From Ice Skating Races to Overrated Stroopwafels: Daniëls International Testimonial

In today’s International Testimonial we are getting to know Daniël Jongsma, post doctoral researcher in Commercial Law from the Netherlands.

What is your favourite tradition from the Netherlands:

One tradition, which perhaps is not a tradition in the typical sense, nor one that occurs with any regularity, is the Elfstedentocht (the eleven cities tour). The Elfstedentocht is an ice-skating race of approximately 200 km, held on the lakes and waterways of Friesland, a province in the north of the country. I have warm memories of watching the race with my family the last time it was organised, in 1997. Unfortunately, it has not been cold enough since, and it seems increasingly unlikely it will be organised again in the near future. Yet every time when temperatures dip below zero, the country starts to wonder – probably against better judgement – whether this perhaps may be the year. It never is, of course, but the excitement seems to bring the country together.

What surprised you the most with Finland or Finnish people:

That studying here was free for everyone, regardless of nationality. It made universities (and university cities) very international. That is still the case, of course, yet I cannot help but feel that something was lost when Finland abandoned that policy.

Can you share your favourite recipe from the Netherlands:

The Netherlands, like Finland (no offence!), is not exactly known for its rich culinary tradition. Many of our staple dishes are, again like in Finland, built around the potato, a vegetable for which I do not have particularly warm feelings. Nevertheless, in the form of the French fry, it forms the basis of one of the greatest gastronomic innovations in recent Dutch cuisine: the frietje kapsalon (“barbershop fries”). An eclectic mix of fries and shawarma or döner meat, garlic and chilli sauce, and topped with melted cheese and a salad. A true modern classic!

If you had to give us one reason why to visit the Netherlands, what would it be:

I do not actually think the Netherlands makes for a particularly interesting tourist destination. I was unable to come up with a good answer, so I turned to Google for inspiration. The first suggestion it produced was the windmills at Kinderdijk: a rather dull collection of windmills next to a plain body of water. For me, that is decidedly not a reason to visit the Netherlands.
If you do visit, avoid Amsterdam and head instead to cities such as Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht, or perhaps even smaller places like Leiden, Delft, and Haarlem.
Finally, if you enjoy walking, I can highly recommend participating in the Nijmeegse Vierdaagse (the International Four Days Marches Nijmegen), an annual walking event in which 40,000 participants walk 30, 40, or 50 km per day for four consecutive days. During the week of the Vierdaagse, the city of Nijmegen itself turns into one large festival venue. Unfortunately, Nijmegen, close to the village where I grew up and where I went to university, was bombed by the Allies during the Second World War. Rebuilt after the war, although in a slightly less inspired way than Rotterdam, which was also bombed (in that case by the German Luftwaffe), it is not the prettiest of cities. During the Vierdaagse, however, it really lights up!

Tell us one artist from the Netherlands that we have to listen to:

I am not really a fan of one particular Dutch artist, but there are a few Dutch songs that always bring a smile to my face:
België (Het Goede Doel) – a song about moving away from the Netherlands to … Belgium?
15 Miljoen mensen (Fluitsma & Van Tijn) – a mid-1990s song that captures the essence of feeling Dutch in a very sentimental way.
Ode aan Dulcinea (Don Quichot and others) – a humorous love song about loving someone despite their perceived imperfections
Ik wil dansen (Froukje) – a song about wanting to go out dancing that became something of a lockdown anthem at the height of the pandemic