American picks up 6 Dutch habits - Life in the Netherlands & the Dutch lifestyle

The Dutch do a few things differently than Americans. In this video, I talk about 6 Dutch habits that I've picked up since I started living in the Netherlands. I have really gotten into the Dutch lifestyle!
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I like to share my experiences of an American expat in the Netherlands. I describe both the unique and everyday aspects of Dutch culture, and life in Holland while enjoying every bit of it!
Blog website: www.dutchamericano.com
Instagram: DutchAmericano
Get in touch: [e-mail]
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[@Barutokun]

"I have never consumed so much sugar" is not a phrase I would expect from an American moving to the Netherlands. More like the reverse..

[@Barutokun]

@Ad Lockhorst Obviously they're all sugars and they're 'hidden' in a lot of food, but from what I've heard/read, that happens even more in America (and in larger quantities) than it does here.

[@Barutokun]

@Ad Lockhorst Ah, so what you're saying is that when Ava talks about sugar, she's not counting all of those?

[@DutchAmericano]

Haha, interesting conversation here. Well, all I meant was that I've developed a sweet tooth since moving. About the other sugars; they're definitely in a lot of processed, prepackaged meals in the US. Very true!

[@charevian2661]

Have you every tried "zoute drop"? I still think many people don't try that in the first years living here. 😉

[@ay7115]

@@DutchAmericano you cannot get any food in a supermarket in the US without sugar being added. Bakery items are super sweet, almost feel like my teeth will fall off. I prefer European cakes. As an example.

[@Quinqx]

Fun fact; ventilating your home generally lowers humidity in your house. After ventilating you can warm up your house quicker (you don't have to warm up moisture first), using less energy and it will feel more comfortable.

[@jessvanlaar]

I usually don't like the dry air caused by this and offset it by putting a bowl of water on the heater.

[@PhoenixNL72-DEGA-]

@@jessvanlaar Yes, too low humidity causes dry eyes, head ache, irritability and lack of focus.

[@arjanjung1009]

@@PhoenixNL72-DEGA- Haha, luckily you're living in the netherlands then

[@johannooyen3213]

'Een beetje frisse lucht', that was really pronounced with a major Dutch accent.

[@pvdn77]

The difference with the US with regards to grocery stores is often rooted in urban planning. Residential areas in US are often not allowed to be mixed with for example stores, because that area is designated for 1 specific purpose and nothing else. So stores move far away, resulting in people having to take a car to do their shopping (or anything else), resulting in people not going that often, resulting in lots of cars, lots of busy roads, and a not so pleasant inner city to move around in. Having grocery stores nearby has a big impact on the "leefbaarheid" of a city. "Not Just Bikes" (a very nice channel) made a video about it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYqrha2nfa6hnc0

[@Viniter]

I was thinking about that video as well... my guess is the venn diagram of Not Just Bikes and Dutch Americano viewers has quite an overlap. :)

[@Wuppie62]

In the US everything is planned for car use since the T Ford. Hence all the Drive-In concepts and Malls. Lucky for us the Dutch, cars entered our daily lives much later in the 20th Century and we didn't go that far as the US in facilitating cars everywhere. We were used to cycling and urban/traffic planners started to facilitate cycling more and more. Now cycling (electric and cargobikes) is one of the main means of (personal) transportation, together with public transport and cars.

[@MatthijsvanDuin]

@@Wuppie62 We actually started heading the american way, but fortunately this was halted in de 70s and reversed. "Not Just Bikes" (indeed a very nice channel) has a video showing some of that as well: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rHqYoZV6e6mNr6s

[@Wuppie62]

@@MatthijsvanDuin I know.

[@peepeevs]

You basically made the comment I was planning to make... i always get recommended the Not Just Bikes videos while watching the videos on this channel.

[@Stadtionalist]

Hagelslag is definitly a normal thing for your sandwich at lunchtime. Also, maybe try some peanutbutter with that hagelslag

[@lucasrem]

Stadtionalist That is the only choice they got, 50 flavor of sprinkles, they all taste the same, that is the funny thing we say, many choices, basic all the same...

[@Stadtionalist]

@@lucasrem chocolate or confection sugar

[@mahumia]

And to top it all off: sandwich with hagelslag, peanutbutter and slices of banana!

[@Viniter]

With regards to opening windows: I was taught that in winter you should change the air (in Slovak we call it "vetranie", I'm just now realizing English doesn't even have word for it?) intensively for short period of time. Like open all the windows for a minute or two. That way it will out change the air, but won't affect the heating bill because most of the heat is stored in the walls and floors not the air (air has pretty low thermal capacity). Personally I think there's nothing better than a breeze of fresh cold air in winter...

