June 13, 2012
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(written on 20 February 2013)
The picture shows the flag of Amsterdam. A lot of people wonder what the three crosses in this old flag stand for. Some think it has something to do with the city's perceived liberal attitude towards sexuality, others will tell you that each cross refers to one of the 'plagues' that besieged Amsterdam in its long history (famine, fire and black death for example) but the real answer is that... there is no reason. This are just three St Andrew's crosses and that is the whole story. The picture was taken in front of The Grand Hotel on Oudezijds Voorburgwal, just the next canal from where I live.
The evening was spent watching football. Ehm... yeah... maybe I need to explain that one. The Netherlands were playing Germany in Euro 2012 tonight. Normally I couldn't give a rat's a** about football, and tonight didn't really change that opinion, but world cup and euro matches are sometimes exceptions to the rule. I will watch them if I have nothing much else to do (actually, going to the swimming pool when the Netherlands are playing an important game is awesome because you'll have the pool to yourself) and tonight... I did. Even more so, I watched the game on German TV. And I saw the Netherlands lose against Germany 1-2. And I wasn't sad about it in the slightest. The sooner the orange mania that grips the country at times like these is over, the better.
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