Also, outside the city center (which is full of tourists, even from other places in Europe), the average Dutch person is... noticeably tall. That said, there are many Dutch people with Surinamese heritage and immigrants from Morocco and Turkey who do tend to be smaller.
Miffy’s also from the city of Utrecht, where her creator had his workshop. Amsterdam in specific going all-in on Miffy is a bit tourist-y, though few Dutch people would object.
Nijntje even has her own museum there and her own street: Nijntjepleintje.
Dick Bruna (1927-2017) was a scion of the Bruna family, owners of a publishing house in Utrecht. Bruna&Son, among other books, published a line of pocketbooks (Zwarte Beertjes) and Dick designed most of the jackets - in total some 2000.
Despite a median income around $30k, basically everyone you see in public carries themselves like an American upper middle class person. Not only was nobody homeless or heroin-addled, nobody was even "people of Wal-Mart" trashy or "fuck da police" transgressive. It was weird. Nigh universal respect and orderliness. Based on reputation, more like what I'd expect of Singapore. My only brush with something that felt even a little like "underclass" was the southern end of the Maastunnel in Rotterdam. If it's tolerance, it's a very different brand of tolerance from the one we have in San Francisco.
Based on my "research" the Dutch are actually very into rules, enforcement, and conformity.
We do have homeless people, we do have addicts. But we have needle-exchange programs trying to keep them as safe as possible. The Amsterdam government makes sure the tourist areas do not show those issues. The sex workers are mostly found on The Wallen - de walletjes - and they have a union. We have a rather high minimum wage, universal healthcare, a still rather nice cradle to grave social security system (it used to be more generous). Abortion is legal. Soft drugs are allowed. Euthanasia is possible. Tips are already included if you eat/drink out, but something additional is always appreciated.
You mention Singapore - the Dutch economist Albert Winsemius served as an advisor for the development of Singapore between 1961 and 1984.
Dutch people are indeed willing to follow rules - if the rules make sense. Otherwise we believe rules are made to be broken. Despite the fact that many people identify as not religious, the Calvinistic way of life is kind of baked in, in rules & regulations. Most of us would prefer a republic, but we have warm feelings for the Royal Family, the House of Orange. Our monarchs do not stay King/Queen till the very end, but abdicate so the next generation can take its turn. We have from time to time - by the best legal minds we can find - our Constitution rewritten. We have about sixteen political parties in our parliament, and some more at the local level. These parties always have to work together, come up with a compromise - we call that "polderen".
And yes the country is small and so are the houses. The Dutch language is full of diminutives - a boy is een jongetje,a girl is een meisje, a house is een huisje, a car een autootje. We can make that even smaller: een klein (small) jongetje/meisje/huisje/autootje. We love "gezelligheid" but are unable to explain what it exactly means. Most of us do have a dryer but laundry that flapped in the wind has a much nicer smell.
I too have been impressed and perplexed by what appears to be upper middle class standards of living and attitude of many Northern European cities and regions, despite having significantly lower incomes than the US while also having similar housing prices as American cities, if not higher in many cases. I'm sure part of it is more efficient/subsidized benefits like public transport, health care and child care. They also don't have to fund their own retirements to the same degree as Americans with our 401ks, or that's what I'm told.
And Europeans consume less and tend to have fewer things. Those 19th century apartment blocks are gorgeous on the outside, but the typical middle class dwelling is pretty small, has a tiny kitchen and no air conditioning or dryer. In my experience, they tend to eat out less and have fewer articles of clothing. To me, this would be a worthy trade off, but maybe not for everyone.
> Based on my "research" the Dutch are actually very into rules, enforcement, and conformity
Weird, given their drug policy. Not just THC; they're allowing all kinds of "research chemicals", and some internet shops even export it to other countries in the EU (claiming ignorance about local laws :D)
Not weird. Pragmatic. E.g. prostitution - A'dam is a harbor which means Ladies of the Night. Curb the excesses, make it as safe as possible, leave the "victim-less" part alone.
Some people abuse the freedom given by creating kiddie-porn and producing export-drugs.
Dutch kids do not every morning at school swear Allegiance to a Flag (part of US life that never ceases to amaze me.)
Dat is NIJNTJE ! She was conceived by a Dutch illustrator, Dick Bruna. He created many books with pictures and verses, telling stories about things that happened in the little rabbit's life. He also wrote stories about a second character he created, a female pig called Betje Big.
