In Poland, we often say “Co kraj, to obyczaj”, meaning every country has its own customs (similar English saying: “One man`s meat is another man`s poison”). I always learn a lot about the countries I travel to: their history, traditions and local cuisine. Some things surprise me, some shock me, some make me laugh and/or disgust, some are normal to me. No matter how huge the differences are between the country I am from and the place I visit, I always respect and honor the ethnic, religious beliefs, and cultural practices of each community. The best example is China where I often clenched my teeth to understand Chinese and their way of thinking.
Let’s get back to Holland now. The land of tulips, windmills and wooden clogs took me by surprise (in a very positive way) during my last visit. I spent a few days at my Dutch friend’s house in Woudrichem, located in the south of the Netherlands. Although I love to be in Holland and I enjoyed my stay in Woudrichem there were few things I could not get used to as a Pole.
1. Eating chocolate sprinkles on bread for breakfast
Every morning Dutch people consume some untoasted brown bread covered with butter or margarine and sprinkled with hagelslag (famous Dutch chocolate sprinkle). Although it tastes pretty nice, that is the weirdest combination of ingredients I have ever heard of. Nutella on toast is ok, but we use chocolate sprinkle as cupcake/muffin/ice cream toppings. The hagelslag sandwiches are way too sweet and dry for me to have them for my breakfast on a regular basis. In Poland breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It must be warm, nutritious and healthy. We consume scrambled eggs, cottage cheese with chive, tomatoes and onion, sandwiches with ham and cheese, hot milk with granola or sausages.
I had a go and tried this Dutch breakfast a couple of times. It was pretty nice with a glass of hot milk, I can’t deny, but it is definitely too unhealthy and sweet. It is good to have it as a snack from time to time, but it’s not a good breakfast option (sorry guys!).
2. Drinking tap water
It might sound funny, but I felt very offended by being offered a glass of tap water for the first time in Holland (of course at that time I didn’t know that tap water was absolutely safe to drink). I was like “It’s ok, I’m not thirsty anymore”. This is the weirdest (and the most awesome) thing in Holland. You can drink water when you take a shower (freaking cool!), you don’t need to carry bottled water from the shop and you can save a lot of money this way! Although I knew I could drink it any time I wanted to, I still couldn’t get used to it. As a little girl I was taught to drink only bottled or boiled water and tap water reminds me of dirt and germs. No matter how many times I tried to drink it from the tap, I always felt like I was doing something wrong, like having a dinner with my dirty fingers.
3. Seeing locals riding their bikes in suits and ties
Whether you are wearing a fancy dress, suit and tie or just casual outfit nobody cares – everyone rides a bike to work in Holland! My first thought when I saw a man in a nice suit biking quickly through the streets of Amsterdam was “Oh my God, when he gets to work he is going to be all sweaty and smelly” but no one seems to care about it and you know what? I like this attitude! In Poland people would point you out with their fingers and give you dirty looks.
4. Understanding how the Dutch do not put on weight eating greasy food
I have noticed that the majority of Dutch teenagers, young people and sometimes even the whole families eat in a very unhealthy way. Locals often choose to grab a quick Subway sandwich, Mc Donald’s meal, kebab wraps or famous frozen pizza instead of having a healthy salad or fruit shake.
Most of the food Dutch people consume is greasy and lacks basic nutrients our body needs to function properly. Moreover, what worries me the most, the Dutch love to snack on sugary chocolate bars, cookies (common stroopwafles – a waffle made from two thin layers of baked batter with a caramel-like syrup filling), waffles, crisps and candies.
I was indulging myself in these yummy caramel waffles every day! They tasted awesome with a cup of hot milk (I have noticed that most of Dutch people drink only cold milk).
The most surprising thing though is the fact that despite their unhealthy diet they still stay slim and look fit! Can anyone explain why? I never saw an overweight Dutch person in the street. Guys are well-built, they are muscled and tall and girls have very girly shapes. I guess the secret lies in Dutch bikes :).
Both, the frikadel and kroket, are deep-fried (my friend fried it in a machine similar to a fryer). In the Netherlands, it is most often served with mayonnaise, curry or tomato ketchup, mustard or even applesauce. I had mine with a dash of ketchup and salad sauce and it was good.
After days of having a tone of sugary snacks, bread with chocolate sprinkles, kebab meat and Doritos crisps, I cooked a healthy meal for my hosts. The table reflects all the food I eat on a regular basis at home and during my travels – a lot of green veggies (mainly broccoli, lettuce, green beans), my favourite fish which is salmon in a garlic sauce, feta cheese and boiled potatoes with mushrooms. That was a real detox dinner!
5. Understanding why people DO NOT do drugs despite it’s legal
It seems like the Dutch are not interested in drugs at all. Although it’s legal to take them, they don’t.
