Posted on 22 August 2008 by joost
Tipping, should you? Well yes, you should you cheap bastard! Nothing ruins a day for a service industry worker more than an empty tip jar. It’s not even the money, but the appreciation of hard work. Do these people need the tips to survive? Well no. So if the service was bad, screw ‘em.
Posted on 19 August 2008 by joost
Ah, the dreaded birthday. After age 12 they don’t seem so special any more, and after 30 they’re basically an excuse to load up on booze. Well, and having friends over of course. Birthdays in .nl have their own set of rules, but if you bring a gift, any faux pas will quickly be excused.
Posted on 17 August 2008 by joost
For the tiny speck of land that is neder, a surprising number of dialects are spoken. Excuse me, there are several official languages even! Well maybe just two, and maybe the minor one is really really minor. Still, a slang-speaking person from the north will have a hard time understanding someone from the south.
Posted on 14 August 2008 by joost
A variation of the bakfiets, the crate bike is a phenomenon that’s mainly observed in Amsterdam. Ingredients: one bike plus one crate, preferably an old bakery or produce crate. You tie it to the front of your bike, using nothing more than a few ty-raps. Useful for transporation of just about anything.
Posted on 05 August 2008 by joost
Fries are universal, but Nederlandse fries are … Flemish? Yep, that’s right. For many things related to taste, our neighbours to the south are superior to us and fries are no exception. We don’t even call ‘our’ fries ours anymore, but simply Vlaamse Frieten (Flemish fries). Yes, with mayo.
Posted on 01 August 2008 by joost
Ah, that quintessential footwear of the low countries. The wooden shoe, or as we say, klomp (clog) has been going out of style since the 1500s. Yet it is still worn today, albeit only by provincial folk and tourist entertainers.
Posted on 01 August 2008 by joost
Face it, if you are a smoker, you are doomed. You might as well quit now, because you will be forced to eventually. As one of the last countries in Europe, smoking is now banned in bars in .nl as well. Unsurprisingly, it went without a hitch.
Posted on 28 July 2008 by joost
This subject leads itself to so many puns it is funnier for me to stick to the facts and let y’all laugh amongst yourselves. The subject is dikes (dijken), sans any fingers in holes (grr! couldn’t resist) but with a couple of facts about these water stopping devices.
Posted on 27 July 2008 by joost
Taxis are a sufficiently global phenomenon that I won’t go in detail here. You get in, state your destination, pay and get out: simple enough. But there are some twists in .nl. We have regulations you see. Or no, we don’t. Wait, yes, yes we do.
Posted on 27 July 2008 by joost
Difficult as it may be to comprehend, Amsterdam boasts a phenomenon called the plaskrul or “peeing curl”. This is a warped piece of metal in which men can take a pee. No, I am not making this up.