Wonderful you liked "my" Amsterdam, the only place that felt "home". Studied there, fell in love, etc.
Of course there are criminals in A'dam. It has its own underworld. The "seediest" places are the safest, as the pimps protect their territory with a heavy hand. Ordinary people are always bewaring of pickpockets, bicycle thieves, and low-lifes breaking open automobiles.
As a large number of inhabitants is a (kid of a) newcomer the average height of the people of A'dam went down.
I hope you ate a kroket ? Out of a wall ? The thing Dutch expats miss the most.
Did you hear a street organ when you were in A'dam ? For every piece of music it plays, a book is made with thick cardboard pages containing punched holes. Air passes through the holes and make that the proper note is played.
As far as I know a player piano works with a rotating drum with pins. Also, it sounds like a piano. The street organ is not a Dutch invention but the culture that developed around, is. They became a fixture in Dutch cities and towns, and still are. A street organ has a unique sound, joyful and sad at the same time. The organ books make possible that different registers - e.g. principals, flutes - are played at the same time, like a church organ. The original idea is, as far as I know, Jacquard weaving.
Good take. I've always liked Amsterdam as well, although for such a lovely, culturally rich and aesthetically pleasing city, I've always been struck by the comparative paucity of really good eating establishments there. Noah's observations about the food were spot on here, but I would add that the Indian and Indonesian food is of pretty high quality (not surprising in the case of the latter, considering that Indonesia was a Dutch colony).
Not a big fan of herring, although the Dutch cheeses are nice as is the smoked eel. I confess, however, that my enjoyment of the latter was compromised by a particularly extreme night of drinking Heinekens, chased with down with some Genevers, which is a whiskey-like triple distillate made of corn, wheat, and rye, the combination of which made me drunk and sick as a dog by the end of a particularly fun evening with some Dutch friends. Everything I ate that evening, esp the smoked eel, was gone before the night was over. My hangover the next morning still causes me pain when I think about it :-)
I'm sure the Dutch don't get as badly affected by this combination because they're all so damn tall and have the capacity to absorb so much more, God bless them.
The government is very conventional neoliberal in its economics. More austerian than the Germans in many respects.
Enjoyed the observation about Americans seeing the "old centers" of cities in Europe. This is something I've thought about; there isn't really major a US city that has at its center a significant zone that is dedicated primarily to serving tourists. New Orleans probably comes closest, and even it has an office district right next to the tourist zone, and many tourists go there or pass through it.
There are, of course, US cities that have lots of tourists in the city center (NYC, DC, SF, Boston, Chicago), but in these cities the tourists are mixing in with local office workers in a general-purpose commercial zone. Some European cities are like this, too - London and Berlin come to mind. And I think there are a few, like Stockholm, that have the "office/commercial district right next to the tourist zone" thing. But where are the office workers in Lisbon, Copenhagen, Prague, just to name a few cities I've visited? I honestly don't know. I'm sure they're somewhere, but I hardly saw them.
Upon edit, an unrelated addendum: I've never been to Amsterdam, and the infrastructure and culture could be different, but cyclists and pedestrians seemed to coexist quite well in Copenhagen from what I saw.
I believe the answer to your question is that since these “old city centers” consisted of primarily of residential buildings & Limited mixed use properties within them. That the local govts strategically rezoned them as Historic Overlay districts, with the intention of preserving the Historic Character of these pivotal old Neighborhood/City Centers.
Meaning that they essentially must remain at the use to which they were being utilized many years ago amongst many other development restrictions.
The US does have some old town city centers Charleston/NOLA & Philly being the main ones- But these were done at a much more locality based level, so the rezoning was not as expansive as seen in Europe. Also when the Historic Overlay was implemented in these US cities they were no where near as densely populated or developed infrastructure wise.
I get what you're saying, but anecdotally, I've worked with a number of Europeans and remote work did not seem any more common there than in the US pre-Covid. Would be curious to see some numbers on that, though.
The Amsterdam main train station is like a cathedral to me: it gives me faith in a better humanity.
I love Amsterdam but when I am there I drink Belgian beer, eat French cheese and German chocolate. The pastries are good but I found it hard to get a really good meal.
Last time I stayed pretty far out (maybe 4km) from the center in a hotel and spent most of my time in a post-WWII neighborhood with almost zero tourists. Made me want to live there even more.
The rabbit to whom you refer is called Miffy, which was created by Dutchman Dick Bruner in the 1970s. I think she’s popular in Japan, but she’s as Dutch as Gouda.
