I grew up in a small village, still live there, and it just baffles me that in big cities people don't greet each other on the street. Okay, I get it when you're in a crowded street, but otherwise, what's wrong with saying hi or good evening to others, even if you don't know them?
@@nomennescio7571 i was born and raised in Rotterdam . If a random stranger in the streets would greet me I would be weirded out. It’s just not something you do here
I have lived in Amsterdam my whole life and i say hello to strangers many times, and most of the time they say hello back. The people who do not say hello are mostly foreigners
Not only in the country-side. In my neighbourhood in Amsterdam, it's the same. And i've lived in several other cities in the Netherlands where it's common too. Not in city centers, or other places with lots of tourists or passers-by, but in streets and parks where most people you meet live close by, it's the norm, all over the country.
I always feel greeting 'everybody' is a case of how many people you are likely to meet and if many, how many of them you are likely to know. When I walk in my neighbourhood, a small town or big village, I do greet the people I know by face. Not everybody, not non. In a smaller town you know more and you greet all. In a big town you will only know those people who live close to you. When cycling home to work I only greet the other recumbent riders (and those I will always greet when I am on a 'bent) but when out on a fun ride and not meeting as many people, I tend to greet almost everybody, but in such a way they can ignore it if they want. I would not greet 50 or more cyclists on a short commute, no time to do so.
When I worked in the Central Station of Amsterdam at the ticket sales, and tourist would ask: How are you? I would answer: So far, so good. And at that point they would realize they really asked a question.
@@Wim-Minnaard Ik zal aan een balie ergens waar ik nooit kom, nooit aan de baliemedewerker vragen: Hoe gaat het? Ik zeg: Goedemorgen, wacht op een antwoord en dan stel ik mijn vraag. Bij bekenden zal ik de vraag stellen hoe het gaat om ook echt te willen weten hoe het gaat. Is beslist niet hetzelfde waarop een Amerikaan How are you zegt. Die verwacht geen antwoord op die vraag.
@@1336mg Daar heb je wel een puntje. Bij kaartverkoop op station is dat wel een vreemde opening van het gesprek. Ging mij eigenlijk om de “hoe gaat het?” “Goed” gesprekken die ook in NL veel voorkomen. Denk niet dat de vraagsteller echt op een ander antwoord dan “goed” wacht. Probeer die vraag eens te beantwoorden met een tegenvraag “waarmee?”
The number of times I almost had collisions with tourists on bikes not knowing how to signal or stopping in de middle of the cycling paths to take a picture are countless.
They are actually also the law (at least the sticking out your hand to signal). But the school traffic exam (bike diploma) is actually a very good thing. Out of NL you see way too many cyclists that do not know how to behave safely in traffic.
True, and they are part of the official traffic rules. That is especially important on situations where scooters (max. 35 km/hour) are mixed with bikes or even brommers (light motorcycles) are mixed with bikes. In that case the bike rules apply to all, but bikers need to be especially watchful for those motorized bikes in the same lane.
In the Netherlands we also use 'Hee, hoe gaat het' as a greeting. We would say it to friends or acquaintances. If we are not close to those people, we just expect peope to say 'goed, met jou?' even if you're not doing that great.
@@TheEarlyBirdofficial I can’t hide the fact that I’m Dutch so in an American diner when the waiter or waitress says “how are you doing today?” I automatically respond with “great, thanks!” - some will click on this, as being funny and surprising - which may actually lead to even more convo.
I found the first one amazing: "How are you?" It's soooo true!! I (as a Dutch person) was asked how i was doing by someone from the US. I put my entire life story on the table, just to notice that the other person completely didn't care. How rude is that!! As Casey said, only ask if you want to know the answer!!! :-) :-) :-)
I think the truth is somewhere in between. Giving your entire life story isn't exactly what Dutch people do often either... so that is just as weird tbh 😅
In linguistics, there is a thing called Phatic Expressions. In English, that is what "How are you?" is ... it is just a greeting. To take the words literally is a mistake in understanding English. It's an understandable mistake if English is not your first language, but it is a mistake. There is a good Wikipedia page on Phatic Expressions.
@@duaneeitzen1025 I just checked it on wiki. I actually never heard of this specific terminology before, even though i studied linguistics for a part of my education (e.g. onomatopoeias were discussed extensively). Thank you for that!!
Well however it is, it`weird to me. You say to a person "How are you?" that`s def. a question, so expect an answer, if you want to greet that person, just say "Hi" or "Hello" or "Good morning,evening". Plenty of greetings to go around, without asking a question.
I think the Australians saying hi to everyone is a very dutch thing actually. I think it’s from all the dutch people that have moved there over the years..
It's even mandatory to use the correct lanes/paths and to stick your hands out whwn turning. You can get a fine or an official warning for breaking the rules. Because Amsterdam is a tourist city and the capital, they don't give many fines to cyclists, there are simply too many people who don't follow the rules. But if you're in smaller cities, it's easier to get fined if you don't follow the rules.
Actually, cyclists are by law allowed more. especially drivers are deemed guilty by default if cyclists are involved. Has to do with the fact that they are considered to be in more jeopardy then any other user of the road.
@@3698sch What many people don't know that in any accident where the traffic law finds you guilty of the accident according to traffic rules, a public court appeal can still have the other party found partly responsible to the accident and reduce your financial liability if you can prove the other side did nothing to prevent the accident from happening!! Right of way must be given and not taken! And this also applies on bikers, even when traffic law says a car driver is guilty by default!! Its just that most people don't know this or they consider it to much effort and time consuming for something their insurance is covering for the most part if not all of it
I live in a small town and maybe it's different here but if people don't want to know how you're doing, they usually greet you with a short "Hi!", "Hallo" or "hoi". So, if someone asks me how I'm doing, they will get the full and comprehensive story if there's anything special to report, good or bad.
So that's the point. For English speakers "how are you?" is synonymous to "hello". They say "how are you" and don't even expect "good" in response, I guess. While in Dutch "hallo" and "hoe gaat het met jou" are two whole different things.
@@anoth3rme No, the point is that it is just weird to ask people how they are if you couldn't care less how they are doing. Do you just want to say "Hello"? Then just say "Hello". Hello is a simple short word with a clear meaning. It doesn't need a synonym that's longer and has an unclear meaning.
I grew up in a rural area and when I would bike to the village (8 km) you did not always have a pedestrian path. So pedestrians would then walk on the cycle lane because they would have no other choice. That is not disturbing at all, but if there is a pedestrian path... oooooh boy, they have called for it.
and when it's just a cycling path most people stick near the edges, walk partially on the grass, whilst some people just stand in the literal middle of the path or create a wall of bodies.
Hi Casey, fun fact: rules for cycling are not really unwritten. When I was a child in the early 2000s we had to take a biking exam in primary school. We got a sticker on our bikes at the end of it, which basically meant: this kid can cycle safely on their own. Some things are also in the law, lights on your bike for example, white in the front, red in the back, no blinking lights. You can get fined if you don't have them. The rule of thumb is: when the street lights are on, you need to put your bike lights on. Not sticking to the rules, sticking your hand out for example, is very dangerous, especially if you're going left (and need to cross the road) and cars are behind you. If a car hits you and you're on a bike, they are always guilty by law, even if you made a mistake, so it's actually very rude not to do so. We take cycling very very seriously :)
It's a super serious thing! I had no idea you guys did little exams in primary school that's so cute. I'm so excited for our daughter to be in school in the Netherlands. If every expat had to take one of these exams too there would probably be a lot let yelling or accidents happening in the bike lanes because of them.
@@caseykilmore Before turning left you MUST look over your shoulder to see if any traffic is coming. If so, you MUST wait until it is safe to turn to the left.
@@caseykilmore I also don't understand why they don't hand out leaflets with the rules of cycling at bicycle rental places. Lots of it is the same as for cars, when it comes to right of way and traffic lights, but they could at least make people aware that there are rules :) I feel like people have no clue hahah Edit: Also, we had an actual coursebook in primary school about cycling. I don't know if it still exists, I'll send a link if I can find it, might be fun for your daughter!
I came to the Netherlands after living in Copenhagen, and I still like the safety of using the Copenhagen left turn in the road, even if it means always waiting in at least one red light. It makes such a difference if everyone follow the cycling rules!
@@FlaviaDias000 Had to look up what the Copenhagen left turn was. On large crossings in the Netherlands you tend to have bike lanes with their own traffic lights, so you do not have to check on the pedestrian lights. With smaller crossings without any traffic lights it is more common to just take a left after other traffic is out of the way.
I stayed for a while in an apartment in a gated community in Texas. There was a swimming pool and whit sun beds and everything. Nobody greeted each other or talked with each other. It made me very uncomfortable at first because i thought it was me doing something wrong. The neighbour told me i was the first person he talked to in the six years he lived there. In the Netherlands people in the street great me. In the apartment building I live everyone says halo or make small talk when we pass by each other. Even when i go shopping i have spontaneous conversations with complete strangers on a regularly base.
I work at a company with a lot of expats, if they don't try to speak Dutch after 3 month I just start talking Dutch to them. Girls try it much more faster then guys. French guys just don't try it so I speak always Dutch to them from the beginning. O, and the company pays for Dutch lessons inworking time, so it can't be that...
About bike lanes: lots of people, myself included, feel free to shoulder into or shove people standing in bike lanes or walking onto bike lanes without checking. It's the most efficient way to tell foreigners they're out of line. You wouldn't do that on busy car lanes, doing it on a bike line is the same to us.
true ... however ... the notion that the ciclist is the most protected one is not complettely on point. There's been a case were a ciclist pushed over an elderly lady she died ... and the ciclist was convicted for cousing her death. the correct translation is the weaker particepant in traffic is the protected one .
I greet people on the street mostly in the evening. I think it's for the same reason as 2 drivers on a lonely road in Australia do it. It's not just, 'hi'. It means also 'I'm safe, are you?'. (as in 'I'm safe, as in, don't fear me, I'm a good person') You also hear in the bus, when people in almost empty buses thank the driver when they get off: "bedankt!' I think it's telling everyone, this bus driver belongs to all of us, so keep them safe too. People that greet, without wanting anything from you thus sign, nothing to fear here, I participate in being civilized. People that don't greet are either asocial, obsessed over something, or, at worst, not safe. Thus greeting enlarges a sense of public safety.
