I spent six weeks in the Netherlands in 2022. I stayed in Weesp and spent weekends in Amsterdam. Here are my notes:
- If you go to a national park and talk to a park ranger, they will be confused if you say you prefer hiking over biking the trails.
- Eat the apple pie.
- The Dutch don’t really do consumer debt, so you might encounter businesses that don’t accept credit cards. Some don’t even accept cash, only Dutch bank cards.
- Weesp is like a town out of a fairy tale. Canals. Windmills. Lily pads. Perfectly picturesque.
- Reserve tickets for the Anne Frank and Van Gogh museums well in advance. Even with limited entry, the Van Gogh Museum was packed.
- In Valencia, Spain, citizens follow the pedestrians-over-bicycles-over-cars right-of-way hierarchy very well. That’s not the case in Amsterdam. Cyclists reign supreme (in and out of bike lanes).
- Every Dutch person I met speaks pitch-perfect American English.
- Canals are so cool. On separate occasions, I saw a floating pride parade and a floating brass band.