Wed, 19 June 2013
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How to spot the ‘typically Dutch’ on vacation.
Peek into the luggage of Dutch holidaymakers driving to holiday destinations, and you're likely to find cheese, liquorice and sprinkles, according to a survey released by auto insurer AllSecur in July 2009.
It may be that most Dutch travellers are headed to a campsite, and therefore need to stock up on supplies...but can't you generally buy bread in Europe?
“Yes, but not our type of bread,” noted my Dutch partner.
We asked the Expatica forums if anyone noticed similar strange behaviour, and the response was more than enthusiastic.
One respondent added another food item to the list, “They usually take potatoes – yes! Really!”
The AllSecur survey confirmed this report, finding that 20 percent of Dutch people who take along food choose to take along potatoes.
Arrival: Tight fists and sitting in circles
Stocking up on food and other necessary items before a vacation means one thing for your holiday destination– you're not spending your money there.
Contributors to our expat forums and foreign holiday hosts apparently have taken notice.
Italians used to have a saying about the Dutch: “NL” on a Dutch number plate means niente lire or, roughly, nil or no lira, according to two forum members.
One expat from New Zealand on holiday in Italy saw this bias in action. The forum user watched a Dutch woman make a purchase at an Italian store, and while at checkout pointed to her goods and said, “Those are not gifts, but this one is,” implying it should be gift-wrapped.
However, the shopkeeper proceeded to put the item back on the shelf while saying “no, no, not a gift”; theoretically, “working on the assumption that she's Dutch and wants something for nothing.”
The same forum user admitted to be able to spot native Dutch while on another vacation in Luxembourg. “Anyone carrying a refilled Spa Blauw bottle” and “the ones who took 'extra' food from the hotel’s breakfast buffet” gave the Dutch vacationers away.
In addition to the refilled Spa Blauw bottles, other qualities helped the forum user pick out the Dutch tourists immediately:
"The ones who dragged their chairs away from under the tables creating a huge racket whilst seating themselves….” and “The ones who walked between me and the chalk artist I was watching, stepping on her artwork as they passed.”
A buitenlander from Belgium claimed to spot “Dutch people from a mile away” while on vacation in Scandinavia:
“There was a nice busy square [with] outside seating. In the middle of this busy area was a massive empty space...created by a group of about 20 Dutch people who had rearranged four tables worth of seats into a massive circle.”
This article made me laugh out loud. My dear Dutch husband has an empty Spa Blauw bottle that he fills every day to take to work with him. He uses the same bottle for weeks at a time -- isn\'t that a breeding ground for all sorts of nasty bacteria? I thought he was slightly nuts, but now I find out from this article that he is just \"typisch Nederlands.\" We are about to go on a two-week holiday to the Spanish island of Majorca, but his precious Spa Blauw bottle will be staying right here at home!
Not sure it is possible making this classification. I've seen Italian people in Italy at hotel breakfast saving extra food for lunch. But I also know that Dutch people brought their dutch milk in Sicily, driving for thousands of kilometers with their food packed in the car. But when in Sicily they gave a milk packege to a restaurant\'s owner as a gift. So, unless the milk was expired, the balance is ok.
This should be known as Dutch milk karma. Paying it forward the dairy way!
This is a great article and caused lots of chuckles. My partner claims to be able to spot a Brit a mile off (and to be fair he usually can) and the Dutch are also notable on holiday! We watch our neighbours trail off on holiday every year with their caravan... propped full of stuff that we think "surely you can buy that in France... ".
And, please, in addition to the sprinkels, milk karma, cheese, etc., please do NOT forget the mayonnaise on the french fries.
In the States, when one is in a McDonald\'s or Burger King, and sees one searching for the mayonnaise, you sit back and think \"The Dutch are here.\"
As a U.S. expat living in Nederland, I know that Americans consider mayonnaise on french fries to be horrid, ridiculous, and even blasphemous to the poor unsuspecting fries. Only ketchup on fries in the old U.S. of A.!
I don\'t think they even have mayo packets at McDonald\'s in America.
(Full disclosure: I\'m still a ketchup-on-fries person, and I just don\'t like the taste of mayo-on-fries. I guess I\'m not inburgered enough yet.)
