Queens’ Day today also known as ‘let’s all wear orange’ day also known as ‘we’re allowed to fly our flag’ day also known as the biggest garage sale in the world. See, the Dutch love bargains and Queens’ Day is one big bargain. All profits made on street stalls are not taxed and it gives the Dutch the opportunity to do what they do best – buy things cheaply that they can then show to their friends and discuss what a bargain the item was.
Some other interesting things I’ve noticed about the Dutch so far …
1) Most of the houses and apartments have huge windows and while they all appear to have curtains and/or blinds hung, they are rarely closed. I’m not sure if that is because they always need to see what’s going on outside or if they want passers-by to see their beautifully decorated interiors – probably a bit of both.
2) They appear to have taken fast food to an extreme new level. Snack food walls exist on just about every corner, train station and shopping district. These are walls of cabinets containing ‘hot’ snacks – most deep-fried – where a customer inserts €1-2 and then can open one of the little glass doors containing the coveted deep-fried snack. A trick, I’ve been told, is to never open the doors at shoulder hight – these contain the oldest goods. Instead go extreme high or extreme low – these tend to contain the freshest stuff.
3) Plants – the Dutch love them and seek to control them. Everywhere I’ve gone I’ve noticed these trees with branches held either up or open by bits of wire. Apparently they create either canopies or fences from these poor defenceless (and in my opinion, strangely deformed) shrubs. Plants also appear in just about every living room I can see – and that is a few because of the aforementioned ‘open curtain policy’. Flowers, I’ve also been told, are the things to bring for every occasion from a house warming to an apology coffee.
I could go on for a while here but to suffice to say I am really enjoying getting into the Dutch way of life. I will, hopefully, have more interesting tales to tell following my five days in Amsterdam!
