If you're not very good at learning other languages, take a trip to Harwich and over to the Netherlands. You'll break your foreign riding cherry, but with no language problems. It is a gentle introduction, but just foreign enough that you know you've left the UK; they have a lot of interesting history; their art (especially the "golden age") is the best Europe has produced, in my wholly biased opinion; as an outward looking, trading nation, they have been influenced by the whole world, which is just as well as their domestic cuisine is not exciting; the people are generally great although they have their share of AHs; they are near enough to Belgium for reliable supplies of the best chocolate and anywhere; the stag and hen parties have now moved on to Eastern Europe so you won't be embarrassed by so many drunken Brits; when you go further afield I guarantee you will find a Dutchman there. As you get further east you will get to more interesting roads and even find some of what the Dutch think of as "hills", and you can easily slip ove rthe border into Germany. Hell, I'm almost talking myself into a long weekend away now, but I have to finish this job first.

I consider myself good at picking up languages, but when I worked there for a year I learned only six things: Hello/goodbye; please/thank you; yes/no. This wasn't because the Dutch were rude, far from it, they were so polite that as soon as they heard my English accent they switched to English. I'm still embarassed that I learned so little when I should have done more. I promise to do better when I move there permenantly.