I just think it is just to be polite? I've never thought "Oh, I am safe, let me say thanks to the bus driver", it just means I'm thanking them for driving.
@@tomdegroot1133 Ah, I meant, 'I'm safe' as in 'don't fear me'. With which we calm each other subconsciously. Sometimes older people will not like it when you don't greet them, or greet them back. And I think, that's not only to be polite but also, they wanna know: will you be dangerous? Oh, you greet politely, what a relief.
Yeah, greeting someone on the street at night works really disarming. Like, indeed, some folks are out for trouble, but they keep to themselves. Just a "Goedenavond" makes a connection and shows you're both just out for a stroll, letting the dog out or whatever. It's all relaxed, basically.
What gets me every time is when people assume that Holland is the name of the country. And that is not just expats and tourists, it is the Dutch themselves as well. I was watching a bit about the Belgium - Netherlands border and the local there said: "Now I am in Belgium." Took one step. "Now I am in Holland." No, he was either in Noord Brabant or in the Netherlands, not in Holland, no way. I even have had quite a few (non Dutch) people asked me when the name was changed as 'back in school they learned the name of the country was Holland'. I could assure them either they remembered wrong or were taught wrong. The name has been Nederland for a long time.
@@woudy7327 Veel mensen die Engeland noemen bedoelen ook daadwerkelijk Engeland en geen Schotland of Wales.. anders benoemen ze het wel. En we zijn geen Dutch.. we zijn Nederlands en zeker geen Holland... Wil niet vergeleken worden met Duitsers..
Why? They just try to relate to you. Everyone does this. If someone visited New York and meets an American they will maybe share a story about NY. Or Rome and Italy, Paris and France, etc. You can’t expect people to know everything about the Netherlands. Amsterdam is part of the Netherlands and is a prime example of dutch culture, who cares about the small differences in other dutch cities? Dutchies are often so serious about all kinds of little facts about the Netherlands. While actually not knowing all that much about their own country themselves. Weird to hold foreigners to a higher standard and get offended when some fact about Amsterdam doesn’t hold true in some provincial town.
Yes... they always start about Amsterdam.. then I reply that I am from Rotterdam and the should come visit my city.. there is more in the Netherlands than Amsterdan.
@@lordbunbury Amsterdam, to me and a lot of people I know, is very tourist based I don’t mind if someone has been on a trip to Amsterdam and talks about it, I’m more annoyed when all someone knows is Amsterdam and when they think Dutch culture is just weed and the red light district (I’m not saying everyone is like this, there are so many lovely people who weren’t! It’s just those ones that can get quite annoying)
she's referring to signaling to overtake other cyclists, not signaling to turn a different direction. Which isn't mandatory. I think she knows there are traffic laws, but besides the law people also do extra things that are not stated by law, but are crucial to not get into an accident.
@@tr33c21 Yes, they are mandatory. The are traffic rules. Always make clear where you will go when you're on wheels. So by law, you are obligated to show your hand to show which turn you'll go. If you don't and a boa (might be a police officer or another kind of law enforcer) sees you're lacking. They can fine you for that. That'll be €35 ex €9 fee for the administration. €44 total.
When I stayed in London with my son for a holiday, almost nobody greeted or talked. With one exception, there was a very fluent english speaking youngster distributing flyers, and we got to talk, and at a certain point we discovered we both were from the Netherlands. him being a Dutch expat in London. That made sense to me.
Interesting video. I have to say that the 'Australian' friendliness you speak about doesn't happen in Sydney. Us Sydneysiders DO NOT greet each other and on a whole we like to keep to ourselves. Having lived in apartments almost all my life in Sydney, we never knew our neighbours and that was totally normal - and this is coming from someone who is quite friendly and outgoing. So I found that people in Amsterdam are way way friendlier than in Sydney.
Okay I’m Dutch and in my old neighborhood I’d just smile at everyone and greet them, I moved away last week so I’m in a new neighbour hood but I still greet everyone I see :) when I was walking with my grandma however she’d always go ‘shh you don’t know them’
@1:10 it's not that it makes me annoyed, it seems to make "you" guys annoyed when you get an honest response, which generally will be something like, ok , unless it's good, and maybe something was bad and then we share, I actually appreciate that given that most people well known in the netherlands will politely listen out and interact with whatever is brought up in that moment as a form of stress relief and sharing, which is a choice you may or may not engage with , with any person at any moment of it being asked if you are well... What pisses us of is when someone asks if we are well but are unwilling and flustered when it gets a response that has a personal touch.
It's interesting to hear your view on the bike lanes. I think the main thing is, if you are in the bike lane, you have to communicate. There is a lot of communication going on, not (just) by using hands, but mainly by looking at each other and respecting each others speed and direction. And that's the main problem with tourists, they are not aware that they became part of the traffic in the bike lane and are not used to communicate to others what they are up to. It's totally fine to walk straight across a bike lane (even diagonal), as long as your intentions are clear.
Good work Casey! In general people will not care too much if you make a mistake but just show interest in wanting to learn and try not to make too many assumptions like I have experienced with many (American) people staying or visiting the Netherlands.
Some solid points to keep in mind for sure. I'm liking the new format, it also looks like you've bumped up with video quality. Maybe it's just my eyes but it's looking great, good work!
Just like saying or referring to "New York" as if it were the whole USA would be annoying and smirk producing beyond northern NJ. Like in Kansas or Georgia or Mass...
@@carlcushmanhybels8159 People refer to New York State as if it was all one giant city, which it is not. New York have several cities, but it also has lots of rural areas and mountain ranges.
Hello Santa is a derivative of Sinterklaas, thanks to the netherlanders who went to new amsterdam (nowadays New York) and the surrounding area sometime in 1600. they continued to give presents to the children and this was taken over by people who are not of Dutch descent and later moved to Christmas day.
More specifically, both are based on an amalgamation of saint Nick and Odin's wild hunt. Santa Claus was transformed into a rather different character for the sake of commercialism. Now that Sinterklaas has become more of a jolly old man himself (the punishment aspect of the tradition being largely done away with), the line between the two--flimsy background story and some aethetics aside--has become less clear once more. While the two characters are somewhat different, I feel it's ridiculous we celebrate both and a mere three weeks apart at that.
@@LH_Vagrant while this is true, I dont believe many dutch families actually celebrate christmas with santa clause. It's more of a christian holiday to be with family in my experience.
Honestly, the 'how are you' is usually asked when people wanna be asked how they are themselves. Almost like if someone asks them back it's okay to share.
Growing up in the US, my half-Dutch-ancestry parents who also lived/taught several years in the Netherlands (deliberately choosing to live and teach far from Amsterdam BTW, -- for real, local appreciations & experiences)-- revived Sinterklaas traditions for my brothers and I. It was fun to have 2 holidays: Sinterklaas, Dec 5-6, and Christmas. 'Loved hiding presents for Sinterklaas and Dutch spice cookies & chocolate letters. We had 2 Sinterklaas books to learn by. We put wooden shoes by the fireplace, added carrots for Sinterklaas's horse...
🙌 Don't bicycle on the highway 🙌 The police has to take Americans, Canadians and other foreigners from the highway because they cycle there. The highways are strictly forbidden for any slow means of transport.
I've had the 'how are you'- thing vica versa. When I just arrived in Ozzie a lady at the supermarket 'asked' me that and I thought 'Oh how nice' ☺ and started to tell her about my day, lol! The look on her face was memorable I can say, haha! It was quite a learning experience, since she was the first of many check out people who give the chance in reverse order: which is to first lay the note in your hand and lay the coins on top of that. Here we often give the coins first and then add the paper. So many little things. I loved to experience it. Australia is a beautiful country with great people and attitude ♥
Sinterklaas is geen vrije dag, geen heilige dag, geen holy day, geen holiday. Het is gewoon een kinderfeest dat op vijf december gevierd wordt en ook volwassenen doen daaraan mee en men geeft elkaar cadeautjes. Kerst is op 25 en 26 December. En als dat op doordeweekse dagen valt dan heeft men vrij van werk.
Especially when you are in Rotterdam (010) and as expat you say you love Amsterdam (020) you get the most beautiful remarks you can imagine. Also in The Hague, Utrecht and Eindhoven. Good luck with it 😂.
@@SideWalkAstronomyNetherlands Ik zou het geen 'discriminatie' noemen, maar sommige Amsterdammers kijken nogal neer op de rest van het land. Amsterdam is een wereldstad, de rest van het land is "de provincie" of "de polder" (ironisch, want Amsterdam is juist de polder; Oost-Nederland ligt wel boven NAP :)). ik kom uit het zuidoosten van het land en heb een tijdje in Amsterdam gewerkt. Een aantal van mijn collega's daar was verbaasd toen ze hoorden hoeveel mensen er in de regio's Eindhoven-Helmond en Arnhem-Nijmegen wonen. Die groep Amsterdammers denkt (of is opgevoed met de veronderstelling) dat de andere steden in Nederland maar vlekjes op de landkaart zijn in verhouding tot Amsterdam. In werkelijkheid zijn vrijwel alle Nederlandse steden slechts vlekjes; ook Amsterdam. Leg de kaart van Nederland maar eens op schaal over die van Victoria (Australië) heen: - Nederland: 41.000 km2 - Victoria: 237.000 km2 Nederland past dus ongeveer zes keer in Victoria. En dan is Victoria nog niet eens een hele grote staat naar Australische begrippen. Als we Amsterdam vergelijken met Melbourne: - Amsterdam: 219 km2 - Melbourne: 9.000 km2 Natuurlijk moet je niet generaliseren: niet alle Amsterdammers zijn zo. Er zijn ook wereldwijze Amsterdammers en in mijn straat hier in zuidoost Nederland wonen een paar Amsterdammers die het helemaal gehad hebben met Amsterdam en de Amsterdamse mindset.
