it came to apply to the entire country. Now you have some background knowledge to impress the Dutch with when you are in Amsterdam! Stay tuned for hostel, bar, restaurant and activity tips and tricks!