I have been to Amsterdam for a decade, but I have fond memories. My mother's family emigrated from Holland in the late 19th century. There's something about the good-natured stubbornness of my mother's family that I felt when I was in the Netherlands. Blond giants who think disagreeing with them is a good joke. A Dutch cold-cut buffet is the best breakfast on the planet. As a dedicated bicyclist, I envy the Dutch.
I also visited the Netherlands for the first time earlier this year. Amsterdam lived up to expectations, but I really loved Rotterdam. The modern architecture and skyscrapers were a nice contrast to the more popular historic European cities I've visited, and I thought the bike infrastructure was better than AMS. It was also nearly devoid of tourists and was a nice glimpse into multi-cultural Northern European urban life. Reminded me of an American city in some surprising ways (especially the ethnic diversity) and I had some really great Turkish and Surinamese food. Wouldn't mind living there.
Rotterdam centre has massively improved over the last twenty years IMO. As said, it was flattened during WWII, and rebuild in the fifties and sixties in horrendous fashion. Since the seventies architecture seems to have improved a lot so now slowly Rotterdam is evolving into a ‘modern’ city, combining modern architecture with decent urban design. I hated Rotterdam in the eighties, but really like it nowadays. My advice to tourists is always to avoid Amsterdam and visit The Hague (especially the center and the beach) and Rotterdam.
Why would you advise to avoid Amsterdam (just asking). Some people here complain the city is boring, an emotion I experienced more in The Hague. Of course from The Hague it is also an easy trip to Delft and to Leiden. Utrecht is full of character too and has the amazing museum Van Speelklok tot Pierement (From Music Box to Street Organ - full of "self-playing" instruments/small orchestras). Happy to hear Rotterdam improved ! (Wish I could see it for myself.)
The best Dutch cities are in Belgium: Brugge, Gent, Mechelen.
Rotterdam, especially the city centre, was flattened by the German Luftwaffe at the beginning of WW2. That is why there is more modern architecture. Rotterdam is the biggest seaport of Europe, and the world's largest outside of East-Asia.
When I was in Amsterdam I felt the “street food” scene was seriously lacking. A lot of Fries, cold cuts, and hot dogs, all of which are easy to find in America at a high quality. Can’t speak for other places I guess, but it’s really easy to find a good ass ham sandwich in the Philly or NYC area. Pretty much any corner deli will get the job done. I know it was prob a bad choice, but the burger I got in Amsterdam was also one of the worst meals I’ve ever had. The waffles on the other hand, were incredible everywhere I had them lol. Incredible city all in all, and I’m certain there’s good food to be had, just not as easily as other cities i suppose.
Now I am jealous. Kroketten however are not meant to be eaten with tomato soup. They should be enjoyed by themselves with some mustard, or on a white bun.
Ha ! I did not forget them, simply stopped writing as I also wanted to add poffertjes, oliebollen/appelflappen, paleisbanket/gevulde koeken. All so sorely missed by Dutch expats. The same goes for beschuiten, mayonnaise, kaas. And good bread !
Also, in Holland if you buy cookies at a bakery, they all taste differently - in the US all cookies taste the same. I also love the difference in gevulde koeken: a bread-baker can only top with one almond, the pastry-baker has to put on three.
When I was a kid (about half an age ago) eating on the street was not done - showed you were lower class.
It changed when newcomers bought a caravan or similar, hade a window made in it and started selling on-the-spot-made sandwiches or pizzas. Having saved enough money, they would start a small restaurant. The caravan would be sold to the next entrepreneurial hopeful, selling egg-rolls (lumpia's) etc. At least that's how it happened in my home town.
In Amsterdam my neighborhood fry shop was owned by Egyptians, together with your fries you would get Umm Kulthum. It doesn't get better than that !
Is the caravan what the U.S. calls a food truck or "roach coach"?
Since this century, food trucks have become a trendy way to sell gourmet food at gourmet prices, and if the concept clicks, the chef converts to a brick-and-mortar restaurant. Portland, Oregon is where it really became an institution. In the downtown's parking lots or vacant land, several food trucks converge to form an outdoor food hall.
For most of their history, food trucks (including ice cream trucks) were low-entry, low-margin businesses that prepared easy-to-grill foods like burgers, tacos or sandwiches.
