Dutch Happiness and Part-Time Working: Is It Linked?

Most Dutch Women choose to work
part-time
Photo: Kurhan

According to the CBS, nearly 75% of Dutch women in the work place work part-time. It's the highest part-time rate in the EU, despite the fact that the Netherlands has the second highest rate of women workers in the EU: 71.5% of Dutch women work.

It's not a new topic. But it remains a fascinating one. The Dutch government began trying to encourage women to take on full time employment with tax incentives in the 1990s. They didn't work. In fact, the tax breaks did exactly the opposite and encouraged women to work even fewer hours.

As a comparison: The New York Times states that 23% of women in the United States work part time. That is a staggering difference. What accounts for this part time working trend?

One theory back in 2009 was that men were holding women back - shorter hours and less pay for women being the result. The UN commissioned a study, only to find that only 4% of women part-time workers actually wanted to work full-time or longer hours. Dutch women are actually happy to work part-time. They don't want additional responsibility in the workplace. They don't want to work longer hours.

So is it that Dutch women are lazy? Would they rather be at home watching Oprah than sitting in the work place? Is a daily visit to the gym more important than an increased income?

No, it's about personal freedom. About being able to make choices about how life is lived. Dutch mothers are not prepared to give up their family time and leave full-time child-rearing to expensive creches or the grandparents. Those without children choose to 'enjoy life' instead of working full-time. The Dutch want a good work-life balance. The Dutch are family oriented and value their leisure time (as anyone living here will validate - sunny evenings and weekends mean that the locals are out in force with their bikes enjoying themselves - not in an office to please the boss).

Women, and their partners, are contented with this Dutch culture of part-time working. And the result? Happy women! In fact, the Dutch generally score high in happiness rankings (in the top ten). Looks like somebody is doing something right somewhere in the Netherlands. Don't you think?

The Effect of WW2 on The Netherlands: History Helping Expats?

World War II Graves in Normandy, France
Photo: (c) The Writing Well

Heinrich Boere is a former member of the Waffen SS who stood trial in October 2009 in Achen for war crimes and was convicted to life in prison in for his crimes. At the age of 89 he is likely the last Dutch war criminal who will stand trial for crimes committed in World War II against Dutch citizens.

Born to a Dutch father and a German mother, Heinrich was born in Germany but moved to the Netherlands when he was two years old. He volunteered to join the Waffen SS not long after the occupation began.

Between September 1943 and September 1944 he was allegedly part of the Waffen SS death squad (Sonderkommando) responsible for killing around fifty Dutch citizens as reprisal for resistance actions, and in particular Boere was accused of executing three Dutch men: Fritz Bicknese from Breda and Frans Kusters and Teun de Groot from Voorschoten.

Boere escaped from a Limburg prison in 1947 and fled to Germany, claiming German citizenship thanks to his mother’s German heritage. Germany does not hand over wanted criminals to other countries, hence he escaped conviction by the Dutch authorities for many years.

In 2000, the German and Dutch Justice System became once more interested in Boere when he was tracked down and interviewed for a Dutch documentary. He showed no remorse. Years later, he was captured in an interview for the AD saying,

“Orders were orders, otherwise it would have meant my skin. Later it began to bother me. Now I’m sorry.”

In January 2009, it was ruled that Boere was not fit to stand trial due to health reasons. This was overturned later in the same year and he was finally convicted in March 2010.

As a result of the German occupation, the Dutch in their homeland experienced WW2 differently to the British. The war came to the Dutch, and like the French, they lived under German rule in their own land.

Last year I watched Oorlogswinter, a hard hitting Dutch film about the German occupation in the Netherlands. It, and films like it, as well as reading the personal stories of those involved over sixty years ago, provide a real perspective on a major part of Dutch modern history. It’s a harsh, harsh history (see the Rotterdam Blitz or hongerwinter of 1944 as examples)

It’s a history that I wasn’t taught in school (though I did specialise in the French occupation and resistance for my A-level French – the Dutch occupation was mentioned in passing during this study) and a history that goes some way to understanding Dutch attitudes to some things; like why the Netherlands gave up its neutral state after WW2 and was an original member of NATO, the EU and the UN and today hosts the ICTY. It also gives more meaning to the poignant event that takes place each 4th May and the celebrations nationwide on the 5th May.

Learning something about the history, and the influences of historical events, certainly has helped me gain a little more understanding of my adopted home.

Is it something that interests you or do you think it adds no value to integrating into your adopted home?

The Expat Unfriendly Netherlands

Hard to make friends, difficult to learn the local language, fit into the local culture and integrate into the local community. Does this sound like your expat life in the Netherlands?

