The official smell of Amsterdam

When I first arrived in NL and my husband and I would visit Amsterdam he'd ask me "Do you recognize that smell?"

Now, I led a pretty sheltered adolescence. I didn't party, I didn't do drugs. To this day I have not tried any drugs that either weren't available OTC or did not come with a doctor's prescription. (For those that can be pedantic, I'm not including alcohol). So, whenever my husband would ask me that question I wouldn't even know to which smell he was referring.

I guess I've made enough visits to Amsterdam because marijuana is now the ONLY thing I smell when I'm visiting. It doesn't even have to happen when we walk in front of a pot shop. A group of people can pass us on the sidewalk and there is the unmistakable smell of pot. It's a wonder I don't get a contact high when I'm there.

I guess I shouldn't complain too much. It definitely beats the smell of old dog poop on the bottom of my shoe. 😉

You are NOT welcome to sit here

A very common sight on the trams, buses and trains here in NL is of someone sitting by the window and all their crap piled on the seat beside them. A not-so-subtle indication that you are NOT welcome to sit in the seat beside them. Most of the time if a new passenger gives a mild indication that they want to sit the existing passenger will gather up their belongings and free up the seat.

This minor courtesy DID NOT happen to me on our trip to Maastricht this past weekend. To get to Maastricht from Den Haag you must change trains in Utrecht. Since Den Haag is the start of the line and since it was relatively early on a Saturday, my husband and I had no problem getting seats beside each other on that leg of the trip. When we transferred in Utrecht, however, the train was already at least 1/2 full and many more people were boarding with few getting off. Seats beside each other were not available so we opted for seats on either side of the aisle from each other (the trains have 4 seats across, 2 seats on either side of a center aisle). A woman had all her crap piled up on a seat that was across from another set of seats where the aisle seat was unoccpuied. I indicated that I wanted to sit in the seat beside her and she started to give me reasons for why I didn't want to sit there. I said I wanted to sit beside my husband (in English) and she was able to respond in English. I was having a little trouble understanding her, but I'm pretty sure 1 of her reasons for me not sitting there was that the train would be going in the opposite direction of how I would be facing and I'd be more comfortable elsewhere. She had other excuses that I couldn't quite catch, but the overall mood was "Go find another place to sit".

I didn't budge and she finally caved and moved her stuff.

As soon as the spot beside my husband cleared I moved to sit beside him. The woman promptly put all her crap back on the empty seat, but it didn't stay that way for too long. After a couple more stops I noticed she had another companion and my husband and I laughed the rest of the way to Maastricht

My bags need a seat of their own. You are NOT welcome to sit here,

.

My national healthcare is worse than YOUR national healthcare

(If you have not done so, please read my Dutch healthcare overview post first)

In many regards the member nations of the EU act like states in the USA. One of those ways is that each has its own national healthcare plan. And a favorite topic among expats is to discuss the flaws in these systems.

I can't remember which country the woman was talking about (Hungary maybe?) but NOTHING is covered for one's eyes unless their prescription is -6 or higher. That's a pretty bad prescription, I oughta know cuz I'm close to that if not past it. And when I say NOTHING is covered I mean NOTHING. Not the eye exam, not the glasses, NADA.

Another person was complaining about Ireland's healthcare. At the time they were talking to me there was a 500 bed wait list in the hospitals there.

There was a story on the BBC about how women weren't getting their mammogram notifications in the mail and it seems some women died because of it. I didn't understand this story until I got a notification in our mail here in NL for me to get a Pap screen. Also, another American was talking about wanting to get her mammogram here in NL because she's had 2 relatives die from breast cancer. These things are not permitted unless the healthcare system sends you a letter stating you can go get it. I understand that in the US one's insurance may not cover the expense, and it might be possible to have the procedure done here in NL if one is willing to pay out-of-pocket, but it just seems off that the government gives you permission to have these things done. What's even more interesting is that for the Pap screen the letter stated that if it was getting difficult to make an appointment to have the procedure done I could get a do-it-yourself kit. Think about that for a minute... the national healthcare system recognizes that it can be too difficult to make an appointment with one's GP (i.e. there are no appointment slots available) and their solution is not to have more doctors but to have a do-it-yourself kit. Interesting.

