a dutch city that still likes to speak dutch

Alkmaar, gezien door de ogen van de New York Times:

In the sandy, marshy lowlands of the North Holland peninsula, a half hour by train north of Amsterdam, lies Alkmaar, a municipality with just under 100,000 inhabitants that last year celebrated its 750th anniversary. In 1573, it was the first Dutch city liberated from the Spanish, an event that set the Netherlands on the road to the golden age of the Dutch Republic. Today, this old trading center is known primarily for its soccer team, AZ, and its weekly cheese market (actually an elaborate simulation served up for tourists); for me, however, it's a place that can balance out some of the misleading notions about the Netherlands that Amsterdam can, alas, nurture.

Verder lezen: hier.
Binnenkomen via bugmenot.