Based on recent statistics, lifetime prevalence of marijuana use is 25.7% (ages 15-64) in the Netherlands whereas in the States it is 41.5% (ages 12 and up). As a non-smoker and abstainer, my first impression of Amsterdam was not as good as during my second visit this summer. This time, thanks to visiting Woudrichem, I realized that only Amsterdam is all about drugs, alcohol and prostitute and it’s main goal is to attract attention of tourists who want to try something they could never legally do in their own country. The rest of Holland is all about flowers, beautiful windmills, kindly smiling people and idyllic landscapes.
To sum up, Holland was my home for some time and it felt wonderful to be surrounded by such kind-hearted and warm people. It certainly was not my first neither the last visit in the Land of Tulips, so I look forward to seeing what this country has to offer to me next time.
Have you spotted any differences between your home country and Holland? If so, share your thoughts in the comments as I am curious about your experiences.
77 thoughts on “5 Things I Could Not Get Used To In Holland As A Pole”
MMMM i also want to live like the Dutch!
:):) Move to Holland then!!
After reading this article, I was like wow.. most freaking awesome place.. drink what you want, eat what you want.. Amazing!
Yep!
I’m so glad you commented on the drug use part, Agness! I watched a travel show (Anthony Bourdain) and was shocked about Amsterdam. Now, I was far younger once upon a time and well, you know. But, I’ve worked for the our Sheriff’s Office for 25 years now and of course am sworn to uphold the law. No, I’m no longer a Sheriff but a civilian (no badge, no gun) because I got hurt on the job. I’m glad to hear you abstain :)
I Love that chocolate sprinkles and ate too much in my one month stay there but as you said it was not good for health at all but I really enjoyed them.
:)
I’m the chocolate monster so I totally understand ya!
Hi Agness, I’ve “seen” you around online but I believe this is the first time on your own blog. I love Holland and its bike culture. It’s so pretty! I like Poland too and I try to get out there every two years but so sorry, I wouldn’t drink the tap water. Oh no! Having said that, I live in Germany and as a British person, I drink the tap water of course. Surprisingly, the Germans don’t!
Hey Victoria. Thanks for stopping by. I loved Holland too and Poles don’t drink tap water either. It’s so weird for us to do so. Good to know Germans are the same :). I hope to meet you somewhere in Europe this summer :).
I can understand what you say about hagelslag. I couldn’t spend 2 hours after eating such a breakfast (I’m the type that either eats a big chunk of dinner leftovers or fries fresh eggs and eat a cucumber and yoghurt, can’t do otherwise; when I’m travelling I eat that kind of breakfast that doesn’t let me think of food until dinner). I like hagelslag, but definately not for breakfast (and nothing with margarine at any time of the day or the night). Here in Belgium it varies but the hagelslag thing is rather common. Or Nutella, or jam, or butter. As an exception I ate ice cram (yes, I know) for breakfast but topped that of with a plate of chickpeas to say I’ve eaten something. The best of both worlds in my opinion :-)
I’m sorry but you’re totally wrong about the junkfood part. I don’t know who you were staying woth but Dutch do not eat greasy food all the time! Most people just take a sandwich with cheese or something to work or school. Go to the US that’s where they actually eat loads of junkfood. As a Dutch I rarely eat junkfood. Most Dutch people eat cooked vegetables and cooked potatoes with meat for dinner and it’s perfectly healthy. A typical Dutch meal for instance is cauliflower with potatoes and a pittle cheese sauce.
Oh and one more thing you confused the frikandel with the kroket ;) which did you like better?
Kroket wins! :)
I had a stroopwaffle for the first time today. Even with black coffee it was waaaay too sweet. I don’t get how the Dutch eat this all the time. I don’t think i’ll have another one. I also have to agree that I see a lot of junk food around, especially frites and I find it weird that the Dutch has some odd fascination with Lumpia. On another note, I find the drinking water here to be amazing! It tastes like bottled water, right out of the tap. I’ve drank water from the taps of Canada, Singapore, Hong Kong, America and this by far is the tastiest.
I’m from India and have been to both Holland and Poland and the differences in food habits are quite significant. For example, the preference for “hot” and “cold” foods that you mentioned here.
I’m fond of apple/chocolate pies. While in Poland, Czech Republic or Slovakia, they usually warm your pie in a microwave oven without you even having to ask, in Germany, Netherlands, France or Belgium, pies and pastries are usually served cold. I remember this girl’s expression in Cologne, Germany when I told her I don’t want to eat my pie cold. She was really pissed off and simply tossed that poor thing into an extra-large countertop oven where it would circulate for a full five minutes.