The restaurants are coming! The restaurants are coming!

Back in October all the restaurants that were at the beach on the sand were placed in shipping containers and sent somewhere to be stored for the winter.

Well.. THEY'RE COMING BACK!!! I have gotten used to seeing the beach devoid of anything. It will be weird to see if filled again with restaurant after restaurant. I mean that literally. The restaurants are placed immediately beside each other.

Don't look in my window, but look in my window!

It seems to be going away, but the Dutch custom is that people didn't put curtains up in their living room windows. And since the sidewalks are right beside the residences, it's quite easy to look into people's homes. But one is not supposed to look into the windows. That is rude!!

However, people put these things in their windows to be looked at: little figurines, photos, plants, etc. What is the point of putting the items in the window, facing the street, if not to be looked at?

It's almost like a woman wearing a deep cut shirt and complaining that her breasts are being looked at.

Dutchify your bike

When I moved to NL I shipped my bike here. I liked my bike, and my husband's employer was going to reimburse our shipping costs (but they weren't going to pay for a bike).

My bike was primarily a leisure vehicle in the states. I did use it at times to commute to work, but that was rare. Here my bike is a source of transportation (when I actually use it, that is). And as such, it had to be modified for those purposes.

Fortunately, as discussed here pretty much every store in NL sells bike paraphernalia which makes some of the additions quite easy to acquire.

1) A bell. I already had one from the States so I simply had to put it on the handlebar

2) A bike seat cover. This comes in handy for those rare (snark) occasions it rains in NL and you want to keep your seat dry while your bike is sitting outside and you're in a store

3) Headlight and taillights. I've read tweets about the police actually giving tickets to fietsers for not having a headlight on while biking at night!

4) Lock(s). Here again, I already had a lock from back in the US. So far it seems to have prevented my bike from being stolen (knock on wood). There seem to be 2 primary types of bicycle locks here in NL (or at least our part of NL). 1 is a MASSIVE chain with a keyed lock. This is often used on mopeds. The other is a clamp that grabs the rear wheel (pictured below). This one holds the key in the lock while the bicycle is unlocked. Convenient way to not lose your key while the bike is in use. This one, however, doesn't prevent someone from simply taking your bike with them. It only stops others from riding your bike away. Most of the time I've seen this lock paired with a chain.

                    

 



5) Some form of storage. This is usually either a basket atop the front tire or saddlebags over the rear tire. These come in handy when carrying purchases or large/heavy items from place to place. Baskets seems to be either wicker or plastic. The plastic ones seem to be either milk crates or a shopping basket and may or may not have a store's logo on it. Both of these require #6

6) Storage frame. I found this one out when I first purchased my saddlebags. The gentleman in the store was very helpful and assisted in putting the saddlebags on my bike. I already had a plank like thing attached to the seat stem which hung out over the rear tire, but alas, this was not sufficient. There needs to be a frame on the rear tire to prevent the saddlebags from interfering with the gears. Likewise, for the basket there is a frame that attaches to the front stem which allows the basket to be seated there. The bike shown below has a frame over the rear tire and in front of the handlebars.

I really lucked out on having the rear frame added to my bike. There is a little shop very close to our apartment and the guy had (or found) a rear frame that fit my bike frame. The frame with installation only cost me €15!! (I keep meaning to go back to him and ask if I can pay him to teach me how to work on my bike. I sure don't want to get stuck somewhere with a flat!!)

7) If you have children you can opt to add a seat on the handle bars and/or on the back tire. I've also seen a windscreen on bikes that have a front child seat. And it seems if you have a child seat anywhere on your bike then you get a kickstand that will hold up the bike completely vertical by itself. You don't want the bike falling over with little Anki on it while you try to get on the seat.

How to Dutch like a pro -- lesson 1

If you're going to be spending any substantial amount of time in The Netherlands, make sure you keep a 50 cent piece and a €1 coin on you at all times.

When stores provide shopping carts there is a slot for a 50 cent piece to release the cart for use in the store which you will get back when you return the cart. This probably isn't such a foreign concept to many American as Aldi and Lidl are spreading throughout the States and practice this custom there.

