Things We Liked/Didn't Like: An Expat Reflection

Living abroad for close to a year, first in Ireland then the Netherlands, gave us a new perspective on how freggin' big the world really is.  It also gave us time to appreciate the different cultural aspects of life in Europe.  Some we loved, some we found a bit off, and some just confused the hell out of us.  Our Dutch expat days concluded on 19 May 2013.  But I thought I'd do some reflecting with this post and write about "Things We Liked/Didn't Like" about our time in the Netherlands.

Things We Liked:

1.) Leaving Oss.  Just kidding, it's a fine town.  It was first referred to us as a "sleepy little village."  Well the "sleepy" part is accurate (especially during the week in the winter months), but by no means is this place a village. Oss had tons to offer: restaurants, cafes, shopping and more. Well, it's got all that to offer, when things are OPEN (see #1 of "Things We Didn't Like")  In addition, there was always some type of huge party organized in the town square with bands and karaoke at least once a month (check out my videos for Klunen, Carnaval, & Koninginnedag).

My Video Tribute to Oss here.

2.) Train Access.  We were just a short 10 minute walk to the Oss train station from our apartment.  This station was our starting point for amazing trips to Belgium, Germany, Czech Republic and Switzerland.

3.) Cafes/Restaurants in Oss.  Here were some of our favorites:

-Koozie: loved their bread plate & shared menu special, AYCE!
-Monterosso: of the three Italian Restaurants that we found in town (I think there's a fourth) this was our favorite for pizza
-Da Antonio: Italian, great platters, friendly owner
-Brasserie De Spieghel: great draft & bottle selection; owner/manager not the friendliest
-Deli France: nice people, great sandwiches
-Tweede Herr: very chill; leather couches, chairs, fireplace.  Great beer selection
-LaColline: great beer menu; nice outdoor seating; fell in love with the Kasteel Cuvee
-Brasserie De Serre: restaurant at the City Hotel, great service.  Try the steak on a stone.

4.) Carnaval. One word: Incredible. The parades and the parties were simply amazing.  Favorite part was the burning of the Ox in Oss to close the festivities.  If you have the opportunity definitely experience Carnaval in the Netherlands.

5.) Market Day. Every Tuesday & Saturday in Oss.  (Saturdays in Den Bosch) Vendors with cheeses, vegetables, breads, fish, & meats descended on the town to sell their wares.  Much different shopping experience than what we were used to in the States say at your local Wegmans, Acme, Walmart, etc.  Great prices and fun atmosphere.

Free Coffee Machine at AH

6.) Albert Heijn (AH).  Not unique to Oss, it's a Netherlands grocery store chain. I spent A LOT of time here. Nice variety of food, decent prices and FREE COFFEE.  But most of my time there I was glued to my phone translating the produce aisle. By the way, a "wortel" is a carrot; you're welcome.  I also enjoyed causing scenes in the checkout lane and chatting it up with the Afghan fella that ran the Mediterranean Bar.

7.) The Fries. (aka frites and or chips).  They were just dam good everywhere; by themselves or with the sauces, including mayo.  And whether you wanted them or not, they were usually a side order that came with every meal you ordered.

8.) The City Hotel Staff.  The owners/operators of our apartment. Great folks, friendly and very accommodating. Go like them on facebook.

9.) Statie Fles. It's fun to recycle and you get a refund! The "statie fles" that you may see on your receipt is a surcharge or tax placed on certain glass and plastic bottles.  For more information on recycling in the Netherlands go here.

I'll miss you the most

10.) The Beer.  Just like they say the Guinness tastes better in Ireland (I can personally attest that it does) the Heineken tastes amazing in the Netherlands. Especially on draft and most especially at outdoor festivals under a tent in the town square.

Our time in Oss also gave me a whole new appreciation for the world of Trappist beers.  My favorite new find was the La Trappe Quadrupel, available for just €1.39 a bottle (including statie fles) at our local Albert Heijn.  I learned two things about this beer: 1.) Only Trappist label brewed in the Netherlands; 2.) It demands respect, especially at 10%ABV.  Didn't think I'd see her again once we got home but I was able to procure a bottle at Wegman's in Collegeville, PA the other day to help ease the repatriation process.

Our Bike.  Lots of trunk space.

11.) Biking.  Even though this is listed as #11 it was by far one of my favorite things to do.  The nice folks at the City Hotel allowed us to borrow a bike. However, I was hesitant to ride at first because of the snow and ice. I was also a little intimidated to ride because I couldn't figure out how to make a left hand turn.  After the ground thawed, and countless hours watching and studying how bikers turn left; I got over my fears and started cruising all over Oss, in all types of weather.

