Axel Sunday

If I had to choose one thing I will remember the Netherlands by, it wouldn’t be the tulips, or the coffee shops, or the windmills, or any other touristy images the rest of the world usually links to this country. What impressed me most about Holland are the lengths the Dutch have to go to just to stay dry.

Because large parts of the province of Zeeland (Sea land) are below sea level, storms and high tide used to be a constant threat for cities and villages. But, it seems like the sea has definitely lost this battle. People have seen to that. So when driving through Zeeland, our Dutch guides mostly draw our attention to dikes, locks and dams that hold the water back.

The same happened when we went to Axel for a Youth Group Meeting. Before the trip, whenever we told someone that we’re going to go to Axel, they would immediately start talking about the underwater tunnel built some ten years ago, connecting this peninsula with the part of the province bordering with Belgium. Tons and tons of concrete…that’s all I can see.

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The Axel Youth Group Meeting was a lot of fun. If I weren’t that bad with Dutch names I would have listed them all here. Maybe next time ;)

Dinner, introductions, casual atmosphere…

And the openness of the Dutch to joke at their own expense. The youth from this club were asked to prepare a short sketch demonstrating the most common stereotypes attributed to their country and nation. Not surprisingly, thriftiness, the perception that everyone is on drugs, and wooden shoes were the first things that sprang to everyone’s minds.

It was great meeting enthusiastic and smart young people. Hopefully we will have many more fun Sundays with them. 

Klara, Croatia