[@jannetteberends8730]

It’s also an advice from the government, forgot which one. Especially with houses that have a good isolating, the air must be “cleaned” each day by opening the windows.

[@trisooma6348]

The 'scientific' reasoning behind letting fresh air in is that it is less humid than the air we have been breathing (when exhaling co2 and water is expelled from our body). It is easier (=cheaper) to heat air that contains less water; hence the advice to 'vetranie' (especially) in winter

[@moladiver6817]

Ventilation?

[@AlanHope2013]

It's called airing out the room/house. Not one word but there's certainly an expression for it.

[@mk6hd]

ventilate

[@WBEEF557]

And today I learned from you that Horeca is actually an acronym! Thanks for that haha.

[@DutchAmericano]

=D

[@dirtyhannie]

Only took me 36 yrs to find that out 😂

[@luckymouse1988]

Did you know that Hema is also an acronym?

[@robertovalero6186]

Hotel Restaurant Café Horeca!!!!😂😂

[@pvlgs]

A friend of mine is married to a Chinese women. His mother in law loves to visit the Netherlands. She comes from one of these big hot cities also known as the great oven cities. She says: " In the Netherlands, there is only one season and that is spring."

[@K1989L]

I am Finnish and we do groceries the same way Americans do. Once a week. And often either eat microvawe lunch or at the company diner. I've seen the Dutch little markets on youtube.. I wish we could have that. I think we would eat more fresh vegetables and fruits if we did. Now the bananas and whatnot will last for couple days after shopping. I envy the Dutch so much for so many things..

[@jayandreas1131]

And they envy you for your education system 😁

[@significantsprite]

A typical Dutch hot lunch: 2 croquets on a slice of white bread! With butter and mustard. You can get it at a lot of lunch places. Also, a "tosti"! I prefer left overs or hot lunches, but een boterham is just so fast and handy 😊 When you have kids and do not live in the city center, the grocery shopping will be much more like that in the US. Once a week you take the car or 2 "fietstassen" 👍

[@ramonschliszka6332]

Pastries should be bought at a “warme bakker”... buy local from small store owners especially now! Experience the difference 😃

[@lucasrem]

bakeoff, not real!

[@lucabenayad4786]

Warme bakker wat de fuck is dat het heet een bakker of banket bakker.

[@yvobroekhoven972]

I grew up in the South of the Netherlands, and 'middageten' was refered to eating a warm meal. And for dinner we often ate sandwiches. Which actually makes more sense if you ask me. Afer a warm dinner, you will have more energy for the rest of the working dag, while with a warm dinner, you're not going to burn those calories while watching tv and relaxing.

[@vincenzodigrande2070]

Been reading your blogs as well, so much fun!

[@ApemanMonkey]

Opening windows for ventilation actually helps the heating of your house, as it removes moisture from the air. Of course don't take it to the extreme and keep it open all night during winter or something like that. 30 minutes during the warmest part of the day should be enough in winter.

[@grovervansesamstraat]

What a nice and positive summary of our habits. It cheers me up.

[@assassin660]

I really like the new background! Lovely video as always 👏

[@woutervanr]

I'm Dutch and do actually quite often eat leftovers from the night before as lunch. We probably go to the supermarket more often because, like you said, they are just closer by and there are many of them. If you can just go there on your bike in just 10 minutes, why wouldn't you? You want fresh food. This exremely spread out and bunched up way of building in the US is also why in places like Houston the bike will never be a popular mode of transport on its own. Manhattan wil be 1/3 bikelanes in 10-20 years though.

[@lucasrem]

You keep that food, lol

[@Nynke_K]

You described the Dutch supermarket situation very well... For cities. It made me nostalgic for the time before I moved beyond the suburbs!

[@phantomaniperv]

Have you seen Not Just Bikes' video called Why Grocery Shopping is Better in Amsterdam? It talks about the differences between NL and NA.

[@philthomas1189]

Mid to late autumn is when stalls are set up that sell oliebollen, appelflaps, berlinerbol etc. Not very healthy but delicious and a must have

[@edpowers3764]

Thanks a lot for your channel. I’m an American getting ready to move to Netherlands and I really enjoy your videos. Keep it up!

[@strikeformatik]

The way we shop mostly has to do with cityplanning. In most cities and places in the US planning is car-centric. Theres a lot more distance between places to get food. Whereas here, theres more smaller stores but also more densely packed. Distances are tiny. So that influences how we behave.

[@jeroenkoelewijn9839]

You should try to put your hagelslag on a layer of peanut butter. If u never tried this before: you're welcome :)

[@TobiasMoes]

Also, vruchtenhagel :)

[@megalondonkleuter]

@@TobiasMoes nee, bah. Ik wordt daar zo misselijk van die vruchtenhagel. Doe dan muisjes er op

[@jeroenkoelewijn9839]

@@TobiasMoes op pindakaas?

