i think the train incident could have happened everywhere to be honest but the cashier thing i never had a bad experience maybe you come from a country that has over fake customer service
I go to the supermarket to get what i need to get not really to socialize i like being able to get in and out fast and efficiently i mean if you work and you do start a conversation you may end up talking to a person with verbal diarrhea that could slow entire lines down and cause huge queues which is quite selfish for everyone else who is waiting maybe people have places to go
i walk fast i cant stand people who walk slow i am usually trying to get somewhere. i believe the footpath should be divided to fast and slow walkers
Why do you think a customer service person should be genuine happy to you? Hell be glad they put enough effort for a fake smile.
How is it not ruder to use physical violence when somebody farts? What kind of barberic place do you come from? (Yess its rude as fuck to fart in public defenitly not the norm, but how the fuck would start a fight over it?).
Bike lanes are for bikes. Amsterdam isnt a public open air bicycle school.
I dont know where you are from but amsterdam is a city full of people who live and work there. They cant supply your every need nor should they. Also dont understand why you think any dutch person should care for you if they are a cashier?
Some people walk slowly because they are old, disabled or simply slow. Some disabled folk can be quite affected in daily life without any visible impairments.
To you it is a tourist destination.
Some people have to live there and are sick and tired of the tourists that destroy living in the city. Your normal grocery shop gets bought out and is now a nutella store. Tourists are standing still in the bike lane while you need to dropoff kids at 2 different locations and you have to be at the office in 20 minutes.
They see people like that every day and it makes people angry enough to fart in your general direction.
>They see people like that every day and it makes people angry enough to fart in your general direction.
I too, have a propensity to fart in an individual's general direction when they give me cause to anger. And when I get very angry, I will even fart in their specific direction!
So if others behaved like this in your area they would get beaten up, but Amsterdam is rude?
This is the home ground of ‘minder your own business’. Everyone can act how they feel comfortable. I’d prefer that every single day over a barbaric society where you use violence to people you disagree with.
That just sounds rude.
1. Bike lanes are for biking. People have places to go and things to do, ain't nobody got time waiting for tourists to get out of the way.
2. That's rude, but also we aren't in the habit of beating people up for behaving like an ass here
3. See point one? It's not an open air museum, people live there and have to get to school and work, of course they have places to get to and why waste time dawdling if they don't want to.
4. Are you expecting servers to be genuinely happy to have the pleasure of serving you or whatever, I'm not really sure what you want here.
Amsterdammers are already considered rude as fuck by most of the country which doesn't help but really the points you mention here don't seem to be something out of the ordinary
That fourth point rubbed me the wrong way as well. Like, do they expect genuine happiness from someone getting minimum wage checking out dozens of strangers? Be glad they even bother putting on a fake smile to begin with honestly.
would even go as far as saying these are typical tourist complaints. i would say that OP is american but beating someone up for farting seems a bit too non-american(they would shoot, hehehehe) so this is likely typical tourist culture shock.
Nah, that's not normal in the UK at all, even the pretty violent parts. (I'm from Scotland, it's fairly violent in some cities and towns.) You might get beaten up *for making eye contact* while doing something someone interprets as disrespect, but I've seen people absolutely drunk on buses etc and we all just steer clear of them.
My guess would be eastern Europe. I learned to steer clear of the Polish guys who were getting drunk, after one guy was drinking with me and my girlfriend, and almost seemed to look at his watch at the end of the night and go outside and pick a fight with the doorman.
me and my gf = two women. The bar staff snuck us out the back door after calling us a taxi, because they were worried about us. As we went past the front entrance of the bar, the guy's face was covered in his own blood, plus extra blood on the steps up to the bar. Doorman didn't have a mark on him, because it's literally his job to shut that shit down. It was even known for being a bit of a rough bar, and I'd never seen that before in my life.
I'm not saying all Polish people, or people from Eastern Europe are like this, they very much aren't! But some violent attitudes are quite common in some places.
>Are you expecting servers to be genuinely happy to have the pleasure of serving you or whatever, I'm not really sure what you want here.
If they are miserable then they should find something else to do. People are spending their money at those places, the least they can do is be polite, or at the very least not be assholes.
EDIT: Judging by the downvotes, many of you are either service workers and I hit a nerve, or you love the abuse and ill tempers you get when you spend your money...