Those guys delivered good food and Dutch (local) governments inspect for health and safety everywhere food is prepared/sold. If those guys (sorry no women in the picture there/then) had not delivered quality they would to have been as successful as they were - indeed, converting to a restaurant. (Some Italian sandwiches sold, included a pickled pepper and those peppers could be found all over the city centre. Apparently people did not care for those.)
The only other movable food vendors that I knew were fishmongers (herring, fried fish etc.), patates frites (fries), and indeed ice cream. And of course in winter oliebollen/appelflappen. We had in our town an open-air market twice a week with also these food-vendors. (I loved fries and pleaded with my mom if I could have some, but most of the time spending 25 cents from her budget was not possible.)
Special are the temporary stands selling poffertjes, as these offer seating in 19th century tent-like structures with wooden panels painted with romantic scenes. But that's more than eating, that's an outing.
We also did have Italian ice cream stores owned by people from Italy. Some of these would only be open in summer, and during the winter the store would be a clothing store. Where I lived we had a famous ice-cream parlor that served a whole menu of sorbets and coupes with ice, whipped cream, fruits, liquor, etc. I was (very) young, I did not realize how special that place was. I have never seen another like it, not even close.
Sorry, way to nostalgic. Homesick - for my home country - for times past. Shows my age.
I have memories very much like yours. I enjoy visiting neighborhoods like these and seeing life just lived out. The best thing to do is support them with your money and your time, not only in your home community but traveling, too.
These are where you might find what's called your "third place," it could be a tavern, a coffee shop, a bookstore. It's not home, and it's not work, it's the place where time is well wasted (in other words, just enjoying the moment for its own sake).
Always interesting to get an outside perspective on your city! Of course, almost all of this is wrong, but only in the way that driveby travel observations like this always are, and they do generally contain nuggets of truth. Anyway, some responses as an expat living in Amsterdam for several years:
1. The 'old center' is not really the central hub of the city for Amsterdammers. It has been largely abandoned to tourists. So you're right to suspect you were getting a distorted perspective. The focuses of local life are in the ring of neighborhoods immediately outside the oldest part of the city: places like De Pijp and Oud West (the Jordaan is sort of a buffer zone, frequented by both tourists and locals).
2. These areas have much better food! Including the cuisines you mention -- two of the biggest immigrant communities are Turkish and Moroccan so there's no shortage of great Middle Eastern food, for instance. I'd really recommend that visitors to Amsterdam venture just a little outside the very center for dinner.
3. You hugely overstate the degree of tension between cyclists and pedestrians. In reality there is almost none. What does exist is conflict between cyclists and *tourists* who aren't used to being in an environment with so many bikes flying around. A lot of people find this intimidating at first but you get used to it pretty fast and Amsterdam is very pleasant to walk around once you've developed an instinctive awareness of bikes.
4. Dutch politics is incredibly complicated but you're right that it might feel a bit retro overall from an American perspective. Distinct currents of wokeness and populist rightism are emerging, however. Two small parties that recently entered parliament are the ultra-woke Bij1 and the covid-denying, Putinist FvD. There was also a wave of right-wing 'tractor protests' over the summer beating a strong resemblence to the Canadian trucker protests.
5. I'm sure you're aware of this but the weather is not always cool and misty! In fact, we just had the sunniest spring on record followed immediately by the sunniest summer on record. Climatologists expect that climate change will continue to make the Netherlands steadily sunnier over the next few decades.
Miffy is Dutch!!!
Also, outside the city center (which is full of tourists, even from other places in Europe), the average Dutch person is... noticeably tall. That said, there are many Dutch people with Surinamese heritage and immigrants from Morocco and Turkey who do tend to be smaller.
TIL that Miffy is Dutch!!!
#fakerabbitexpert
Miffy’s also from the city of Utrecht, where her creator had his workshop. Amsterdam in specific going all-in on Miffy is a bit tourist-y, though few Dutch people would object.
Nijntje even has her own museum there and her own street: Nijntjepleintje.
Dick Bruna (1927-2017) was a scion of the Bruna family, owners of a publishing house in Utrecht. Bruna&Son, among other books, published a line of pocketbooks (Zwarte Beertjes) and Dick designed most of the jackets - in total some 2000.
Cultural powerhouse for ya
Despite a median income around $30k, basically everyone you see in public carries themselves like an American upper middle class person. Not only was nobody homeless or heroin-addled, nobody was even "people of Wal-Mart" trashy or "fuck da police" transgressive. It was weird. Nigh universal respect and orderliness. Based on reputation, more like what I'd expect of Singapore. My only brush with something that felt even a little like "underclass" was the southern end of the Maastunnel in Rotterdam. If it's tolerance, it's a very different brand of tolerance from the one we have in San Francisco.
