That is an apt description for the Netherlands. With its seafaring tradition and Protestant background, it is no surprise to me that a modern Noah’s ark was built here.

A Dutch fellow has built a scale model of Noah’s ark, now on display in Schagen, the Netherlands, north of Amsterdam. It’s not a model you could put on your desk as a paperweight, either. With a length of 164 feet (50 meters), the Dutch ark is perhaps 40 percent of the size of the biblical ark. News reports called the Dutchman who built this ark a pious fellow. He may be that, but knowing the Dutch I don’t think he borrowed several hundred thousand euros to build the ark just to show it could be done. Instead, the ark houses a petting zoo for children and even a small restaurant. The enterprising owner plans to have his ark go on tour on the many canals in the Netherlands, so when it gets close to the German border I will be sure to visit it.