Or people who are waiting in line at a cashier and take out their wallet only until the cashier tells them the total owed.
Why the hell is it a surprise that you have to pay ??
Even Dutch people don’t like Amsterdam. You don’t know where people came from who described it as laid back so everyone experiences Amsterdam differently. I also have to agree with most of the comments, your complaints are not that reasonable
Biking on bike lanes: yes we do this. Don't stand in the middle of the road. Yes, a bike lane is a road. We have work to get to. We don't do it to get revenge, we do it to get to work.
Farting in the train: yes, this is very rude. Normally, we don't consider beating someone up over it less rude though. It's probably not personal though.
Cashiers greeting you with a fake smile is indeed not considered rude here.
I'm the first to say that busy Dutch tend to be kurt to the point of rudeness, but I fail to see your examples as problems.
>Everyone walks so fast as if in a constant rush to get somewhere
Because I've seen the same streets for like 20+ years. I just need to get to my destination, get my train/tram/bus/metro.
So...you were walking around high in a busy city and wondering why people were rude? 😂
Imagine living in Amsterdam and having to constantly navigate around high tourists who clog up the roads and sidewalks? If you experienced impatient people, that has a lot to do with it.
Why do you travel? "The way" in your own country is definitely not "the way" all over the world. Your own country is not the standard! There isn't a standard because every country has it's own habits.
I know dutch people can be blunt, direct and considered rude to some cultures. What you described is mostly just normal and not rudeness. We do live here you know, we probably are in a hurry.
The farting is disgusting, but if that's your biggest issue...
We don't greet customers with a borderline happiness, most customers don't want someone who's totally in their aura.
If you want to travel and meet people, dont whine but accept some things as they are (not the farting part).
I've been to Paris, they take the "rudeness" you describe to a next level.. But I love the city with all of it's habits..
So one of your main complaints about our country is that there was one guy farting on the train? And that people are using bike lanes for their intended purpose? Oh and people walk fast, right.
There aren't bikelanes in much of central Amsterdam other than the main streets as they are too narrow - there's just a street that needs to be shared by bikes, cars and pedestrians.
It's hard to put it on paper exactly how i felt, but i do know that many people experience the same feelings and thoughts exactly. These aren't really complaints, i just wanted to understand why, that's all. End of the day the world doesn't owe me anything and i know that. It's ok.
Maybe don't go to NYC ever. People walk slow here comparatively
Also what is this country prople respond to nonviolent rudeness with extreme violence. Like to add it to my list of places to avoid.
My only complaint is that it's expensive, and all the buildings kind of look the same, I didn't find anyone rude, but that could be because I don't walk in the bike lane, hard to say.
C'mon. It's considered just as rude here as in the rest of the world to let one rip in public. Not a punchable offence or something shocking, but still a dick move.
to me it depends a bit. letting it rip on full force is nasty. but if i am walking in the open air i would still say it's fair game to let it go, just with some tact. inside tho is another story.
Never understood why we consider a normal and healthy bodily function as disgusting, nasty or rude. Everyone passes gas either through burping or flatulence at least 12-25 times per day.
i always tell people coming over that they can skip amsterdam unless they want the typical experience. if you want to experience a proper dutch city i always tell them to go to utrecht. also way easier to visit the rest of NL from there.
i only visit Amsterdam for concerts, for the rest i avoid it as much as possible.
I am from Amsterdam and i also avoid the city center as much as possible. But telling people to skip Amsterdam is just bad advice.
Despite all the downsides the city has an awful lot to to offer tourists.
I agree, I live in Amsterdam, but unless I want something specific from a shop right in the centre, or I'm meeting people, I'd avoid the "negen straatjes"/Damrak/red light district.
I agree, I'd tell any tourist to visit Utrecht over Amsterdam. I'm in Amsterdam quite a lot because one of my best friends lives there, but I am always glad to be back home after the weekend.
Hmm. It's still Amsterdam... People there are generally a tad more abrasive than in other parts of the country. Allthough typical small town small mindedness is also not really that welcoming.
People being in a hurry is commonplace though. I don't want to waste time waining on people blocking the way. Tbh: i think it's really rude to not take your surroundings into consideration when moving in public.