[@JanJaapZwaag]

Ik ben gek op hagelslag met (oude) kaas op brood...

[@jeroenkoelewijn9839]

@@JanJaapZwaag ik leer allemaal nieuwe combinaties 😂 chocola met kaas lijkt me niet erg lekker 🤔

[@mkgriffioen]

I certainly already got that of the fresh air with the upbringing. If it is winter just open the window for an hour, especially in the bedroom. nice and fresh. And as a Dutchman I also love our temperate climate. Not too cold and too warm (except last summer!!) But after a long dark winter, spring is wonderful again!

[@CathyWappel]

I live in Chicago, but I grew up in a suburb in Minnesota. In Minnesota, there were big supermarkten, and you had to drive 20 minutes to get there, so we went once a week to stock up the fridge and freezer. Here in Chicago, we have a small grocery store a 10 minute walk away, and go there almost daily. There is a bakery there so we can buy bread donuts, croissants, pies, much like you describe.

[@jimmymiata]

in winter time especially in cold winters we tend to eat more warm things for lunch even with the bread, like bacon and eggs fried on bread or a sliced reheated meat bal from last night or sausage or a cup of soup with or without bread preferably a winter soup like green peas soup or brown beans soup it the idea that you can resist the cold better after eating something warm

[@hellmuthschreefel9884]

About the grocery shopping, when I lived with mijn Oma in Amsterdam, I used to go grocery shopping every day or every other day to the kaas winkel or the brood winkel or the slagerij, mainly because Oma's refrigerator was very tiny compared to the humongous American refrigerators so there wasn't much room in the refrigerate to store a ton of food. Also, it was easy to go grocery shopping, since most neighborhoods have neighborhood shops. I could walk to all of the shops and be done in twenty minutes. You don't have to drive ten miles to get to the nearest mega-supermarket. Finally, Here in the states, I have a very large refrigerator in the house, and two freezers out in the garage, all of which are stuffed to the gills. And despite having that much food, we still go grocery shopping most every week and try to find room for it all. Fortunately (or unfortunately) we can usually find lots of things (mostly unopened and past their due dates) that we can throw away because we totally forgot we had them stuck way in the back of the refrigerator or freezers (how wasteful and stupid is that), but ... it's the American way. Americans throw away 40 MILLION tons of food every year. I think the Dutch way of going shopping often and in much smaller quantities sounds way better.

[@TheJAMF]

7:10 Must be an inner city thing. I tend to do my shopping on Friday or Saturday and only add an emergency trip, if I really need something. As you plan for the week and use a list, it saves you time and money. Both highly valuable.

[@MrJimheeren]

Of course. I walk less then 5 minutes to my local Albert Heijn and don’t have enough storage room anyway to do weekly groceries. I also don’t know what to eat basically until I go to the store (bonus baby). But I guess you get used to it

[@yvonnekremers4354]

Yep both more rural living and having a family make people less likely to go to the grocery store every day.

[@arjenr.b.9317]

Thank you vey much to this interesting video.

[@aussiekezzie3154]

Hi sweetheart. Your videos are so awesome. My mother is the only one born in Australia, and all the rest are from Terschelling - the island up the top which is basically full of our relatives... My grandfather was known as The Dutch Schindler... last year I decided to legally change to my mother's maiden name, and take on the language properly - I have always had an "urge" to go with something and keep going with it - how Dutch does that sound!!! Anyway your Dutch ways are certainly spot on with ours, and it's great to see your videos of your adventures - I think they so identical to us is awesome. Well love & hugs to you and your girl... I certainly do go shopping daily - the hagelslag supply in my town is good enough for us... I do have alot of Dutch traits - I love my Dutch side a lot more than the average Aussie lifestyle - we certainly are Cloggies... 😎♥️

[@2Fast4Mellow]

Warm meals for lunch are quite common in the Netherlands like in most nursing and retirement homes. I still have a few my 'old' Dutch habbits that when I get out of bed, I also start preparing for lunch and take my sandwiches with me to the office. Lunching outside I also something that I still love to do and yes also opening windows every day (even a little bit if its raining). I have lived in DC for 5 years after which I moved to Fairfax country and to be surrounded by more nature and also to have a larger garage office. It took me 4,5 years to fill the 2 garage office in Silverspring, but the 4 garage office in Centreville was overcrowded within a little over a year and than I hired some real office units on L-street. Now we have an entire office floor which sounds way bigger than it actually is. It consists of an central staircase entry (the office only has 3 floors) and than 4 corner offices and 4 offices on the straights. You what is funny. I love eating my lunch outside and some workers like to join me. But to my surprise also people from the other two floors started to join us. And now (actually until March) we actually had to hurry to get a seat because there is limited seating.. Working at home with 3 young children is quite a challenge. Our au pair (which was studying at John's Hopkins) moved in April back to Kentucky and live with her parents as classes came to a grinding hold. In about two hours I going mountain biking with my oldest daughter which she loves to do. I was actually very surprised that bike child carriers are sold right here at Target.. But they are a little bit different from the Dutch ones. Out carrier comes with a spoke protected so the toddlers child cannot caught into one of the spokes, has a five point harness and it has a handlebar so she can hold herself and I paid only $30 for the whole package. I placed a bell on it, together we're making more noise than the average fire truck ;-)

