Observations from the Netherlands
Six days in and I have thoughts.
I’m writing to you today from a cozy little house on a canal in Vinkeveen, Netherlands. It’s late, after a long day out and about with my familia, so I’m going to keep it short. One of my favorite things about travel is observing and analyzing the culture and its people. We’ve been here for six days, and I already have so much to think about. My full recap of our trip will come later, but I thought it would be fun to share some musings in real time. I always do best when I write about what’s happening for me in the present.
It’s been fun to discuss our observations as a family, as they always lead to great discussions. We are spending most of our time in the Netherlands, but we also took a few day trips into Belgium, so what I’m sharing is in reference to these two countries.
Ok, here goes:
Cyclists take precedence over cars and pedestrians. Don’t you dare think about standing in the bike lane, even by mistake.
Very environmentally conscious, and I love that, but disposable paper goods are worth more than gold. Listen, I’m all for real dishes, and at home that’s what we do, but keeping kosher while traveling doesn’t allow you to use the Airbnb/hotel dishes. If I were to come to Europe again, I would honestly bring paper goods with me. Also, we ate out tonight and I wanted a tea to-go, but I couldn’t get one because they had no to-go cups, and that made me mad.
I think smiling is an American thing. People are perfectly cordial and are mostly nice when you interact with them, but they don’t smile unnecessarily. Again, that’s what I’ve noticed here in Holland.
I feel like there is a mentchlichkeit here (honestly, I don’t know the English word for this; best translated as decency or dignified human interaction) that’s impressive and refreshing.
Very little law enforcement. People know what to do, how to treat each other, and what’s expected of them with very little oversight. We could learn a thing or two from that.
Dutch is an insanely hard language.
Just saying—I can’t stand the coffee here; it’s too strong and bitter.
I feel like I should say it again: DON’T MESS WITH THE CYCLISTS.
I look forward to discovering more this week, and you bet I’ll share it with you. I would love to say that I’m not a spoiled American, and as much as I appreciate many of the qualities that I’m seeing and would love to bring some home with me, I can’t say that I don’t miss some of my American amenities. What ya gonna do? :)
With love from the Netherlands,
Chavie
P.S. Would love to hear your observations from your travels! Do they align with mine? Tell me in the comments.