Based on my "research" the Dutch are actually very into rules, enforcement, and conformity.
https://dutchreview.com/culture/doe-normaal-a-dutch-concept-and-term/
https://stuffdutchpeoplelike.com/2015/01/19/no-65-social-policing/
We do have homeless people, we do have addicts. But we have needle-exchange programs trying to keep them as safe as possible. The Amsterdam government makes sure the tourist areas do not show those issues. The sex workers are mostly found on The Wallen - de walletjes - and they have a union. We have a rather high minimum wage, universal healthcare, a still rather nice cradle to grave social security system (it used to be more generous). Abortion is legal. Soft drugs are allowed. Euthanasia is possible. Tips are already included if you eat/drink out, but something additional is always appreciated.
You mention Singapore - the Dutch economist Albert Winsemius served as an advisor for the development of Singapore between 1961 and 1984.
Dutch people are indeed willing to follow rules - if the rules make sense. Otherwise we believe rules are made to be broken. Despite the fact that many people identify as not religious, the Calvinistic way of life is kind of baked in, in rules & regulations. Most of us would prefer a republic, but we have warm feelings for the Royal Family, the House of Orange. Our monarchs do not stay King/Queen till the very end, but abdicate so the next generation can take its turn. We have from time to time - by the best legal minds we can find - our Constitution rewritten. We have about sixteen political parties in our parliament, and some more at the local level. These parties always have to work together, come up with a compromise - we call that "polderen".
And yes the country is small and so are the houses. The Dutch language is full of diminutives - a boy is een jongetje,a girl is een meisje, a house is een huisje, a car een autootje. We can make that even smaller: een klein (small) jongetje/meisje/huisje/autootje. We love "gezelligheid" but are unable to explain what it exactly means. Most of us do have a dryer but laundry that flapped in the wind has a much nicer smell.
I too have been impressed and perplexed by what appears to be upper middle class standards of living and attitude of many Northern European cities and regions, despite having significantly lower incomes than the US while also having similar housing prices as American cities, if not higher in many cases. I'm sure part of it is more efficient/subsidized benefits like public transport, health care and child care. They also don't have to fund their own retirements to the same degree as Americans with our 401ks, or that's what I'm told.
And Europeans consume less and tend to have fewer things. Those 19th century apartment blocks are gorgeous on the outside, but the typical middle class dwelling is pretty small, has a tiny kitchen and no air conditioning or dryer. In my experience, they tend to eat out less and have fewer articles of clothing. To me, this would be a worthy trade off, but maybe not for everyone.
> Based on my "research" the Dutch are actually very into rules, enforcement, and conformity
Weird, given their drug policy. Not just THC; they're allowing all kinds of "research chemicals", and some internet shops even export it to other countries in the EU (claiming ignorance about local laws :D)
Not weird. Pragmatic. E.g. prostitution - A'dam is a harbor which means Ladies of the Night. Curb the excesses, make it as safe as possible, leave the "victim-less" part alone.
Some people abuse the freedom given by creating kiddie-porn and producing export-drugs.
Dutch kids do not every morning at school swear Allegiance to a Flag (part of US life that never ceases to amaze me.)
Median household income is > USD 50k though
Dat is NIJNTJE ! She was conceived by a Dutch illustrator, Dick Bruna. He created many books with pictures and verses, telling stories about things that happened in the little rabbit's life. He also wrote stories about a second character he created, a female pig called Betje Big.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Bruna
Wonderful you liked "my" Amsterdam, the only place that felt "home". Studied there, fell in love, etc.
Of course there are criminals in A'dam. It has its own underworld. The "seediest" places are the safest, as the pimps protect their territory with a heavy hand. Ordinary people are always bewaring of pickpockets, bicycle thieves, and low-lifes breaking open automobiles.
As a large number of inhabitants is a (kid of a) newcomer the average height of the people of A'dam went down.
I hope you ate a kroket ? Out of a wall ? The thing Dutch expats miss the most.
NIJNTJE!! <3
Sorry for getting that wrong!!
Yeah, I really did like Amsterdam. Except for almost getting run over by scooters... ;-)
Nijntje is a national treasure ! We are very serious about our little rabbit !
I wish I had known this before I went.