Hi. I was seconded to Amsterdam for 3 years with British Telecom to work in Telfort. I was going to go to Dutch classes but I had to work shifts. If I had a day off it was usually because I had been working all night. When I mentioned this to my Dutch colleagues they would rather I didn't bother. We used to work on Swedish equipment and all the paper work, manuals and computer responses from the equipment was only in English. They wanted me speaking my English (with a Welsh accent) because they could pick up idioms much easier. Not all my colleagues were Dutch some were expats from the old Dutch colonies. When I left there were a few Dutch men and women who can swear as well as a Welsh-man, and with the my accent! I also learned a few Dutch expressions from them! I agree with you, it is necessary to learn the basics at least. Please, Thank You, Good Afternoon etc and “No may on my Frites” are the essentials.
Yeah it's a weird thing. Some Dutchies even speak English amongst each other. I sometimes switch to English with my girlfriend, just because? We're both Dutch... This is also prevalent in academic or expat-like settings, many young Dutch people prefer speaking in English if there's even the slightest reason (work is in English, one course is taught in English, one classmate doesn't speak dutch very well, etc)
I had this Irish roommate in Austria during the winterseasons and she was always soo damn polite. But so polite i distrusted her honesty. I rather have her honest and straight forward then to be polite just for the sake of being polite and not honest. Everyday she asked me how my day was. I actually enjoyd that at first. Got to do my daily story what i experienced at work, but more and more i found out, she wasn't even listening. She kept doing the dishes or continued cooking with all the noises, sometimes even walked out of the room when i was still talking. No following up questions and mostly just nodding and saying oke. But the next day she still asked me: "How is your day?". Stop asking if you don't wanna know. I never asked her how her day was. I couldnt care less. Same stuff was happening anyway. If something different, weird or amazing happend I expect you to tell me without me asking for it, because how the hell should i know when something out of the ordinary happend?! Furtermore phrase your questions another way. Say: "Hi, did you had a good day?". Then i would propably say: "Yes Thank you, did you?" End of convo.
When it comes to Sinterklaas and Santa Claus. In short Sinterklaas is originally a Roman Catholic holy day to Saint Nicholas of Myra. Saints are remembered on the day of their death. Which is December 6th for him. He was among other things patron of children. That's why children get presents. Almost all traditions are references to the miracles that are contributed to him and the groups of people he has patronage over. Christmas is a holy day for all Christians and in several European countries their was some sort of "mystical" giver of gifts to children around Christmas time. Father Christmas was the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas, but was no gift giver. At some point several traditions were mixed up in the Christmas gift-giver we know and Saint Nicolas's name was attached to it.
Most people will not give an honest answer to 'how are you', they'll just say 'fine thanks' without actually saying how they are. ('hoe gaat het' , 'goed hoor')
I agree though you usually have a short greeting before it I feel? like hey, or long time no see, it feels more sincere oppose to a casual greeting. As in it is still expected you say you are good, but there is some interest behind it. It is something that was confusing for me when learning English, I always was surprised by how direct and quite deep it was, especially if you don't know someone that well. I would have to think about it and gave a honest answer. Took me a while to learn its just for greeting, but I rarely use it myself as it feels unnatural.
I agree with all of them, except the "how are you thing?" I use it all the time and always get short (not always honest😂) answers, like "good thanks". I think they get that it's just part of the greeting.
I disagree. "How are you?" requires an answer more than just "fine" or "so-so". I fell into this trap when asked by an American colleague. At the time it was a horrible year for me, so I explained this. I don't think he was very comfortable with it.....
If you say it in English, and you live in a big city with people who are used to foreigners. When you say it in Dutch, to a Dutch person, it's a bit weird or considered dishonest if you are not honestly interested in how someone is actually doing.
Me, a Dutchman, can relate to this except for the greeting part. In the soutern part of the Netherlands (Noord-Brabant or Limburg) we constantly greet eachother, but in the northern part it is weird if you do it.
Your way of explaining the difference between dutch culture and Amsterdam is pretty acurate. Big cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague etc. are stuffed with tourists and therefore very different compared to other dutch places. The people in smaller cities or villages are more social in their behaviour. And bicycle lanes are also typical for the bigger cities. However we do have them even next to the country roads between small towns. Nice video ;-)
Mostly for practical purposes, unless you like to greet 1000s of people every day. 😅 But in my old neighborhood in Rotterdam there was also a strong sense of community and greeting was the norm. That's the great thing about Dutch cities. There are these villages within a city that function as an island within the hustle and bustle. Visitors from outside usually don't get to experience that. Amsterdam is overrun by tourists (usually) but Rotterdam too tends to be dominated by (day) tourists and expats nowadays. Rotterdammers mostly live their lives outside the city center. It's a city without a heart as the local saying goes. That means the people living there experience a completely different city than most visitors do and in some ways that's a blessing.
When you're in a city sitting by yourself on a bench, for instance, and someone passes, you can look at each other and notice that acknowledging each other by a greeting is the friendly thing to do. Not everyone will be so inclined, that's correct.
Funny that you mention the Sinterklaas/Santa Claus thing. Did you know that the story of Santa told in Finland is exactly the same as Sinterklaas in the Netherlands? Santa in Finland is, like Santa around the world, the Christmas saint :)
“How are you?” is just not a greeting in the Netherlands. A dutch reaction is the same as an Australian would react to a literal translation of a chinese or indonesian greeting. In China it is common to ask: “Have you eaten already?”. In Indonesia they ask: “Where are you going?”. These are also greetings and you are not supposed to answer literally. But just imagine, how would you respond as an Aussie to these greetings?
Finaly, Casey you made my day on 2 points. First one is that you mention ithat your experience are mostly in Amsterdam. What says a lot for my, because most expats on RUclips do as if Amsterdam is the model for how Dutch people are, which they are not. Amsterdam is different in many ways. I live near Amsterdam in Haarlem and we are on some points completely different and so is the rest of The Netherlands. And you stole my hart a bit on your 3rd topic. Sometimes I get a bit anoyed by English speaking people who do not first ask "do you speak English?" but just starting talking. And certainly with people you know who live in NL as an expat. You realised that you are guest in our country by saying, at least make the effort te try to speak some Dutch. I really am glad to hear you say that. You are probably the fist who understands those 2 points which I am not the only one who gets anoyed by that. A big compliment to you!
2:16 is really a 'big' city thing, in the countryside 40 to 50 kilometres north of Amsterdam people will greet each other. If only with just a nod with the head.
not in the centre though, it's usually too crowded with people there to say hi to everyone ;) I live in Zeist near de Uithof and it's not a part of the city where people greet each other much but I think that'll be different in neighbourhoods with more families and kids. It's not so much here with students and people living in flats. In the towns near Rotterdam it's more common to say hi but i find it strange that in some parts of the same town people say goodbye to the bus driver when they leave the bus but in other parts (where my mum lives) they do not do that. It's something I didn't really notice until I took more buses in other parts of the country to get to university.
As a dutch person I can tell you that all of this is so true, especially the language thing annoys me a bit. I mean in Amsterdam there are restaurants where the personel don’t even speak a little dutch, so I have to speak english in my own country to order a steak. Now I don’t mind speaking english, but like you said, at least try to learn a little bit of basics if you decide to stay here for a longer period of time.
@@ayf449 Cool! I have no idea, but I am learning Russian myself at the moment and one thing I learned is don’t focus on grammar too much, it will hold you back drastically, instead focus on vocabulary. I am using the app Duocards right now, which is a flashcard system and I’m making gigantic progress with my Russian right now. Good luck and have fun learning Dutch 👍🏻
What surprised me living in New Zealand was that when people there ask you how you are they actually expect some kind of response. Usually a 'sweet as' would suffice for an answer, but ignoring the question there seemed to be considered rude, haha.
Well that makes lots of sense, there are LOADS (like really really a lot) of Dutch people (mostly farmers) who moved to New Zealand. So they left their marks in the culture.
First point is so recognisable. I am a Dutchman and when I lived in the US I quickly got used to "How are you doing", but the lack of sincerity still annoyed sometimes. That being said, often enough we Dutch ask and also answer, but usually fairly superficially if we don't know if the other really wants to know.
Most foreigners don't understand Dutch cyclists, the separated bike lanes are not to protect the cyclists from the cars, it is to protect the cars from the cyclists.
The learning the language thing.. ive been living in the Netherlands for 11 years, im Scottish...and i cant hold a conversation in dutch, unless you speak to me like a toddler.....i know a lot of words, but my brain cant do sentences....i had a car accident in Scotland when i was 17.. long before i moved here... and it wrecked my short term memory... its what also stopped me following in my parents footsteps and becoming a graded nurse.... i wish i knew how to dutch...video's like this help me so much, it confirms that i am at least doing something right, i know enough to order food, or go shopping... but if i need something specific, i google it, take a screenshot and just show the pic of what i need and tell them, sorry, ik can allen engels praten...most are great with it... but i live in the Achethoek, so i still get some dirty looks....lol.. people can be weird
In Amsterdam, people on the street are generally rushing from A to B in the context of a busy schedule. When I am traveling I am generally in thought about where I am going, so I never say hello to people I meet. But it is normal here to know your neighbors. You can always say hello to your neighbors and then if they start saying hello back you gradually build rapport.
I'm Dutch, I once had an English pizza delivery guy and when I opened the door he was like 'hey how are you' and I was so taken aback, because I don't know you, how am I supposed to answer that genuinely in such a short time. So I just smiled and nodded 'euhm... I'm fine...thanks for the pizza, good luck'
Im not dutch but born and still living here but my dutch dentist when he asked me first time How are you i was shocked like huh why you asking this question? So i answered good, you? But he didnt answer and he did this many times after that and everytime i said and you he didnt answer 😬
Something that children have to do in school is verkeers training where they learn the rules of traffic and that includes all the bike rules. Lots of this even applies later when going for your drivers license. I think it’s a great that we teach children the rules so they can be safer when going out on their own.
In Dutch cities, people are more disconnected from each other. But in towns and vilages they are more connected to eachother. I am from a vilage (a small town) in the Netherlands and do say hello to strangers if I have eye-contact, and if I meet them in the fo- rest, or at a busstop, or if I meet them at a plat- form, while they 're wai- ting on the train. And of course I say hello to my neighbors, even I never spoke with them. Don't be afraid to say hello to strangers, because peo- ple [do] like it, if a stran- ger say hello to them.🙂
Insider tip for tourists, if you want to spend a holiday in the Netherlands/Amsterdam check for hotels in the area close to Amsterdam (i.e. Haarlem, Leiden, Utrecht) as those are beautiful cities too, the hotels are cheaper than in Amsterdam and you can reach Amsterdam by public transport in about 30 minutes.