Things We Didn't Like:

1.) Business Hours- This was one of the hardest adjustment for us.  On one hand it's great, businesses shut down around 5pm, allowing employees to be home with their families, awesome.  On the other hand, what are two expats to do after dinner when everything is closed?

2.) Credit Card Acceptance-I've written numerous rants about this in prior posts.  I also get it; the Dutch aren't into credit cards. Judging by the way most Americans abuse this privledge I can see.  BUT, there are a small amount of us that do pay off our cards and those that look forward to earning points on their cards for flights, hotels, etc.  There is nothing worse than that feeling of helplessness when a server tries tirelessly to read your card, and I'm not even talking the typical American swipe card, we have a "chip" & sign VISA card through Hyatt, and that still didn't work at times. And not just in our small town, this happened in Den Bosch and even a pub in Amsterdam.  Word of advice, always be sure to have some Euros in your pocket just in case the credit card machine doesn't work.

3.) Location.  Oss is a little off the beaten path so we usually had to transfer in bigger train stations like Den Bosch to get anywhere.  But that's okay, the Den Bosch station had a Smullers.  Watch this.

Don't need all this, just some

4.) Customer Service- Okay, I'm not expecting over the top TGI Friday's flair covered service in restaurants, but a warm smile and a hello would be nice.  Hell, I'd just settle for a head nod and acknowledgement of my basic presence at your otherwise empty restaurant.  There have been times where I've said to myself: "No it's cool, I don't need another beverage, I can wait while you set up tables and clean glassware for an empty restaurant." (true story).  Now, there were exceptions to this lack of service, but most of the time our presence in some restaurants seemed to be an inconvenience for the staff. We get it, you're not working for tips, and we don't speak Dutch, but we like to drink beer, how about a refill?

In addition, don't expect much personal customer service from your bank or cell phone provider unless you are prepared to pay.  Most service companies charge a fee of a few euro cents per minute just to talk with a human. They'll even charge you to tell you via automated message that their office is closed when you call for help on a Sunday; true story.  My advice, get a twitter account, most companies have them and are responsive to questions, and that's free, well kind of, just costs you a home internet provider and or a smartphone data plan.

Super convenient online purchases, not.

5.) Banking. "Wait, how much to cash a check? and how long would it take?" That was me after learning it would have taken 4-6 weeks to cash a check, AND it would cost about 16% of the check's value in fees. Hats off to the Dutch banking system for going paperless, but what's an expat to do with a refund check from their Irish Gas company?

In addition, the process for making online payments is a bit different. You are given a card reader (pictured right) that spits out a pin number for internet transactions.  It's supposed to be for added security. It's a bit of an added hassle because it's one more step you need to go through for purchases.  But once you get used to it, it's not all bad and as a victim of identity theft I can appreciate the security.

Lastly, our bank didn't make their policies regarding fees very clear for English speaking expats.  After setting up our account we specifically asked about ATM fees and were told "There were none." What they failed to mention was if we used our bank card abroad we would be slapped with a fee.  Oh, and if you want to find information on the fees associated with your account you have to go to their website.  Our bank did offer an English version of the website, however if you want to read about fees on the website you have to "check the overview of banking rates for private clients (in Dutch)."   Yeah, I still haven't found the link to this information on the site.  Bottom, line when setting up your Dutch bank account, ask questions and try to read the fine print regarding fees.  Perhaps I should have followed my own advice and tweeted them my questions.

ov-chipkaart with Dal "What a Deal Subscription"

6.) NS Rail Discounts/NS RailPlus Card.  We knew we'd be riding a lot of trains both domestic and international, but the trains weren't cheap. A roundtrip fare from Oss to Amsterdam cost €33.00 roundtrip per person.  That could certainly add up so we looked into the discount subscriptions offered by NS Rail (domestic trains) and NSHispeed (international trains) .  But figuring out how to apply for these discounts was a real pain.  It took countless hours of research, translations and tweets to finally figure out the best deal for the local trains.

Applying for the international train discount card, called the RailPlus Card, was equally frustrating.  I could not find how to apply for this discount program anywhere online.  The best info I could get at the time was from a Belgian rail site. Trying to avoid a per minute calling fee, I took to twitter to get some answers and it paid off.  The NSHispeed Twitter person got me the website, albeit the site was all in Dutch, but Google Chrome helped me through it.

Definitely follow @NS_online & @NSHispeed on twitter if you have any rail related questions. Both were extremely responsive and very helpful.  Oh, and you don't really need to tweet in Dutch, their English is great.

