Visiting the Netherlands is more than just visiting Amsterdam. There are so many wonderful things to see and do, from the architecture and amazing museums to the biking opportunities to all the windmills and flowers, to the bad parts of visiting The Netherlands, the stigma that the Netherlands are just a drunken party for tourists in the red light district of Amsterdam and did we mention the service? Here are five things you will love and hate about visiting the Netherlands.
Filmed in Haarlem and Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Copyright Mark Wolters 2018
Hate #1. The Drunk/High Tourists in the Red Light District in Amsterdam: and how they have become a defacto image of The Netherlands, when The Netherlands has so much to offer travelers.
Hate #2. The Stairs: look the stairwells in the Netherlands are more like Ladders so be careful on them. Don’t bring heavy bags.
Hate #3. The Service: as much as we love the Dutch people, the service is not something you will write home about. It’s professional, but not overly friendly.
Hate #4. The Bike Lanes: Remember, Red is Dead… you will understand the first time you walk into a bike lane in The Netherlands.
Hate #5. The Unpredictable nature of Dutch weather.
Love #1. The Architecture and Culture throughout The Netherlands. The guild houses that will fill up gigs of data on your camera to amazing churches to museums stocked full of amazing art there is so much to enjoy and see in The Netherlands.
Love #2. The Transportation and Tourism Infrastructure: The Netherlands is super easy to get around.
Love #3. That there is so much more to The Netherlands than just Amsterdam: go explore the country, from Haarlem to Groningen to so many more great towns around the country.
Love #3b. The People of the Netherlands: from their amazing English to their great sense of humor to their directness the Dutch can make for a great time.
Love #4. The biking opportunities and easiness of renting bikes and exploring The Netherlands on two wheels.
Love #5. The drinking and snacking opportunities all over the country.
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37 Comments
Our weather is so inconsistent here, while watching your video as a Dutch man it started to rain, had a thunderstorm and now the sun is shining again. lol
Nooken in da kooken
SO you dont like , the sevice in the netehrlands becouse they leave you alone to enjoy your meal. and value privacy?
Waiters that come very 5 minute i garantee they will be chewed out and the place in question will lose bussines.
You dont like the Cycling lanes . becouse they run you over when walking there . they are CYCLING LANES you have no place beeing there , Marked in red , tons of signs on the lanes and street signs.
Walking there you can get a ticket for endangering others.
Dont like the unpredictable weather. something that is known for centruries an ocean climate . not to hard o look up before traveling.
And you dont like the tourist in amsterdam. well dont go there .
You dont like the stairs. what do you think these are centuries old houses older than the united states it self . they are build for practicle use , not for convienance.
"The service here is not gonna come and kiss your butt."
…and that's exactly the way we like it!
Just realised that a great thing about your videos (the love and hate 1s) is that they help travelers manage their expectations!
I'm always reading reviews by people who, I can tell from what they're saying, didn't have much of an idea what to expect from whatever experience they're commenting on.
(That's why it's so important to READ the reviews and not just go by the rating bcos the ppl writing the reviews might be nothing like you and have different [cough unrealistic] expectations)
This has made me realise how similar the Netherlands 🇳🇱 and England 🏴 are.
1. The weather here is semi unpredictable. (as of 19/02/22) it's currently raining but it was supposed to be dry and yesterday it was very windy but dry but it was supposed to be clear
2. Cycling is quite a big thing here
3. We love football ⚽ (Dutch football fans are better than English football fans)
4. We love beer (heineken is the best beer ever made)
5. We have a lot of drunken stupid people (in places like London)
6. Free healthcare
7. Most people (workers) aren't overly friendly
8. We love our country (some English people are quite patriotic and we like making fun of other countries such as the French, the Irish, Americans, Scottish and welsh.
9. Great food
10. Call all of the UK 🇬🇧 England (even if they are in Scotland DON'T CALL SCOTLAND ENGLAND its like calling the Netherlands 🇳🇱 Holland or referring to Canada as America)
🏴♥🇳🇱
Walking in a bike lane in the Netherlands, it's like walking in the middle of a stroat in the U.S. Do you really think drivers wille treat you with vigilance if you do that? No they don't, they'll do the same thing, they'll honk at you treat you like an idiot or even worse! You don't bike in the middle of highway, you don't drive a car on the sidewalks either.
Very well said.