Hi Casey, really enjoy your channel, interesting to see your journey to learn about The Netherlands. Had a relationship with a Britt for 6 years. Was fun to see the Netherlands through her eyes. To see the difference and similarities between Engeland and The Netherlands. Btw only greet people when am in my home town, like when I go for a walk. When I go to work in the city Utrecht it is to crowded. I think If I started to greet everyone on my bicycle in Utrecht, or even in my hometown people probably would give me the look lol
The not-greeting thing is something for "people you don't know".. In the smaller villages or at social events, the "how are you" is also perfectly normal among dutch. Usually answered with "fine, and how about yourself?". If and when we greet an unknown person (which we really do at times ;) ), we just say hello, because indeed, every question has to have an answer, and you simply don't know if the other guy is prepared to answer.
In Amsterdam, and also other larger Dutch cities, although you have right of way, do not expect cyclists to stop at a zebra crossing when you’re about to cross it as a pedestrian. If you wanna have some fun and you’re physically fit enough to jump away in time (or sustain the impact of a bike), you can annoy the hell out of them by enforcing your right of way and forcing them to stop. Trying to make eye contact is key here.
love hearing another person’s perspective of life in the Netherlands ... and yes, you only notice it when you are out of it or someone points it out, as I just noticed it after watching you lovely video.
For the greeting thing, I think this depends where you live. I have lived in Enschede and Den Haag, and we still always greet people in our own apartment building, at the doctor waiting room, stuff like this, but never on the street in our local neighbourhood in the Hague. I think this is probably too big a city (but maybe there are smaller neighbourhoods where this is normal). Can we talk about people who run in the bicycle lane! Ugh!
Asking, How are you?" in the Netherlands is usually reserved for people you know, not strangers or grocery store cashiers. I studied in Belgium, but in the Netherlands I think they say, "Hoe gaat het?" or "Alles goed?" In Belgium they have the expression, "Hoe is het?" and the words are said run together as one word.
I live in a city which is just one step up from a village, and whether or not I greet people depends on the time of day... During the day (and non-lockdown) a big bicycle path I ride on has so much traffic that if I were greeting everyone I would never get to hold my steering bars again. Yet if I ride that same path later in the day or on a sunday, I might be the only one on it. If there's someone coming the other way I'll greet them.
About the sense of community: I am from America and I feel like in the past 10-15 years this has no longer been part of American culture. I think this is because people are less trusting. This is not true everywhere, but typically when I go out I try to avoid talking to people unless I have to because people tried to steal from me/steal me at college and in bigger cities. How sad. I hope it isn't like that in every state in the USA. I know the southern states are known as being friendlier than the northern ones in USA
We actually learn how to ride a bicycle in primary school (and usually parents teach their children way before). We actually have a theory and practical exam that we had to pass. So those rules are really ingrained into every dutch person.
That was fun, thanks. I just have a problem with the second point. Although they say Amsterdammers are the 'worst', when it comes to social interaction, it's also an exaggeration. I have been on my street for 10 years and since the beginning have always had people interact with me and say hello. Even Albert Heijn staff! But never forget, it's a two way street. Open a dialogue. You never know that one person's story preventing them from opening up. Plus, they perhaps think you're a local and have not said hi to them!? The Dutch are HUGE with the interaction and greeting people. And your comment on learning even the basics of the language; you're correct. The difference it creates when approaching situations.
In Groningen we say "Moi" all the time. Moi for hello, hi, good morning, good afternoon, good night or whatever. Universal greet. Just like the Northern German "Moin". I don't even think about it, but when I meet people from the West they notice it immediately :D
Once went for drinks with friends in the centre of The Hague, at just a normal Dutch café on 't Plein. The waitress could not take our order in Dutch, she only spoke English. My friends and I honestly were a little annoyed and I think she noticed, because we had a Dutch waiter for the rest of the evening. Don't work in a Dutch café if you don't even understand "Mogen we vier pils, alsjeblieft?"
Oma fiets, is a slang name for a bike model dated back to world war one. Orginaly they used the brand of the bike manufacturer. Lately is changes to a model prescription . A bike like grandma drove on .
Als je weer in Nederland bent .... ooit ver van nu.... kom naar brabant. Het is zo n groot verschil met Amsterdam, Den Haag etc. Brabant is veel warmer en gastvrij. leuk voor een nieuwe vlogg. Leuk hoe je je video s maakt. Groeten Frans Rijken x.
When i was a child i said always hi to everyone (thats normal here) than i went to a big city and did the same 🤣allot off people said hi back but looking at me like did i know him or not 🤣🤷🏼♂️
I learned to write and read English at school, but understanding English is a whole other ballgame. So I understand what you mean when you say, don't ask the Dutch "How are you?" It took me years to understand English. Still I sometimes struggle finding the right words to build up my sentenses. After all, I´m still learning. Practice makes perfect.
As for greeting everyone, this only happens in the smaller cities and villages. In big cities from Groningen to Amsterdam, people don't greet each other on the street. When i was 18 and moved to Groningen to study, at first i was confused why this common courtesy i knew as simple greeting people you meet on the street just passing by, didn't exist there. I now live in a small municipality with just over 3000 souls and the greeting everyone is back :d
So the worst thing would be is saying Hi how are you to santa claus, while riding your bike on the sidewalk to the grocery shop in Amsterdam and not hearing their answer ;).
Ik kan nog 20 dingen opnoemen die 'expats' fout doen, zoals Holland zeggen ipv Nederland of een boterham met hagelslag eten *zonder boter.* Btw, nice usage of background-changes, it makes the video less static.
It’s different when you live outside of the city most people greet each other say hello I think Amsterdam is an exception
Zeker weten in het noorden is het volkomen normaal.
I grew up in a small village, still live there, and it just baffles me that in big cities people don't greet each other on the street. Okay, I get it when you're in a crowded street, but otherwise, what's wrong with saying hi or good evening to others, even if you don't know them?
I come from Limburg and people say hi all the time
@@nomennescio7571 i was born and raised in Rotterdam . If a random stranger in the streets would greet me I would be weirded out. It’s just not something you do here
I have lived in Amsterdam my whole life and i say hello to strangers many times, and most of the time they say hello back. The people who do not say hello are mostly foreigners
In the country-side of NL and the villages we say "hi/ goodmorning/goodafternoon" to everybody (like yesterday i greeted at least 50 people)
Hahaha this is always ALWAYS! something I notice when we go to visit my partners parents in their village.
In Groningen they say Moi.
The unwritten rule is that if you make eye-contact you greet each other. Don't want to greet; look the other way, otherwise the greet will come.
Not only in the country-side. In my neighbourhood in Amsterdam, it's the same. And i've lived in several other cities in the Netherlands where it's common too. Not in city centers, or other places with lots of tourists or passers-by, but in streets and parks where most people you meet live close by, it's the norm, all over the country.
I always feel greeting 'everybody' is a case of how many people you are likely to meet and if many, how many of them you are likely to know. When I walk in my neighbourhood, a small town or big village, I do greet the people I know by face. Not everybody, not non. In a smaller town you know more and you greet all. In a big town you will only know those people who live close to you. When cycling home to work I only greet the other recumbent riders (and those I will always greet when I am on a 'bent) but when out on a fun ride and not meeting as many people, I tend to greet almost everybody, but in such a way they can ignore it if they want. I would not greet 50 or more cyclists on a short commute, no time to do so.
I barely think Amsterdam is even "Dutch", there is such a big divide between it and the rest of the country.
er is een groot verschil tussen de randstand en de rest van NL, niet tussen Amsterdam en de rest van NL
@@geenspekkoek8771 Fair enough, daar geef ik je geen ongelijk in
@@geenspekkoek8771 Als een Hagenees, er is ook een groot verschil tussen Amsterdan en Den Haag, en de rest van de randstad ook durf ik ook te zeggen.
@@argr4sh als een Utrechter, vindt ik het wel mee vallen
Every capital ever.... - a sewage of every country...
the ''unspoken bike rules'' are actually real rules in grade 6 we actually have to do cycling exam with all the rules
Ik heb het niet hoeven doen ✨corona ✨
When I worked in the Central Station of Amsterdam at the ticket sales, and tourist would ask: How are you? I would answer: So far, so good. And at that point they would realize they really asked a question.
Grappig :)
Wij hebben toch “hoe gaat het” en dan is het antwoord “goed”. Dus deze begrijp ik niet helemaal😏
@@Wim-Minnaard Ik zal aan een balie ergens waar ik nooit kom, nooit aan de baliemedewerker vragen: Hoe gaat het? Ik zeg: Goedemorgen, wacht op een antwoord en dan stel ik mijn vraag. Bij bekenden zal ik de vraag stellen hoe het gaat om ook echt te willen weten hoe het gaat. Is beslist niet hetzelfde waarop een Amerikaan How are you zegt. Die verwacht geen antwoord op die vraag.
@@1336mg Daar heb je wel een puntje. Bij kaartverkoop op station is dat wel een vreemde opening van het gesprek. Ging mij eigenlijk om de “hoe gaat het?” “Goed” gesprekken die ook in NL veel voorkomen. Denk niet dat de vraagsteller echt op een ander antwoord dan “goed” wacht.
Probeer die vraag eens te beantwoorden met een tegenvraag “waarmee?”
@@Wim-Minnaard ja maar in amerikaans/engels zeggen ze wel echt vaak whats up of 'sup alsin hoe gaat het.
Those bike rules aren't really unspoken, you learn them in school.
She obviously didn't obtain her biking diploma smh..... lmao
The number of times I almost had collisions with tourists on bikes not knowing how to signal or stopping in de middle of the cycling paths to take a picture are countless.
They are actually also the law (at least the sticking out your hand to signal). But the school traffic exam (bike diploma) is actually a very good thing. Out of NL you see way too many cyclists that do not know how to behave safely in traffic.