There will be other chances !
Did you hear a street organ when you were in A'dam ? For every piece of music it plays, a book is made with thick cardboard pages containing punched holes. Air passes through the holes and make that the proper note is played.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SafiCR9HRE4
Uh, that used to be called a player piano. Except this is an organ, but same principle.
As far as I know a player piano works with a rotating drum with pins. Also, it sounds like a piano. The street organ is not a Dutch invention but the culture that developed around, is. They became a fixture in Dutch cities and towns, and still are. A street organ has a unique sound, joyful and sad at the same time. The organ books make possible that different registers - e.g. principals, flutes - are played at the same time, like a church organ. The original idea is, as far as I know, Jacquard weaving.
Good take. I've always liked Amsterdam as well, although for such a lovely, culturally rich and aesthetically pleasing city, I've always been struck by the comparative paucity of really good eating establishments there. Noah's observations about the food were spot on here, but I would add that the Indian and Indonesian food is of pretty high quality (not surprising in the case of the latter, considering that Indonesia was a Dutch colony).
Not a big fan of herring, although the Dutch cheeses are nice as is the smoked eel. I confess, however, that my enjoyment of the latter was compromised by a particularly extreme night of drinking Heinekens, chased with down with some Genevers, which is a whiskey-like triple distillate made of corn, wheat, and rye, the combination of which made me drunk and sick as a dog by the end of a particularly fun evening with some Dutch friends. Everything I ate that evening, esp the smoked eel, was gone before the night was over. My hangover the next morning still causes me pain when I think about it :-)
I'm sure the Dutch don't get as badly affected by this combination because they're all so damn tall and have the capacity to absorb so much more, God bless them.
The government is very conventional neoliberal in its economics. More austerian than the Germans in many respects.
Enjoyed the observation about Americans seeing the "old centers" of cities in Europe. This is something I've thought about; there isn't really major a US city that has at its center a significant zone that is dedicated primarily to serving tourists. New Orleans probably comes closest, and even it has an office district right next to the tourist zone, and many tourists go there or pass through it.
There are, of course, US cities that have lots of tourists in the city center (NYC, DC, SF, Boston, Chicago), but in these cities the tourists are mixing in with local office workers in a general-purpose commercial zone. Some European cities are like this, too - London and Berlin come to mind. And I think there are a few, like Stockholm, that have the "office/commercial district right next to the tourist zone" thing. But where are the office workers in Lisbon, Copenhagen, Prague, just to name a few cities I've visited? I honestly don't know. I'm sure they're somewhere, but I hardly saw them.
Upon edit, an unrelated addendum: I've never been to Amsterdam, and the infrastructure and culture could be different, but cyclists and pedestrians seemed to coexist quite well in Copenhagen from what I saw.
I believe the answer to your question is that since these “old city centers” consisted of primarily of residential buildings & Limited mixed use properties within them. That the local govts strategically rezoned them as Historic Overlay districts, with the intention of preserving the Historic Character of these pivotal old Neighborhood/City Centers.
Meaning that they essentially must remain at the use to which they were being utilized many years ago amongst many other development restrictions.
The US does have some old town city centers Charleston/NOLA & Philly being the main ones- But these were done at a much more locality based level, so the rezoning was not as expansive as seen in Europe. Also when the Historic Overlay was implemented in these US cities they were no where near as densely populated or developed infrastructure wise.
Haha...I was there before Covid!
I get what you're saying, but anecdotally, I've worked with a number of Europeans and remote work did not seem any more common there than in the US pre-Covid. Would be curious to see some numbers on that, though.
The Amsterdam main train station is like a cathedral to me: it gives me faith in a better humanity.
I love Amsterdam but when I am there I drink Belgian beer, eat French cheese and German chocolate. The pastries are good but I found it hard to get a really good meal.
Last time I stayed pretty far out (maybe 4km) from the center in a hotel and spent most of my time in a post-WWII neighborhood with almost zero tourists. Made me want to live there even more.
German chocolate god I hope not
I couldn’t exactly say Belgian beer and Belgian chocolate could I ;)
Swiss chocolate
The rabbit to whom you refer is called Miffy, which was created by Dutchman Dick Bruner in the 1970s. I think she’s popular in Japan, but she’s as Dutch as Gouda.
