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It seems that some people and media institutions still don't understand the Holland/Netherlands relationship. Technically Holland is a region within the Netherlands made up of the two provinces of Noord-Holland and Zuid-Holland. Saying Holland when you mean the Netherlands is like saying England when you mean Great Britain.

This is a distinction David Hasselhoff has not yet grasped when he appeared on Scottish television. Hasselhoff told GMTV presenter Jenni Falconer that he was "looking for a nice English girl". She told him she was Scottish and Hasselhoff replied: "Well, that's the same thing." How not to win a Scottish heart - call them English.

So it is with Netherlands still being referred to as Holland. I noticed that while reading about the Euro 2008 qualifying matches. UEFA, the governing body of the Euro 2008 competition have Netherlands officially listed as competing. Some English language news sources though have referred to the Netherlands team as Holland:

timesonline.co.uk (page not found)

news.bbc.co.uk

I would have thought that at least the British news sources would understand this distinction, as Great Britain or the U.K is never represented in football tournaments, but England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are. If Holland were playing (representing South and North Holland) then that would mean the other 10 provinces would be represented.

While looking for links for this article I have found that the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions (NBTC) do not help in allaying this confusion by lumping all of the Netherlands travel information into The Official Holland Site.

Further References:

Holland or the Netherlands?

Holland and the Netherlands

Netherlands Terminology

Labels: holland, netherlands

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Sexmuseum Amsterdam

Labels: amsterdam, museum, netherlands, sexmusuem

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The Berlin Hauptbahnhof (main train station) was opened on May 26, 2006. It is now Europe's largest and most modern crossing station. In fact it is so modern that if it wasn't for the trains you could think you were at an airport.

Labels: berlin, germany, train-station

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Apartment block mural, Oppelner Strasse - Berlin.

Labels: berlin, germany, mural, oppelner strasse

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The Palace Of The Republic was an abomination of a building that was built from 1973 to 1976 in the time of the GDR. The Palace had multiple functions, including the seat of the East German parliament, art galleries, restaurants and a bowling alley.

It was built on the site of the old Berliner Stadtschloss (Berlin City Palace), which was damaged in the war, then demolished by the GDR government.

The building is now being demolished and their are plans to rebuild the Berliner Stadtschoss on the location that it originally stood.

Labels: berlin, buildings, germany, urban-design

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The muched loved Ampelmännchen (little traffic light man) can be seen at traffic lights across Berlin. Originally from East Berlin, they were removed after reunification, but have since been brought back after protest of their removal.

Labels: ampelmann, berlin, germany, traffic-light

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There is very little left of the Berlin Wall. The despised wall was torn down so quickly that now only three sections remain in all.

A clever way has been devised to remember the wall without it impeding on local residents. A line of brick has been laid into the ground following the original path of the wall.

Labels: berlin, berlin wall, germany

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The Fernsehturm (Television Tower) was built in the 1960's in East berlin by the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) Government.

On sunny days a cross appears on the stainless steel sphere, which was dubbed the "Pope's Revenge". The Communist government removed and supressed religious structures, hence the name.



Further Reference:
tv-turm.de

Labels: berlin, germany

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Over 60 years later and you can still see some buildings scarred from the battle of Berlin. When the Soviet army entered the city in late April 1945, house-to-house and hand-to-hand combat was carried out amidst the already ruined city.

Labels: battle of berlin, berlin, germany

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Funky city urinal. The city pissoir, Berlin.

Labels: berlin, germany, public-toilet

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I'm not a Jesus man but really love the ceramic tiled religious art that adorn the churches and cathedrals in Andalucia.

Labels: andalucia, cathedral, church, church tiles, religious art, spain

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The Costa del Sol has been a favourite for British holiday makers and expats for decades. This is apparent in the amount of British pubs and fish and chip shops along the coast.

A recent report in The Independent highlights how important migration is to the Spanish economy: UK migrants fuelling Spanish boom

Labels: costa-del-sol, food, spain

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The Barbary Apes of Gibraltar look cute but if they want something they will have their way. If they see you have food in your bag it is not beyond them to jump up onto your bag and try and get it. I saw a woman have her purse "stolen" by a cheeky ape.

Labels: animals, barbary-ape, gibraltar, sign

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Labels: animals, barbary-ape, gibraltar

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Labels: gibraltar, number plate, spain

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Labels: coat-of-arms, gibraltar, spain

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Labels: granada, jesus, spain

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The cruise ship Costa Atlantica, docked at the port of Cadiz (the Cadiz Cathedral is in the background).



The Costa Atlantica has twelve passenger decks, each named after movies directed by the Italian director, Federico Fellini. The ship is registered in Genoa, Italy.

Labels: cadiz, cruise-ship, flag, spain

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Spain does not have a great amount hostels compared to the rest of Europe. The major touristic cities have hostel accommodation, but everywhere else budget accommodation can be found at pensions and hostals.

I like staying in pensions in Spain as you get to see the insides of the apartment buildings that they are in, and if you have been staying in hostels a private room is a welcome luxury. Most pensions can't be booked online though so you have to look around when you get into town.

I got to Cadiz early in the morning with the intention of staying at the only hostel in town, but I found that it had since closed down after my guide book was published. I walked around for about an hour until I found what must have been the last room available for the day at the Pension Inma in the Old Town of Cadiz.


View from my pension room. The top of the Cadiz Cathedral appearing above the narrow streets of Cadiz.

Labels: cadiz, cathedral, pension, spain

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Post box in Cadiz, Spain.

Labels: cadiz, post-box, spain

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One of the many things that makes train travel in Europe such a civilised and viable option is the train station cafeteria. Jerez de la Frontera, for example, isn't a primary rail station but its cafe is nice enough to not mind having to wait half an hour until your train arrives.

Labels: cafe, jerez-de-lafrontera, spain, train-station

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The premium ham in Spain is from pigs fed almost exclusively on acorns.

Labels: food, seville, sign, spain

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