Another reason for keeping these coins is for the lockers at the museums. Most museums do not allow visitors to carry their backpacks around so they provide lockers to hold your items while visiting. Although all the lockers I've used are free, most require a deposit of either €0.50 or €1 which is returned when the locker is unlocked. ***

Lastly... public toilets. If you're out and about and can't hold it until you get to a café then you will need money to use a public toilet. They are generally €1 but I have seen some that are 50 cents. Either way, they're not free and they won't break a €20.

*** The Maritime Museum in Amsterdam had the most unique approach to the locker situation. Your ticket is a wristband which has a bar code on it. In the locker room there is a scanner which reads the bar code and releases a locker for use (you can choose whether you want a large or small locker).  The reader allows you to either open the locker but not release it if you just want to get something out, or you can release the locker when you're done visiting the museum. I thought this was the most interesting and innovative approach to the locker situation.

What's with the beef?

I had eaten beef a few times last year and found the flavor off. For my husband's anniversary we went to a steak restaurant in the city center that was supposed to be good. It even had an American-ish name... "Soho". I found the steak bland to say the least. Definitely not on par with the upper end steak restaurants back in the US. I also found the ground beef (gehakt) I had been purchasing at the local grocery store didn't taste quite right.

Well, from what I've recently been told, this is because the beef in NL (Europe in general?) is grass fed and not corn fed. It's possible that the flavor is just different, but for me, for right now, the flavor is just not there 😞

Irony... or The Laws Apply to Everyone Else, but not Me!

The sign says it's forbidden to place bicycles there

Don't be a squirrel!

It appears that walking in front of bicycles or cars here in Den Haag is perfectly acceptable. With 1 caveat... don't be a squirrel!

By that I mean, if you're going to step out in front of a car or cyclist*** you have to commit to completing the crossing. Don't take a step or 2 into the street and then decide you're going to go back to where you started.

I didn't understand the outrage about this until I was biking one day and a pedestrian did that to me. I had paced myself to get through the crosswalk AFTER the person had completed their crossing. Having them unable to figure out if they wanted to commit or not just completely threw off my timing.

*** Be sure you're doing this in a crosswalk, and be sure there is enough time for you to get at least 1/2 way through the crosswalk before the car, or cyclist, reaches you. They do still need enough time to slow down and can't do that if you literally step right in front of them.

Alles is gezellig (Everything is cozy)

Let's face it, NL is a small country. It's total population is only about twice that of the five boroughs of NYC. Not a very big country. Granted, bigger than The Vatican, Luxembourg, Lichtenstein and Monaco 😉

I think it's because of this the Dutch *LOVE* to make everything "cozy". To do this, simply add "je" to the end of a word. For example, the Dutch word for cat is "kat". Make it "katje" and you have a kitten. The Dutch word for letter is "brief".  Make it "briefje" and you have a note. "Bier" is the Dutch word for beer and "bierje" is a little beer.

Although it seems that some of these have just become the way the Dutch say it. "Kop" is the Dutch word for "cup", but everyone asks for a "kopje koffie" regardless of the size.

I hope you enjoyed this "blogje"

The Americanization of The Netherlands is BAD. Except...

This post is loosely tied to my The Hypocrisy of Expats post

I was chatting with another expat once about how American holidays are being celebrated more and more in NL. Namely Halloween and Christmas. (From what I've read, Easter is not TOO different in NL than US, but it's a 2-day affair as Easter Monday is a holiday)

Halloween is definitely not a Dutch thing but with so many American expats wanting their children to not miss out on free candy on October 31 it has become more prevalent in NL. And since they're giving their children candy the Dutch children can't be excluded, right?

Christmas is celebrated in NL, but not like in the US. Their big day is Sinterklaas which is Dec. 6. Dec. 25 is more religious and more like our Thanksgiving... family getting together to eat. More and more Christmas is being celebrated like in the US.

When I made the comment to my expat friend that NL was becoming "Americanized" their response was "that's sad". And, in general, I would agree. But it doesn't seem to end there. For there seem to be many things that people want to "Americanize" about NL, for NL's own good, of course.