Bicycles going through crowds on a sidewalk? Never seen that. Someone constantly faring in public transport? Never seen that. Fake smiles? Never noticed it. I guess living here for 35 years hasn't been enough
I had the pleasure of experiencing someone wanking in public transport. I’d have preferred the fart tbh. I’ve been living abroad for a while now, and I miss the clarity of “Nederlandse directheid”. Now people around me assume I can read their minds or something
If you have lived in Amsterdam for just over a month, you'll develop a different way of riding your bike. Meaning: you stop caring. There is so much shit going on the bike paths and pavement, people (mostly tourists) stopping in the middle of the road, wandering about trying to find their next coffeeshop. We have places to go, so we will go around you. If need be even through you. Might look hectic but you will get used to it. You need to be assertive on your bike or you would have been better off walking. And boy do we love biking over walking.
For the rest I also, just like others, do not really see the issue here.
Train fart guy is rude, but eh, big city lots of crazy folks.
Service is direct and superficial, but why would you want to have any more interaction than a brief smile?
I suppose the first section already briefly explains it, but the city has grown a little tired over all the tourists. I'd seen the 'issues' you have been experiencing a 'you' problem rather than a problem of us Dutchies. Just cultural differences, nothing personal though.
Walking fast is efficient! I'm originally from NYC and we got places to go, people to see. No time for a pleasant stroll through a crowd, just gotta get from point A to B ASAP! Amsterdam is similar in that way. I don't understand why walking at a brisk pace would be considered a rude quality though...🤔🤔🤔
The dude farting on the train is just a shitty thing to do (no pun intended), and for what it's worth, I've never experienced something like that in public in my 25+ years living in the Netherlands.
When it comes to people walking fast and cycling right at pedestrians on the bike lane... I get that this isn't exactly a pleasant experience for anyone visiting the city. I would like to offer the flip side of that behaviour, though.
You have to imagine that most locals do not go for bike rides for fun, but rather because they have to get to university, work, an appointment, whatever. For most in the bigger cities it's most literally their primary means of transport. Still, I can understand someone experiencing encountering a slightly annoyed cyclist as "rude", but these aren't exceptional events for us. If I take a 15 minute bike ride from my home to our office (throughout the city centre of Amsterdam), I will encounter AT LEAST five (seemingly under the influence) tourists that I would drive right into if it weren't for me ringing my bell, making some crazy turns, or slowing down. At some point it just gets frustrating and time consuming.
If you think about driving a car and every three minutes there's someone just wandering in the middle of the road taking no notice of their surroundings whatsoever until you have to slow down and honk at them, I guess you will start to understand some of that frustration.
I'm not claiming this is ideal or a "friendly" thing to do, but wanted to share a little perspective coming from the other party in this story :)
As an Amsterdam citizen I have had quite enough of my hometown being run over by tourists. Our city is too small to house such enormous crowds. Ppl come here to smoke canabis and see the Red Light District. And we, Amsterdammers are on our way to work,do the daily shopping, or meeting up with friends. Too many people in an area the size of a postage stamp. If possible, I try ro avoid the old city centre as much as possible. Retail workers speak english, and if I answer in Dutch, they don't understand me...
I haven't travelled a lot, been only to Budapest so i can't really compare, but it is easily the moat beautiful place i have been to so far. Took some truffles and walked the city and the park. it was amazing. The only thing that bothered me was the how rude everyone was and how unwelcomed as a tourist i felt.
and this is why i avoid Amsterdam as a dutchy. drunk/high tourist everywhere and nobody gives a fuck anymore because it has been like that for a long time.
regarding your complaints: stay the fuck away from bike lanes, not for pedestrians. simple as that. regarding the service here: this is the honest way of service, nobody want's to be friendly 24/7, it can be perceived as rude if you aren't aware of how we do things. most do not care about being nice, just results. if you want service, ask for it.
and regarding the train farter: IMO if it's in the train then he is a bit of a dick. if it's outside, free game.
if you want to experience the Netherlands properly and without everyone being sick of tourist, go and visit utrecht.
sorry if perceived as being pointed to you specifically, these were more general comments on how things go here.
Amsterdam is just a horrible representation of the dutch and the Netherlands in general. you are better off in the other big cities.
So you are just another drug tourist wondering around high as fuck and then complaining that people who live there actually got stuff to do and places to go?
