Ask a Dutchman!
- Thread starter Agent327
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I think both Maxima and the prince are pretty popular - except when they go on a house building (Mozambique)/buying (Greece) spree while the people are told we´re in a recession. But people will complain anyway, ´cause we´re Dutch. 
Old Hippy
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don't know if its been brought up... but just watching the overnight news (the journal/Germany) and it seems that tourists can no longer partake in the smoking and eating at certain Amsterdam coffee shops, has their been much debate about this, or do the dutch just want to keep all the good drugs for themselves...
I suppose there are some Dutch nationals who´d like their bikes back as well... There has been talk each year of a representative of the German government taking part in the occasion, and yet this still hasn´t happened yet.
On a related note the National Remembrance Committee in charge of the 4-5 May rituals has withdrawn a poem, which was supposed to be read by a young student, on account of the subject matter - as it dealt with the youth´s wartime relative who joined the SS. The poem´s title, ´Wrong Choice´, might have indicated the youth´s intentions, but apparently the mere mention of an SS member who died during the final battle of Berlin is too much for the remaining WW II veterans c.q. resistance fighters. It should be mentioned, however, that the 4 May occasion is for those fallen in WW II, i.e. in the struggle against the Axis. In recent years this theme has been broadened somewhat to a celebration of peace in general (but this relates to the 5 May celebrations mainly) - possibly because each year less veterans are alive to actually partake in the commemorations. After all, we are now over 60 years past WW II.
I think this may relate to the ´weedpass´ introduction (which isn´t final yet)°, one of the more weird ideas of our politicians: it is supposed to reduce (soft) drugrelated crime c.q. annoyance of people who live in the neighbourhood of weed establishments (´coffee shops´). Unfortunately, foreign visitors rarely are part of annoying/criminal behaviour (which is mostly local/national).
EDIT: Actually, according to an article I read over the weekend, the weedpass has been succesfully introduced (there was a coffee shop who lost a case against the weedpass regulation).
On a related note the National Remembrance Committee in charge of the 4-5 May rituals has withdrawn a poem, which was supposed to be read by a young student, on account of the subject matter - as it dealt with the youth´s wartime relative who joined the SS. The poem´s title, ´Wrong Choice´, might have indicated the youth´s intentions, but apparently the mere mention of an SS member who died during the final battle of Berlin is too much for the remaining WW II veterans c.q. resistance fighters. It should be mentioned, however, that the 4 May occasion is for those fallen in WW II, i.e. in the struggle against the Axis. In recent years this theme has been broadened somewhat to a celebration of peace in general (but this relates to the 5 May celebrations mainly) - possibly because each year less veterans are alive to actually partake in the commemorations. After all, we are now over 60 years past WW II.
I think this may relate to the ´weedpass´ introduction (which isn´t final yet)°, one of the more weird ideas of our politicians: it is supposed to reduce (soft) drugrelated crime c.q. annoyance of people who live in the neighbourhood of weed establishments (´coffee shops´). Unfortunately, foreign visitors rarely are part of annoying/criminal behaviour (which is mostly local/national).
EDIT: Actually, according to an article I read over the weekend, the weedpass has been succesfully introduced (there was a coffee shop who lost a case against the weedpass regulation).
Oerdin
Deity
It´s a pretty old ´joke´, I know, but apparently sentiments about WW II (and the 1930s, as the PVV´s vehement argument their movement should definitely not be compared to the National-Socialist Movement - NSB for short - which had some support during the 30s) still surface - even though nowadays there are quite a few people who have no idea about the events of either period.
ShahJahanII
Homesick Alien
How much racism is there in there Netherlands? What about Anti-Islamic sentiments (I've been hearing a lot about that).
The Netherlands was the first country to allow gay marriage. Are gays generally accepted in society?
Is there any one food that is especially Dutch (like fish and chips for England)?
What are some good tourist destinations in The Netherlands?
The Netherlands was the first country to allow gay marriage. Are gays generally accepted in society?
