All Things Holland

Full Article Here . (I will now summarize. Sorry for the delay. I have been away on a ski trip.) The question. Why are some nations happier and more satisfied than others? 8 ingredients of prosperity. Economy, Entrepreneurship, Governance, Education, Health, Safety, Personal Freedom, and Social Capital. Adding up each countries rankings on their performance in these areas and you get the Legatum Prosperity Index. Legatum ranks 110 countries and their overall level of prosperity. The article goes into much more detail as to why each country attained the ranking it did. After looking at the lists, odd how most of the countries I want to visit are in the first list. Obviously, the Netherlands are 8! Whoo hooo! Surprisingly they're only ranked 1 above the USA. On another side note. It's interesting almost all of the Scandinavian countries rank in the top 10. Time to move, or at least visit. Below are the top 10 happiest and saddest. The photo gallery shows more. Happiest 1) Norway...

So I figured I'd test my blogger app this morning. Yesterday the article I've been looking for was on the front of a website I frequent. I'll elaborate more on this on a more lengthy post later this weekend after finals but for right now I'll give the 30 second tour. Forbes listed the most happiest and saddest countries. I only looked through the top ten happiest and noticed a few things. The Netherlands came in at a strong 8 and the US came in with # 10. With a majority of the Scandinavian countries in the top happiest. More to come later.....

You may have noticed that many words in English directly come from Dutch, although it may be deeper such as the German root. You may also know that the Netherlands and other northern European countries love their pickled herring. So, what you are probably guessing is true, the word pickle comes from the Dutch word pekel . Or does it? Upon my research I have come to hear of a dutchman by the name of William Beukel or Beukelz. So what does William Beukel have to do with pickles? Well, William Beukel was a 14th century Dutch fisherman. Some say that the word pickle is a form of his last name Beukel. Although he was known for his pickled fish the word to pickle has come to mean pickled cucumbers. As for being "in a pickle" meaning that someone is in plight, the word also comes from Dutch origins. However, this pickle is spelled pekille or pikkyll which means to be in a plight, scrape, jam, fix or bind. Just because a pickle is a pickle in English, doesn't mean...

First off, an update on Fisherman's Friend from the last post. They come in a tin box similar to Altoids. They are little brown oval shapped waffers. Not very appetizing looking to be honest. But if you are a fan of Halls mints, this is for you. They have the almost overpowering nose cleansing and clearing power of a Halls lozenge. The other blog writer thought this would help her sickness but she is not a fan of the intensity. I took them home with me and use them as candy! Second. My aunt and uncle sent me a link to this neat store in Holland. The Frozen Fountain. They sell a range of different furniture items; mostly focusing on Dutch creators. LINK . More on the hippy side if you ask me but very very neat stuff. I especially like some of the lamps. This site has more Dutch stores as it focuses on Shopping while traveling. I'll post more about the other ones sometime. Meanwhile my Holland trip is still in the works.... Enjoy your weekend reader... whoever you are.

So, feeling miserably sick I will write about a subject I find very interesting. Dutch cold and flu remedies. Did you know that the English word "sick" comes from the Dutch "ziek" and "drug" comes from the Dutch word "Drogge"? Many Dutch remedies are homemade using herbs, tea, and vinegar. One of the most popular over the counter Dutch remedies is Fisherman's friend, the lozenge pictured to the right. It comes in many flavors; and supposedly tastes very good, I have heard of people buying it for candy instead of a cold suppressant. One old dutch remedy for when you are klien rot jongen sick, is to fill a small glass with hard liquor add a raw egg, a little sugar, and a touch of water. Drink that mixture all down and go sweat off your illness in bed. Another tested and proven Dutch method is to eat a large breakfast. The study showed that a large breakfast will produce more virus fighting proteins. Here is an old Dutch remedy from 'Dr. Cha...

How would you build a bridge across a 17th century moat that wouldn't take away from the moat's original purpose aesthetically? Why, build a bridge 'in' the moat of course. Click this for Pictures and details RO & AD Architects of the Netherlands recently designed a bridge that 'parts' the waters of a moat surrounding a 17th century Dutch fort. Yes, like Moses from the bible, this bridge appears to split the waters in half allowing you to walk 'through' the waters as the water line is level with the top edge of the walkway. A series of Moats and Fortresses was built over the West Brabant Water Line region of the Netherlands during the 17th century to provide protection from Spain and France. The particular fort Fort de Roovere was too deep to wade across but too shallow to boat. Until now! The bridge begins lying flush with the ground then defends into the slope using treated wood to prevent rot. I looked up Fort de Roovere on the map an it's in ...

Read this . 2 reasons why I clicked on this link and thought about posting it. 1) I follow sports closely and 2) Rotterdam was one of the places I wanted to visit some day. In case you don't have time to read the above article, allow me to summarize. Greg Halman is an outfielder for the Seattle Mariners. This is just further proof that there are more Dutch influences and people around the USA that you would never think. But the story goes; Greg Halman was stabbed to death in Rotterdam early Monday morning. There aren't many details but it seems that Halman's younger brother has been arrested and questioned by police. Greg Halman was playing baseball and running clinics in his native country during the offseason. Here is the official Associated Press Release: Rotterdam Police spokeswoman Patricia Wessels says police were called to a home in the Dutch port city early Monday morning and found Halman bleeding from a stab wound. The officers attempted unsuccessfully to resuscita...