Paula, they have mayonnaise at McDonald's. You just have to asked for it, which I do. And, I will only eat the real stuff, none of this 'lite' crap. I guess having lived in the U.S. from the age of 13, I am that "Dutch" that is here according to Will. :)
Funny article. I think one has to be with dutch people to really understand their behaviours. About refilling spa blauwe bottles: its a small step to protect the environment. Recently I read news that water in plastic bottles should be banned. They are one of the major causes of pollution.At first, when I saw it I thought it is disgusting seriously but afterwards when my dutch husband explained the advantage behind it, I wished if everyone would think and do like dutch do :). So you see, how directly dutch live in a green way. Over packing gifts free of cost: in most shops in NL gifts are packed without a cost. It has nothing to do with wanting to get something without anything.
I was irritated with their habits and life style at first but after almost 5years in NL I have more respect for these people of tiny land.
Last winter we were skiing in french Alps, on the way from the airport saw tens of dutch drivers. What was funny in many of those car it was a woman driving and a man sitting behind with children. This is how liberated is Holland. In addition to that at the airport we spoted at least 6 couples with matching ski jackets.
This article made me laugh out loud. My dear Dutch husband has an empty Spa Blauw bottle that he fills every day to take to work with him. He uses the same bottle for weeks at a time -- isn\'t that a breeding ground for all sorts of nasty bacteria? I thought he was slightly nuts, but now I find out from this article that he is just \"typisch Nederlands.\" We are about to go on a two-week holiday to the Spanish island of Majorca, but his precious Spa Blauw bottle will be staying right here at home!
Not sure it is possible making this classification. I've seen Italian people in Italy at hotel breakfast saving extra food for lunch. But I also know that Dutch people brought their dutch milk in Sicily, driving for thousands of kilometers with their food packed in the car. But when in Sicily they gave a milk packege to a restaurant\'s owner as a gift. So, unless the milk was expired, the balance is ok.
This should be known as Dutch milk karma. Paying it forward the dairy way!
This is a great article and caused lots of chuckles. My partner claims to be able to spot a Brit a mile off (and to be fair he usually can) and the Dutch are also notable on holiday! We watch our neighbours trail off on holiday every year with their caravan... propped full of stuff that we think "surely you can buy that in France... ".
And, please, in addition to the sprinkels, milk karma, cheese, etc., please do NOT forget the mayonnaise on the french fries.
In the States, when one is in a McDonald\'s or Burger King, and sees one searching for the mayonnaise, you sit back and think \"The Dutch are here.\"
As a U.S. expat living in Nederland, I know that Americans consider mayonnaise on french fries to be horrid, ridiculous, and even blasphemous to the poor unsuspecting fries. Only ketchup on fries in the old U.S. of A.!
I don\'t think they even have mayo packets at McDonald\'s in America.
(Full disclosure: I\'m still a ketchup-on-fries person, and I just don\'t like the taste of mayo-on-fries. I guess I\'m not inburgered enough yet.)
Paula, they have mayonnaise at McDonald's. You just have to asked for it, which I do. And, I will only eat the real stuff, none of this 'lite' crap. I guess having lived in the U.S. from the age of 13, I am that "Dutch" that is here according to Will. :)
Funny article. I think one has to be with dutch people to really understand their behaviours. About refilling spa blauwe bottles: its a small step to protect the environment. Recently I read news that water in plastic bottles should be banned. They are one of the major causes of pollution.At first, when I saw it I thought it is disgusting seriously but afterwards when my dutch husband explained the advantage behind it, I wished if everyone would think and do like dutch do :). So you see, how directly dutch live in a green way. Over packing gifts free of cost: in most shops in NL gifts are packed without a cost. It has nothing to do with wanting to get something without anything.
I was irritated with their habits and life style at first but after almost 5years in NL I have more respect for these people of tiny land.
Last winter we were skiing in french Alps, on the way from the airport saw tens of dutch drivers. What was funny in many of those car it was a woman driving and a man sitting behind with children. This is how liberated is Holland. In addition to that at the airport we spoted at least 6 couples with matching ski jackets.
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