Is there any one food that is especially Dutch (like fish and chips for England)?
What are some good tourist destinations in The Netherlands?
Why do you inflict mayonnaise upon the poor defenseless chips?
They stole that from Scotland you know.
Tahuti
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The Netherlands isn't a particularly anti-Islamic country. The Anti-Islamic politician Wilders is fairly weak considering the combined strength of the parties that oppose him, which are quite a few, from the very Left-Wing SP to the Centre-Right VVD.
And even then, not all PVV voters vote PVV for its Anti-Islamic viewpoints.
The Netherlands was the first country to allow gay marriage. Are gays generally accepted in society?[/QUOTE]
Yes, very much in fact, though there is some anti-gay sentiment to be found among strongly religious Dutch people (which includes both fundamentalist Muslims and Christians).
Examples of Dutch cuisine include Kroketten, Hutspot, Frikandellen , Lekkerbekjes and Kibbeling. Though I'm told the latter is also fairly common in Northern Germany and Denmark.
Amsterdam definitely makes a good city trip, as do cities like Maastricht, Groningen, Arnhem, Nijmegen, Tilburg and Utrecht. I wouldn't recommend going the Netherlands for its natural "beauty" though. Friesland and the Wadden islands make good destinations for water sports however.
Why do you inflict mayonnaise upon the poor defenseless chips?
They stole that from Scotland you know.
Never heard that before.
Anyway, we don´t call them chips, we call them patat (from patates frites), and not only do we put mayonnaise on them, but also ketchup and sateh sauce. 
(If you put all of the above on top of it, it´s called patatje oorlog (chips war, literally, probably because of the bloody mess it results in.) 
True, I think many of the PVV voters simply support them because of their anti-elite or anti-establishment image. Though I don´t know why you´d call the VVD centre-right, which in my opinion is the CDA´s spot (Christian-Democrats), and the VVD is to the right of that, making them your basic rightwing party. We actually have 2 ´liberal´ - or liberalist - parties, the VVD being the rightwing representative, as they are the conservative liberals. (Our constitution - with some modifications - being the result of the 1848 liberal movement, which gave us our current constitutional monarchy. Basically the Netherlands have always been a republic with some monarchical sentiments, and the 1815 conservative restoration has done little to change that but in name.)
You forgot our herrings (haring), which can be eaten raw (with onion or on a roll). Kroket, frikandel are (deep) fried meaty cilinders, lekkerbekje and kibbeling are (deep) fried fish (lekkerbekje being whole fish, kibbeling fishbits). Basic Dutch ´cuisine´ would be anything containing potatoes (mashed or whole), meat, gravy and veggies. (So Van Gogh´s Potato Eaters is pretty accurate for Dutch cuisine - if we skip the meat and count potatoes as vegetables - which they are, ofcourse.)
The Veluwe is still pretty natural, as far as I know. It´s basically one natural park (with a museum in it, which is also highly recommendable) in the province of Gelderland. The Waddenzee area (a small island strip along the Friesland and Groningen coast) is also pretty natural, especially on the coastline. It´s basically the only area where there are no dikes, as they are natural islands. And for museum visits Rotterdam, The Hague and Leiden might be recommended as well. (Leiden, maybe more so than Amsterdam, still has a largely 17th century city centre.)
anandus
Errorist
Indeed, even the PVV itself isn't trying to bring home their anti-islamic standpoint that much anymore and is now portaying itself as an anti-Europe party, and anti-Poles, -Romanians and -Bulgarians. They are, one could say, 'the new muslims' for that party.
But I believe that's basically the trend with all those European populist parties, in other countries as well.
And fairly weak is, in numbers, around 13% to 20% of the votes.
To put it in perspective, there's no party that gets more than 25% of the votes, so it is a relative large party, but there are a lot of parties, most of them oppose the PVV.
Yes, gays are accepted and not even considered special or different.