According to the Expat Explorer Survey carried out for HSBC Bank International the Netherlands placed last out of 25 countries, making it the most expat unfriendly country you could hope for.

Only 36% of expats relocating to the Netherlands find it easy to make friends here and 55% have concerns about the barriers that the local language put up. According to the survey, expats find the Dutch culture hard to fit in to and integrating in to the local community is far from easy here.

The difficulty of making friends in the Netherlands, particularly with the locals, is a common expat forum topic. Learning the language is a common talking point too but for the Netherlands to score so badly on these points did surprise me.

On the other hand, I did feel like shouting  "You see!" to someone who once posted a comment on an article I wrote for the Telegraph. A reader going by the name of "Kingory" commented,

"The Netherlands is about the easiest place in the world to be an expat, the language is really easy if you can hack the pronunciation, English is widely spoken, less than an hour east of London, there are loads of expats there already, and they even have the UK BBC for God's sake!!

Kind of missing the point about trying to integrate I think, but nonetheless you would think that a move to a far flung destination would be tougher than a move to a Western European country.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Have you experienced problems getting your social life on track after moving to the Netherlands? Is the culture too much to adapt to? Do the survey results surprise you or confirm your feelings?

A Lotta Bottle - Recycling in the Netherlands

Photo: Martin Boose

Last September, expat American author Bill Bryson called on Britain to return to the bottle recycling of old to save resources and reduce littering. Until the end of the 1980s this was common practice in the UK and for every bottle of drink you bought you paid a penny or so extra and got it back when you returned the bottle. In fact, I can remember the 'pop' man coming round the streets with his lorry and we'd regularly get our bottles of drink from him in a plastic crate and the bottle deposit was a normal thing. Ach, those were the good old days of dandelion and burdock in a glass bottle delivered to your door.

And then plastic bottles and cans increased in popularity and the bottle deposit system died out in England. Instead there are kerb collections for recyclable materials such as cans, plastic and paper. Bill Bryson's comments however seem to have reopened the debate.

According to the Recycling Netwerk, 90% of beer bottles with a deposit on them are brought back by shoppers in the Netherlands. The system works here just fine, at least from a consumer point of view. One of the concerns about re-implementing such a system in the UK is that shoppers will have to pay a bit more for their drinks and not everyone will be able to get back to the shop they bought the bottle from - the Netherlands has an answer.... a universal system so you don't have to return to the exact shop you bought the bottle from. You can even turn in bottles bought in other countries in some cases - that beer you buy in the Belgian supermarket for example is often accepted in Dutch bottle recycle machines. Small beer bottles have a statiegeld (deposit) value of 0.10 cents, large beer bottles 0.25 cents and a full crate earns you back your 3.95 euro.

There has been pressure on the system over the past few years - for the same reason the system in the UK stopped - because of the increasing market share of cans and small bottles which are not subject to the statiegeld scheme. However, this may change to meet plastic recycling targets set for the Dutch government by including small plastic bottles in the scheme. Maybe that will also help the littering problems around schools.....

What has surprised me about recycling in the Netherlands is that cans are not recycled and in my area the recycling of general plastic packaging has only very recently been introduced. Both materials have been standard in the UK for many years now. Different everywhere you go it seems.

What do you think about the bottle deposit system? Is it in force where you live? Does it help the litter problem?

The Smoking Ban in the Netherlands

Photo: mi-sio

My very first blog post, back in June 2008, was about the new smoking ban that was being introduced the following day in the Netherlands. Fast forward to today.

The smoking ban has proved to be rather a thorn in the side of the Dutch government.  There has been much discussion about the fact that those bars clearly defying the ban over the last few years faced no consequences. Small cafe owners threatened to sue the government for lost earnings from the smoking ban.

Balkenende's government held fast. But then the latest coalition government came in and rescinded part of the law so that owners of those bars up to 70m2 with no employees are free to allow smoking in their premises. Fines for violating the smoking laws in these establishments were also cancelled. Clean Air Nederland collected 35,000 signatures against lifting the smoking ban in some cafes.

For those places where the smoking ban is still alive and kicking, there will be higher fines, stricter checks and enforcement of the law.

In a nutshell, it's a heated discussion in this country - even though the law came into being nearly three years ago. The Netherlands is the first country in Europe to actually reverse a smoking ban. The Dutch HEALTH minister put the reversal down to "consumer choice".

One of the striking differences in the Netherlands is that the ban was not introduced to protect the public from passive smoking but as an extension of the law to protect employees in the workplace, hence bar owners with no staff could challenge the introduction of the law.

Interestingly, restaurants seems to have taken the ban in its stride.