                                       

1) Smoking. It's not uncommon to find people smoking here in NL. Many restaurants allow smoking in their outdoor seating areas. It's even allowed in open air markets. And I haven't seen a sign at any Starbucks here in NL prohibiting smoking within 25' of the establishment.

2) Zwarte Piet. This goes back to Sinterklaas day. Sinterklaas has a Moor "assistant" named Zwarte Piet (Black Pete). Actually, there are multiple Piets (I have no idea why). In late November Sinterklaas and the Zwarte Piets arrive in NL on a boat from Spain (don't ask, I have no idea why they live in Spain). Since Piet is a Moor he's black. ZP is the one who actually goes down the chimney and either puts gifts/treats in the children's shoes or puts them in a bag and carries them back to Spain on their return ship ride. Many people, and from what I can gather predominantly non Dutchies, take offense to the whole ZP thing. First off, they seem to see it as slavery that ZP is black and SK is not. I like to say that ZP is SK's assistant, he collects a salary and has a very decent benefits package. 'Sides, if  SK was black and it was Witte Piet (White Pete) I don't think anyone would be saying a word. But, then again, NL didn't practice the slave trade with white people. So... a lot of guilt there. Some are trying to push ZP to become "Sooty Piet"... his face is black-ish from the soot he collects when he goes down the chimney.

Any who... historically there haven't been a lot of black people in NL (shocking, I know) so ZP is usually portrayed as someone in black face. This has been causing quite the stir lately, with much gnashing of teeth about how this is racist. One American was quite proud of how they went to a McDonald's in some town in NL, saw the staff dressed like ZP (with black face) and contacted the American HQ of McDonald's to complain.

I don't want to get into a debate about whether this is indeed racism or not. I'm not black so I cannot speak to how it is interpreted by that community, but on the other hand the Dutch say there is no malice (think someone putting on blue paint to dress up like a Smurf)

Either way... the main point is that there are external forces trying to change the aspects of Dutch culture they don't like while lamenting how immigrants are changing the local culture (HMM... remind you of a country whose initials are U.S. and A? Except there it's lauded and to pine for olden days is racist.). The problem is that not everyone agrees on what parts of NL should remain Dutch.

Zeggels!

Zeggels is the Dutch word for stamps. But here in NL it means so much more than the stamps you purchase at the post office. Stores have these campaigns where you collect stamps to be redeemed for (usually) a discounted purchase on items. Think Green Stamps from that Brady Bunch episode with the competition to build the house of cards.

I've primarily seen the grocery stores (Albert Heijn**, Jumbo** and Hooglviet**) participating in stamp collecting. And, to be honest, I'm not sure they're such a great deal. The last time I was interested in anything AH was giving stamps for was for plates. I was shocked at the price of the items even after collecting a full card of stamps. Seriously, they were about 4x the price of what I could pay at Ikea for about the same quality. Unfortunately, the closest Ikea is currently 2 trams and a bus ride away from us, or about an hour of travel time. But their bruschetta sandwiches are so yummy!

The best deal we've gotten so far from zeggel collecting was with the local alcohol chain Gall & Gall. After getting a full card of stamps we received 2 free glasses. Not bad.

So, if you're ever in one of the major Dutch grocery stores and you hear the cashier say "zeggels?"... just say nee!!


These stores are pronounced: Albert Hine, Yumbo, Hogevleet

Dutch healthcare part 2 - Sorry, you don't live here

(If you have not done so, please read my Dutch healthcare overview post first)

Apparently the huisarts can refuse to see you if you don't live in the town where the doctor's office is located.

For example: I live in The Hague. If I heard there was a really awesome huisarts in Rotterdam and went to visit him/her, that doctor COULD refuse to see me simply because I don't live in Rotterdam.

I know in the US that a doctor's office can stop accepting new patients or might not be in my health insurance network. If the latter, I believe the doctor's office wouldn't care as long as the patient was willing to pay cash up front. To the best of my knowledge, I've never heard of a doctor refusing to see someone because they lived in another town.

Dutch Healthcare -- preface

Full disclosure, I have not tried to use any aspect of the Dutch healthcare system. I am only supplying anecdotal information in my posts, unless I specifically say something happened to me.