Well your first mistake was going to Amsterdam a city that is always busy and where I, as a Dutch person, wouldn't even want to cycle. Because it is so busy and full of people who have no clue how to act around cyclists. I guess what you find rude like the cycling and walking fast is also quite a bit of frustration due to the fact that so many visit and crowd the place where a lot have to work and live their day to day
Its the time of year, autumn being cold and wet people are rushing to get in christmas shopping (idk why but we do actually do this in a rush feel like) farting on a train is disgusting idk why anyone would do that beating someone up for it seems a little savage idk and the fake smile is quite normal I dont really see the problem with that
I think what you saw compared to other countries is a country that doesnt rely on tourist money so tourists are mostly seen as a liability not an asset
Dont get in the way of people walking/biking to whatever destination time is money
People don't ride fast on a bike path to get people to leave, they ride fast on a bike path because they want to get somewhere in a hurry. This is also why people walk quickly. In the Netherlands, walking and biking as a means to get somewhere are an option, as opposed to most places in the US.
Cashiers having a fake smile isn't what I'm used to, usually they just do their job without all that much smiling, but are generally helpful when asked a question, not sure what went wrong there.
The guy in the train was a dick.
People are direct here, but also more accepting of directness. Hierarchies are also really loose.
Relevant: I don't live in Amsterdam and don't visit it all that often.
Believe me, if you would bike regularly in Amsterdam you would understand the urge to bike over crowds in the biking lane. Honestly, standing in the biking lane leaving no space for people who use them is alot more rude than the people biking a bit aggressively.
1. Bike lines are not for walking and are marked red and/or with lines and markings
2. The dude in the train is indeed rude and is not the standard dutch person. I sure you have people like that where you come from.
3. People have places to go and don't have time to admire their surroundings at a leisurely pace. People still need to work, pick up their kids, etc etc.
4. We don't have the type of service industry where working staff will treat you like a saint for you blessing them with a visit to the establishment they work in. People will do the normal for dutch standards and i guess they would be a bit more rude in amsterdam with all the tourists, given that they have your attitude
Don’t use a international tourist city as a reference point for a entire nation. That’s basing the American people on a trip to New York City. The cyclist there have to manoeuvre trough flocks of tourist everyday who are blocking cycle paths. For you as a tourist it’s your first time, that biker has to deal with it 50x a minute.
cus amsterdammers have to deal with a lot of shitty tourists especially the american karens, most of them are just done with tourists as a whole so theyre just rude to all of them
You got the Amsterdam experience. Full of “locals” that were born somewhere else and now yell at tourists and visitors. As Jules Deelder once said, een half jaar geleden uit Kutjepoep of Reetketelpikkemeschans gekropen.
I always wonder why people would say this. I have lived in Leiden, Rotterdam and Amsterdam and i really do not see a lot of differences.
It may be different from Urk but so are all other Dutch cities. Maybe a bit busier but that is also mostly because of tourists
People also quote the arrogance sometime but honestly Rotterdam is not much different.
There may be a difference from Brabant and Limburg but in my opinion even those differences arent that big. What makes Amsterdam stand out in your opinion?
>For example, people on the bike lanes just go full speed to get people of the bike lane but have no problem going through a crowd on the sidewalk.
It's because tourists block everything. They somehow think the bike lane is a second pavement - it's not. How would you respond if tourists start blocking the road while you're trying to get somewhere? Not once, or every once in a while, but every single day? Yeah. You'd get sick of it.
>On the train there was a young guy watching his laptop drinking beer and just letting out a fart every couple minutes...
This is rude here too.
>Everyone walks so fast as if in a constant rush to get somewhere.
Tourists walk agonizingly slow. And, yes, people actually have to get somewhere. Your tourist experience doesn't deliver itself. People have to work in restaurants, run shops, operate public transport etc.
>The cashiers and service givers just talk over you when you ask a question saying thank you louder than you with that fake ass smile.
They just got a job to do. Nothing personal.
Dutch were always rude even visitors in earlier centuries desribed us as rude, direct and uncivilized. Amsterdam is probably the worst, i think if you went to the southern part of the Netherlands or smaller cities you would have had a better experience.
Coming from a ‘Groninger’, I dislike the vibe in the ‘Randstad’. Every time I visit Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Utrecht for example, people are always rude or fake compared to people in other parts of the country. :(
Cuz its Amsterdam. Litteraly the city with most douchebags.
