And the Dutch and British were allies against Germany in the two world wars.
Psychologically perhaps, but the Netherlands was neutral in WW1.
Quote:
Historically, they were both mainly Protestant countries, while about half of Germany was Catholic.
Although the offical image of the Netherlands always was Protestant, there has always been a large Catholic minority (today a majority in sheer numbers) in the Netherlands, primarily in the south.
Quote:
but southern Germany has more of a central European ambiance like Austria.
I find it strange when people always cite Austria as the prime example of a "Germanic, Catholic, central European culture". In reality, Austria is just a lot of Alpine valleys and one over-dimensioned metropolis capital. Austria often feels as much a satelite of Bavaria and Southern Germany in general as the other way around. In short, when the Austrians aren't Austrian-Hungarian, they're just Bavarian hillbillies.
Porthos:
Perhaps the Dutch share the closest cultural affinity with neither the English nor the Germans, but with the Belgians and the rest of the heirs of the Burgundian state? _________________ Wer fremde Sprachen nicht kennt, weiß nichts von seiner eigenen. = Those who don't know foreign languages, know nothing of their own. (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
I picked the English because my family probably came from somewhere in the UK a very very long time ago. My last name is Kemmeren which is pronounced the same as Cameron. Kemmeren is not the name of a town in the Netherlands, nor is it a name of an area/farmland.
In WWI the Dutch were closer to the Germans. The German emperor moved to the Netherlands after WWI for shelter.
Fredrik wrote:
Perhaps the Dutch share the closest cultural affinity with neither the English nor the Germans, but with the Belgians and the rest of the heirs of the Burgundian state?
Historically, they were both mainly Protestant countries, while about half of Germany was Catholic.
Although the offical image of the Netherlands always was Protestant, there has always been a large Catholic minority (today a majority in sheer numbers) in the Netherlands, primarily in the south.
Likewise, it is sometimes suggested that about 20% of people in England are at least notionally Roman Catholics. Most regular chuch-goers in England are Roman Catholics anyway.
Well I don't know about Germans, but if a certain blonde, blue eyed, Dutch beauty named Nienke is any accurate representation of Dutch girls in general, then I must say that I like the Dutch very much.
I don't want to generalise but I was disapointed by the Dutch girl's stereoptype of beautiful "model-style' blond-haired girl (also with Swedish). Most of them are blond/blue eyed but seem to have a quite masculine/unattractive attitude and are not as beautiful as the stereotype would make think. Of course that's just a personal opinion based on a superficial feeling during my recent trips there.... I might probably be partly wrong.
LOL, welcome to Scandinavia! _________________ Wer fremde Sprachen nicht kennt, weiß nichts von seiner eigenen. = Those who don't know foreign languages, know nothing of their own. (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
Lol — I've often had the impression that many French men often find that the behaviour of Northern European women is too 'masculine'. Like when this French footballer went to play for Manchester United or something, he wrote that he was shocked to find that the women there seemed to drink a lot of alcohol, and complained that English woman seemed to have the same attitude as the men towards sexual relationships.
In reality, Austria is just a lot of Alpine valleys and one over-dimensioned metropolis capital. Austria often feels as much a satelite of Bavaria and Southern Germany in general as the other way around. In short, when the Austrians aren't Austrian-Hungarian, they're just Bavarian hillbillies.
Autria is of course surely much less important than it was in the past, but the fact is that it is organised in a centralized state since much longer than Germany, and Austria was a very important power when Bavaria was not part of Germany, which did not exicsted, but tented more to evoluating in its orbit before being integrated in Germany.
Actually it is hard to say that Austria is just a lot of Alpine Valleys. Big parts of its populated territory is a plain, from Vienna to Salsbourg.
Well I don't know about Germans, but if a certain blonde, blue eyed, Dutch beauty named Nienke is any accurate representation of Dutch girls in general, then I must say that I like the Dutch very much.
I don't want to generalise but I was disapointed by the Dutch girl's stereoptype of beautiful "model-style' blond-haired girl (also with Swedish). Most of them are blond/blue eyed but seem to have a quite masculine/unattractive attitude and are not as beautiful as the stereotype would make think. Of course that's just a personal opinion based on a superficial feeling during my recent trips there.... I might probably be partly wrong.
Yes, of course northeastern Austria, the vale of the Danube, is rather flat, but isn't it more famous for being the ancestral home of Hitler's family than any outstanding culture. Who has heard much about Linz?
My point is that it surprises me when the present republic of Austria is treated as a significant quantity. Of course, during the Habsburg Empire "Austrian" denoted things of great importance (never mind that the Alpine regions we today think of as Austria was among the most unimportant and least developed parts of the Austrian empire), but since WW1 Rest-Österreich or Deutsch-Österreich as they initially called it, has been a very negligible quantity. But my view might be too German-coloured. In Germany Austria is seen as a charming, quaint little semi-foreign holiday paradise, probably similar to how Ireland is seen in the UK. _________________ Wer fremde Sprachen nicht kennt, weiß nichts von seiner eigenen. = Those who don't know foreign languages, know nothing of their own. (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)
Maybe, but Germany is a recent concept, things could also have been the inverse: in the case Germany didn't intergrated Bavaria, baden-Wurtemberg, but those regions would have integrated the Austro-hungarese empire instead (which was among the three European biggest powers only 100 years ago) - and the whole Europe would be different : we would have the biggest and more powerful country just at the core of it; a big central European, landlocked and catholic german-speaking nation: Austria. Instead of this German empire, coming from the Baltic area annexed some German-speaking region of central Europe, but failed to annexed Austria.
Lol — I've often had the impression that many French men often find that the behaviour of Northern European women is too 'masculine'. Like when this French footballer went to play for Manchester United or something, he wrote that he was shocked to find that the women there seemed to drink a lot of alcohol, and complained that English woman seemed to have the same attitude as the men towards sexual relationships.
Actually, I thought it was David Ginola who said that. By the way, he was never a Red Devil; he played for Spurs (or Tottenham Hotspurs to the uninitiated).
But I could be wrong and maybe it was Eric Cantona who said that. _________________ Hillary Clinton is an acquired taste which I have clearly yet to acquire.
Just want to add my penny's worth of Scandivanian girls. My school has an exchange programme with Jonkoping University in Sweden and every semester, a relatively large cohort comes over for a stint.
When I was at the library today, I happened to be in the vicinity of a group of the Swedish exchange students. All of them were reasonably attractive creatures, but I'd like to add that almost all of them would be considered fat by our standards. Since they were wearing tank-tops, I do not need to be an observant pervert to notice that none of them have flat stomachs.
Based on this admittedly small and potentially highly biased sample, I'd like to infer that Swedish girls of university-going age are rather pretty and meaty.
Of course, fat is subjective.
_________________ Hillary Clinton is an acquired taste which I have clearly yet to acquire.
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Join! (free) 
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
