Rainy Realities of Dutch Life | Walk & Talk | An American in the Netherlands

[@kristiina-f9h]

What a gorgeous day you have, Mike! 🌞 The sun is shining ✨️ 💛 where I am today, too. It sure is glorious. There is a lot to be grateful 🙏 for. 😊

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@kristiina-f9h That’s wonderful, Kristiina. 😊 When the sun shines, everything is better. ☀️ And, yes, you are right. So many blessings. Thank you for that reminder. 🙏

[@dianesgardeninspiration]

What beautiful scenery and beautiful blue skies! I love the rain ☔️ but that sunshine is just BEAUTIFUL!!! ☀️

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@dianesgardeninspiration Yes, the sun is that much sweeter for the rain…and vice versa. 🌧️🌞🌧️🌞

[@donquixote6453]

You are absolutely right Mike, there is a famous proverb that said " There is no bad weather only bad clothing ".

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@donquixote6453 Wise words. 👍

[@mhkamp]

As a Dutchman, I love how you talk Dutch! Keep on goiing!

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@mhkamp Thank you. I can only imagine how it sounds to a native ear. 😊 Thanks for watching my vids! 👍

[@ressarts10]

I too love how you throw in the occasional Dutch word Mike. As to how it sounds? Well to this native speaker, it sounds gentle, much the same as your English really, it’s all very pleasing.

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@ Gosh, that is sweet of you to say. You made my day. 🌞

[@BabzV]

Hey goeiemorgen Mike, it's still a winter wonderland here in the south, it's nice. 😊 But gorgeous sunshine in your video, I enjoyed it as per usual. Have a great day Mike. 😊🌷

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@BabzV Thank you so much, Babs.😊 I heard about the snows down south. Make sure to keep cozy.

[@daphnelovesL]

It's the gray days and we are waiting for spring! And the Dutch will enjoy the sun at its max.

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@daphnelovesL So true, Daphne. The days are already getting longer…and brighter. ☀️

[@daphnelovesL]

@@BetterTogether-UnIr1 Like to day with sunshine.

[@freudsigmund72]

0:23 In Haarlem the daylight hours on december 21st are 9 hours 8 minutes and 12 seconds less than on june 21st.

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@freudsigmund72 Wow, so it’s worse than I thought! I’m just glad that the days are finally getting longer and brighter. ☀️

[@Lilygirl283]

Funny, I live in Australia and sometimes I get sick of so much sun, and heat in the summer, I look forward to dark days and rain...

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

Actually, I can relate. One thing I do not miss about living in the States is the sweltering heat of summer. I remember driving to work in a little yellow VW Beetle without A/C, and in the 15 minutes it would take me to arrive, the back of my shirt would be drenched with sweat. We endured absolutely oppressive heat that went on for months! And in the winter, there were epic snow and ice storms. During one such storm, the city of Philadelphia was at a standstill for a month! Cars were buried beneath several feet of impenetrable snow. The first vehicle that I saw go down the street after days of being housebound was a military tank! No thanks. Give me the mild (and even rainy) days of the Netherlands. 😊 ☔️

[@Lilygirl283]

​@BetterTogether-UnIr1 I agree Mike...

[@annemieke186]

In the Netherlands people get really enthousiastic when the sun comes out in the winter...it can be so gloomy. And last december was one of these years I had to keep the lighting on in the back of my living room. People in the streets are grumpy... Today they are waving, laughing at each other. Being courteous in traffic... In the Summer...we complain...again...our national sport. 😂

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@ So true, Annemieke. 👍 Some winters, I have used one of those blue spectrum lights from Scandinavia, which does seem to help. The sun sure does bring out the best in everybody. 🌞

[@gertstolk]

Here in the south my day started with snow. All gone in the afternoon when the sun came out. I enjoyed my walk in the crisp air. When I shared some of your videos with my best friend his comment was: "he needs a new hat" May I suggest an 'Open Road' by Stetson? I like to wear my black western hat with wide brim, the only one in town 😅🤠

