On speaking Dutch

The Dutch, or Nederlander, do difficult things with the letter 'G'. I can't really explain, as I don't understand, but it is something like saying a hard 'G' and a 'K' simultaneously. The Dutch do it quite well. I don't.

Take, for example, a conversation I had this morning while validating our Eurail Pass. The nice woman who was assisting me asked where we were going.

"Den Haag," I responded.

The kind woman reached down for her handkerchief, wiped her face and replied, "How nice. The Hague, and please refer to it as The Hague for the balance of this conversation, is quite beautiful. What do you plan to do while you're there?"

"Well, of course, we want to explore the old part of town. You know, het Binnenhof, the Peace Palace: those kinds of places. Then we're going to Madurodam and on to Scheveningen."

At approximately the 'V' in 'Scheveningen', she dropped down behind the counter.

She slowly came back up to her chair and said, "That should be fun. The Hague is quite historic, Madurodam is a great place to take the children and it is forecast to be a beautiful day at the beach, and please refer to it as 'the beach' for the balance of this conversation."

I didn't have the heart to tell her that our second choice for today's destination was Groningen.

Den Haag (I can type it without spitting) was beautiful, Madurodam was a great place for a big child (Richard has mixed reviews) and the beach was great. I love the Netherlands!!!