i am considering traveling to watch one of the two big events next year, either the Sudirman Cup in Eindhoven, Netherlands or the World Champs in Birmingham, UK. but not both...

given that i have never been to either cities, but i have been to various places in UK before, which one would you recommend? it will likely be a one week trip including sightseeing.

I would say Eindhoven coz I've always wanted to visit Holland. IMHO and with no offense to any of our Dutch friends here, it is one of the European countries that tends to be overshadowed by its neighbors and I like to be different. Hah. If I had an opportunity, I would definitely take a trip there sometime next year - maybe during my spring break? Unfortunately that's not going to coincide with the Sudirman Cup. On the other hand, my friend who went to Birmingham for last year's All-England says it's a really beautiful place.

i would go to holland, i've been there, but i'd still go.
unless you are filthy rich, you'd think about the lodgings and currency conversion.
UK has quite a strong currency, and the conversion will be a bloody mess.
living over in Holland, no offense, would be cheaper than UK plus Holland is really nice.. UK is nice too lol.. trying to please everyone

but there is the lanuage....
chances are in UK they'll understand you, but you may not understand them
but in Holland, they won't understand you, and you won't understand them :P

well, the semi/final is on the 22nd/23rd of March, you can probably catch those even if you have exams on the very last day...

HELL! MY winter exams end on the 21st. Let's see... if I can come up with a superb excuse like having sth urgent and impt to attend to in Netherlands and forward my exams to reading week... I may actually be able to make it after all. Sounds like a good entry for the badminton fanatic column eh? :D

Hi Kwun,

I am from holland, and you should definitely visit holland if you have never been there. The Sight-Seeing in Eindhoven is not very interesting, therefore you should go to Amsterdam. The distance between Amsterdam and Eindhoven is 120 km.
If you need any info about Holland, trains, visits, etc. please let me know.

I live not far from Birmingham (about 18 miles) and I went to the University of Birmingham in my youth. I've been to Amsterdam and Rotterdam but never Eindhoven. Holland is nice.

Badminton aside, I think it might depend on what sort of sight-seeing you want to do. check out www.birmingham.org.uk to see what's available.
London is between 1.5 and 2 hours away by train.

The road network around Birmingham is very congested. I think that would be the only negative I would give for Birmingham.

Neil

Kwun,

Go to the quater finals of the world champs, i'll be there!! :) Not playing, of course :)

Matt

i am leaning towards Holland too. i have lived in the UK for a few years and it won't be too new an experience for me. yeah, Matt will there, but it is not like Matt will be handing me a whole bag of Ashaway rackets for free, are you, Matt? :)

yeah, there is the language problem. but what the heck, i managed to survive 3 weeks of Japan without knowing a word. i think i will be ok in Holland. worse come the worse, i will knock on NL-player's door and beg for food. thanks for the tips NL-player. i wll definitely make my way to Amsterdam.

Kwun,

lol, i wish i had loadz to give away! Ahhhh c'mon, come to lovely sunny (?!?!) england! Me and a few friends of mine are going to the world champ quaters, then on to the pub after, i'm sure you can have a few drinks with us, it would be nice to see ya and talk badders for a WHOLE day. Come to england, and there is no language barrier ;)

Matt :)

Dutch people know english quite well....but never say anything in german unless you state your american origin.....

I would love to be there( and in england too, ) and my trip is considerably shorter than yours since i am from denmark.... but i might choose a 3 month asia trip instead; playing badminton and visiting companies. Such a trip would surely include china and m'sia......
If you come to the netherlands don't hesitate to call me, i might give you quite a good run for your money..... THE EUROPEAN BC-CHALLENGE!

SIGN UP!