It has all been a bit of a mess and for some reason the Netherlands has faced a difficulty getting a smoking ban implemented that seems to have passed other countries by.

The EU is looking for wider and stricter measures from the member states to reduce the effects of involuntary inhalation of second hand smoke - particularly regarding children and adolescents. At present in the Netherlands around a third of schools ban smoking on their schoolpleinen. Health Minister Schippers wants this to become a total ban and will come with a proposal this spring. I'm assuming that schools won't be as difficult as bar owners to convince that smoking on the school playground should be stopped......

It will certainly be interesting to see how the Netherlands handles any further ban in public areas.

What are your thoughts on how the smoking ban has been handled in the Netherlands? 

Deaths, Injuries, Vandalism - Just A Peaceful New Year's Eve in Holland

Photo: L van Mulligen

Growing up in England, New Year's Eve was about seeing the new year in with friends and family. We would spend the evening in a pub somewhere talking and drinking and maybe dancing. In England, you can even post a letter on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day if you want. Here in the Netherlands, pre-empting the destruction, TNT blocks up all the postboxes across the two days so no fireworks can be put in the postboxes. In some high risk areas, they remove the postboxes altogether. Parking meters are covered up, letterboxes for apartment blocks are covered over in plywood and public transport shuts down before the night even gets going. But that isn't enough to stop some.

Despite ten years here, the activities on Dutch streets on New Year's Eve never cease to amaze me. Children as young as five and six carry around rucksacks full of fireworks, letting them off as they walk around their neighbourhood. Grown men demonstrate to their toddlers how fireworks can blow up a snow mound or a drain. Children still in junior school set fires in the streets, burning anything they can find around them on the paths and when that runs out going door to door to ask for paper. In some areas,  residents feel trapped in their houses as fireworks are thrown at their houses and cars.  40 cars were set fire to in The Hague, just like last year. Bus shelters, shop windows, post boxes and bins are blown up as a matter of course. Fires burn in streets - anything from Christmas trees to mattresses thrown on as fuel. The fire services were busy across the country - they put out 200 fires in undergrounds bins in Amsterdam alone.

And that is to say nothing of the human cost of New Year's Eve in the Netherlands. This year two families lost a child to the culture around fireworks on New Year's Eve in the Netherlands, both as a result of homemade fireworks. Others spent New Year's Day in the hospital with loved ones. Police officers were injured in some of the big cities and in other areas the police seemed to keep a low profile to avoid confrontation, meaning gangs of youths ruled the streets for the night. Other emergency service workers risked being attacked whilst trying to do their jobs.

642 people were arrested in total across the country on New Year's Eve for attacking others (including public service workers such as firemen, ambulance personnel and police), vandalism and other offences.

The thing that really amazes me every year is the media quoting high ranking police officers and mayors saying "New Year's Eve was relatively peaceful". Try telling that to the car owners who have nothing but a burnt out wreck left over, or the family of the police officer with a serious head injury caused by yobs with fireworks, or the families in Ypenburg who are busy replacing their windows after yobs went on the rampage there.

For some reason, New Year's Eve is about disorder and destruction to many in big cities across the Netherlands. It is an opportunity to attack, destroy and be violent and each year it gets no better, despite steps taken by the police. And to call New Year's Eve 'relatively peaceful' seems to me to be accepting the violence and destruction as the norm. Violence and damage aside, I can't even get my head around children spending New Year's Eve letting off fireworks.

Naturally, the majority of the population see the New Year in in a sensible and gezellig manner - with champagne, oliebollen and appelflappen shared with family and friends. And unfortunately, it is usually these people that spend New Year's Day cleaning up the streets they live in and sweeping up the damage caused by others. What a way to start the year.......

Well, That Was 2010

Photo: Billy Alexander

It's end of the year and so time for a little reflection. I purposefully don't do too much reflection on the year that has just gone as there's not a lot I can do to change anything that hasn't gone quite as I had liked but a little look over the year does help to create a little focus for the next year.

Without a doubt the highlight of 2010 for me on a personal level was the birth of my second son, and the time since his birth has been busy manic chaos and I've not had the time to do as much writing as I would have liked - but I'm not going to beat myself up about it because I know what it more important right now!!

Away from me, this year has seen some big events in the Netherlands. Here's an overview of some of the things to have hit the Dutch headlines this year - in no particular order. There's lots more of course and NOS and RNW have good summaries.

Politics: Extreme right MP Geert Wilders somehow ended up with a major say in political matters in this country. It took almost all of this year to get a minority government formed after the last one collapsed due to disagreement about the future Dutch presence in Afghanistan. After talking to just about anyone who had ever uttered anything political, Mark Rutte managed to scrape a government together. He then went on to be named politician of the year - was this for his perseverance? Determination? Strength in the face of adversity?