[@wilcovanwinden6581]

I will often open the windows in summer to get some fresh air in the house. Not so much in winter though. And i ride my bike usually in the summer when it's weekend and the weather is good. Not to get anywhere, but mostly just to enjoy the countryside. I'll easily spend 5 hours cycling on a single day, including rest stops at benches in the woods.

[@hellmuthschreefel9884]

About the pastries, I don't know if it's the same, but when I lived in Amsterdam back in the 70s it was common courtesy to always show up with a box of DELICIOUS pastries when visiting family or friends. IIRC the hosts provided the coffee and the guests provided the pastries. My favorite were the tompoesen and, of course, olliebollen during the holidays.

[@Javibara]

Hi there, fellow American expat living next door in Germany :) I definitely relate to many of these, especially the grocery one LOL. I find myself going to my nearest Aldi every other day sometimes

[@Erika1965]

I celebrated my birthday in Mississipi, in 1997. We couldn't find pastries like we are used to in the Netherlands, in the grocerystore. We had a horribly sweet meringue pie :-(

[@vincenzodigrande2070]

The grocery shops are a lot less dotted throughout the more rural areas in the Netherlands though, so if you live out of the city it is less common to visit the grocery shops daily or every other day.

[@gwaptiva]

Pastries are my kryptonite... one of the things I miss about living in the Netherlands (there aren't many, but that's deffo one); I love eating hot lunch out of doors, because it'd save me having to cook at night. The boterham-for-lunch is fine, but when I first lived abroad, we had a cafeteria at work and that was so convenient that I quickly lost the habit (and haven't gone back to it in 20 years)

[@royklein9206]

Great video but miss the knit fox in the frame... 😁

[@SandsOfArrakis]

Roggebrood met kaas (Ryebread with cheese) is a favourite of mine when it comes to lunch :)

[@PendelSteven]

Bringing krentenbollen (raisin buns) with cheese in them for lunch or underway. I think that's pretty Dutch of me to do.

[@nicolethijs5428]

Love that combination too!

[@jayandreas1131]

Especially nice with a sweet cheese like Emmentaler.

[@corienbakker6990]

Your vid was really fun to watch! Yes, true... These habits are all so recognisable, hehe! How about washing dishes in soapy water (and preferably rincing afterwards) in stead of washing under a running tap? What do you do?

[@philippliskin9196]

Well I just learned something, thanks

[@Felipe.N.Martins]

I got the same Dutch habits as you! Except I would love to have warm lunch everyday. ;-) I am from Brazil, living in the Netherlands for 4 years.

[@chaoticgoodgh0st286]

My boyfriend and I order from this Japanese/Hawaiian place once or twice a month and the portions are so big that we keep the leftovers for lunch the next day. Idk if it's bc we're part of a younger generation but having leftovers for lunch doesn't seem weird to us. Although, a nice cold lunch can be very good too. Might also depend on your mood that day & what you're craving. 😊

[@jannetteberends8730]

I remember the time every body having diner at lunchtime. My family was ‘modern’, cause we had diner in the evening. The lunch break was longer in those days. Fathers came home for diner.

[@j_bel]

yes, in my youth we ate warm lunch and had bread for dinner... Actually is much better for you, since you burn off the energy of lunch in the afternoon, instead of going to bed relatively soon after dinner. But alas, the society is not accustomed to that anymore.

[@lucasrem]

Only Faming people do that.... modern? just not a farming family i guess

[@deathdream2092]

Sometimes at work on a friday we get hot lunch and always when we had that our drive to going back to work is gone

[@sbluhrs106]

I guess where I live in Maine is a little different than your experiences in the US regarding grocery stores. Wonderful gluten free bakery in my local area where I can buy pastries, soups, sandwiches, etc. Incredible butcher, also. Growing up, my mom bought groceries once a week, with a stop at a bakery or dairy store if we needed those items to fill in. As an adult, since there are only two of us in the household, doesn't make sense to buy in bulk regarding food that we want to eat fresh, so we make quick stops about 3 times a week. I like this a lot better than eating basically the same thing all week, except for grocery day when we would have fast food and the end of the week when it was TV dinners.