1955
I have been to Amsterdam for a decade, but I have fond memories. My mother's family emigrated from Holland in the late 19th century. There's something about the good-natured stubbornness of my mother's family that I felt when I was in the Netherlands. Blond giants who think disagreeing with them is a good joke. A Dutch cold-cut buffet is the best breakfast on the planet. As a dedicated bicyclist, I envy the Dutch.
I also visited the Netherlands for the first time earlier this year. Amsterdam lived up to expectations, but I really loved Rotterdam. The modern architecture and skyscrapers were a nice contrast to the more popular historic European cities I've visited, and I thought the bike infrastructure was better than AMS. It was also nearly devoid of tourists and was a nice glimpse into multi-cultural Northern European urban life. Reminded me of an American city in some surprising ways (especially the ethnic diversity) and I had some really great Turkish and Surinamese food. Wouldn't mind living there.
Rotterdam centre has massively improved over the last twenty years IMO. As said, it was flattened during WWII, and rebuild in the fifties and sixties in horrendous fashion. Since the seventies architecture seems to have improved a lot so now slowly Rotterdam is evolving into a ‘modern’ city, combining modern architecture with decent urban design. I hated Rotterdam in the eighties, but really like it nowadays. My advice to tourists is always to avoid Amsterdam and visit The Hague (especially the center and the beach) and Rotterdam.
Why would you advise to avoid Amsterdam (just asking). Some people here complain the city is boring, an emotion I experienced more in The Hague. Of course from The Hague it is also an easy trip to Delft and to Leiden. Utrecht is full of character too and has the amazing museum Van Speelklok tot Pierement (From Music Box to Street Organ - full of "self-playing" instruments/small orchestras). Happy to hear Rotterdam improved ! (Wish I could see it for myself.)
The best Dutch cities are in Belgium: Brugge, Gent, Mechelen.
Rotterdam, especially the city centre, was flattened by the German Luftwaffe at the beginning of WW2. That is why there is more modern architecture. Rotterdam is the biggest seaport of Europe, and the world's largest outside of East-Asia.
Great travel blog write up! Not stopping at Tokyo?
Just went through the airport!!
Go to a football match, Ajax v whomever, pal around postgame, down some Genover, maybe w/ a herring sandwich…Dutch love to party, …
Love your eating tips! Very true.
Amsterdam, though, is not a place I’d go out of my way to visit.
When I was in Amsterdam I felt the “street food” scene was seriously lacking. A lot of Fries, cold cuts, and hot dogs, all of which are easy to find in America at a high quality. Can’t speak for other places I guess, but it’s really easy to find a good ass ham sandwich in the Philly or NYC area. Pretty much any corner deli will get the job done. I know it was prob a bad choice, but the burger I got in Amsterdam was also one of the worst meals I’ve ever had. The waffles on the other hand, were incredible everywhere I had them lol. Incredible city all in all, and I’m certain there’s good food to be had, just not as easily as other cities i suppose.
You should have eaten kroketten or croquetten ! But indeed the Dutch cuisine is rather limited. If you wanted to eat well, you better go to Belgium.
Kroketten was the first thing I ate when I arrived! I had it with tomato soup at the Koosje Cafe.
Now I am jealous. Kroketten however are not meant to be eaten with tomato soup. They should be enjoyed by themselves with some mustard, or on a white bun.
Don't forget bitter-ballen.
Ha ! I did not forget them, simply stopped writing as I also wanted to add poffertjes, oliebollen/appelflappen, paleisbanket/gevulde koeken. All so sorely missed by Dutch expats. The same goes for beschuiten, mayonnaise, kaas. And good bread !
Also, in Holland if you buy cookies at a bakery, they all taste differently - in the US all cookies taste the same. I also love the difference in gevulde koeken: a bread-baker can only top with one almond, the pastry-baker has to put on three.
I should mention a Dutch friends answer to a question.
Someone: "What's a typical Dutch meal?"
Friend: "Fried pig's brains".
I Googled and saw some people eat brains for dinner. But a typical Dutch meal ? No.
If you ask a Dutch person what his/her dinner will be, he/she usually mention the vegetable.
That's true, there wasn't really much street food. But I did really love the fried cod I got at the market!!
When I was a kid (about half an age ago) eating on the street was not done - showed you were lower class.
It changed when newcomers bought a caravan or similar, hade a window made in it and started selling on-the-spot-made sandwiches or pizzas. Having saved enough money, they would start a small restaurant. The caravan would be sold to the next entrepreneurial hopeful, selling egg-rolls (lumpia's) etc. At least that's how it happened in my home town.