Crime: The most notorious criminal of the year (and not for the first time I suspect) has to be Joran van der Sloot. Currently awaiting trial for the murder of a Peruvian woman, Stephany Flores Ramirez, van der Sloot was arrested in May this year. He hit the headlines with his suspected involvement in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway.


Sport: The sports highlight of 2010 can be no other than the Dutch team reaching the World Cup final in South Africa. An amazing achievement, despite the loss and the after party also hit headlines across the world.

Showbiz: Footballer Wesley Sneijder and Yolanthe Cabau van Kasbergen are a bit like David Beckham and Posh Spice but then a little less well-known and Yolanthe never belonged to a girl's band (she's an actress/presenter). They did, however, get hitched in Italy in the summer - barely giving Wesley time to recover from the world cup hangover. There was romance, glamour and a dispute over unpaid bills - showbiz in true style. It was all over the press  - whether you wanted to know about it or not.

Volcanoes: The best volcanic action this year was definitely the Icelandic one which no one can pronounce. It stopped air traffic everywhere. In fact, mother nature has done her best this year to ground planes across the world. She even tried to ruin my Sinterklaas celebrations.

What's the highlight of your year been? What has stuck most with you from events in the Netherlands or your home country in 2010?

Killing Two Birds with One Stone - Zebra Crossings and Police Targets

Photo: Christian Kitazume 

There has been a bit of attention in the press recently for the scrapping by the Minister of Security, Mr Opstelten, of ticket quotas for police officers.

The management team of Utrecht's boys in blue has instead issued a "guideline"of around 160 tickets per year and this will also take account of those police who are not consistently out patrolling the streets. Police performance assessments will still include this element.

Some of the police on Utrecht's force say it is pestering the public. I say "get your butts out to the nearest zebra crossing and meet your quota in a week." Seriously - public safety and a good performance assessment - win win right?

There was a recent article in the Dutch press that stated that more and more drivers are not stopping at zebra crossings. Worse still, many drivers don't actually realise they are required by law to stop and allow pedestrians to cross (the law states those persons clearly about to cross the road). This isn't the first post (or second or third) where I've touched upon this topic - and it won't be the last - but it is a pet peeve.

There is a zebra crossing on the road I cross to get to my son's school. I have stood there in a group of mothers, prams and toddlers whilst cars race on through and we have been collectively amazed that our invisible cloaks really do work!!!!! Mutterings in the group standing with me of "I'd like to throw a brick at cars that don't stop" tell me I am not the only one this bugs....

So anyway - two birds, one stone.

Top Chef - A Melting Pot in the Kitchen

Kranenborg and Jaspers present RTL's nationwide search
for Top Chef 2010

Another set of contestants started this week on RTL's Top Chef, the Dutch version of the culinary contest to find an amateur marvel in the kitchen. If you haven't seen it tune in to RTL5 at 7pm every work day (or record it as we do because it's still bedlam in our house at 7pm.......) and catch up with Michelin star chef Robert Kranenborg and culinary expert Julius Jaspers - they are a funny duo to watch! And even more reason to watch - at the end of each week the pair take the contestants to a Michelin star restaurant in the Netherlands to cook under the beady eyes of top professionals like Nico Boreas and Mario Ridder.

But back to the point of this post...... Every week my husband and I play two guessing games whilst we are watching the first show of the week.  The first is "Who will make it through to the next round?" which is a logical game for an elimination style competition. The second game is a less predictable game that you can play with a Dutch cooking program, namely "Guess the nationality of the contestant".

Now, obviously, the majority of the participants are Dutch. Very clearly Dutch. However, usually at least one contestant a week allows us to play guess the nationality.

This week Elvira, from Suriname, was an easy start (particularly as it was mentioned....) but Megy was a whole different ball game. Our first guess was "East Europe". Then it changed to "maybe a Southern Europe country..." Then we couldn't really decide. Turns out she is from Poland but she has lived in the Netherlands for eight years.

In previous weeks we have seen a Frenchman, an Italian, an Iranian and a Turk and another contestant who speaks at least six languages and has lived in various countries. Expats all. But all speaking Dutch, taking part in a television program and striving to become Top Chef Nederland 2010. The show's participants are as diverse as their cooking abilities and the origins of the food they are cooking up.

This show showcases one of the things I love about living in the Netherlands; the diverse, multicultural blend of people all doing it the Dutch way.

What do you get if you Cross an Expat Expert, a video camera and You Tube?