[@liesbethstienen3084]

Hi Eva, you're of course correct in your observations of eating habits, and it's indeed nice to have inexpensive easy accessible fresh food available. Interesting to hear about your research into Dutch eating habits. Bit worried about what you mentioned about your sugar intake though ;-). I've always lived in the Netherlands and I hardly ever buy pastries or cakes. It's not something I snack on anyway, maybe that stems from the time that I lived at home with my parents. We baked a cake every week and that was it. Now, for a special occasion that 'requires' cakes, I prefer to go to a bakery. Or I'll make it at home, but only if I really feel like it LOL. You shared your eating habits, these are mine, my friends and family have roughly the same habits. For breakfast I usually take oats with dried fruits (warm), for lunch I prefer a ('maaltijd') salade, an omelet with veggies (warm), plain yoghurt (and not that awful fat free super sweet diet variety) or a sandwich with hummus or veg sandwich spread. So that more or less confirms your findings. I don't know people who are adamantly opposed to warm lunches, but yes are against spending too much money in restaurants for lunch every day (you know prices there are very steep in comparison to grocery store bought 'maaltijdsalades' like 400% more expensive.) I wouldn't mind eating leftovers for lunch when I i.e. work from home, but normally I don't have anything left over from dinner. I sometimes cook dinner for lunch, if I have to go somewhere early in the evening, but not as a habit. My grandparents ate dinner mid-day and sandwiches with i.e. an omelet in the evening, but the people in that era 1960-1970 had long lunchbreaks from work and school, and in the 1980's not anymore.

[@nielsdegroot2997]

I love seeing that building in Utrecht (at 4:51). It's the municipal office and is supposed to look like a U, for Utrecht, when seen from the other side (city center) but it always looks like a 4 to me.

[@efosdk2925]

Really that is what it is supposed to be! I have seen it being build and always found the shape interesting but never knew it was supposed to be an U.

[@lucasrem]

Is it Rem Koolhaas, we got one in Amstedam too, the China state TV building.

[@tylervanprooyen1848]

I'm definitely do all of that. I'm my parents and grandparents are dutch. We also live in west Michigan where everyone mostly dutch. 😁

[@marleenhoncoop4188]

I only do groceries once a week. My mother did it and i still do it. I plan ahead for the week make a list and go to the store. Most people I know do it the same way. Only if I forgot something or I really want something different I go to the store during the week. I’m Dutch.

[@lucasrem]

Marleen Honcoop You should learn how to do fresh meals, stop eating conserved canned crap please! Most Dutch people do eat fresh any day, keep on biking too!

[@EMvanLoon]

Nice Dutch cupboard in the background, another Dutch habit! ;-)

[@jeroenvangennip5550]

Did you ever tried a brown sandwich with hagelkaas? A brown sandwich “boterham" with peanut butter and chocolate sprinkles. Pindakaas met hagelslag.

[@tombchaser]

I can feel you on the grocery shopping. My fiancee is Canadian (Windsor, Ontario) when im there and we go for grocery you buy for atleast a week indeed. And the variaty of the same products is huge. While when she is here we will just go 2~3 times a week and its a quick in and out vs the 1~2 hour shopping in Canada 😅 And for pastries. I managed to find mini minced meat rolls in the freezer in Canada (mini saucijzenbroodjes). Thing i still miss the most there is decent bread 🥴 Hot/cold lunch variates at every person in The Netherlands.

[@Tclans]

9:15 Interesting fact: in the US you don't see that much grocery stores due to zoning. Since commercial isn't allowed in residential. That's why they are further away and more spread apart.

[@GernickKuik]

Humid indoor air is harder to heat. In winter the outside air is drier than the air indoors. Opening a window to let in cool, crisp fresh air also makes the air indoors less humid, therefore cheaper to heat. So the opening windows habit is a very good habit to have picked up

[@OP-1000]

I was taught that indoor air in the winter is really dry. You let in the moist fresh air which heats up faster.

[@raatroc]

I love how you pronounce Eva the Dutch way.

[@TheSynecdoche]

That's because it is spelled Ava, as another viewer with more acute hearing than myself already noticed 😁

[@dennisvanruijven4489]

Your dutch pronunciation is actually friggin' good. Props!

[@nannejandejong7112]

Supermarkets and shoppingmalls are not allowed in industrial areas in the Netherlands (with an exception for furniturestores and gardencentres). Supermarktes are in that parts of town where people live. That makes sence to us as Dutch people. You can do yours shopping on your way back from work or sports or whatever. That also means that you don't need a car. You can do your shopping by bike or walking. In Germany, where supermarkets are allowed in industrial areas, you seen that many elderly peple still drive a car because they need it to do shopping.