There are many nice things about the Dutch healthcare, it is not all bad. I've heard people laud how everything is paid for if you actually do get really sick and/or end up in the hospital.

I'm not trying to say that the Dutch healthcare is better or worse than the US healthcare. I'm simply pulling back the curtain, letting those outside NL get a glimpse into how the sausage is made. Yes, US healthcare is expensive and yes Dutch healthcare can be cheaper. But each of these come about because of how they're managed. And those differences are what I try to reveal in my Dutch healthcare posts.

Dutch Healthcare part 1 - you haven't been sick long enough

(If you have not done so, please read my Dutch healthcare overview post first)


Many non-Dutchies have mentioned that unless you've been sick for at least a week, the GP** will basically refuse to look at you. This has been confirmed by my husband when he thought he might have strep. He went to the doctor's office and told them his throat had been bothering him for a few days so they said to wait and come back if it was still an issue after a week.

My husband mentioned to the doctor that in the US there is a test to determine if it is strep (if strep, antibiotics would be warranted, right?), and the doctor simply said "we don't do that here".  Nice.

The joke among the expat community is that the doctor will simply prescribe paracetamol (basically, Tylenol). There was even a Dutch ad on TV where the doctor prescribed a good home-cooked meal for his sick patient (granted, it was grocery store ad, but it did feed into my bias against NL doctors). Bias or not, the basic message is "suck it up".

They seem to be so afraid of antibiotic resistant diseases that they'd rather their patient develop scarlet fever. This is diametrically opposed to Thailand where antibiotics are available OTC and they actually have a problem with antibiotic resistant diseases. And they also seem to be afraid to run tests... this I can only assume is simple economics.

Speaking of economics... I think the whole "antibiotic resistance fear" is actually a cover for limiting treatment, thus lowering costs. Then again, NL doctors could just think that Americans are hypochondriacs and are treated as such because many stories about how an American was unable to get the care they needed include "until I took my Dutch friend with me". But then why not do the test to confirm or deny strep? Is that yet another weird way to lower costs? "You didn't develop scarlet fever after all so we saved a bit on not prescribing antibiotics, whether or not you actually could've benefited from them. WOO HOO!"

I've heard other stories of people almost dying because their huisarts didn't take them seriously. Note the use of "stories", not a single occurrence.

So, before you come to NL make sure you are a very healthy person and up on all your shots. 😉

GP** -- Here in NL you cannot see a specialist unless you have a referral from a GP or "huisarts". In essence, the Dutch healthcare system is run like an HMO.

Was she talking to me?

I had an incident with a Dutch woman 1 day in the elevator in our apartment building. It was just the 2 of us and she was speaking Dutch. Finally I asked her "Spreek je Engels?" which means "Do you speak English?" She turned to me and said, with what I heard was a bit of a tone, "Ja! Ik spreek Engels!" (Yes! I speak English!) and then continued speaking Dutch.

I have yet to determine if she thought I was taking a survey of which people in NL can speak English or if she was actually on her phone's hands-free and was talking to someone else.

Either way, now whenever someone starts speaking Dutch to me and I cannot understand what they are saying I reply "Ik spreek Engels" (I speak English). That seems to eliminate any confusion.

let op! op is op!

Op is the Swiss army knife of the Dutch language. It can mean SO many things. A few things "op" can mean: on, by, in, up, and upon. That is, of course, until you need to use another Dutch word like "bij" for the same thing. My head is starting to spin. And when combined with other Dutch words, the idiomatic possibilities for "op" are just about endless.

Let op! basically means to watch out or be careful
op is op loosely translates to "while supplies last".

Amazing, no?

Here a makelaar, there a makelaar, everywhere a makelaar

Makelaar is the Dutch word for realtor and they seem to be the Starbucks of The Netherlands.... there is 1 on almost every corner! Just within a 5 minute walk in 1 direction from our apartment, in our tiny little subsection of The Hague, there are probably 10 realtors. I'm trying to figure out where the inventory is coming from to support so many realtor offices. You'd think every apartment/house in The Hague was for sale.

Then again, maybe they're like many other businesses I've seen here... no one ever seems to visit and yet they are able to remain open. But that's for another post.