What you get is a great series of on-line lectures for expats by Robin Pascoe.

Robin Pascoe, the expat expert and author of expat books such as "A Broad Abroad", "A Moveable Marriage" and "Raising Global Nomads" has a great video series available called Successful Living Abroad.

It's all in the title - a series of 18 videos tackling universal challenges for expats in bite-size chunks. Topics centre on finding your own identity as an expat spouse, the place of third culture kids in the world, the importance of global nomads and the importance of the family abroad.

In the video below Robin tells why she has developed this on-line lecture series:



Robin really is an expert in her field and a highly respected speaker and writer - if you are abroad, or about to move abroad, check out this series.

Veterans Day in the Netherlands: 26 June

The annual day of honour to the military personnel of the Netherlands takes place on Saturday 26 June for the sixth year. The event takes a look at Dutch military through the years, as well as highlighting the current peace missions around the world involving the Dutch.

The main event takes place in The Hague with Prince Willem Alexander leading a parade of 3,500 military personnel and veterans through the city. There will be a fly over (good to see from the Malieveld) and a stage hosting musical acts throughout the afternoon. The police also give demonstrations there, and every type of military vehicle is available for a good look over.

I have attended this event twice now and it is definitely worth a trip out to experience the atmosphere of the day, particularly if you have a little boy or two in your family!

You can find out more, including the route parade and timing and location of events on the website http://www.veteranendag.nl/n/6/Home.html

Dutch Education System

If you are sending your children to a Dutch school at some point in the future you may already be slightly baffled by the abbreviations you see littered in publications and on websites: VMBO, HAVO and HBO to name a few. Here's what it all means.

General

Pre-schooling (known as peuterspeelzaal) takes children from age 2 1/2 up to age 4.

• Education is compulsory from the age of 5, but many children begin in a basisschool at age 4.
• Public (state) schools are non-demoninational.
• Private schools are generally faith or ideology based and up to two-thirds of Dutch children attend a private school.
• Public and private schools are state funded, as long as they adhere to certain conditions.
• Home schooling is generally not allowed, unless there are extenuating circumstances such as special needs or ideologies which cannot be catered for in mainstream education.

Secondary Schooling

• Compulsory subjects in Dutch secondary schools are Dutch, English, maths, geography, history, sciences, physical education and arts and education at this level is streamed and split into three main study courses:

VMBO (Voorbereidend Middelbaar Beroepsonderwijs): a four-year course, which comprises vocational training and the core subjects at one of four levels.

HAVO (Hoger Algemeen Voortgezet Onderwijs): a five year study with three years of a standard set of subjects then a choice of tone set of subjects from four profiles to study in the final two years (known as Tweede Fase):
Culture & Society
Economy & Society
Nature & Health
Nature & Technology

VWO (Voorbereidend wetenschappelijk onderwijs): this prepares children for a higher education in the fields of science for the arts and lasts for six-years. It is offered in some schools as a bi-lingual course with 50% taught in English or German, which may be something of interest for expats or those bringing up bi-lingual children.

Higher Education

There are two principle types of higher education, both of which result in a Bachelor’s degree:

HBO (Hoger beroepsonderwijs): higher vocational education courses or professional training such as teacher training or performing arts. Students must have HAVO (or level 4 MBO) to attend this type of course, as well as the correct subject profile.

WO (Wetenschappelijk onderwijs): an academic or university education in arts or sciences. Students must have a VWO diploma or have completed one year HBO to enrol in a WO bachelor course.

Foreign students must demonstrate English language proficiency, take an entrance exam and have an equivalent qualification.

Dining Dutch Dogs

We recently went to a pancake house in Katwijk, only to leave with more than we came in with; namely a coat full of dog hair. My husband had placed his coat on the bench next to us, not knowing that some previous diner had obviously thought it appropriate to seat their dog at the table with them.

Many a time I have been in a restaurant here and have sat eating my meal with the rear end of a dog staring at me from under the next table, and even after nearly ten years in the Netherlands this never fails to amaze and irritate me.

In England, in general, the only dogs allowed into eating places, and shops for that matter, are guide dogs, despite the fact that there is officially no law banning dogs from being in restaurants. In many US states, dogs are also not allowed in restaurants but recent new legislation allows them to sit quietly with their owners on outside terraces. It is a very different attitude to mainland Europe.

Here in the Netherlands there are no rules (either real or customary) on where you can take your dog in terms of dining out and people make the most of that. In some cases, it really would not surprise me if the owner settled their dog on a chair, tied a napkin round its neck and ordered from the menu for it - that is how far some dogs seem to be part of the family here......

What do you think about dogs sitting in restaurants? Is it different here to your experiences back home?