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

Always great to hear from you, Gert. So glad you could get a walk in after the sun made an appearance. Thank you for sharing my videos with your best friend. I’m wearing a Stetson cap in this video (a slightly different cut than the one I often wear in my other videos). Many of my hats are Stetsons, in fact. I purchased all of them in Haarlem. I do have a nice handmade Italian fedora and, of course, a couple classic American baseball caps. You must make quite an impression with your black western hat. I can picture it! Johnny Cash (The Man in Black) of the Lowlands. 😊

[@gertstolk]

@BetterTogether-UnIr1 Spot on, I have been called the man in black. My employer does not encourage me wearing it on the bus 😪

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@ Ah, well, it might make some passengers uneasy if they thought an outlaw was behind the wheel. But not to worry. Soon you’ll be free to wear your hat wherever and whenever you wish. 👍🤠

[@gertstolk]

@BetterTogether-UnIr1 Heehaw 😅

[@jinnygaatjenietaan306]

Nice, here in Medemblik was the sun shining...

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@jinnygaatjenietaan306 The sun makes everything better! 🌞

[@MartinWebNatures]

Groetjes aan Medemblik. Ik ging vroeger door naar Twisk. Daar woonde pianist Wibi Soerjadi en gaf tuin concerten.

[@jinnygaatjenietaan306]

@@MartinWebNatures Ik rij daar wel regelmatig langs, langs de dijk, maar het is al jaaaaaren terug dat ik door Twisk gereden ben. Wij liggen in de haven...

[@bastonor]

Like the cap. Looks like a good one.

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@bastonor Thanks. It’s an American-made Stetson bought in Haarlem.🤠

[@bastonor]

@@BetterTogether-UnIr1 Thanks Mike. I might get something similar. If you don't mind.

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@bastonor I would be flattered. Go for it! 👍

[@annemieke186]

I was thinking the same thing...I used to have a Bolsjewiek-cap...much more balloon than the balloon-caps nowadays, but it fell apart at the seams... But I love caps and hats...❤

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@annemieke186 I love hats and caps, too, as you probably noticed. 😊 Some viewers have strong opinions about me wearing my caps indoors (in my own home, I might add), which makes me that much more determined to do so. 😂

[@Heartburn1220]

Thank you for throwing in some Dutch weather words. I am a bit worried that I will freeze to death when I move to the Netherlands

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@Heartburn1220 You’ll acclimate. Before you know it, you’ll consider 77 degrees (Fahrenheit) too hot! One thing that Dutch weather has going for it is that it’s mild year round. No extremes of heat (even with the endlessly long summer days) or cold (no mega snows or treacherous ice storms). The long grey days of winter are the hardest to adjust to. The days are so short this time of year!

[@mavadelo]

Had you said this in 1980 I would have said it would be plausible for you to freeze your *** off, The last 15 to20 years... nah. IF there are days below freezing it is maybe 2 or 3 days at best. The times children could count on "skate holiday"every winter are long behind us ("IJsvrij" in Dutch, grantred when natural ice on rivers,lakes and canals is thick enough for skating on it with the entire town)

[@paulc8799]

​@@BetterTogether-UnIr1 as I get older I find the last 14 days of the year and the 2 weeks a pain. That half hour is the best and worst time of the year. Today, the 9th, it was more or less sunny and I actually could read a book on the bus at 17:00. Won't say spring is on it's way just the days are getting longer 😊

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@ I know just what you mean, Paul. Today, for the first time this year, I could see that the days were getting a bit brighter…and a smidgen longer. Counting down the days to spring and my first witbier of the season!🍺

[@annemieke186]

Love your video again. But a bit off topic suggestion: I heard several Americain vloggers talk about Eskimos...uhm that is considered a very offensive term. They like to be reffered to as Inuit. I think Eskimo means something like Raw Meat Eater. So I was a bit surprised that I hear so many Americans use that term since they are very sensitive about the word Indian for instance... Just a suggestion, not a 'you have to/must/shall...'