Also, special thanks to amsterdamtips.com for their help in my research. They provide great tips on  on all things Amsterdam on their site and via email; great site for visitors and expats.

The final kick in the ass was right before we are ready to leave the Netherlands I saw that the cost for the subscription for the NS Dal Advantage, the subscription we bought, was slashed from €50 to €29.  However, I think at the time of writing (May 31, 2013), the price went back to €50.

[Blogger's Note: I'm hoping to have an entire post dedicated to Dutch Rail Discounts soon.]

7.) Smoking- Totally forgot how gross you feel after being in a bar/restaurant with smoking.  Should have invested in some EuroFabreeze.

8.) Techno Drive-bys- It was brought to my attention prior to our arrival that the Dutch had an affiinity towards the genere of music referred to as "techno."  They especially liked to rock out to this genere while driving (yes, some do drive).  Luckily for us we were living there during the winter and our windows weren't open much.  But there were times when our collection of beer bottles for recycling would begin to rattle because of the bass and the sweet beats.

-----

As you can see, the "Things We Liked" about the Netherlands did out number the "Things We Didn't Like." And perhaps, some of the later were just due to cultural/societal adjustments. Perhaps if we had stayed longer some of the dislikes would have disappeared from the list. We have been very fortunate this past year and are extremely grateful for these all these experiences.  The little differences made our time abroad enriching and allowed us to see that there was a big world outside the windows of our Pennsylvania home.

For more of my ramblings and tips check out one of my early posts: "One Month, Ten Lessons: Netherlands."

Can any other expats relate? or I'm I just nuts?

Thanks for reading.

Our First (and only) Visitor

Funny.  When we lived in Ireland last summer we had 14 visitors.  During our stay in the Netherlands we had 1.  And technically he was primarily there for a work assignment but I'm still counting it as a visit.

As his reward for hanging out with us I'm committed to making Mr. John Fay an interwebs star.  Enjoy his breakout role.

WARNING: After watching you'll regret not visiting us to experience the majesty of the pocket sandwich.

One Month, Ten Lessons: Netherlands

It's been a hell of a month. Dammit, I gave up cursing for Lent. DOH! Okay, let's try this again...

On January 15, 2013, Vicki and I touched town in the Netherlands to begin another expat adventure.  We've learned so much in just a short time about the Netherlands and Dutch culture; partly due to our Intercultural Training course and our day-day experiences, that I felt we should share a little.  

So with out further ado I bring you:
"One Month, 10 Lessons: Netherlands."  



1. Cash Only Country
As the saying goes, "In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash."  In our town, credit cards are not as widely accepted as we thought they would be.  AMEX, is sparse and VISA is mostly limited to restaurants. For all other purchases such as groceries and train tickets,  cash and debit cards (MAESTRO) are the ways to go.  The Dutch just want your cold hard cash.  Smart folks.  



2.  It's Not Rude To Say "Sorry, I Don't Speak Dutch"  
It makes sense; you visit/live in a country, you attempt to speak the language to show respect.  In an attempt to be polite with our new hosts, Vicki and I tried to learn a few simple phrases in Dutch, namely, "Spreek je Engels?" (Do you speak English?)  Turns out this was the WRONG phrase to learn for a number of reasons.  First and foremost, folks we've met, speak and have a good grasp of English. Also, this phrase can sound a bit obnoxious and can also be the perfect setup for a joke when someone answers you in perfect English "No, I don't speak any English at all."

So we've learned that it's perfectly acceptable and polite to say, "Sorry I don't speak Dutch." But make sure you say it in your most awkward, broken English voice.  Vicki and I joke about which one of us says that phrase the funniest.  I'm currently winning.  

We've also found that when the English-Dutch and/or Other Language barrier is too great.  Just use hand gestures like the one pictured.  This particular gesture will get you a carafe of wine.  It works! See here.

3.  Paperwork, Paperwork & More Paperwork
You know, for a liberal country you sure have to muddle through a ton of paperwork to live here.  There's a great book called the "UnDutchables."  I think it's great required reading for anyone making the move to the Netherlands.  There's a chapter that discusses the trials and tribulations of the Immigration and Naturalization Department (IND).  The process of immigration is described as  frustrating, including multiple trips to a number of different government offices.  At first we thought that this was bunk.  We had a successful visit with the IND and it only took us one trip.  But the next task was to register at the town hall in Oss.  I now understood what the book was talking about.  Today marked my third trip to this building pictured below.  But it's official, Vicki and I are married and residents in the eyes of the the Dutch Government.

