Dutch walk 1 (#1): Emmeloord to Urk (Flevoland)

Unsurprising fact: there's more to the Netherlands than clogs and windmills. But beyond these simplistic cliches the Netherlands does have a robust international image, based on a combination of its liberalism and its unique physical landscapes (think Amsterdam and those windmills). Maybe that hyper-liberalism explains why so many were blind-sided by the recent success of nativist populist politicians, notably Geert Wilders. But there is of course more to the Dutch than how it's viewed from outside, and the best way to get your head around that is to go for a nice walk somewhere very far away from Amsterdam - how about doing it in Flevoland?

This is the first video of four that I've made about the first of ten walks that I did across this remarkable country for my book, 'Orange Sky, Rising Water'. It takes in one of the lesser known corners of the Netherlands, across the (largely) reclaimed province of Flevoland from modern Emmeloord to the former island of Urk. This walk is all about the 'other' side of the Netherlands, and why the world has such a robust image of the Dutch as hyper-liberal and tolerant (I date it back to the advent of the Ajax/Dutch national team of the early 1970s playing what became known as 'total football', exemplified by the iconic and utterly cool Johan Cruyff).

If you like the video, subscribe (!), buy 'Orange Sky, Rising Water', subscribe to my Substack https://nicholaswalton.substack.com/, or simply go for that walk between Emmeloord and Urk. The map is on my website www.tenwalksexplain.com. Thanks for watching.

I'm Nicholas Walton, I'm a journalist and author, and this channel is for everybody who likes going for a walk and seeing what it tells you about life, the universe and everything.

Website: www.tenwalksexplain.com

Maps are from the excellent https://www.milesmap.co.uk/

Music credit: https://freesound.org/people/cheesepu... (Piano Remix.mp3 by cheesepuff -- https://freesound.org/s/112071/ -- License: Creative Commons 0)