more water...

(and more beautiful weather... )




Over 40% of the Netherlands is below sea level, much of its land stolen from marshes, rivers and the ocean. The Dutch live with a constant sense of guilt about this. On one hand the situation is good for the calvinistic psyche: the Dutch are chosen people diligently battling against the tide, locked into a never ending and morally uplifting struggle merely to keep their heads above water. on the other hand, they live in fear of divine retribution for their cheek. The Almightly might threaten the nations with plagues and earthquakes but he threatens the Dutch with inundation.

Xenophobe's guide to the DUTCH