In Amsterdam my neighborhood fry shop was owned by Egyptians, together with your fries you would get Umm Kulthum. It doesn't get better than that !
Is the caravan what the U.S. calls a food truck or "roach coach"?
Since this century, food trucks have become a trendy way to sell gourmet food at gourmet prices, and if the concept clicks, the chef converts to a brick-and-mortar restaurant. Portland, Oregon is where it really became an institution. In the downtown's parking lots or vacant land, several food trucks converge to form an outdoor food hall.
For most of their history, food trucks (including ice cream trucks) were low-entry, low-margin businesses that prepared easy-to-grill foods like burgers, tacos or sandwiches.
Those guys delivered good food and Dutch (local) governments inspect for health and safety everywhere food is prepared/sold. If those guys (sorry no women in the picture there/then) had not delivered quality they would to have been as successful as they were - indeed, converting to a restaurant. (Some Italian sandwiches sold, included a pickled pepper and those peppers could be found all over the city centre. Apparently people did not care for those.)
The only other movable food vendors that I knew were fishmongers (herring, fried fish etc.), patates frites (fries), and indeed ice cream. And of course in winter oliebollen/appelflappen. We had in our town an open-air market twice a week with also these food-vendors. (I loved fries and pleaded with my mom if I could have some, but most of the time spending 25 cents from her budget was not possible.)
Special are the temporary stands selling poffertjes, as these offer seating in 19th century tent-like structures with wooden panels painted with romantic scenes. But that's more than eating, that's an outing.
We also did have Italian ice cream stores owned by people from Italy. Some of these would only be open in summer, and during the winter the store would be a clothing store. Where I lived we had a famous ice-cream parlor that served a whole menu of sorbets and coupes with ice, whipped cream, fruits, liquor, etc. I was (very) young, I did not realize how special that place was. I have never seen another like it, not even close.
Sorry, way to nostalgic. Homesick - for my home country - for times past. Shows my age.
I have memories very much like yours. I enjoy visiting neighborhoods like these and seeing life just lived out. The best thing to do is support them with your money and your time, not only in your home community but traveling, too.
These are where you might find what's called your "third place," it could be a tavern, a coffee shop, a bookstore. It's not home, and it's not work, it's the place where time is well wasted (in other words, just enjoying the moment for its own sake).
That is a great suggestion !
My sister in law goes to uni in Amsterdam. The Dutch are not super into foreigners, but they’re friendly enough.
Miffy is Dutch.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miffy
Was that an intentional mistake ?
OMG!!!!!!!!
Not an intentional mistake. Some Japanese people mistakenly think Miffy is Japanese!....
I came here to say the same thing!
Always interesting to get an outside perspective on your city! Of course, almost all of this is wrong, but only in the way that driveby travel observations like this always are, and they do generally contain nuggets of truth. Anyway, some responses as an expat living in Amsterdam for several years:
1. The 'old center' is not really the central hub of the city for Amsterdammers. It has been largely abandoned to tourists. So you're right to suspect you were getting a distorted perspective. The focuses of local life are in the ring of neighborhoods immediately outside the oldest part of the city: places like De Pijp and Oud West (the Jordaan is sort of a buffer zone, frequented by both tourists and locals).
2. These areas have much better food! Including the cuisines you mention -- two of the biggest immigrant communities are Turkish and Moroccan so there's no shortage of great Middle Eastern food, for instance. I'd really recommend that visitors to Amsterdam venture just a little outside the very center for dinner.
3. You hugely overstate the degree of tension between cyclists and pedestrians. In reality there is almost none. What does exist is conflict between cyclists and *tourists* who aren't used to being in an environment with so many bikes flying around. A lot of people find this intimidating at first but you get used to it pretty fast and Amsterdam is very pleasant to walk around once you've developed an instinctive awareness of bikes.
4. Dutch politics is incredibly complicated but you're right that it might feel a bit retro overall from an American perspective. Distinct currents of wokeness and populist rightism are emerging, however. Two small parties that recently entered parliament are the ultra-woke Bij1 and the covid-denying, Putinist FvD. There was also a wave of right-wing 'tractor protests' over the summer beating a strong resemblence to the Canadian trucker protests.
5. I'm sure you're aware of this but the weather is not always cool and misty! In fact, we just had the sunniest spring on record followed immediately by the sunniest summer on record. Climatologists expect that climate change will continue to make the Netherlands steadily sunnier over the next few decades.