Ask a Dutchman!

[Agent327]

Curtains? Most house windows I pass, have them (or those weird straps called Luxaflex, or something else preventing passers by from looking in), although in the daytime they usually are open, yes.

I'll not comment on the pot, but as per reimbursemnet of ravelling costs, I'll reiterate it's always wisest to check with the intended employer. (Off the top of my head I can't think of a university town that doesn't have a train station, but I'm sure I missed one.)

 

[mayor]

My paranoia forbids me to disclose that .
But it's probably in the only university city on this damn planet which does not have it's own train station .

Edit: Guess when they take me, then I'll ask some more questions here .

Fair enough, but know that you got me thoroughly intrigued.
A university city without train station... in The Netherlands... where every town larger than two streets has it own train station...

 

[mayor]

?
*checksTheIP* that town has sure a train station, hasn't it?


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And to get the connection back, I guess I can ask the first question right now: Do you know any more or less important differences between Germany and the Netherlands? The only thing which my parents remember from holidays 20 years ago is that it seems you don't have any curtains on the windows, but that's probably the least important thing to consider .
Edit: Yeah, and pot, but that's common knowledge ^^.

Well, If I remember correctly from my courses 'business cultures in other countries' the main difference it the organisation, which is more informal.
Obviously there is a hierarchy, but it it isn't unusual to call the boss with his first name or a high level of own initiative on the workfloor. (Note: this is a gross simplification of the truth but holds more or less)

 

[anandus]

Fair enough, but know that you got me thoroughly intrigued.
A university city without train station... in The Netherlands... where every town larger than two streets has it own train station...

I'm confused too, even Kampen, Breukelen and Wageningen have stations.
(Those were the only university cities which I doubted to have train stations).

 

[The_J]

I said the city itself doesn't have a train station . A nearby city has one, and the train station has the name of both cities. But the additional 10 km travel via bus is not something which I'd really have needed :/.

Curtains? Most house windows I pass, have them (or those weird straps called Luxaflex, or something else preventing passers by from looking in), although in the daytime they usually are open, yes.

Ah, that might be it.
I also shortly googled that now, seems that in the German area there's a "neighborhood legend", which says that you had at some point taxes on curtains. Might be that we therefore more consciously notice the open curtains.

Edit: I would have liked to link the google translated version of the German wiki article, but the google translation is awful :/.

Well, If I remember correctly from my courses 'business cultures in other countries' the main difference it the organisation, which is more informal.
Obviously there is a hierarchy, but it it isn't unusual to call the boss with his first name or a high level of own initiative on the workfloor. (Note: this is a gross simplification of the truth but holds more or less)

mmhh...since it was in the group where I made my thesis not unusual to call the Prof. with his first name, I would maybe not even have noticed it when I'll travel there.
Outside of the uni that's different, so that's really a difference.

 

[strijder20]

Do you learn French at high school (obligatory)?

 

[mayor]

I said the city itself doesn't have a train station . A nearby city has one, and the train station has the name of both cities. But the additional 10 km travel via bus is not something which I'd really have needed


Ah, I see. Good luck there, please share if you get the job. I would like the chance of sharing the lame jokes there are concerning you future employer

 

[anandus]

Yeah, some French, I think a minimum of two years, although I might be wrong about that.
But it's been a while. Maybe it's different nowadays.

 

[mayor]

Do you learn French at high school (obligatory)?

Everybody has at least 2 years of French, after which you can choose between either German or French

 

[Bakspatel]

Everybody has at least 2 years of French, after which you can choose between either German or French

I have to correct you on that - not everyone is being taught French. Vmbo students (of which about 55-60% of all students in the Netherlands follow) are not provided French as a language. They do receive at least two years of German.

 

[Bakspatel]

I think you've forgotten about the 1830 revolt that created the state of Belgium. The bufferstate you mention was the Kingdom of the Netherlands of 1815.

Wouldn't he be talking about the Spanish/Austrian Netherlands? I somewhere read that it was not that the Dutch republic was unable to 'liberate' them, but they preferred the situation because if the French wanted to invade they have had to go through them first.

 

[Agent327]

The latter is correct: the Austrian Netherlands at some point were provided with a 'fortress barrier' as protection for the 18th century Republic (which proved quite ineffective after the French Revolution). So in 1815 the Great Powers decided to combine the Austrian Netherlands (later Belgium) with the northern Netherlands as a bufferstate kingdom against possible French aggression in that direction.

 

[The_J]

...aaaand another trivial question: I'd need the number of a dutch telephone information, just in case (always imagining the worst ).

 

[Agent327]

http://telefoongids.nl/ (telephone directory, in Dutch)

You can enter Name/What (left), Location (right) - and hit the blue button to Search.

The column in the bottom center says: Download our free app (Download button at the bottom)

Oddly, no telephone number is given (found that in the physical phone directory): 020-4086400 (customer service, who you should be able to address in English).

Some googling got me this: http://www.phonebookoftheworld.com/phonebookofthenetherlands.htm

 

[The_J]

Oddly, no telephone number is given (found that in the physical phone directory): 020-4086400 (customer service, who you should be able to address in English).

Thanks .

I don't think my internet flatrate will count in another country, so I needed a number -> thanks .
I also don't have a smartphone, so the app will sadly not help (my netbook has Android, but there doesn't seem to be an app available).

 

[Glassfan]

So, how about this museum heist in Rotterdam. I suspect Thomas Crown.Kunsthal Museum

 

[Agent327]

Yes, I read about it yesterday. As the police said, the perpetrator was 'well prepared', unlike the museum in question. There is no mention of any security measures, except for 'securty tapes'. Apparently the Kunsthal didn't find it necessary to hire security guards for the duration of the exhibition. (Or perhaps that exceeded the funds they are allocated, as the previous 'condoned' government has firmly reduced subsidies to all arts.) Picassos and Matisses go for high prices on the regular market, so I suspect they will end up with some private collector if the thief isn't apprehended before that happens.

 

[Agent327]

These are the stolen pictures (estimated worth dozens of millions, but ofcourse impossible to sell legally): http://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2012/10/16...de-kunsthal-ze-komen-uit-de-triton-collectie/ (article in Dutch).

 

[Glassfan]

Well, the Scream was eventually recovered, so let's hope for the best.

 

[WindFish]

I have a question,

I've been in the Netherlands since Tuesday and everyone has been so kind to me.

Why is that so when I got told that Dutch people are blunt as [RETRACTED]