NL Doet - Volunteer Action Days

The biggest volunteer initiative in the Netherlands takes place on 19 and 20 March. It is two days set aside to get everyone possible involved in lending a hand where it is needed - getting people out and about to offer a day (or a few hours) of their time to undertake volunteer work.

It is organised by Oranje Fonds, and tasks are offered up by groups and listed online by type and location so that volunteers can be matched to jobs that need doing in their area. Tasks are varied and include things like gardening, supervising special needs groups in special activities, renovations, helping out at the local city farm and painting.

The action coincides with "Landelijke Opschoondag", which is another volunteer initiative to get people out to clean up their neighbourhoods.

Dutch celebrities, royals and ministers are also on the list of volunteers to take action, so you are in good company if you join in on Friday 19 and/or Saturday 20 March.

Whether you are an individual, a family or part of a volunteer group, school or company and want to get involved then check out http://www.nldoet.nl/nldoet. If there are 25 or more of you available, you can make a specific search for jobs so you can work as a team - how's that for a company activity?

A Bizarre Shopping Experience

This is a tale I feel I have to share. My husband went to do our weekly shop on Monday evening this week, as we didn't have time to do it at the weekend, and came back rather bemused. He had been the subject of a verbal attack at the till, as he stood minding his own business loading the shopping into crates.

A woman in her fifties started moaning to no one in particular that these type of people should not be allowed into the shop on a Monday evening, and they should do their BIG shop on a Saturday so that people popping into Albert Heijn on their way home from work could do so quickly. My husband did the polite thing and ignored the batty woman. However, she then asked him directly if he could hear her. He let her know in no uncertain terms there is nothing wrong with his hearing. After a mindless discussion about when he should be doing his shopping, he reminded her that they would all actually be finished and home a lot quicker if the mindless discussion had not taken place. Which she conceded was the case and huffed and puffed until it was her turn to leave the shop. The customer behind her then commented that she probably had only been let out for the day.... maybe explaining her hurry?

It is extremely common for the Dutch to visit the supermarket on a daily basis and grab a few bits and pieces (also perhaps a reason why fresh produce rots within 24 hours of taking it home) and do a big shop at the weekend (when the supermarket is at its busiest I hasten to add) but I am certainly not aware of any Dutch law..... anyone?

Beatlemania in the Netherlands: the one and only visit from the lads from Liverpool

The September -October edition of XM Magazine featured an interesting article looking back on the post-war years in the Netherlands as we enter the last few months of the first decade of the 21st century.

Like in many other countries, the 1960s was a decade of change, rock and roll and people challenging the status quo in the Netherlands. The popularity of The Beatles with the Dutch youth epitomises the clash with the older generation; the tutting of the older folk audible in society. Nevertheless, that was no barrier to The Beatles here.

They reached the top of the Dutch chart 21 times in their career and on 5 June 1964, The Beatles arrived at Schiphol for a two-day visit. It was their only visit to the Netherlands - and the scenes that welcomed them were similar to the 'Beatlemania' that hit them wherever they landed but of course the Dutch have their own particular style.... evident even 4o years ago. Three thousand screaming fans greeted them and among the welcoming parade were girls dressed in traditional Volendam costumes.

That same day the group recorded a 30-minute show for the VARA in Cafe-Restaurant Treslong, Hillegom, hosted by a young Berend Boudewijn who translated questions from the audience. After being mobbed the show was edited to rescue the program - as the band left the stage the music and singing continued....... The show was subsequently screened on Monday 8 June.

The following day the group took a boat trip along the capital's canals and because of the hysteria and volume of the crowd, they arrived two hours late for their concerts in the Blokker Exhibition Hall in Amsterdam. Thousands of fans lined the street, some jumping into the canals to get closer to their idols. These fans were quickly removed by the 'water police'.

Notable was that it was Jimmy Nicol on drums during the Dutch shows, following the collapse of Ringo Starr a few days earlier, suffering with tonsillitis and pharyngitis.

The following day the lads from Liverpool returned to England, before flying off to Hong Kong for the next leg of their tour.



Happy days.. but The Beatles never returned to the Netherlands. I wonder why. Was it the costumes that put them off? The canal invasion? Or the fact that they had to perform in a cattle auction hall?

If you are a Beatles fan and want to see more, check out the Nederlands Fotomuseum collection.

Positive Thoughts About the Netherlands: On Yer Bike

My next positive thought about life in The Netherlands is that it must be one of the easiest countries in the world to cycle around. Unlike the British who have made a half-hearted attempt in some places to build cycle paths, the Dutch have really given cycling some thought to make getting out and about on a two-wheeler as easy as.. riding a bike!

