What do you know about the Netherlands?

[Almachtigheid]

I have recently had a discussion with my friends about how much foreign people know about the Netherlands. Many of my friends said most people would only say "marihuana" and "Amsterdam" and not much more, but I'd like to know if you guys know more. (I told my friends there'd be more people that know more about the Netherlands than you'd think.)

So, what do you guys all now about the Netherlands?

[Yasna]

People there speak a really weird dialect of German.

[Marah]

I know they're made out of 4 countries, like the UK.
Geographically, I know that: it's a flat land, part of the country is beneath the sea level, there's a dense population, not a lot of woods, etc. I know about Frisia and its language thanks to Reinder.
Amsterdam, another Venice.
Economically I know they are going through a crisis right now. I associate them with Shell and Phillips.
Historically I can think of their colonies: Indonesia, South Africa, Antilles, etc.

[mōdgethanc]

I was going to say hookers and blow but then I thought of windmills, tulips, and Dutch disease.

[Levike]

Small country with a dense population.
Many windmiles, flowers, Venice-like cities.
You have many dams because a big part is under sea-level.
You don t have mountains, a very flat place.
The language sounds like a cross between German and English.
It once had colonies.
You have a royal family.

[Car]

Wooden shoes, cheese, very direct people.

[kevin]

Most of my associations have already been mentioned, but one is missing: Tasteless tomatoes.

[mōdgethanc]

Wooden shoes, cheese, very direct people.

True. The Dutch are said to be a very blunt, frank people; this has been borne out by the ones I've met. They're also known for being tall.

[Almachtigheid]

They're also known for being tall.

True, I'm 15 years old and 1,95 metres tall. (6,4 ft for Americans)
I must say, I am tall among Dutch people and I live in an area where the tallest Dutch people come from.

[maxd.ijn]

They're also known for being tall.

True, I'm 15 years old and 1,95 metres tall. (6,4 ft for Americans)
I must say, I am tall among Dutch people and I live in an area where the tallest Dutch people come from.

I'm feeling like a dwarf now...

I know about the cheese markets, that Netherlands is the biggest exporter of flowers in the world. I also know that during the Age of Dicovery it was one of the most important nations concerning commerce and science. During this same period in history, the dutchs settled and raided some areas in northwestern Brazil. And as far as I can recall, part of its territory once belonged to the Spanish crown.

Of course I also know about the drugs and the prostitution, but this is rather stereotypical!

[johnklepac]

Pot, hookers, windmills, pastries, laws against Holocaust denial (IIRC, most "liberal" European countries don't have them), high population density, and assisted suicide.

[Almachtigheid]

Of course I also know about the drugs and the prostitution, but this is rather stereotypical!

Yes, but there seriously are people who think all Dutch people are stoned/high all the time. I had a student exchange with some students from Istanbul in February and all they wanted to see were coffeeshops and the Red Light District. They were rather disappointed afterwards

[TheStrayCat]

Small country in Northwestern Europe.
The capital is Amsterdam, the city of canals, bridges and marijuana or other legal drugs.
Most people speak good English.
Recognizable, but typically Germanic language.
ij, een, de, ik, voor...
Carla, Josha and other friends I'll meet soon .
Wikipedia with tons of bot-created articles.
Cheese.
Pink potatoes.

[Marah]

It's quite unfair that the first stereotype people have about the Netherlands is "hookers", Germany is the biggest brothel of Europe actually.

[IpseDixit]

It's quite unfair that the first stereotype people have about the Netherlands is "hookers", Germany is the biggest brothel of Europe actually.

A friend of mine told me Hamburg is pretty much like Amsterdam.

[linguoboy]

A whole page of stereotypes about the Netherlands and no one has mentioned homosexuality, really?

My impression when I visited back in 1991 was that it was much more progressive on LGBT rights than other countries--and that was two years before the Equal Rights Law was passed. It was explained to me that Koninginnedag was a major gay holiday in Amsterdam and the royal family were so cool about this that they even went to gay bars to party. I know not all parts of the country were/are that progressive, but compared to the vociferous Religious Right back at home, opposition to tolerance seemed practically nonexistent.

[IpseDixit]

Has anyone of you ever seen this pricelessly hilarious report? x-D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKuJvYh6h9I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPUTt_Z4WSQ

[Hoogstwaarschijnlijk]

Maybe because it has changed, linguoboy? Other countries made improvements with homo emancipation, and we did too in our laws but the mentality has changed, Amsterdam for example isn't that safe anymore for homosexuals.

Pink potatoes, by the way....? What's that supposed to mean?

[mōdgethanc]

Yeah, I'm thinking this must be a generational thing. I grew up in a world where gay rights have been steadily improving since I was born, so a Western country with liberal attitudes towards gays is nothing out of the ordinary.

One more thing: The Dutch really love sweet, sugary food. When I think about Dutch food, the first things that come to mind are fish, potatoes, cheese and all sorts of cookies and pastries.

It's quite unfair that the first stereotype people have about the Netherlands is "hookers", Germany is the biggest brothel of Europe actually.

Oh, don't worry, I have the same stereotype about you guys too. Actually it's widely believed here that Germans are all sexual deviants who enjoy S&M, coprolagnia/urolagnia, and bestiality, but that's another thing altogether.

[linguoboy]

Maybe because it has changed, linguoboy? Other countries made improvements with homo emancipation, and we did too in our laws but the mentality has changed, Amsterdam for example isn't that safe anymore for homosexuals.

Really? What makes you say that?

Other countries have made improvements, but the Dutch have continued to lead. The Netherlands were the very first country in the world to allow same-sex marriage, which is far more common than it was but still very far from being universal even in Western Europe. Nowadays several of my trans activist friends have been pointing to it as a model for the treatment of trans youth.

So I'm not sure how much this is really generational and how much it's simply subcultural.