True, and they are part of the official traffic rules. That is especially important on situations where scooters (max. 35 km/hour) are mixed with bikes or even brommers (light motorcycles) are mixed with bikes. In that case the bike rules apply to all, but bikers need to be especially watchful for those motorized bikes in the same lane.
@@beu9245 not hardly ingeburgerd
In the Netherlands we also use 'Hee, hoe gaat het' as a greeting. We would say it to friends or acquaintances.
If we are not close to those people, we just expect peope to say 'goed, met jou?' even if you're not doing that great.
In South Holland everybody greets each other with "Toedeloe, zoeloe!"
When someone asks "hoe gaat het" and you answer with something other than "goed met jou?" Dutch people will not know what to do or say 😂
@@TheEarlyBirdofficial I can’t hide the fact that I’m Dutch so in an American diner when the waiter or waitress says “how are you doing today?” I automatically respond with “great, thanks!” - some will click on this, as being funny and surprising - which may actually lead to even more convo.
Don't say we Dutch get angry! That really pisses us off!
Yes, Dutch are never angry, just merely constantly annoyed by everything.
Lmfao
My blood is boiling
@@ayoubarcus Cool down, have drink on me. Or better, have an icecream.
@@floris3239 thats because we constantly look for improvements in our lives.
Netherlands is the country where I learned to look "left and right" before, during and after having crossed the street.....
Left right and then left again!!!
@@jnm92 and when you're in the middle of the road right again, or is that just me? 😂
3 way trafficking on one way streets
@@carimavandijk1091 yes for slow people
Amsterdam is not the Netherlands, oh my gosh peopleee 🤦♂️
Hahahah
it's not unlike saying: "the city is not representative for the rest of the country"
It's not even Holland.
@@daddyleon it is
It's the capitol city of The Netherlands!
I found the first one amazing: "How are you?"
It's soooo true!!
I (as a Dutch person) was asked how i was doing by someone from the US.
I put my entire life story on the table, just to notice that the other person completely didn't care. How rude is that!!
As Casey said, only ask if you want to know the answer!!! :-) :-) :-)
I think the truth is somewhere in between. Giving your entire life story isn't exactly what Dutch people do often either... so that is just as weird tbh 😅
In linguistics, there is a thing called Phatic Expressions. In English, that is what "How are you?" is ... it is just a greeting. To take the words literally is a mistake in understanding English. It's an understandable mistake if English is not your first language, but it is a mistake. There is a good Wikipedia page on Phatic Expressions.
@@duaneeitzen1025 I just checked it on wiki. I actually never heard of this specific terminology before, even though i studied linguistics for a part of my education (e.g. onomatopoeias were discussed extensively). Thank you for that!!
Well however it is, it`weird to me.
You say to a person "How are you?" that`s def. a question, so expect an answer, if you want to greet that person, just say "Hi" or "Hello" or "Good morning,evening".
Plenty of greetings to go around, without asking a question.
I think the Australians saying hi to everyone is a very dutch thing actually. I think it’s from all the dutch people that have moved there over the years..
We were never criminals!
@@timtimmerson9535 I'm not sure you can say that about the VOC :P
@@sanssheriff3829 the VOC was operating within the bounds of Dutch law at the time. Times have changed though...
Australia was ones from the Netherlands it was called nieuw Holland I think
It's even mandatory to use the correct lanes/paths and to stick your hands out whwn turning.
You can get a fine or an official warning for breaking the rules.
Because Amsterdam is a tourist city and the capital, they don't give many fines to cyclists, there are simply too many people who don't follow the rules.
But if you're in smaller cities, it's easier to get fined if you don't follow the rules.
Actually, cyclists are by law allowed more. especially drivers are deemed guilty by default if cyclists are involved. Has to do with the fact that they are considered to be in more jeopardy then any other user of the road.
@@3698sch What many people don't know that in any accident where the traffic law finds you guilty of the accident according to traffic rules, a public court appeal can still have the other party found partly responsible to the accident and reduce your financial liability if you can prove the other side did nothing to prevent the accident from happening!! Right of way must be given and not taken! And this also applies on bikers, even when traffic law says a car driver is guilty by default!! Its just that most people don't know this or they consider it to much effort and time consuming for something their insurance is covering for the most part if not all of it
I live in a small town and maybe it's different here but if people don't want to know how you're doing, they usually greet you with a short "Hi!", "Hallo" or "hoi". So, if someone asks me how I'm doing, they will get the full and comprehensive story if there's anything special to report, good or bad.
So that's the point. For English speakers "how are you?" is synonymous to "hello". They say "how are you" and don't even expect "good" in response, I guess. While in Dutch "hallo" and "hoe gaat het met jou" are two whole different things.
@@anoth3rme No, the point is that it is just weird to ask people how they are if you couldn't care less how they are doing. Do you just want to say "Hello"? Then just say "Hello". Hello is a simple short word with a clear meaning. It doesn't need a synonym that's longer and has an unclear meaning.
I grew up in a rural area and when I would bike to the village (8 km) you did not always have a pedestrian path. So pedestrians would then walk on the cycle lane because they would have no other choice. That is not disturbing at all, but if there is a pedestrian path... oooooh boy, they have called for it.
and when it's just a cycling path most people stick near the edges, walk partially on the grass, whilst some people just stand in the literal middle of the path or create a wall of bodies.
Oeh or when they don’t keep their dog on a leash/ don’t pay attention to them, I hate that!
Yesterday I got chased by a dog ;-; annoying as fuckkk
Hi Casey, fun fact: rules for cycling are not really unwritten. When I was a child in the early 2000s we had to take a biking exam in primary school. We got a sticker on our bikes at the end of it, which basically meant: this kid can cycle safely on their own. Some things are also in the law, lights on your bike for example, white in the front, red in the back, no blinking lights. You can get fined if you don't have them. The rule of thumb is: when the street lights are on, you need to put your bike lights on. Not sticking to the rules, sticking your hand out for example, is very dangerous, especially if you're going left (and need to cross the road) and cars are behind you. If a car hits you and you're on a bike, they are always guilty by law, even if you made a mistake, so it's actually very rude not to do so. We take cycling very very seriously :)
It's a super serious thing! I had no idea you guys did little exams in primary school that's so cute. I'm so excited for our daughter to be in school in the Netherlands. If every expat had to take one of these exams too there would probably be a lot let yelling or accidents happening in the bike lanes because of them.
@@caseykilmore Before turning left you MUST look over your shoulder to see if any traffic is coming. If so, you MUST wait until it is safe to turn to the left.
@@caseykilmore I also don't understand why they don't hand out leaflets with the rules of cycling at bicycle rental places. Lots of it is the same as for cars, when it comes to right of way and traffic lights, but they could at least make people aware that there are rules :) I feel like people have no clue hahah
Edit: Also, we had an actual coursebook in primary school about cycling. I don't know if it still exists, I'll send a link if I can find it, might be fun for your daughter!
I came to the Netherlands after living in Copenhagen, and I still like the safety of using the Copenhagen left turn in the road, even if it means always waiting in at least one red light. It makes such a difference if everyone follow the cycling rules!
@@FlaviaDias000 Had to look up what the Copenhagen left turn was. On large crossings in the Netherlands you tend to have bike lanes with their own traffic lights, so you do not have to check on the pedestrian lights. With smaller crossings without any traffic lights it is more common to just take a left after other traffic is out of the way.
When we wave hand in car it's mostly because of thanking letting someone through on narrow roads.
I stayed for a while in an apartment in a gated community in Texas. There was a swimming pool and whit sun beds and everything. Nobody greeted each other or talked with each other. It made me very uncomfortable at first because i thought it was me doing something wrong. The neighbour told me i was the first person he talked to in the six years he lived there.
In the Netherlands people in the street great me. In the apartment building I live everyone says halo or make small talk when we pass by each other. Even when i go shopping i have spontaneous conversations with complete strangers on a regularly base.
I work at a company with a lot of expats, if they don't try to speak Dutch after 3 month I just start talking Dutch to them. Girls try it much more faster then guys. French guys just don't try it so I speak always Dutch to them from the beginning. O, and the company pays for Dutch lessons inworking time, so it can't be that...
The french never even try to speak other languages. Same goes for german or flemish people. Tmho I think they are just stubborn.
dont generalise. My house mate is french and he's fluent in our language
@@lizwilliams2097 I am Dutch
@@pim1234 I understood that
About bike lanes: lots of people, myself included, feel free to shoulder into or shove people standing in bike lanes or walking onto bike lanes without checking. It's the most efficient way to tell foreigners they're out of line. You wouldn't do that on busy car lanes, doing it on a bike line is the same to us.
true ... however ... the notion that the ciclist is the most protected one is not complettely on point. There's been a case were a ciclist pushed over an elderly lady she died ... and the ciclist was convicted for cousing her death. the correct translation is the weaker particepant in traffic is the protected one .
@@dawnmaster68 And in most accidents involving bicycles that usually is the cyclist.
@@gert-janvanderlee5307 yes, but it Would be wrong to just skip it and go straight to that conclusion.
@@dawnmaster68 That's why I used the word 'most'. 😉
@@dawnmaster68 true. it happened to my mother, some young hooligan on a bike shoved her down, luckily she recovered.
I greet people on the street mostly in the evening. I think it's for the same reason as 2 drivers on a lonely road in Australia do it. It's not just, 'hi'. It means also 'I'm safe, are you?'. (as in 'I'm safe, as in, don't fear me, I'm a good person') You also hear in the bus, when people in almost empty buses thank the driver when they get off: "bedankt!' I think it's telling everyone, this bus driver belongs to all of us, so keep them safe too. People that greet, without wanting anything from you thus sign, nothing to fear here, I participate in being civilized. People that don't greet are either asocial, obsessed over something, or, at worst, not safe. Thus greeting enlarges a sense of public safety.
I just think it is just to be polite? I've never thought "Oh, I am safe, let me say thanks to the bus driver", it just means I'm thanking them for driving.
@@tomdegroot1133 Ah, I meant, 'I'm safe' as in 'don't fear me'. With which we calm each other subconsciously. Sometimes older people will not like it when you don't greet them, or greet them back. And I think, that's not only to be polite but also, they wanna know: will you be dangerous? Oh, you greet politely, what a relief.