The Oss Town Hall

4.  Horse Meat--It's Apparently What's For Dinner.

http://professormungleton.blogspot.nl/2013/01/burgers-for-supper-neigh-thanks.html

Okay, no disrespect, but Vicki and I have noticed something.  All the food here seems to have this strange after taste, especially the meat.  Not sure if it's the oil or the type of mystery "meat" being used, but there is definitely some distinct after taste.  One late night after a few delicious Belgian Beers, we wondered to our local snack bar.  The menu, of course was all in Dutch, but with the help of a local, we ended up ordering fries with horse meat, based on his recommendation, "It's really nice!" he said. Horse meat? Really?  Talk about a distinct taste.  Well a few nights later, I swear I was eating it again in my spaghetti and meat sauce at the Italian place down the street.  It wasn't bad, but yet, it wasn't good either.  I might stick to chicken from here on out.    

5. My Washer and Dryer Are Smarter Than Me
In case you haven't caught my Adventures in Expat Laundry post, let me explain.  My appliances are multilingual, they speak French and Finnish.  Not only am I faced with the challenge of doing the wash, interpreting the instructions on the machine I have to determine which machine is speaking which language.  

My new multilingual BFFs

6. It Takes An Advanced Degree & A Tweet To Figure Out the Train Discount Card Programs
When you look up train times and tickets, they list the full fare price then the discounted prices.  Discount tickets? Don't mind if I do! Who doesn't like to save a euro or two.  After multiple search attempts and with the help of AmsterdamTips.com I finally figured out the discount scheme. But there was still the challenge of how to purchase said discount subscription. (I'll leave that for a future post.)  

I then learned there was another discount program good for international train travel across a number of European countries.  It's called the Rail Pass Plus.  But my searching attempts kept coming up empty.  Every site I found told me of the existence of this pass, but NO WAY to purchase it.  I finally found out, from a Belgium rail site, that you could buy them in the train stations.....in Belgian train stations.  Great.

As I continued scrutinizing the NS Highspeed site, I saw a link to their twitter account.  I thought, what the hell, let me try the power of Dutch Social Media.  Then this happened, in Dutch:

Actual Twitter Dialogue  

Well I got my question answered thanks to Twitter (and google translate). Apparently you can purchase them on their website at the link they provided. Ok, in my defense, since you're probably saying, why did you have so much trouble then? Well,  I tried to backtrack using their link to see if I could find the page on my own.  For the record, I still can't find it, so for now, at least I got the ow.ly.  


7. Carnaval In The Netherlands Is A Big Deal & My Landlord Has Great Stuff In The Attic
Move over Mardi Gras, there's a new Carnaval king in town and it's the Dutch.  Just think, 5 days of family friendly parades and parties under big tents with lots and lots of Heineken; that's Carnaval in the Netherlands.  What an experience and I am so glad we were here for it.  More on Carnaval in the Netherlands here.

Sweet Jacket Courtesy of the Owner of our Apartment.  Our Apartment ON THE PARADE ROUTE!

8. You Only Get 3 Chances To Talk To Your Waiter/Waitress In Restaurants; Make It Count
I had read that service in Dutch restaurants leaves a bit to be desired.  This was good preparation going into our first dining experiences here.  For example, you can be sitting with an empty drink for what seems like hours while you watch the bartender or server standing at the bar cleaning glass ware.  Or you can make direct eye contact with your server and signal that you are in need of say a napkin or water;  they then look at you (almost through you) and keep on walking.  

So that brings me to my learnings.  I've noticed the only times you get to talk to your server is when you are seated, when they bring your drink and when they bring your food.  Then you are own your own.  Yes, I'm familiar with the European dining culture vs American and understand that they do not work for tips and they do not want to rush you.  But come on, what's a guy gotta do to get another beer?  We now know, to treat each interaction with our server as a special moment, one not to be taken for granted.  

9. Make Sure to Bring Your Elbows to the Grocery Store

HAMSTERS MEAN SAVINGS!!!!

The Dutch are very direct, in words and in the grocery store. For example, you're in front of the refrigerators where they keep bagged lettuce and other prepared vegetables trying to find out what exactly a "wortel" is (it's a carrot BTW) and 2 or 3 fellow shoppers almost collide into you AND each other as they reach for a bag of Japanese Salad Mix. I thought, not big deal I was clogging up the aisle, shame on me.  I then walked a bit further down to look at some more veggies, and DAM, it happens again. Some dude flies right into me for a bag of peas.  Alright.  I've learned my lesson.  My next trip to the grocery I have to be prepared to throw some elbows if someone gets in front of my bag of wortels.  