[@myrrhsense]

My grocery shopping is a combo of the Dutch and the American way I think. I do my 'weekboodschappen' once a week where I buy everything I think I'll need, and stuff like rice and pastas that are finished. And I between I go a few times per week when I crave some snacks, or when I need something I didn't buy, or when a friend is coming over and I want to get some extra food for my guests.

[@vincenzodigrande2070]

Hey Eva! (or is it Ava?) Love your content!

[@DutchAmericano]

Thanks! And it is "Ava" =) Nice catch!

[@xColdNostalgia]

At my grandparents we always eat hot lunches, and then for dinner we have some boterhammen. That's way old-fashioned though! :)

[@FreekVerkerk]

There is a reason for that. In the past men worked on the farm or in the shop and came home for lunch, and they had a warm lunch. As the men started to work in the factory or far away, they did not come home for lunch anymore, so a lot of families decided to have the main meal, the warm meal, in the evening when the father of the family could also attend. After retirement the worker stayed home and they returned to the old habit of having a warm meal at noon. And your grandparents were probably retired or farmers.

[@nlbergsma]

@@FreekVerkerk Irregular school hours also contributed. And more mothers taking up a salaried job.

[@Paul_C]

Now I wonder when stamppot season arrives that will change too... 🤔😉

[@tvbrandenburg]

The lunch thing is funny. I used to always bring 'boterhammen' for lunch and usually still do, however I also bring left overs if I have them. The first time when I brought 'stamppot andijvie' to work, some people were being amazed. I just replied by saying: "I'm not going to throw it away, now am I?!"

[@k1ngofpayne991]

I'm Half canadian and my wife is full dutch and we can relate. she actually enjoys hot meals when she comes home from work but the boterham with hagelslag thing made us both giggle. there is a thing at albert heijn called "choca vlokken" she swears by them. enjoy your boterham next time you put those on them. much love from Delft.

[@TheEvertw]

About buying pastry-treats in the grocery store, these are OK, but you should try the "warme bakker", the quality bakers that make their own stuff, fresh. Much better than the supermarket. Get some fresh croissants or kaiser brotchen. Or a "gevulde koek". Sure to make your day.

[@rudib4353]

I used to work in specialized construction all over the world, also in th US. We often went to Subway during our lunchbreak. Healthy, tasteful sandwiches at a reasonable price .

[@truusjenskens8485]

In Utrecht you can eat an Italiaanse bol from a famous italian shop there...it's a very nice bread with cheese, salami and chili...

[@mandarintomato9205]

Have you tried the boterham which in my family they call “gebakje”? It’s a boterham with cheese, then you put 4 slices of cucumber on top, on each cucumber you put some ketchup. Then you can stick a slice of tomato on each cucumber. Then you put a bit of mayonaise on each tomato. Sprinkle the whole with some freshly ground black pepper. Cut the sandwich in four squares, each containing one cucumber/tomato slice!

[@RichardRenes]

And a time will come when you will eat a speculaas sandwich...

[@gitmoholliday5764]

or the memorable day you will eat a "boterham" with a pile of leftover "zuurkool" / hutspot on top.

[@erikmulder2574]

Lekker

[@j_bel]

of ontbijtkoek

[@lucasrem]

Is a Hot dog a sandwitch, define a sandwith, 2 slice of bread with toppings, on it, not more bread, it need to be more topics! Look it up, is funny, so a HotDog is not a sandwich? speculoos? just more bread it is.

[@mandarintomato9205]

Or a boterham with baked potatoes on top, or is that just me?

[@robforge7667]

A typical dutch thing you should try is ice skating on natural ice,fingers crossed that we get a cold ass winter this year ;).

[@IgorAntarov]

I vote against cold vinter :D

[@XxXmizzshottaXxX]

It giet NET oan!

[@brittt_vw9045]

Wow it’s weird to think of this. Me and my friends (16-17 years old) just go to the grocery store when we have a free period at school to buy a croissant or some other kind of bread. Never thought it would be weird in different countries. We do this because in the store it is like 30 cents and at school a sandwich is 2+ euros

[@royalgangster7623]

3 foods you must try if you are in the Netherlands 1 Kibbeling (it is a fish nuggets basically and you can get it at any fish store) 2 Stroopwafel (it is a waffle with syrup on it and they taste the best if they are warm) 3 Zoute or zoete drop (liqourish and the Dutch have perfected this candy for sure)

[@PennyPeace1]

Ahh you should try a krentenbol met kaas, so good

[@NastyDeb]

hagelslag can go anytime, for breakfast on bread or ontbijtkoek, for lunch on bread, for dinner on pancakes, for dessert over your icecream(milk based icecream not the ones we call sorbet) or have like a straciatella yoghurt or kwark, the weird thing is I don't even like chocilate but I like the things mentioned before. I know someone who was a fan of peanutbutter and hagelslag or peanutbutter and cheese on bread.

