Impressions

My first impression of "Nederland", as it's locally called, is that it is a beautiful country.

The landscape from the train reminded me of driving through Arkansas or a flat version of Tennessee. The tall trees are in a full autumn array of colors, and the ground is already being covered by the fallen leaves. There are many pastures of cows, horses (and shetland ponies), and sheep. The corn fields are being harvested, and others are already being plowed for the next crop.

It has been quite enjoyable for me to watch the leaves fall. We missed having a real fall season last year in New Mexico, and in Washington, there are so many evergreen trees you don't notice the huge array of colors nearly as much. The beauty is quite astounding.

It is quite breezy here, thus the use of windmills ... old style wooden ones with large arms and the modern white slender windmills like I've seen in the USA. I've even seen some very small 3 ft high, wooden windmills in the fields for use with irrigation.

The local people seem very friendly, and I have only to say the word "English", and they smile and start conversing with me in flawless English. They may pause a little while speaking, but their tenses and phrasing seem perfect. It's been very easy to get around.

A few cultural differences:

1) Small cars - We've only seen small sedans, small/ midsize SUVs, and one small pickup truck. Even the semi trucks are more slender than in the states. This is probably because of the narrow streets, and small parking spots that line them in every village. Barry's rental is the size of a VW Jetta, so we feel very comfortable in it. And we don't feel dwarfed because no one else is in big trucks either.

2) Traffic laws - These have actually been very easy to follow. I like the system. The signs don't have words on them unless they are the names of places. The pictures are very easy to understand once you know which colors mean what. And on most country roads, there aren't even lines on the road, so you just drive so that you don't hit someone who's coming the other direction, which occasionally means going off the side of the road because they are very narrow. I'll go into more detail later about the bike paths, and traffic signals.

3) Drinking - (and I'm not talking about alcohol). The amount of beverage they serve here in restaurants is astoundingly small. If you ask for water, they bring you a glass bottle of water that is about 200 ml, or (in my non-mathematical estimation) about 6 -8 oz. And yes, for most locals, that would last them through the entire meal. Sodas are the same size, and there are no free refills. Since the water is bottled, you pay about the same as for a soda, which is about 2 Euros (about $2.60). It seems insanely high to us, and I've had to get Barry used to the idea that we just have to order 2 in the course of the meal. It does seem crazy to pay $5 for your drink alone, but I just can't get used to the lack of liquid.

This is not just in the restaurants. The guys Barry is working with are constantly amazed with how much water he drinks. All they drink is coffee all day. About every hour, they take a break to go drink a 6 oz cup of coffee. He's been getting caffeine headaches on his off days.

4) Dinner is an Experience - Dinner in a restaurant has never taken us less than 1 1/2 (except if it's a buffet). They bring you drinks, then about 10 minutes later soup or salad, then about 30 minutes later your meal. Then they let you enjoy that for 30 minutes before even checking back to see if you need anything. You have to look like you're completely finished for a while before they will come by. Then it takes a while to get the check.

It's nice to go slow, and now that we're resigned to having more than one beverage, I'm more agreeable. But one time when we were waiting for the check, I was so thirsty that I was getting quite cranky with the slow service. But that's just the way they are here. And you don't leave tips, the wait staff is paid accordingly.