People in the Netherlands also find it very strange that this is not the case in other modern countries, like the US. Although we're also aware that the US is incredibily conservative, we still find it strange as it is being regarded as something comletely normal.
Hatecrimes against gays often evoke an enormous public outcry.
As said the Dutch love their chips, called 'patat' (or 'friet' is you live close to Belgium). With mayonaise (Dutch mayonaise is relatively sweet, by the way) and ketchup (or currysauce) and the aforementioned satehsauce (peanutsauce).
The latter is a heritage from the former colonies and it requires special mention. The Dutch also love Indonesian food, like sateh (Indonesian kebabs on a stick) with the accompanying sauce, nasi (fried rice) or bami (noodles), etc.
Also something that's quite populair, although I'm not sure if that's the case everywhere in the Netherlands, but in the west it is and that's a Surinam dish called roti. Roti is a sort of flatbread and is eaten with (mixed) marinated spicy meat, often you get spicy potatos and a sort of string beans ('kousenband') with it.
(@JEELEN: One of the best roti is to be had in Leiden, at the take-away called 'Moksi' on the Nieuwe Beestenmarkt. I highly recommend it
)I'm amazed nobody mentioned Kinderdijk!
mayor
Heart & Mind
JELEEN said:
Stampot.
Which is basically potatoes, veggies and meat but mashed into one big bowl (and in my mind only edible with a lot of gravy).
The recipee in general is:
Cook the ingredients, potatoes and veggies, very well done (you have to mash them so they shouldn't be to hard) with salt. This can be done together or separately, doesn't really matter.
When the potatoes and veggies are ready, mash them together with a 'Stamper' (don't know how this is translated)
At this point the 'Stampot' itself is done, just add some salt and pepper to your liking.
Most people eat it with 'Rookworst' (smoked sausage) and/or 'Spekjes' (small pieces of bacon' and gravy.
Fries/chips with Mayonnaise or with other sauces
Because we have a good taste?Why do you inflict mayonnaise upon the poor defenseless chips?
They stole that from Scotland you know.
And Curry (a spiced ketchup), Joppiesaus (some sort of saus from the east of The Netherlands), Fritessaus. (usually not combined)JELEEN said:]Never heard that before.
Don't forget the onions! According to wiki there are different types of 'Patatje Oorlog' depending on in what region you are. These are;(If you put all of the above on top of it, it´s called patatje oorlog (chips war, literally, probably because of the bloody mess it results in.)
a) Chips (fries) with sateh, mayonaise and chopped onions.
b) Chips (fries) with sateh and mayonaise. (Apparently this is also called 'Patatje flip'.)
c) Chips (fries) with sateh, mayonaise, curry and chopped onions. (Apparently mostly in the province of Noord-Brabant and around Leiden).
d) Chips (fries) with mayonaise, curry and chopped onions but without the ketchup. (unusual and is usually referred to as 'Patatje Speciaal').
Don't ask me why people do this....
I would say that it depends on what you're interests are
I would add Zwolle and Zutphen to this list. They have less than the cities Kaisergaurd mentioned in terms of entertainment (well Zuthpen at least) but have beautifull city centres.Kaiserguard said:
You should leave 'De Randstad' (Edgecity) sometimesKaiserguard said:
(De Randstad is the agglomeration of cities in the west of the Netherlands. Roughly, Rotterdam, The Hague, Amsterdam and Utrecht and everything in between)
I would add South Limburg to this, Twente (The region around Enschede) and Drenthe.
and some general things:
- De Waterlinie (The Waterlines) (a line of pre-WWII fortifications)
Wiki for a part of it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grebbe_line
- De Deltawerken in Zeeland (Deltaworks) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Works
- Rotterdam Harbour
- Madurodam http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madurodam
- De Kaasmarkt (Cheesemarket) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_cheese_markets
and probably some other things ;p
mayor
Heart & Mind
I knew I forgot something.The latter is a heritage from the former colonies and it requires special mention. The Dutch also love Indonesian food, like sateh (Indonesian kebabs on a stick) with the accompanying sauce, nasi (fried rice) or bami (noodles), etc.
