Welkom, Nederlanders! (Did I get that right?)
I often marvel at the geographic diversity of our customers. People find us from all over the world: the farthest reaches of Canada, the most remote islands in the South Pacific, several countries in Asia, many Aussie outposts, and from nearly every country in Europe.
But there seems to be something going on in the Netherlands.
Never is this more evident than on club shipping day, when we send out two truck loads of packages at once, and we collectively admire the impressive stack headed there.
I wonder: do these people know each other? Are they all from the same knitting group? Do they get together to admire the yarn they receive each month? Are they all friends of Marjan from Yarnissima, one of our favorite sock designers?
It can't possibly be true -- it's a bit like telling someone you're from Minnesota, and having them ask you if you know their uncle Bob Peterson. But I wonder it just the same.
Thus, I took it as a sign when this showed up in the Duluth harbor recently:
That's right, two Dutch ships (the twins on the left and right), here to load grain. And a large vessel from Canada, proceeding quickly to its destination. There's actually another ship behind the Canadian one, but I was unable to see where it was from. Probably Liberia.
See? Duluth is actually a very cosmopolitan city of the world. The Dutch visitors (obviously) confirm this fact.
I can tell you that that people often mistakenly refer to the Netherlands as Holland. Holland is a region of the Netherlands, not a country. My former high school students were under the constant mis-impression that Amsterdam is a country unto itself. "Amsterdam is a city," I would say through clenched jaw. "Much like Baltimore is a city." They would blink at me blankly.
I can also tell you that every interaction I've had with a Nederlander has been lovely -- they are gracious, friendly, and obviously have excellent taste in yarn.
Who's been to the Netherlands? Are you from the Netherlands? What interesting tidbits can you feed this geography-obsessed yarnista brain?