10.  Outdoor Urinals Are Popular and Plentiful
This might be one of my favorite things about the Netherlands. Yes, I realize I have the sense of humor of a 5 year old. But hey, when you gotta go; say right after Mass lets out at St. John's Cathedral in Den Bosch, you're in good shape because there's a urinal just a stone's throw away.  I like the way the Dutch think.

Urinal in foreground, Cathedral in the background

They even set up portable ones for celebrations.

Honorable Mentions

These weren't exactly Top 10 material but they deserved recognition as well:

-Banking.  Don't expect to cash a check here in the Netherlands.  We had a check from our Irish Gas Company that we brought and tried to cash it here.  Turns out it would have taken 4-6 weeks, and the fees to cash it would have cost us about 16% of the check's value.  Not worth it.

-Dutch Websites.  Google Chrome is your best friend

-Learning Dutch. Need help with learning dutch numbers?  Stay up late, there's plenty of scantly clad ladies eager to help you by giving out their phone numbers.  Got this piece of advice from one of my favorite #expat blogs, "Invading Holland."  If you're an expat in the Netherlands, check out Stu, he's the man. 

When another month passes, I'll bring you another segment of "One Month, Ten Lessons."  

Cheers to the weekend everyone!

Netherlands Carnaval 2013

We couldn't have planned our arrival to the Netherlands any better. Here less than a month, and we find  ourselves participating in one of the craziest parties on the planet, CARNAVAL in the NETHERLANDS!  I know what you're thinking. Carnaval in the Netherlands? I thought the same way. We usually picture the beads of Mardi Gras in New Orleans or the extravagant outfits of Carnaval in Rio. But after witnessing 5 straight days of celebrations, my perception sure has changed.  The Dutch can party too.

Having experienced Mardi Gras in New Orleans years ago, I will say there were many similarities: parades, floats, costumes, bands, and of course plenty of beer.  But I got the sense that Carnaval in the Netherlands was a bit more family and community focused.  It was neat watching families all weekend (and through Tuesday) gather in the town center, dressed together like pirates and clowns, celebrating as if they didn't have a care in the world.  And last night in Oss, during the closing ceremonies, Vicki and I joined a parade of townspeople through the square.  For a few brief moment, we didn't feel like outsiders at all, we were members of a community.  We followed the procession to a parking lot where a brass band was playing "My Way" by Frank Sinatra.  Then the Carnaval Prince set the paper mache animal ablaze, symbolizing the end of Carnaval and the beginning of Lent.

Vicki took so many amazing pictures it was difficult to post all of them.  So, I had a thought; let me try to capture the essence of Carnaval in the Netherlands in just 11 pictures.  Given the mystique behind the number 11 in Carnaval Culture I thought that was a good "round" number.  It is said, that 11 is the "fool's number," coming between the spiritual number 12 and the perfect number 13. There is also something about a connection between the word elf and 11.  Could explain all the elf and gnome costumes we saw.  It was also interesting how most of the big events started at 11 past the hour.

May I present, the craziness of Carnaval, in only 11 pictures.  Enjoy.

Carnaval Oss In Eleven Pictures

Carnaval Den Bosch in Eleven Pictures

Berghem Light Parade in Eleven Pictures

Can You Spot Bono, Gene Simmons, Slash and Steven Tyler in these pics? No for real, can you?

Okay, I cheated.  There was no way I could depict days worth of amazing sights and fun in only 11 pictures.  Forgive me?  We've got tons of video footage as well. Here's a look at some of it.

                       My apologies for the vertical video

Lastly, here's a short video of the burning of the Ox. Anyone catch the Sinatra being played?  LOVED IT!

How was your Carnaval experience?  

Oss Prepares for Carnaval

Walked down the street.  Saw this.  

Now, we heard Carnaval was a big deal in the Netherlands, mainly the southern Catholic part.  This was happening in our little town of Oss this morning.  I can't image what awaits us when we travel to Den Bosch,  a much bigger city famous for its Carnaval parade.  More on our Carnaval experiences to come.   (9 February 2013)

The City of Oss prepares for Carnaval 2013

Saturday in Den Bosch

Vicki and I traveled to Den Bosch on Saturday afternoon to start exploring.  This town is much larger than Oss and just a short train ride away.  This video just scratches the surface of the beauty and life of this city.  I think we’ll be spending many more days here.  

(Video shot on Saturday January 26, 2013)

DEN BOSCH

Posting a little out of order, sorry.  I just remembered I had a few pics from our first quick visit to Den Bosch.  Stopped here on January 17 on our way back to Oss.  We were supposed to relocate to this town, but there were some complications so we decided just to remain in Oss.  The town looked amazing; can’t wait to go back and  explore.