I was like, “What the heck? Couldn’t you simply put it in the bread toaster next to you and warm it for maybe 90 seconds.” She replied, “You want hot? I will give you hot. Wait.” Sure enough by the time the pie was ready too serve, it was simply too hot to touch. I put a piece in my mouth and my throat was scalding. Takeaway charges were 50 cents extra so I decided to have the pie right there. Of course, I managed to eat it slowly. Thankfully, my taste buds are adapted to hot food but it got really uncomfortable eating it in that girl’s presence with her frosty stare, “Finish your f***ng pie quickly, I want to see you choke on it.”
Anyway, in most other places of Western Europe, they simply refuse to warm your pies, sandwiches and pastries. And everyone is A-OK with it.
I also agree with your observations about tap water. But, I think tap water is pretty much safe to drink in Poland too? I don’t remember buying bottle water there but I had plenty of artisan beers there. Brovaria in Poznan was my favorite. What a delicious beverage, I never had anything like that before. Also, Honey Lager at a bar called Spiz in Wroclaw.
I loved Polish sausages as well. They were delicious, cheap and filling. I remember it was like 1 or 2 zloties for a hot dog and the thing was really good with mustard sauce. In Amsterdam, that same hot dog would cost you 3 Euros.
Polish breakfast is really filling and tasty.
The ‘mad’ 14 million kilo of hagelslag per year, actually already tells you people can’t be eating it everyday. We’re 17 million people, so its not even a kilo per person per year, meaning maybe 3 packs of hagelslag. Over a full year. Maybe its a lot compared to nothing, but not that extreme. I also prefer my breakfast warm and more nutritious, and usually eat porridge with oatmeal, but i love a boterham met hagelslag from time to time :)
You’re right! But you’re not…
I’m from Holland myself and I know that for example my dad truely loves hagelslag. This is what he says about hagelslag: “Geen dag, zonder hagelslag!” which means: “Not a day without hagelslag!”
The thing is, we don’t only eat it for breakfast. Many people eat it for lunch as well. So… actually we are mad about those weird chocolate sprinkles haha:).
Thanks for sharing your opinion and experience with us, Jaime! ;)
Hii! I want to say a few things. First of all; thanks for telling people about the drugs part bc it is so annoying how people always think that everybody uses drugs here.
But honestly I don’t really like what you said about the junkfood part and I’m kinda offened by it… Look, in America everything is big and everybody eats junkfood and it disgusts me when I see all these fat people (sorry if I am offending people rn, it is just what you always see and read on the internet and the news) but we are definitly NOT like that! Most Dutch people eat almost everyday vegetables for dinner (for example brocolli with potatoes) and then with some meat, but trust me, not always junkfood!!
oh and please don’t call it Holland.. like nobody here in the Netherlands calls it Holland.. If you would me; Holland is more like how it used to be with all those mills and wooden shoes, but that definitly isn’t what it is like nowadays. The Netherlands is a good country where a lot of people are being very healthy (for example with the bikes) so please be a bit more respectful by doing a bit more research instead of making up something just by what you have seen :)
Hi Agness,
Fun post ;)
You guys do breakfast right. It’s gotta be wholesome, nutritious and filling to start the day.
Likewise; I’ve never seen a heavy Dutch person. Knowing how they eat such sugary and fatty stuff, this is a mystery to me too.
I eat some sweets but run 10 miles every other day to keep kinda lean.
As for tap water, I can drink it here in the US no probs but could not go near it in most places on earth. Especially in SE Asia. Downing this stuff would result in a quick trip to the emergency room.
Thanks for sharing Agness.
Ryan
Thanks for the comment, Ryan! ;)
I’ve a list of places to travel before I get married :P Now, Holand is in my bucketlist ;)
Hey, Narcelie! That sounds so much fun! Holland is a great place and I can easily imagine it being a perfect wedding destination. ;)
Holland is a beautiful country, which is on my bucket list for my next tour to Europe in coming December on Christmas holidays. I believe you have had enjoyed it. I love you post, thanks for sharing.
Great read! i visited Holland once and i found it to be most beautiful country in the world! the nature is second to none and i cant wait to visit again!
Wow, what an article! There are some things I love about the Netherlands, e.g. the Dutch don’t display their wealth, but unfortunately, their liberties, which seem to be limitless, simply scare me off… I used to talk to one Dutchwoman and although she was open to talk about any topic (including intimate ones), I was so struck by her open attitude that I was truly unable to contact her… Well, my native language is Russian and, just like many Poles and Russian speakers (I speak some Polish too!), I was brought up very conservatively. I’m used to strictness even in terms of communication so I felt very inconvenient when communicating with that Dutchwoman. Therefore I decided to travel to the Netherlands only in exceptional cases since my memories of that Dutchwoman could be awakened…