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@annemieke186 Oh, gosh, it’s the first I’ve heard of of it. You are quite right. I just read that, although “the name ‘Eskimo’ was commonly used in Alaska to refer to Inuit and Yupik people of the world, this usage is now considered unacceptable by many or even most Alaska Natives, largely since it is a colonial name imposed by non-Indigenous people”. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. It’s the last time you will ever hear me use the term. 😔

[@annemieke186]

The things we learn through KZbin...😊 Have a great day with the wonderfull actual sunshine...been longing for that for weeks 🌞​@@BetterTogether-UnIr1

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@annemieke186 Hi Annemieke. You will be pleased to know that I was able to edit that unfortunate reference out of the video. Thank you again for bringing it to my attention. ❤️

[@Boxer309]

It's snowing here in the American Midwest today and tomorrow, are you likely to be getting much snow there where you are this winter?

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@Boxer309 I heard about the snows in the U.S. Both my mother and sister live in Maryland and have been snowed under for a couple days. We had a light dusting here in Haarlem a few days ago, but we’re not likely to get anything major this winter. The weather here is mild year round.

[@paulc8799]

Last night it actually snowed in Eindhoven, melted away around mid day. Apparently according, to a German channel I subscribed to, it is likely to happen again tonight. Oh, when I say snow, that meant 4-5cm.

[@gerhard6105]

Snow here in the Ardennes ( Battle of the Bulge area). 5cm fell this afternoon. I measured it. Originally I am from Haarlem. In the clip you see a very big building. It is from 1785-1789. It is the province house now. Thus where the province/state from is ruled from, since 1930.

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@ Yes, indeed, that impressive building in the background at the start of the video is Villa Welgelegen built by Henry Hope from 1785 to 1789 as a summer home. The home was sold in 1808 to Napoleon’s brother Louis Bonaparte, who had been named King of Holland. Louis (aka Ludwig) resided there until 1810. From 1814 to her death in 1828, Princes Wilhelmina of Prussia kept the villa as a summer palace and opened it to the public as a museum of modern art. Haarlem is certainly rich with history! ❤️

[@RickLane-x4j]

Tell you what: Tired of that pouring rain in Holland. Albert Hammond said: It Never Rains In Southern California. In Holland there was a question when to water a cactus ?? They answered: Als het regent in Zuid California 🙂 kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5anoYGtmtJjjNEsi=m6ZRiGLDekIvDRgH

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@RickLane-x4j Hey, thanks for this, Rick. I haven’t heard that song in such a loooong time. Great to hear it again. Funny that response to watering a cactus.🌵

[@RickLane-x4j]

@@BetterTogether-UnIr1 🙂

[@mavadelo]

k*tweer, hondenweer, k*nkerweer, pokkeweer, zeikweer, prutweer. kl*teweer, rotweer, teringweer, typhusweer, spoken. And I forget a bunch. Oh and then they all are applicable to rain as well and there are even more variantss for that one. btw, those averages are of course over the entire country. We tend to pretend it is much worse than it actually is. After all.. there needs to be something to complain about right?

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@@mavadelo Thanks for elaborating on the many colorful ways of describing Dutch weather. We do get some complaint-worthy weather here, but there are a million other things that more than make up for it. 😊

[@mavadelo]

@@BetterTogether-UnIr1 lol, I just realised "spoken" is ALSO an English word. Spoken as in my exampleis the plural for Spook (ghost) and in Dutch also used to talk about bad weather. Het Spookt buiten/het loopt te spoken= It is zhit weather outside

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@ Ah, I get it. 👻 Spooky! 😂

[@gerhard6105]

​@@BetterTogether-UnIr1Als het buiten spookt, dan is het echt slecht en misschien wel gevaarlijk weer (storm, vallende takken, wordt donkerder buiten, etc.)

[@BetterTogether-UnIr1]

@ That makes sense. Goodness knows, we’ve experienced our fair share of that kind of weather here. In some of those big storms, many of the old trees have blown over in that park and in the Haarlemmerhout.