[@dogacla]

I Started to live in Nederlands 2 months ago and I ride bicycle much than I ride before all my life. And you see sun you go out.

[@kiereluurs1243]

Not typically Dutch, but some tips anyway: - Don't heat at all in winter, just put on some extra clothes. It is not that cold here. Saves you a lot of money. Don't want to be sky-heating, as all heat goes out eventually. (How absurd to FEEL shops blowing out their heat through open fronts.) - Open up your bedroom window a bit at night. There's your fresh air for the day. - NEVER combine heating or air-conditioning with an open window. So that's back to your own thing.

[@erfho8y]

Yes, yes ypuvcan eat hagelslag any time of the day. And a big tip is this. Buy your favorite kind of bread, put a good layer of butter on it, then strawberry jam, en then milk chocolate hagelslag. Boom! You just made yourself a little piece of heaven. One of my all time favorites! (And ofcourse feel free to experiment with types of jam and hagelslag how ever you see fit)

[@mariozaal]

I notice the fox is gone.😁 is that fox a thing you can wear around youre neck?nice video's by the way.nice to see that you enjoy and share youre expirience here in the netherlands.

[@AnymMusic]

my mom has always taught me "don't constantly turn up the heat, it gets expensive real fast. just put on a hoodie, a blanket, and done""

[@kazaakas]

I can attest to my Dutch mother always having the thermostat around 15C. Even during winter days when people are home. Putting it at 20C (that's just 68F) is in her mind, crazy!

[@rooshylkema4805]

For going outside I released when I was 16 that I felt weird staying inside when it’s sunny. So now I am 22 and this morning it was freezing but sunny and I ended up sitting outside for 30 minutes. Spoke to some friends from other countries and they think I am weird for sitting in the cold...

[@autohmae]

I keep hearing about how sweet the bread is in the US. 9:57 very fresh & salad, seems very healthy. Don't know if it is, my guess is it is.

[@shasita3361]

Depends which bread you get from which store. I found bread similar to Dutch bread in both Trader Joe's and Publix. Most of the selection was softer and sweeter though, so you definitely have to pay attention to which ones you pick.

[@Dutchbelg3]

Hahahaa you are evolving to a Dutchie my dear! I actually am starting to like you! ;-) Would love to spend time with you and your girlfriend :) I love the different perspective on "the American urban life" and compare to my own (well.. bit Flemish) life :-) I was born in Amsterdam and I am still a very much city-person! The Dutch habits you describe are very much the Dutch Urban City life and less the "plattelands vibe" . But I guess most of your audience will still recognize what you are telling about. Did you ever visit Antwerpen? It's my second home.

[@erdejo01]

K, so, as a Dutch man living in the USA for the last 18 years, I recognize a lot of the things you speak about here... Speaking of "boterhammen met hagelslag": you should try a "boterham met pindakaas en hagelslag". It almost taste like Reese's peanut butter cups on bread.... Added bonus: when picking it up to eat, you don't drop 80% of the hagelslag! Finally, I've tried the chocolate sprinkles here as a substitute for hagelslag, but they're just too "waxy" for my taste, not real chocolate at all. Anyway, love the vids!

[@spookmineer]

Toetjes and gebak are a recipe for... well you know... On the other hand, boterhammen with cheese and chicken breast is great. Hagelslag...for lunch...? What do you think about Dutch stews (?) - andijvie, boerenkool, hutspot etc?

[@palantir135]

Open the windows is more a German habit but a lot of Dutch do it also. Very healthy. I used to bike to school, 12km to school and 12 back, the whole year through but that’s a very long time ago. I bike since I was 5 yo. Nowadays I bike regularly for about 30-45km. Enjoy the moment, enjoy the sunny weather. A lot of Dutch go shopping mostly for ones or twice a week unless the grocery is within a five minute walk. Lots and lots of deserts in the Netherlands. Speculaas on a buttered slice of bread.mmmmmm

[@Rickerdddddd]

To be fair, as a dutch person, i haven't biked in years. I either walk everywhere or take the car. I know, i'm a disgrace for my country :P

[@corneliusantonius3108]

The AIVD is watching you 😎

[@frisianmouve]

Bring out the rotten tomatoes! SHAME SHAME

[@MoViesDProductions]

The last time I owned a bike was when I was around 8, and I never used it. Never have. I hate riding bikes as a means of transportation. To be honest, I kind of loathe the idea of people riding bikes in cities anyway, because one literally can't cross the road at rush hour without having to wait three hours for hundreds of thousands of bike riders to pass and then pray some aggressive countryman furiously ringing his little bell at you doesn't run you over when you finally decide to risk it. How dare I try to cross a bike lane? Nah, I'm all good. I'll walk or take a tram. (Yes, this is mostly tongue-in-cheek. Please refrain from giving me flak. I just dislike bikes and it's a personal opinion.)