The cycle path network in the Netherlands is extensive, stretching from one side of the country to the other in all directions. Cycle paths are well maintained, serviced by bike traffic lights and street lighting for a spot of night time riding (which is how many Dutch get home after a good night out - or in some cases how they end up spending the night in a hedge) and the signposting is excellent. Parking is also widely available for bikes, some paid and manned, other facilities are free to use, but it is better if you are of an optimistic disposition and emotionally unattached to your bike to use the latter.

Quite how the Dutch came to be such prolific cyclists is probably because the country is flat and cycling is free; we know how much the Dutch love "gratis".

And when I say prolific, I mean they ride their bikes on any and every occasion. My dad bought a pair of bikes back last year back in England because there was a special offer on - buy one, get one free - but they never actually made it out of his garage. This would never happen in the Netherlands. Firstly, I can't see an offer of "buy one, get one free" on bikes becoming reality here, and secondly the Dutch don't buy bikes to leave them in their sheds, garages or basements. They ride them.

They ride them to school, to do the groceries, to get to a play date, to visit family, to pick the kids up from nursery school, to walk the dog (beware - this is not for the faint-hearted and injury can occur) or just to get to a friend's place. They also use them for recreation - for sightseeing, exercise, or just because they can.

Bikes in the Netherlands are also used as a kind of shopping trolley-removal truck-car boot-beer carrier, which means everything can be transported on the front, back and side of a two-wheeler.
Two children fit easily on a bike; one in a special baby seat at the front and an older child in their own seat behind the saddle, and for good measure one may also be propped on the bag carrier at the very rear of the bike. None of them wear safety helmets. If you see a child (or adult for that matter) wearing a helmet whilst on a bike, you know they are not Dutch. They are an expat.

Sometimes the bag carrier is used for actually holding bags, usually filled with shopping. Beer crates are also common items to find on a Dutch bike, along with bunches of flowers and DIY items. Hoards of cyclists leave Praxis or Gamma (both popular DIY stores) with a mountain of wood, paint or tools, throw it all on their bike and cycle off to spruce up their home.

Not only do Dutch bikes carry anything and everything, they carry everyone: women who are 9 months pregnant , pensioners, small kids, fathers, mothers, suit wearing business men with briefcase, lovers (on two bikes but hand in hand) and teenagers.

Cycling for us expats however, is not so easy. Most of us were not born attached to a bike. Buying my first ‘Dutch” bike was in itself a lesson in local culture. I had not ridden a bike for more than a decade so trying the bikes out in front of the bike shop provided plenty of "gratis" entertainment for the shop owner. In a very typical Dutch display of bluntness, he made no attempt to hold his laughter at my shaky (and potentially life threatening) pedalling and steering. When my partner explained it had been a long time since my behind had met with a bike saddle, there was an audible gasp. Most Dutch children learn to cycle before they can walk and the aged Dutch pedal their way into the next life.

A couple of useful cycling links:
Cycle routes in the Netherlands
Get confident on a bike at Bike College and check out the expat program
Traffic rules for bikes (in Dutch)

Expat Life in The Netherlands - It's Life Jim, But Not As We Know It

An expat friend of mine was asked to talk to a woman who is considering making the move from her home in East Europe to the Netherlands. She was asked to tell her what it is like to live in the land of the Dutch and offer her any useful tips on expat life here.

It got me thinking. What would I like to have known nine years ago when I loaded up the back of a trailer and sailed over here on a freight ferry?

The most important thing I wish I had really known is that the Netherlands is different. Even if you only come from the other side of the puddle that is the North Sea, the Netherlands is distinctly different in so many ways to the UK, and to the countries around it. Before I made the move, I never really thought about what it would be like. As a result, I was genuinely surprised by all the little differences.

This was highlighted at the weekend by my dad who was visiting. He pointed out that despite Western European countries being so close together, they are all so different. "Take France, Germany and Holland," he said "Three completely different countries". And he's right. You wouldn't compare the culture of the Netherlands to France - they are poles apart. The Germans and the Dutch? Again, not even close. And the Germans and the French... well, let's not even go there.