Fourcas, thanks for the invitation! i will love to play some badminton while i am there. in fact, i think from now on, wherever i go, i will make sure i bring my rackets! :)

it wouldn't be a problem to borrow one! But hey, let's arrange s'thing, maybe others would join in! (HINT! looking for dutch person to arrange court reservations!) Anyway, denmark is only 300 km away, and i live close to the german border in a city with plenty of courts(well, taking the size, 7000, and the # of courts= 15, into consideration.) I could host quite many, say 20.... well, better stop dreaming. Holland could be just as fine!

Kwun,

What about moi?

Originally posted by Matt Ross
Kwun,

What about moi?

well, Essex isn't too far from Holland either, just swim across the channel with your Ashaway rackets strapped to you back. ;)

Originally posted by Fourcas
it wouldn't be a problem to borrow one! But hey, let's arrange s'thing, maybe others would join in! (HINT! looking for dutch person to arrange court reservations!) Anyway, denmark is only 300 km away, and i live close to the german border in a city with plenty of courts(well, taking the size, 7000, and the # of courts= 15, into consideration.) I could host quite many, say 20.... well, better stop dreaming. Holland could be just as fine!

Fourcas,

if there is badminton, i will be there. it is as simple as that! i think on Sudirman Cup week, there will be a lot of Danes willing to tread across the border to Holland. may be even some in this forum. heck, may be we can drag Jonas over and play some games with us, he will be damn bored though. :)

Kwun,

:( It's ok, i can handle rejection. Well, i'm off to watch the world champs, and then to the pub after. If you came i could always treat ya to a pint, but seeing as your not, no problem :(

Matt

Heck I missed this thread today!

Kwun, great idea to visit Holland ! like Fourcas said, there is no language problem cause it will be harder to meet people in Holland who can't communicate in English than people who can.

Of course you are welcome to knock on my door as well for nice foods and chats :cool:
Would be fun to meet and play some games too !!
Then you can finally show me how to do the pinky-finger technique ! :D

BTW, I live near Rotterdam and The Hague, both cities very much worth visiting.

Originally posted by Matt Ross
Kwun,

:( It's ok, i can handle rejection.

Another reason is Eva's in Holland and so, who would you pick to visit?;)

Originally posted by Cheung
Another reason is Eva's in Holland and so, who would you pick to visit?;)

Isn't Janet tagging along? :D :D

HI Kwun,

I actually live in Birmingham. It's a great place and is relatively peaceful for a city and the NIA (national indoor arena) where the All england and World Championchips are to be held is really magnificent . Tho the organisation is still quite old fashioned...slow updates of results etc etc. But I can garuntee that you will have a seat :D In the last 3 years that I have attended, it has never been full house!

I could show you around the city and book every sports hall ;) but I guess you already know your way around here. So the point is, if I were you then I would go to Eindhoven.

Not that you are unwelcome of course. We do look forward to meeting and playing you (shall we raise the stakes and bet on rackets? namely Cab20..!). Anyway there are no cabs on general sale in the UK.

I hope the organisers will darken the spectator area when they

record the centre court for TV in Holland and Birmingham.

I always think picture is clearer on TV when viewed against a dark background

eg as in Seville 2001 or 1999 Denmark.

The blue backgroung in Eindhoven in Dutch Open is always a bit distracting for TV

audiences.

Originally posted by Bbn
I hope the organisers will darken the spectator area when they

record the centre court for TV in Holland and Birmingham.

I always think picture is clearer on TV when viewed against a dark background

eg as in Seville 2001 or 1999 Denmark.

The blue backgroung in Eindhoven in Dutch Open is always a bit distracting for TV

audiences.

Yes, i know one of the officials, and he sais the plan is indeed to darken the spectator area, like during the Thomas/Uber cup first stage, also held in Eindhoven.
Another difference with Dutch Open (during Dutch open the accomodation had to be shared with Table Tennis Dutch open) is that the position of the courts will be 90 degrees turned, also like the Thomas/Uber cup first stage.
I visited the Thomas Uber first stage and i must say that i was impressed about the light and whole ambiance of the accomodation. The lights will be specially installed for te tournament.

Thanks fr replying Yong.

