Trine blogs: Those Dutch people…

These are my observations about the Dutch so far:

1. All Dutch people are born on bicycles (just like all Norwegians are born with skis on their feet). This I am absolutely certain of. They can do anything on their bikes. I have seen people talking on their cellphones. Holding hands while cycling. Biking with one hand holding a large grocery bag (because despite all their cycling, no one has thought to put a basket on the front of the bike). Biking with no hands. And once, I swear I saw a guy sleeping over the steer while biking.

2. Dutch people like cheese. They like cheese more than Danish people do. Their supermarkets are full of cheese, and you can get a nice wedge of brie for €2. This would not be possible in Denmark. I’m not particularly fond of cheese, except for young brie and Gouda, of which there is plenty.

3. Dutch people are very nice and smile a lot. They also don’t look at you suspiciously if you stop them on the street to ask for directions. They don’t mind speaking English to help you, and really make an effort, instead of shrugging and saying “I don’t speak English” (like I’ve seen many Danes do).

4. Most things in Holland are cheap compared to Denmark. Fruit is not. Neither is bread, which confuses me. I wonder if many people eat at work or school, and therefore don’t need lunch packs. This remains unsolved.

5. Dutch people don’t drink a lot of shots. And when they do, they drink a vile cinnamon-flavoured 50% vodka with gold flecks called “Goldstrike”. It burns worse than whiskey. Danes drink a lot of shots, especially at private parties. Most involve a thick, black licorice-flavoured substance, but these are only around 20%. They also come in smaller, more manageable sizes. Dutch people drink crazier than Danish people. This is also a surprise. But Dutch people also drink a lot of beer. This is no surprise, but just like Denmark.

6. A coffeeshop is never what you think it is. Unless you think it is a place where they sell marihuana. Then you would be correct. People think you are strange if you want to go to a coffeeshop for a cup of coffee and some pie. They think maybe you want to go get that after you’ve been to the coffeeshop.

6a. Coffeeshops are not as common as you might think. There are more cafés, where they sell actual coffee.

6b. Not many shops have proper signs from the outside (including coffeeshops). Many are hidden under a sunblind or written directly on the window. This is confusing when biking, and may lead you to almost run down little children. The Dutch do not seem fond of this behaviour.

7. Dutch companies chop up onions and put them in baggies and sell them for more than a regular onion. I don’t understand this at all, and I have no comment on this subject.

Trine Larsen (22) from Denmark studies Management of Cultural Diversity at Tilburg University and blogs for Univers.

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