So, even if you are a Brit or an expat from a neighbouring country: be prepared for the Netherlands to be different. To show you what I mean; I was reading an expat forum recently and a newbie to the Netherlands asked why the expats are so negative about the Netherlands. She asked a reasonable question and a torrent of ranting and raving began in earnest about everything that is wrong with the Netherlands in their eyes:

• customer service


• rudeness of the Dutch


• rotting food in supermarkets


• dog poo on the streets


• smoking culture


• the shortcomings of the health service


• inconsiderate cyclists


• Dutch food


• crazy driving and the 'give way to the right' driving rule


• rain


• lack of ability to form an orderly queue


• the search for public toilets


• noisy neighbours

I could go on with examples from expat fora. But I won't. You get the picture. Of course, some of these issues are not exclusively Dutch, but some are. The newbie poster asked if expat life is so terrible here, why don't people leave, and she likened the attack on Dutch life to moving to Egypt and then complaining about the heat. A multitude of answers to that of course, but what was interesting was a comment to the effect that had they moved to Egypt, they would have expected a hot sun beating down on them. When they moved to the Netherlands, they had not expected bad customer service, rude people, second rate supermarkets....

And that is indeed the point. No matter where you move from, if you are thinking of moving to the Netherlands, expect it to be different and be prepared to adapt, mostly in small ways. There is so much more to the Dutch culture than tulips, clogs and cheese. It is certainly not comparable to a Brit moving to Asia or Africa, but the culture, history and way of life is different to other Western European countries. Of course, there is also a lot in the Netherlands that is enriching and positive, and I can make an endless list of things wrong in the UK too.

Whichever country you choose to make home, you will need to adapt, accept and tolerate the things that makes your adopted home different - you can't change it; but isn't that what expat life is all about?

Onbewust Asociaal?

SIRE is currently running its 100th advertising campaign, which began a few months ago focussing on anti-social behaviour in Dutch society. Not conscious anti-social acts, but the kinds of things people do without necessarily thinking about how others are effected by their actions.

Think along the lines of dogs doing their business in the street and their owners leaving it for an unfortunate pedestrian to stand in. Or school kids throwing crisp packets and cans on the pavement or in canals on their way back to school from the supermarket. Or the commuter putting a bag down on the empty seat next to him on the bus. Or how about the tinny music blaring from the Ipod on the tram? All little things that bug a lot of people.

You have probably seen the advert series on the TV:




On the website for the onbewust asociaal campaign there is a test available to take, to see if your behaviour is annoying (without realising perhaps) to others around you.

Here are some statistics based on the answers across the Netherlands:

• On average 16,744,000 kilos of dog poo is left on the pavements per year in the Netherlands
• 11,152,000 people step in dog poo every year
• per year nearly 11,000,000 people are annoyed by rubbish on the streets

The discussion that has followed centres on the premise that this campaign legitimises some of this anti-social behaviour by labelling it as unintentional, where in fact, many people know exactly what they are doing when they leave the remains of their dog's breakfast in the park or walk into a shop expecting service whilst talking on their mobile phone. What do you think? What onbewust asociaal behaviour irritates you?

The Green, Green Grass of the Netherlands

There is a children's playground two minutes from home, a place that my son loves to visit of course. However, whilst i enjoy watching my toddler have fun, I am not so keen on the rituals we have when we come back from the park.

At the front door we do a shoe check, followed by a pram wheel check - that's at least four feet and four wheels. The result of the examination usually leads to profanities (from me) and calls of "dog poo, dog poo" (from my son), followed by "project scrape and wash".

Hondenpoep. To you and me, that's dog poo. And it is everywhere in the Netherlands. If it is green then it is adopted as a dog toilet. Even if the patch of grass is adorned quite clearly with signs forbidding dogs, it still ends up as a doggie bathroom.

Now, I am not talking about the odd pile to manoeuvre around. In my local park it is truly a dog poo obstacle course that only military trained personnel can complete without incident.

We actually mailed a complaint to our local council, believing quite strongly that slides, swings and dog poo are not an ideal combination. Within a day or two, we had a card posted through our door from the wijkpost, telling us quite clearly that they are fully aware that there are dog poo issues locally. The park we had highlighted would be added to the 'dog poo patrol' round.

Furthermore, the card informed us, dogs may only foul in the bushes, not on paths and grass areas (good to know next time i am rummaging in the bushes for my son's football), but dog owners are obliged to pick up after their dogs should they foul anywhere outside of the bushes. They are subject to a 90 euro fine if they fail to remove the offending pile and dispose of it in a considerate manner.

The note ended with "Unfortunately, we can't be everywhere at the right moment, but the dog poo nuisance will certainly become less of a problem when dog owners see us patrolling daily".

Ok. I am not holding my breath (unless I am in the bushes on ball fetching duty again) but next time I'm in the park I'll be keeping my eye out for the poo patrol! (I wonder what a dog poo patrol wears!) And if you are a dog owner in my neighbourhood - BE WARNED - if you thought 25cents was an expensive visit to the toilet at the V&D, then wait until you get on the wrong side of the dog poo patrols - it will cost you 90 euros.