I'll probably draw some flak but I am one of those purists

who like to watch Badminton in a sombre atmosphere, enjoying and

taking in skills displayed instead of watching people howling at some slugfest

in a typical Thomas Cup match, i save that for a boxing or wrestling match.

I hope Kwun doesn't travel to Holland to see his favourite team thrashed.

Last 2001 Semi was a cliff-hanger, but I remember more 1999 where Sun Jun

played Gade and Dai Yun played her guts out against Camulla.

Hi everybody, I will be probably as well at the Eindhoven Sudirman Cup. (would be good if I could play!) May be Kwun if you are there you should bring a banner with BC.com so we can find out who/where you are.

Manuel

Originally posted by Bbn


I hope Kwun doesn't travel to Holland to see his favourite team thrashed.

Last 2001 Semi was a cliff-hanger, but I remember more 1999 where Sun Jun

played Gade and Dai Yun played her guts out against Camulla.

Bbn,

a re-enact of the 1999 Sudirman Cup will be absolutely the most awesome experience for any badminton fanatic. i still remember in 1999 i was sitting at a computer cluster at school and watching only web score updates and i was already drooling all over the keyboard. if i were there live, i doubt my heart can take the beating.

however, if i do get to Eindhoven, i will be happy just to see an even draw and 4 good teams getting into the semis. as for who wins, i am not putting any high hopes on any teams, i am sure you have catch that from the analysis i did! deep down in my heart, i do have my fav team. however, i do try to keep an open mind. :)

Originally posted by Winex West Can

Another reason is Eva's in Holland and so, who would you pick to visit?

Isn't Janet tagging along? :D :D

yes she is. so don't get me into trouble guys... ;)

Wow, it all sounds so interesting! I'm very tempted to join you folks at Eindhoven in March. Have never visited Holland. It will be great if we can ascertain how many of BF members can make it so that we can meet together and have some fun. Of course, playing badminton together will be the main course. It will be nice if we have BF members from Holland to help organize some of the things for us, like tickets, courts for us to play badminton, lodging, sightseeing, good and cheap eating places, etc. Maybe this is too much to hope for. But you'll never know, the love for badminton can bring us together!

I do not know the Eindhoven direct surroundings very well, as i live 130 km away from that city. But hey, it will be nice to meet with BF members and play some baddy and have fun. When we know the group of BF members who want to join, we can work things out, where i sure want to help organize.

Thank you Yong for being such a good sport. Hope something can be worked out and let's have some fun!

we have decided to go to Eindhoven. the planning stage has begun. i hope it works out. anybody has suggestions on where to visit in the surrounding area? Belgium? Luxembourg? Germany? France?

Hi Kwun,

Let me know if I can do something for you (traininfo, hotelinfo etc...)! I live near Schiphol, the place where your plane will land and I have some family in Eindhoven, so I know the area a. What would you like to do/visit in the surroundings area?

Do you take your racket with you?

Nice choice Kwun

How long will you stay ? Doing a suggestion is difficult, as it strongly depends on taste. Personally i like France for culture, food and ambience, but there are enough people who disagree with me.

Kwun, when you're so close (5 hour drive/bus ride) you really should take the opportunity to come visit our little Grand Duchy. The original settlement dates from Roman times and the country prides itself with having the most medieval castle per sq. km. The capital, also called Luxembourg, was built on the edge of a cliff and most of the defence systems of the Napoleon era are still in place. As well as being a historical site Luxembourg is an important financial centre and houses the European Parliament, Court and parts of the Commission. If the country has lots of castles and fortresses it certainly has even more banks...
More than half of the population are foreigners which makes for a very multicultural society. Wedged in between France, Germany and Belgium, most people speak at least three languages fluently, though usually not English, so some knowledge of French or German is useful, but not essential.
All in all, it's a great little place with good food and wine and plenty of tourist attractions.
Do make sure to bring an umbrella or two, because (and this is my personal assessment) the government signed a pact with the devil: Luxembourg gets to be one of the richest countries in the world, but must suffer the combined lousy weather of the continent. :rolleyes:

Hope I haven't put you off :D

As for badminton, there is a community with around 1000 players (not too bad for such a small country) and there are plenty of tournaments. This weekend there will be a one-star event with some fairly highly ranked players from around the world participating.