Yeah, greeting someone on the street at night works really disarming. Like, indeed, some folks are out for trouble, but they keep to themselves. Just a "Goedenavond" makes a connection and shows you're both just out for a stroll, letting the dog out or whatever. It's all relaxed, basically.
@@DanDanDoe When foreign friends visit I used to be amazed how safe they felt in Amsterdam, compared often to their home cities (when from US).
What gets me every time is when people assume that Holland is the name of the country. And that is not just expats and tourists, it is the Dutch themselves as well. I was watching a bit about the Belgium - Netherlands border and the local there said: "Now I am in Belgium." Took one step. "Now I am in Holland." No, he was either in Noord Brabant or in the Netherlands, not in Holland, no way.
I even have had quite a few (non Dutch) people asked me when the name was changed as 'back in school they learned the name of the country was Holland'. I could assure them either they remembered wrong or were taught wrong. The name has been Nederland for a long time.
zucht . . . . . .
Ik haat dat ook
Ach... wij roepen Amerika ipv de Verenigde Staten of Engeland terwijl we Verenigd Koninkrijk bedoelen. Maak je niet zo druk.
@@woudy7327 Veel mensen die Engeland noemen bedoelen ook daadwerkelijk Engeland en geen Schotland of Wales.. anders benoemen ze het wel. En we zijn geen Dutch.. we zijn Nederlands en zeker geen Holland... Wil niet vergeleken worden met Duitsers..
Ik hou van Holland, landje aan de Zuiderzee.
Unexpected Balkenende made me laugh😂
True, because regular balkenende makes everybody sad😖
Someone: where are you from?
Me: the Netherlands
That person: [something about Amsterdam]
Annoys the shit out of me tbh
Luckily I have never experienced this
Why? They just try to relate to you. Everyone does this. If someone visited New York and meets an American they will maybe share a story about NY. Or Rome and Italy, Paris and France, etc. You can’t expect people to know everything about the Netherlands. Amsterdam is part of the Netherlands and is a prime example of dutch culture, who cares about the small differences in other dutch cities? Dutchies are often so serious about all kinds of little facts about the Netherlands. While actually not knowing all that much about their own country themselves. Weird to hold foreigners to a higher standard and get offended when some fact about Amsterdam doesn’t hold true in some provincial town.
yeah me 2. i hate amsterdam. its literally not the netherlands anymore
Yes... they always start about Amsterdam.. then I reply that I am from Rotterdam and the should come visit my city.. there is more in the Netherlands than Amsterdan.
@@lordbunbury Amsterdam, to me and a lot of people I know, is very tourist based
I don’t mind if someone has been on a trip to Amsterdam and talks about it, I’m more annoyed when all someone knows is Amsterdam and when they think Dutch culture is just weed and the red light district (I’m not saying everyone is like this, there are so many lovely people who weren’t! It’s just those ones that can get quite annoying)
@6:40 "Unspoken bike rules....". No, not unspoken, they're in the traffic laws. 😉
she's referring to signaling to overtake other cyclists, not signaling to turn a different direction. Which isn't mandatory. I think she knows there are traffic laws, but besides the law people also do extra things that are not stated by law, but are crucial to not get into an accident.
@@tr33c21 Yes, they are mandatory. The are traffic rules. Always make clear where you will go when you're on wheels. So by law, you are obligated to show your hand to show which turn you'll go. If you don't and a boa (might be a police officer or another kind of law enforcer) sees you're lacking. They can fine you for that. That'll be €35 ex €9 fee for the administration. €44 total.
When I stayed in London with my son for a holiday, almost nobody greeted or talked. With one exception, there was a very fluent english speaking youngster distributing flyers, and we got to talk, and at a certain point we discovered we both were from the Netherlands. him being a Dutch expat in London. That made sense to me.
Being in the outback of Canada, I spoke to a resident civillian in perfect English. He said, speak Dutch I can hear it. He was immigrated since long.
As long as you don't take another biscuit from the jar, you'll live.
Interesting video. I have to say that the 'Australian' friendliness you speak about doesn't happen in Sydney. Us Sydneysiders DO NOT greet each other and on a whole we like to keep to ourselves. Having lived in apartments almost all my life in Sydney, we never knew our neighbours and that was totally normal - and this is coming from someone who is quite friendly and outgoing. So I found that people in Amsterdam are way way friendlier than in Sydney.
Okay I’m Dutch and in my old neighborhood I’d just smile at everyone and greet them, I moved away last week so I’m in a new neighbour hood but I still greet everyone I see :) when I was walking with my grandma however she’d always go ‘shh you don’t know them’
@1:10 it's not that it makes me annoyed, it seems to make "you" guys annoyed when you get an honest response, which generally will be something like, ok , unless it's good, and maybe something was bad and then we share, I actually appreciate that given that most people well known in the netherlands will politely listen out and interact with whatever is brought up in that moment as a form of stress relief and sharing, which is a choice you may or may not engage with , with any person at any moment of it being asked if you are well...
What pisses us of is when someone asks if we are well but are unwilling and flustered when it gets a response that has a personal touch.
1:25 well, most people just say “goed” (good). And then it's just done. So not always really honest.
It's interesting to hear your view on the bike lanes. I think the main thing is, if you are in the bike lane, you have to communicate. There is a lot of communication going on, not (just) by using hands, but mainly by looking at each other and respecting each others speed and direction.
And that's the main problem with tourists, they are not aware that they became part of the traffic in the bike lane and are not used to communicate to others what they are up to. It's totally fine to walk straight across a bike lane (even diagonal), as long as your intentions are clear.
Good work Casey! In general people will not care too much if you make a mistake but just show interest in wanting to learn and try not to make too many assumptions like I have experienced with many (American) people staying or visiting the Netherlands.
I am Dutch, and I am usually not angry or annoyed if foreign people make these mistakes. I just explain them, over and over again.
@Nils Van Veen not at all
Hallo, hoe ben je?
@@ytwos1 het gaat prima met mij
Some solid points to keep in mind for sure. I'm liking the new format, it also looks like you've bumped up with video quality. Maybe it's just my eyes but it's looking great, good work!
I get annoyed by people calling the Netherlands Holland, it's similar to the Amsterdam thing you mentioned, Holland is two provinces, not the country
Me too!
Just like saying or referring to "New York" as if it were the whole USA would be annoying and smirk producing beyond northern NJ. Like in Kansas or Georgia or Mass...
Same as the city amsterdam. It's a city not the whole f*cking country.
City Netherlands and country villages Netherlands are so different
@@carlcushmanhybels8159 People refer to New York State as if it was all one giant city, which it is not. New York have several cities, but it also has lots of rural areas and mountain ranges.
Hello Santa is a derivative of Sinterklaas, thanks to the netherlanders who went to new amsterdam (nowadays New York) and the surrounding area sometime in 1600.
they continued to give presents to the children and this was taken over by people who are not of Dutch descent and later moved to Christmas day.
More specifically, both are based on an amalgamation of saint Nick and Odin's wild hunt. Santa Claus was transformed into a rather different character for the sake of commercialism. Now that Sinterklaas has become more of a jolly old man himself (the punishment aspect of the tradition being largely done away with), the line between the two--flimsy background story and some aethetics aside--has become less clear once more.
While the two characters are somewhat different, I feel it's ridiculous we celebrate both and a mere three weeks apart at that.
@@LH_Vagrant while this is true, I dont believe many dutch families actually celebrate christmas with santa clause. It's more of a christian holiday to be with family in my experience.
Honestly, the 'how are you' is usually asked when people wanna be asked how they are themselves. Almost like if someone asks them back it's okay to share.
Hadn't heard that one before
Growing up in the US, my half-Dutch-ancestry parents who also lived/taught several years in the Netherlands (deliberately choosing to live and teach far from Amsterdam BTW, -- for real, local appreciations & experiences)-- revived Sinterklaas traditions for my brothers and I. It was fun to have 2 holidays: Sinterklaas, Dec 5-6, and Christmas. 'Loved hiding presents for Sinterklaas and Dutch spice cookies & chocolate letters. We had 2 Sinterklaas books to learn by. We put wooden shoes by the fireplace, added carrots for Sinterklaas's horse...
🙌 Don't stand in a bike lane 🙌
🙌 Don't bicycle on the highway 🙌
The police has to take Americans, Canadians and other foreigners from the highway because they cycle there.
The highways are strictly forbidden for any slow means of transport.
@@dutchman7623 if you can cycle fast enough its alright
When I'm walking with my dog I always greet everyone I meet whether they have a dog or not. I live in Zuid Holland
Yup, liking the new editing skills ! (Not that there was anything wrong with the old ones but..) Cheers .
I've had the 'how are you'- thing vica versa. When I just arrived in Ozzie a lady at the supermarket 'asked' me that and I thought 'Oh how nice' ☺ and started to tell her about my day, lol! The look on her face was memorable I can say, haha! It was quite a learning experience, since she was the first of many check out people who give the chance in reverse order: which is to first lay the note in your hand and lay the coins on top of that. Here we often give the coins first and then add the paper. So many little things. I loved to experience it. Australia is a beautiful country with great people and attitude ♥
Sinterklaas is geen vrije dag, geen heilige dag, geen holy day, geen holiday. Het is gewoon een kinderfeest dat op vijf december gevierd wordt en ook volwassenen doen daaraan mee en men geeft elkaar cadeautjes. Kerst is op 25 en 26 December. En als dat op doordeweekse dagen valt dan heeft men vrij van werk.
Especially when you are in Rotterdam (010) and as expat you say you love Amsterdam (020) you get the most beautiful remarks you can imagine. Also in The Hague, Utrecht and Eindhoven. Good luck with it 😂.
Het enige goede uit Amsterdam is de trein naar Eindhoven❤
@@thatlittlegingerr Natuurlijk; daarmee komen de Amsterdammers om cultuur te verspreiden 😎
@@00wheelie00 bah bah😂
Amsterdammers discriminate people, so they are not loved in the rest of the country, specially in the Low-Saxon speaking part of the country..
