| The typical windmills in Amsterdam are not a Dutch invention, but rather a Spanish one. In the 19th century, the government applied a tax to owners of windmills in Holland for the wind they used. Many Dutch sayings describe madness and absurdity using windmills or children’s windmills as an example. A windmill goes round and round without stopping, like the heads of mad people or drunks.
The yellow wheel cheese Gouda and the red Edam ball were already export products well consolidated in the 17th century. Cheese production in the area dates back to the 2nd century bc. and the Dutch language has been enriched with metaphors related to cheese: “He hasn’t eaten cheese from here” (he doesn’t know anything about it); “He won’t let them take the cheese off his bread” (he will make sure he gets what is his) or “He is selling cheese” (he could be lying).
Tulips are another symbol of Amsterdam, a plant originally from Turkey, and the word “tulip” is believed to derive from “turban”. The 6 petals, 6 stamens and 6 ovaries of a tulip for the number 666, or Belbecí. The devilish influence of the tulip inspired “tulipmania” in the country in 1636 and 1637, when bulbs were exchanged for lands, money or thousands of kilos of cheese, and the mania reached its peak with a spiral of bankruptcies and suicides. |