If male tourists want to meet Dutch girls, REAL Dutch girls, then any red light district is the last place to succeed.!!!
Firstly, most of the red light ladies are anything BUT Dutch.
Secondly, it won't be a friendship – it's purely a business meeting that lasts one hour at best.
I personally think, anyone going to Amsterdam just to experience such an "adventure" will return home just as sad as the district itself is, and having made neither any friends nor any long lasting contacts to look forward to next time.
Amsterdam sucks balls !
In your videos you keep mentioning how not nice or how horrible the service is in restaurants. I prefer to see it as cultural…it's just the way things are done. Yes, they make a decent wage so they're not in a hurry. It can be frustrating, how slow it is and asking for your bill, but that's the way it is. If it's problematic then just keep asking for things.
pik its caled a bike lane for a reason not a walking lane
if you think bitterballen and cheese are not heavy, you will get a huge belly
It’s called a BIKElane for a reason… there are always sidewalks next to the bikelanes
Think you mean in service they are not subservient. Nice they are, good even, But they treat you like equals, and they expect you to do the same.
Yeah, don’t walk in the bike lanes, same why you don’t walk in the middle of the road
It's incredible how much you can speak without saying a lot of good information really
Red Light district is a very small area in Amsterdam. Tourists are tourists. Has nothing to do with Amsterdam
general weather at least 7 months in a year: 10 to 15 degrees Celcius, overcast, (drizzle) rain and sometimes wind
Food in restaurants in the USA is generally much heavier and unhealthier than in the Netherlands!!! Believe me I know, I've lived in the states (Texas) for 7 years (I am Dutch)
There are some really good fine dining restaurants in the Netherlands that are absolutely fabulous (although a bit more expensive). There are also lots of restaurants with healthy options and very good salads that are more reasonable in price. And for me the big pro is that it is not all chain restaurants, but a lot of local individual businesses.
Actually shocked how many things you got wrong about both Denmark and the Netherlands.
No we don’t like to small talk with the waiters all night we are literally out to eat with friends and family… I definitely prefer the bold service where you approach the waiter if you want the bill or whatever.
Also, why the heck would you walk on the bikelanes? They’re literally made for bikes. I guess anything different from USA culture in a “thing you hate”
Lol
Whaaaat? I love it when people walk in the bike lane, it's just so epic!
In the Netherlands in most restaurants we have only 1 sitting. We take our time when going out to eat. And not in certain countries where you have to hurry cuz the next sitting is ‘standing next to your table’ you have to tell it right buddy
I stayed in Amsterdam August 12-14 in 90 f heat and no ac in hotel. It was brutal.
Oooh! I wouldn't like those stairs either. I'm a senior solo traveler with a bad knee. Would never be able to handle that. Thanks for the heads up! And the red light district? No thanks!
I went to Amsterdam and the weather is like BC Canada's weather, it changes on a dime & we have bikers everywhere in my town
Imagine coming to the US and complaining that you get run over when you walk on the high way.
Bicycles are a serious form of transport, used by people going to school and work. Don't interfere with that and get you tourist *ss from the bicycle path.
I have been traveling to the Netherlands for 20 years and they now have amazing restaurants! The food is expensive but i know that before i got out! I’d rather have an amazing dinner then snack all day!
There are sidewalks for pedestrians bikeways for, you guessed it right, bikes and the roads are ment for cars. If everbody keeps their place no accident will happen and yes you have to watch out when crosssing;)
I live in the Netherlands and I didn't visit the touristic Amsterdam since I came about 4 years ago. I hate the crowds and as you referred : high or drunk people bothering me is not fun…
Also yeah : Respect the bikes! 🙂 100%
It’s actually Considerate rude if a waiter brings the bill without you asking for it.
In stairs like that ,when to go down ,i go down with my back but holding the stairs for not to fall
If you dont like the weather, wait five minutes. And watch out for the dog poop everywhere!
Je hebt het niet over Nederland, maar over Amsterdam, dat is geen Nederland.
Waarom Amsterdam ?????😆
Love your pod cast staying in Leiden and going to Harleem today. Thanks for sharing
We went to a seafood restaurant in Amsterdam last year and the service was awesome. Very friendly and helpful.
At least they have bike lanes. In Taipei bicyclists use the sidewalk pavement and pedestrians are at the bottom of the pecking order.