@@SideWalkAstronomyNetherlands Ik zou het geen 'discriminatie' noemen, maar sommige Amsterdammers kijken nogal neer op de rest van het land. Amsterdam is een wereldstad, de rest van het land is "de provincie" of "de polder" (ironisch, want Amsterdam is juist de polder; Oost-Nederland ligt wel boven NAP :)).
ik kom uit het zuidoosten van het land en heb een tijdje in Amsterdam gewerkt. Een aantal van mijn collega's daar was verbaasd toen ze hoorden hoeveel mensen er in de regio's Eindhoven-Helmond en Arnhem-Nijmegen wonen. Die groep Amsterdammers denkt (of is opgevoed met de veronderstelling) dat de andere steden in Nederland maar vlekjes op de landkaart zijn in verhouding tot Amsterdam.
In werkelijkheid zijn vrijwel alle Nederlandse steden slechts vlekjes; ook Amsterdam. Leg de kaart van Nederland maar eens op schaal over die van Victoria (Australië) heen:
- Nederland: 41.000 km2
- Victoria: 237.000 km2
Nederland past dus ongeveer zes keer in Victoria. En dan is Victoria nog niet eens een hele grote staat naar Australische begrippen.
Als we Amsterdam vergelijken met Melbourne:
- Amsterdam: 219 km2
- Melbourne: 9.000 km2
Natuurlijk moet je niet generaliseren: niet alle Amsterdammers zijn zo. Er zijn ook wereldwijze Amsterdammers en in mijn straat hier in zuidoost Nederland wonen een paar Amsterdammers die het helemaal gehad hebben met Amsterdam en de Amsterdamse mindset.
Hi. I was seconded to Amsterdam for 3 years with British Telecom to work in Telfort. I was going to go to Dutch classes but I had to work shifts. If I had a day off it was usually because I had been working all night. When I mentioned this to my Dutch colleagues they would rather I didn't bother. We used to work on Swedish equipment and all the paper work, manuals and computer responses from the equipment was only in English. They wanted me speaking my English (with a Welsh accent) because they could pick up idioms much easier. Not all my colleagues were Dutch some were expats from the old Dutch colonies. When I left there were a few Dutch men and women who can swear as well as a Welsh-man, and with the my accent! I also learned a few Dutch expressions from them!
I agree with you, it is necessary to learn the basics at least. Please, Thank You, Good Afternoon etc and “No may on my Frites” are the essentials.
Yeah it's a weird thing. Some Dutchies even speak English amongst each other. I sometimes switch to English with my girlfriend, just because? We're both Dutch... This is also prevalent in academic or expat-like settings, many young Dutch people prefer speaking in English if there's even the slightest reason (work is in English, one course is taught in English, one classmate doesn't speak dutch very well, etc)
I had this Irish roommate in Austria during the winterseasons and she was always soo damn polite. But so polite i distrusted her honesty. I rather have her honest and straight forward then to be polite just for the sake of being polite and not honest. Everyday she asked me how my day was. I actually enjoyd that at first. Got to do my daily story what i experienced at work, but more and more i found out, she wasn't even listening. She kept doing the dishes or continued cooking with all the noises, sometimes even walked out of the room when i was still talking. No following up questions and mostly just nodding and saying oke. But the next day she still asked me: "How is your day?". Stop asking if you don't wanna know. I never asked her how her day was. I couldnt care less. Same stuff was happening anyway. If something different, weird or amazing happend I expect you to tell me without me asking for it, because how the hell should i know when something out of the ordinary happend?! Furtermore phrase your questions another way. Say: "Hi, did you had a good day?". Then i would propably say: "Yes Thank you, did you?" End of convo.
Actually, we do ask each other : How are you (not expecting an answer). Really, everybody does.
When it comes to Sinterklaas and Santa Claus.
In short Sinterklaas is originally a Roman Catholic holy day to Saint Nicholas of Myra. Saints are remembered on the day of their death. Which is December 6th for him. He was among other things patron of children. That's why children get presents. Almost all traditions are references to the miracles that are contributed to him and the groups of people he has patronage over.
Christmas is a holy day for all Christians and in several European countries their was some sort of "mystical" giver of gifts to children around Christmas time. Father Christmas was the traditional English name for the personification of Christmas, but was no gift giver.
At some point several traditions were mixed up in the Christmas gift-giver we know and Saint Nicolas's name was attached to it.
Most people will not give an honest answer to 'how are you', they'll just say 'fine thanks' without actually saying how they are. ('hoe gaat het' , 'goed hoor')
I agree though you usually have a short greeting before it I feel? like hey, or long time no see, it feels more sincere oppose to a casual greeting. As in it is still expected you say you are good, but there is some interest behind it. It is something that was confusing for me when learning English, I always was surprised by how direct and quite deep it was, especially if you don't know someone that well. I would have to think about it and gave a honest answer. Took me a while to learn its just for greeting, but I rarely use it myself as it feels unnatural.
I agree with all of them, except the "how are you thing?" I use it all the time and always get short (not always honest😂) answers, like "good thanks". I think they get that it's just part of the greeting.
I disagree. "How are you?" requires an answer more than just "fine" or "so-so". I fell into this trap when asked by an American colleague. At the time it was a horrible year for me, so I explained this. I don't think he was very comfortable with it.....
If you say it in English, and you live in a big city with people who are used to foreigners.
When you say it in Dutch, to a Dutch person, it's a bit weird or considered dishonest if you are not honestly interested in how someone is actually doing.
Me, a Dutchman, can relate to this except for the greeting part. In the soutern part of the Netherlands (Noord-Brabant or Limburg) we constantly greet eachother, but in the northern part it is weird if you do it.
You have improved the video quality and added some other fancy stuff. Nice!
Every expat should follow your channel! ☺️👏👏👏
Your way of explaining the difference between dutch culture and Amsterdam is pretty acurate. Big cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, the Hague etc. are stuffed with tourists and therefore very different compared to other dutch places.
The people in smaller cities or villages are more social in their behaviour. And bicycle lanes are also typical for the bigger cities.
However we do have them even next to the country roads between small towns.
Nice video ;-)
if u greet everyone on the streets in Amsterdam u can literally get people freaked out bc they don't know you, hahahaha
They'll think you are either a street artist or a con man.
Kerst is not only cellibrated on december 25th, but on december 25th AND 26th. Both days are official Kerst-days.
Not all questions need an awnser, the rhetorical ones especially don't need an awnser. But the do have a meaning
usually greeting everyone in a village but in the city not
Mostly for practical purposes, unless you like to greet 1000s of people every day. 😅 But in my old neighborhood in Rotterdam there was also a strong sense of community and greeting was the norm. That's the great thing about Dutch cities. There are these villages within a city that function as an island within the hustle and bustle. Visitors from outside usually don't get to experience that. Amsterdam is overrun by tourists (usually) but Rotterdam too tends to be dominated by (day) tourists and expats nowadays. Rotterdammers mostly live their lives outside the city center. It's a city without a heart as the local saying goes. That means the people living there experience a completely different city than most visitors do and in some ways that's a blessing.
When you're in a city sitting by yourself on a bench, for instance, and someone passes, you can look at each other and notice that acknowledging each other by a greeting is the friendly thing to do. Not everyone will be so inclined, that's correct.
Funny that you mention the Sinterklaas/Santa Claus thing. Did you know that the story of Santa told in Finland is exactly the same as Sinterklaas in the Netherlands? Santa in Finland is, like Santa around the world, the Christmas saint :)
Didn't know about Finland. The American name "Santa Claus" developed from "Sinterklaas". E.g., say 'Sinter Klaas. Santa Claus.'
“How are you?” is just not a greeting in the Netherlands. A dutch reaction is the same as an Australian would react to a literal translation of a chinese or indonesian greeting. In China it is common to ask: “Have you eaten already?”. In Indonesia they ask: “Where are you going?”. These are also greetings and you are not supposed to answer literally.
But just imagine, how would you respond as an Aussie to these greetings?
Yes this is so true!!! 👌
Finaly, Casey you made my day on 2 points. First one is that you mention ithat your experience are mostly in Amsterdam. What says a lot for my, because most expats on RUclips do as if Amsterdam is the model for how Dutch people are, which they are not. Amsterdam is different in many ways. I live near Amsterdam in Haarlem and we are on some points completely different and so is the rest of The Netherlands.
And you stole my hart a bit on your 3rd topic. Sometimes I get a bit anoyed by English speaking people who do not first ask "do you speak English?" but just starting talking. And certainly with people you know who live in NL as an expat. You realised that you are guest in our country by saying, at least make the effort te try to speak some Dutch. I really am glad to hear you say that. You are probably the fist who understands those 2 points which I am not the only one who gets anoyed by that. A big compliment to you!
2:16 is really a 'big' city thing, in the countryside 40 to 50 kilometres north of Amsterdam people will greet each other. If only with just a nod with the head.
well... here in Utrecht everybody says hello to everybody.
Sometimes I even feel a little bit uncomfortable hahaha
not in the centre though, it's usually too crowded with people there to say hi to everyone ;) I live in Zeist near de Uithof and it's not a part of the city where people greet each other much but I think that'll be different in neighbourhoods with more families and kids. It's not so much here with students and people living in flats. In the towns near Rotterdam it's more common to say hi but i find it strange that in some parts of the same town people say goodbye to the bus driver when they leave the bus but in other parts (where my mum lives) they do not do that. It's something I didn't really notice until I took more buses in other parts of the country to get to university.
As a dutch person I can tell you that all of this is so true, especially the language thing annoys me a bit. I mean in Amsterdam there are restaurants where the personel don’t even speak a little dutch, so I have to speak english in my own country to order a steak. Now I don’t mind speaking english, but like you said, at least try to learn a little bit of basics if you decide to stay here for a longer period of time.
Well I'm hoping to learn dutch before my visit in a year or so, any tips? tricks? methods that might help..?
@@ayf449 Cool! I have no idea, but I am learning Russian myself at the moment and one thing I learned is don’t focus on grammar too much, it will hold you back drastically, instead focus on vocabulary. I am using the app Duocards right now, which is a flashcard system and I’m making gigantic progress with my Russian right now.
Good luck and have fun learning Dutch 👍🏻
@@roelheijmans thanks! And thanks for the advice~ best of luck with Russian as well
@@ayf449 Thanks! 👍🏻
What surprised me living in New Zealand was that when people there ask you how you are they actually expect some kind of response. Usually a 'sweet as' would suffice for an answer, but ignoring the question there seemed to be considered rude, haha.