[@jannetteberends8730]

I hate biking. Lost a couple of bicycles because I forgot I was on bike. Walking is more relaxing. Also don’t drive a car, to boring. Bustrips are always interesting, watching people. And you can read. But I donate to bicycle Dutch, I like to watch people biking.

[@atirems4010]

Haha same here 🙈 Haven't used my bike for years

[@steffenogurek3333]

Grocery shopping is a chore in most car dominated countries. NotJustBikes YT channel has a few good videos explaining why.

[@MusicJunky3]

Another charming episode and a new background! 👍(But where is Mr. Fox!?) If you like chocolate sprinkles, try some chocolate flakes (the grown up version of sprinkles) and then milk chocolate variety!👍😋 Thank me later!, 🙏

[@nikkidunn926]

"CHOCOLADE VLOKKEN" 😉

[@Linda-hs1lk]

You can have hagelslag whenever you want. Breakfast, lunch and if you decide to have bread for dinner, then dinner.

[@arthurkortekaas7357]

or desert, vanille vla met chocolade vlokken!

[@robvanlent1008]

You are getting really close to understand or being dutch! But personally yes, I have some stuff in the fridge or freezer! But I normally don't decide what to eat at evening, after lunch , its just what I may hear, or just come up to me. O yes, and the tummy agrees, and the mouth starts watering. Yes I want this meal tonight. Friday for most is take out day, after 5 days of work. And Saturday the meal mostly excist out of soup and bread with fancy dressing like , slices of roast beef dutch slices. And filet America some greazy greazy meat spread nobody knows what it is. And snacks! 😘

[@RustOnWheels]

I’m curious how #1 and #3 relate to our country being up north. Our winters are shorter so the days we have any sun are limited between September and March. And fresh, cold air is a pleasant way of refreshing the house. In Scandinavia they are even more intense about their sun and fresh air because the days are even shorter and after a while it gets too snowy to open the windows (except in the south).

[@RustOnWheels]

Don’t forget that New York is at around the same latitude as Barcelona and Amsterdam as Calgary.

[@EMPTYJ4RH34D]

for number 2, we dutch are also not cyclist people, we just went to go from 1 to b as fast and cheap as possible, most of the time it is taking a bike because the route is probebly shorter then taking a car and you can park much easer. I'm not a bike person but drive on my bike to go where I need to go.

[@edwinbiere9305]

You have a birthday calendar ? Is it in the toilet-room ? If so, do you use it? You have a agenda (digitally counts too) for all your appointments? Are you planning your social events ? Do you check a weather app before you going outdoor ?

[@robrommens660]

For the Dutch shopping for groceries is more about the stuff being fresh. Like ‘maaltijdsalade’. That should be sold AND eaten within two to three days. Therefore they do their shopping way more frequent.

[@markfieten9558]

Inside air tends to dry when you heat it, making it harder to heat. Letting in some fresh air, will make the air more moist, and easier to heat

[@lucasrem]

hepa i guess, stay save!

[@TrenceA]

One thing with the sunnier days is that we are far more up North than many people realize. New York City is on the same latitude as Naples and Madrid while Amsterdam is North of Vancouver. Most of the US is at the same latitude of the Mediterranean and Northern Africa

[@DutchAmericano]

True!

[@nlbergsma]

It's the warm North-South atlantic gulfstream that mittigates our climate.

[@kim_vandelagelanden]

I watched this while eating a boterham with cheese. As lunch. Here it is common for office workers to go for a walk during their lunch break. Outside, while still wearing their suits. Is this a thing in other countries?

[@ronaldderooij1774]

We are the Borg. Resistance is futile. You WILL be assimilated.

[@corneliusantonius3108]

@Ad Lockhorst but his male underwear is onley sold in The Netherlands

[@corneliusantonius3108]

@Ad Lockhorst 🤣

[@JanJaapZwaag]

@Ad Lockhorst 👍🏻🤣

[@TestTest-eb8jr]

@Ad Lockhorst 😁😁😁

[@SDeww]

@@fvefve12 we are not the borg, the borg assimilate, we are getting over run, we are the once being assimilated!, and our culture and way of life is dying out!.

[@yvonnekremers4354]

I am Dutch but I absolutely love hot lunches. Those leftovers often won't make it past breakfast though...