11 Comments

lovely share Arjan

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Thank you David!

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Really enjoyed that retelling of the 2014 ice skating and watching the 1997 race. Amazing.

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Thank you Weston, it was such an excitement. Always is. The spectacle of the race, the country grinding to a halt, and the "look, it's our crown prince (now king) participating under a pseudonym!"

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We came very close to being cold enough in one of our two winters there and the excitement was everywhere. Talk about excitement, we also played Germany in the finals of the world cup that year, 1974. We had Johann Cruyff, Neeskins, Youngbloed against Beckenbauer-West Germany. Even though I was born in West Germany I cried when we lost. I played volleyball with a Dutch team, we were called DOS and I watched the game with them. Very painful.

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I love how you say 'we'. 14 years later, the Dutch had their revenge. With Gullit, Van Basten and Rijkaard we took the European Cup. Again in Germany.

I was lucky enough to witness (on live tv) two Elfstedentochten. A nation united.

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My Dad used to brag about how the Nederlands was the bravest nation in Europe. He was CIA and probably knew what he was talking about from the point of view of resistance etc.

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Oh, that is an interesting thought. It might be. I guess we're a small country consistently punching above our weight.

I'm afraid we lost some of that braveness now, though.

But when it comes to skating on natural ice, I'm sure we're still unbeatable :)

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There was a lot of talk in school about taking a school bus and manning a hot chocolate station. I signed up, as did the whole volleyball team but while it did get cold enough, it didn't stay cold for long enough, just a tease. We did go out and do some skating at the Binnenhof, around the edges.

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The Uncuts is a very good read, Arjan. Thank you for featuring it!

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Hey Paul, yes, it certainly is. And please also listen to Sunil's recordings. He has such a wonderful voice that fits so well with his poems.

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