Well that makes lots of sense, there are LOADS (like really really a lot) of Dutch people (mostly farmers) who moved to New Zealand. So they left their marks in the culture.
And as a Dutchy I really agree to your comment about bikepaths. They are for bikes! That really pisses me off.
First point is so recognisable. I am a Dutchman and when I lived in the US I quickly got used to "How are you doing", but the lack of sincerity still annoyed sometimes. That being said, often enough we Dutch ask and also answer, but usually fairly superficially if we don't know if the other really wants to know.
Bikepads for walking, red is dead.
Red is dead 😂😂 I like it 👌👌
It's the easiest way to remember...
Most foreigners don't understand Dutch cyclists, the separated bike lanes are not to protect the cyclists from the cars, it is to protect the cars from the cyclists.
Unless there are no sidewalks then you don't have a choice.
But I don't walk anyway, a wheelchair has wheels too 😂
The learning the language thing.. ive been living in the Netherlands for 11 years, im Scottish...and i cant hold a conversation in dutch, unless you speak to me like a toddler.....i know a lot of words, but my brain cant do sentences....i had a car accident in Scotland when i was 17.. long before i moved here... and it wrecked my short term memory... its what also stopped me following in my parents footsteps and becoming a graded nurse.... i wish i knew how to dutch...video's like this help me so much, it confirms that i am at least doing something right, i know enough to order food, or go shopping... but if i need something specific, i google it, take a screenshot and just show the pic of what i need and tell them, sorry, ik can allen engels praten...most are great with it... but i live in the Achethoek, so i still get some dirty looks....lol.. people can be weird
In Amsterdam, people on the street are generally rushing from A to B in the context of a busy schedule. When I am traveling I am generally in thought about where I am going, so I never say hello to people I meet. But it is normal here to know your neighbors. You can always say hello to your neighbors and then if they start saying hello back you gradually build rapport.
I'm Dutch, I once had an English pizza delivery guy and when I opened the door he was like 'hey how are you' and I was so taken aback, because I don't know you, how am I supposed to answer that genuinely in such a short time. So I just smiled and nodded 'euhm... I'm fine...thanks for the pizza, good luck'
I too still get cought of guard by that question. We are just not used to it.
Im not dutch but born and still living here but my dutch dentist when he asked me first time How are you i was shocked like huh why you asking this question? So i answered good, you? But he didnt answer and he did this many times after that and everytime i said and you he didnt answer 😬
Signaling with your hand to change directions on your bike is not an unwritten rule. It actually is law. 😀😘
Something that children have to do in school is verkeers training where they learn the rules of traffic and that includes all the bike rules. Lots of this even applies later when going for your drivers license. I think it’s a great that we teach children the rules so they can be safer when going out on their own.
In Dutch cities, people
are more disconnected
from each other. But in
towns and vilages they
are more connected to
eachother. I am from a
vilage (a small town) in
the Netherlands and do
say hello to strangers if
I have eye-contact, and
if I meet them in the fo-
rest, or at a busstop, or
if I meet them at a plat-
form, while they 're wai-
ting on the train. And of
course I say hello to my
neighbors, even I never
spoke with them. Don't
be afraid to say hello to
strangers, because peo-
ple [do] like it, if a stran-
ger say hello to them.🙂
Insider tip for tourists, if you want to spend a holiday in the Netherlands/Amsterdam check for hotels in the area close to Amsterdam (i.e. Haarlem, Leiden, Utrecht) as those are beautiful cities too, the hotels are cheaper than in Amsterdam and you can reach Amsterdam by public transport in about 30 minutes.
Hi Casey, really enjoy your channel, interesting to see your journey to learn about The Netherlands.
Had a relationship with a Britt for 6 years. Was fun to see the Netherlands through her eyes. To see the difference and similarities between Engeland and The Netherlands.
Btw only greet people when am in my home town, like when I go for a walk. When I go to work in the city Utrecht it is to crowded. I think If I started to greet everyone on my bicycle in Utrecht, or even in my hometown people probably would give me the look lol
The not-greeting thing is something for "people you don't know".. In the smaller villages or at social events, the "how are you" is also perfectly normal among dutch. Usually answered with "fine, and how about yourself?".
If and when we greet an unknown person (which we really do at times ;) ), we just say hello, because indeed, every question has to have an answer, and you simply don't know if the other guy is prepared to answer.
In Amsterdam, and also other larger Dutch cities, although you have right of way, do not expect cyclists to stop at a zebra crossing when you’re about to cross it as a pedestrian. If you wanna have some fun and you’re physically fit enough to jump away in time (or sustain the impact of a bike), you can annoy the hell out of them by enforcing your right of way and forcing them to stop. Trying to make eye contact is key here.
love hearing another person’s perspective of life in the Netherlands ... and yes, you only notice it when you are out of it or someone points it out, as I just noticed it after watching you lovely video.
For the greeting thing, I think this depends where you live. I have lived in Enschede and Den Haag, and we still always greet people in our own apartment building, at the doctor waiting room, stuff like this, but never on the street in our local neighbourhood in the Hague. I think this is probably too big a city (but maybe there are smaller neighbourhoods where this is normal).
Can we talk about people who run in the bicycle lane! Ugh!
Echt leuk om te zien/horen. Weet ik ook meteen weer waarom ik precies boos moet worden. :)
Asking, How are you?" in the Netherlands is usually reserved for people you know, not strangers or grocery store cashiers. I studied in Belgium, but in the Netherlands I think they say, "Hoe gaat het?" or "Alles goed?" In Belgium they have the expression, "Hoe is het?" and the words are said run together as one word.
I live in a city which is just one step up from a village, and whether or not I greet people depends on the time of day... During the day (and non-lockdown) a big bicycle path I ride on has so much traffic that if I were greeting everyone I would never get to hold my steering bars again. Yet if I ride that same path later in the day or on a sunday, I might be the only one on it. If there's someone coming the other way I'll greet them.
I quite agree with you on the importance of learning the language
About the sense of community: I am from America and I feel like in the past 10-15 years this has no longer been part of American culture. I think this is because people are less trusting. This is not true everywhere, but typically when I go out I try to avoid talking to people unless I have to because people tried to steal from me/steal me at college and in bigger cities. How sad. I hope it isn't like that in every state in the USA. I know the southern states are known as being friendlier than the northern ones in USA
We actually learn how to ride a bicycle in primary school (and usually parents teach their children way before). We actually have a theory and practical exam that we had to pass. So those rules are really ingrained into every dutch person.
That was fun, thanks. I just have a problem with the second point. Although they say Amsterdammers are the 'worst', when it comes to social interaction, it's also an exaggeration. I have been on my street for 10 years and since the beginning have always had people interact with me and say hello. Even Albert Heijn staff! But never forget, it's a two way street. Open a dialogue. You never know that one person's story preventing them from opening up. Plus, they perhaps think you're a local and have not said hi to them!? The Dutch are HUGE with the interaction and greeting people. And your comment on learning even the basics of the language; you're correct. The difference it creates when approaching situations.
In Groningen we say "Moi" all the time. Moi for hello, hi, good morning, good afternoon, good night or whatever. Universal greet. Just like the Northern German "Moin". I don't even think about it, but when I meet people from the West they notice it immediately :D
Moi is short for goodmorning, they say it all the way up to Danmark, starting at Dedemsvaart :)
I definitely agree on the "Wat zeg je?" part. So rude of people to not even attempt to learn the language of the country they moved to.
Once went for drinks with friends in the centre of The Hague, at just a normal Dutch café on 't Plein. The waitress could not take our order in Dutch, she only spoke English. My friends and I honestly were a little annoyed and I think she noticed, because we had a Dutch waiter for the rest of the evening. Don't work in a Dutch café if you don't even understand "Mogen we vier pils, alsjeblieft?"
Oma fiets, is a slang name for a bike model dated back to world war one. Orginaly they used the brand of the bike manufacturer.
Lately is changes to a model prescription . A bike like grandma drove on .
Als je weer in Nederland bent .... ooit ver van nu.... kom naar brabant. Het is zo n groot verschil met Amsterdam, Den Haag etc. Brabant is veel warmer en gastvrij. leuk voor een nieuwe vlogg.
Leuk hoe je je video s maakt. Groeten Frans Rijken x.
When i was a child i said always hi to everyone (thats normal here) than i went to a big city and did the same 🤣allot off people said hi back but looking at me like did i know him or not 🤣🤷🏼♂️
in the Randstad they don't greet each other in the Netherlands. But in the North East or the South especially in the villages
I do live in the outskirts of Amsterdam and we do greet one another in the building. On the bike, nope you would be very bsyy
Ohh the ‘how are you’ 😂 I had an australian roommate and I was so confused at first whenever she said it 😅 so relatable
😂
I learned to write and read English at school, but understanding English is a whole other ballgame. So I understand what you mean when you say, don't ask the Dutch "How are you?" It took me years to understand English. Still I sometimes struggle finding the right words to build up my sentenses. After all, I´m still learning. Practice makes perfect.
As for greeting everyone, this only happens in the smaller cities and villages. In big cities from Groningen to Amsterdam, people don't greet each other on the street. When i was 18 and moved to Groningen to study, at first i was confused why this common courtesy i knew as simple greeting people you meet on the street just passing by, didn't exist there. I now live in a small municipality with just over 3000 souls and the greeting everyone is back :d
So the worst thing would be is saying Hi how are you to santa claus, while riding your bike on the sidewalk to the grocery shop in Amsterdam and not hearing their answer ;).
Ik kan nog 20 dingen opnoemen die 'expats' fout doen, zoals Holland zeggen ipv Nederland of een boterham met hagelslag eten *zonder boter.*
Btw, nice usage of background-changes, it makes the video less static.
Hagelslag zonder boter op je boterham? Is dat niet gewoon illegaal dan? Bizar
Dat doe ik al bijna m’n hele leven, vrees ik 😬 Ik houd niet van boter op mijn brood.
@@hansc8433 Hoe blijft de hagelslag op de boterham dan? Ik gebruik alleen boter als zonder het beleg er vandoor gaat.