Also something that's quite populair, although I'm not sure if that's the case everywhere in the Netherlands, but in the west it is and that's a Surinam dish called roti. Roti is a sort of flatbread and is eaten with (mixed) marinated spicy meat, often you get spicy potatos and a sort of string beans ('kousenband') with it.
(@JEELEN: One of the best roti is to be had in Leiden, at the take-away called 'Moksi' on the Nieuwe Beestenmarkt. I highly recommend it
Nowadays the 'Dutch cuisine' is highly influenced from outside. While we still have our 'traditional' recipes and products, foreign cuisines are very popular.
For instance, within 15 minute of my house there is a Greek restaurant, Mexican, Turkish, American (both a restaurant as a McDonalds
), Indian, Chinese, Thais, Japanese, Argentinian and a bunch moreI was in doubt whether or not to mention itI'm amazed nobody mentioned Kinderdijk!
and in light of gay-acceptance. Gay-pride
I knew I forgot something.
Nowadays the 'Dutch cuisine' is highly influenced from outside. While we still have our 'traditional' recipes and products, foreign cuisines are very popular.
For instance, within 15 minute of my house there is a Greek restaurant, Mexican, Turkish, American (both a restaurant as a McDonalds
Well, since we´re at it, you still forgot Moroccan food (couscous, for instance). Unlike the PVV claims, multiculturalism is very alive gastronomically.
mayor
Heart & Mind
Well, since we´re at it, you still forgot Moroccan food (couscous, for instance). Unlike the PVV claims, multiculturalism is very alive gastronomically.
Well, I actually don't have a Moroccan restaurant nearby... As far as I know we don't have an Moroccan restaurant.
hmm I can find 1 Moroccan restaurant in my city. Funnily enough, if I want some Moroccan food delivered I have to call 'The American steakhouse'
Tahuti
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Actually I've encountered at least a dozen Moroccan restaurants, though these are definitely not as common as Turkish, Greek or even Italian restaurants. Especially the amount of the latter two is probably a bit surprising considering there are relatively few Dutch people of Greek or Italian descent compared to Moroccan descent.
mayor
Heart & Mind
I meant were I live
Our community of Moroccan descent isn't all that big, about 0,001% of the total population.
(calculated with numbers from 2009)
Have I just read that someone suggested visiting a polder?
It might interest you to know that 'patatje' (and 'potatoe' and most other European names) comes from the Spanish making up the word 'patata' to replace 'papa' because you can't use the same word for a legume and the Pope like the silly natives did in their own language in South America.
Never heard that before.
Fried potatoes and fried onions do make a good combination. Leave the mayonnaise and such stuff out. Just lots of salt.Because we have a good taste?
And Curry (a spiced ketchup), Joppiesaus (some sort of saus from the east of The Netherlands), Fritessaus. (usually not combined)
Don't forget the onions! According to wiki there are different types of 'Patatje Oorlog' depending on in what region you are. These are;
a) Chips (fries) with sateh, mayonaise and chopped onions.
b) Chips (fries) with sateh and mayonaise. (Apparently this is also called 'Patatje flip'.)
c) Chips (fries) with sateh, mayonaise, curry and chopped onions. (Apparently mostly in the province of Noord-Brabant and around Leiden).
d) Chips (fries) with mayonaise, curry and chopped onions but without the ketchup. (unusual and is usually referred to as 'Patatje Speciaal').
Don't ask me why people do this....
It might interest you to know that 'patatje' (and 'potatoe' and most other European names) comes from the Spanish making up the word 'patata' to replace 'papa' because you can't use the same word for a legume and the Pope like the silly natives did in their own language in South America.
Tahuti
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Actually, it is even quite common to live in one.
Dutch people always eat fries with sauce, and mayonaise is particularly common.