For more info check out www.luxembourg.lu and www.feluba.lu

Happy new year everyone!

Originally posted by NL-player
Hi Kwun,

Let me know if I can do something for you (traininfo, hotelinfo etc...)! I live near Schiphol, the place where your plane will land and I have some family in Eindhoven, so I know the area a. What would you like to do/visit in the surroundings area?

Do you take your racket with you?

cool. we are still digging through travel guides and looking at euro-rail sites, etc. the euro-rail looks really complicated. we are planning to do sightseeing plus the SC at the end of the trip. that will be a great way to end the trip!

i hope to bring rackets and shoes but not 100% sure if we will have much time in between sightseeing.. we need to figure out a way to stuff them into the backpack. :)

Originally posted by Yong
Nice choice Kwun

How long will you stay ? Doing a suggestion is difficult, as it strongly depends on taste. Personally i like France for culture, food and ambience, but there are enough people who disagree with me.

we have been to France. so we are planning to visit some new countries....

we only have one week. unfortunately. we need to juggle between spending more time in fewer places vs. spending less time on more countries.. main purpose is to sightsee and touristy stuff... :)

Seb,

thanks for the intro! yes. Luxembourg is one of the countries that we want to visit. and your intro makes it even more interesting. it being very close to the Netherlands is also a big plus!

i will remember to bring rain gear. is the rainy weather typically in that time of the year? does that also applies to neighboring regions?

Seb, what is the population of the country?

Cool... I'll probably be in Europe around that time too... actually one week later (although I do hope my schedule will allow me to catch the S-cup semis and finals). My friend and I are deciding bwt Italy and Holland. Personally I prefer Holland but my friend wants Italy so...

Anyway, hope (in advance) that all of you have a good time.

Figures for 2001 were 441 300

Kwun,

rain is typical in Luxembourg in all seasons, really. I think it's the Ardennes that produce lots of relief precipitation so I guess the "bad weather zone" extends into southern Belgium and France as well. But don't worry too much, if you're only here a day or two you've got a fair chance of escaping the torrents ;) .

Kwun,

So u decided then, not to come to Birmingham? Thats fine, not a problem, i'm not upset at the fact you dont want to see me :(

Matt

Hi Kwun,

Good choice. About the rain in Holland, it is there always...
You should also spend some time in Amsterdam, if you have never been there before. Eindhoven, Amsterdam and Schiphol have big trainstations, so trainconnections plenty. Schiphol-Amsterdam will take 15/20 minutes and Schiphol-Eindhoven will take about 90 minutes. You can also do a car-rental, we have good roads to the directions.
Any suggestions for sight-seeing in Holland:

- Visit to Volendam (fishers village, little harbour)
- Some nice musea (if you like there is the *** museum in Amsterdam, near the trainstation)
- Some nice parcs (Efteling, Artis(zoo), Six Flags, Keukenhof)

I can be more specific if you tell me your interests!!

Check also http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/europe/netherlands/

Good luck, if you have any questions, let me know...

Have you seen my website, where you can find dutch translations now??

If you want to you can write something in dutch for my site??

It must be something that is interesting for all badmintonfans like Sudirman Cup!!

How about a presentation of the dutch national players??

Kind Regards

Jonas

Italy would be a good choice. Rome is fascinating.

Hi JR,

I have seen your website, looks really nice to me...
No problem to write you some dutch text, but I think descriptions about dutch players are already available. I will take a look for you and mail you if found some interesting (dutch) pages.

Maybe it is also a good idea for you to do your Sudirman Cup cooling down as a demo in our sports hall?!? Would be a great learning experience for us :-)