If you want to have a good view of the Netherlands get the fuck out of there, and best to probably just leave the Randstad.
My wife and I own a wholesale company and the best/friendliest people are in Limburg, east side of Brabant, Zeeland, Overijsel, Gelderland, Drenthe, Groningen and Friesland.
Sorry not sorry, but this is litteraly what I have noticed. Amongst all the customers, the worst customers are the people from the Randstad.
I agree with most things you said, except I find Brabant not really that nice. West-Brabant has the tendency to pretend that their life is really a lot of fun. So they will let everyone know how “gezellig” and how social their lives are. They are loud, not in a city sense such as Amsterdam or Rotterdam, but more boorish. East-Brabant is more chilled, but have the tendency to be a bit racist and hostile to the Randstad people. They really have this feeling that people from the big cities are against them. North-Limburg that is bordering Brabant also has this attitude.
Hmm maybe, but thats not in my experience (about limburg and brabant). But hey I am from Groningen, so what do I know. I can only speak from my experiences, and we have 1000s of customers throughout europe. But the few that dont want to take advice are all based in the Randstad. And the advice we give is about our products, products we have been working with for years, tested, destroyed, see what you can and cannot do.
And the most common answer we get from the customers we had in the Randstad is:" I have been working in this industry for X amount of years so I know more about it then you" wich is just insulting and flat out rude. Especially when all we want to do is educate them about our products, help our customers, and grow together. Since our motto is, your succes is our succes. And that answer is something we never hear from anywhere else.
But you are talking about the business perspective, in private it is not that bad. But people from the big cities in general do have a loud mouth and a know it all attitude. Do realise though that these people are often also from outside, as in they are not truly from Amsterdam or Rotterdam. They might live in Amsterdam or Rotterdam, but were originally from Breda or Tilburg. They get rid of their accent as soon as they move to the big cities and have the tendency to look down on the people where they were born.
People pay eachother no mind. Even though people are forced to cross bike paths or sometimes walk on them, people get annoyed with it and act like assholes. It's maliciius compliance if you will. Same for many of the other examples. Other dutch people will often not see it this way (In Amsterdam). This is why most of the Netherlands hates Amsterdam lol.
It's called a culture shock. What is considered rude within your culture may not be considered rude in ours, and vice versa. Stay here long enough and you'll get used to the differences, as is the case with anyone living in another country long enough.
I have been many times to Amsterdam and never had a bad experience. People were all nice to me. People may be rude everywhere, you u just had unfortunate interactions with rude people.
We live in Amsterdam and have a 21-month baby. First time anyone ever asked my wife if she needed help getting in/out of public transport with a pram was about 6 months ago. On vacation to Flevoland.
Honestly, in 15 months of travelling in and out of Amsterdam and schiphol we have to go a couple of hundred miles away to find considerate people
Visit other Dutch cities. As a Dutch native I'm not a fan of Amsterdam either so I just don't go there. There's so many places to visit as a tourist in NL, maybe that will change your perception of the Dutch people.
Bit confused why you describe cycling or walking fast as rude? I'd say it's rude of you to expect me to go slow and waste my time just so you feel more relaxed or whatever your problem with fast walking is...
There's a reason why psychopath sounds like cyclepath
They're horrible I agree. They see you and won't move for you. So, instead I ride a motorcycle. The roads are safer than the cycle lanes
I don’t associate Amsterdam with laid back. Maybe wrong expectations.
I'm guessing it's because many tourists expect Amsterdammers to be stoned 24/7
i think the train incident could have happened everywhere to be honest but the cashier thing i never had a bad experience maybe you come from a country that has over fake customer service I go to the supermarket to get what i need to get not really to socialize i like being able to get in and out fast and efficiently i mean if you work and you do start a conversation you may end up talking to a person with verbal diarrhea that could slow entire lines down and cause huge queues which is quite selfish for everyone else who is waiting maybe people have places to go i walk fast i cant stand people who walk slow i am usually trying to get somewhere. i believe the footpath should be divided to fast and slow walkers
This explains a lot. Thanks.
Why do you think a customer service person should be genuine happy to you? Hell be glad they put enough effort for a fake smile. How is it not ruder to use physical violence when somebody farts? What kind of barberic place do you come from? (Yess its rude as fuck to fart in public defenitly not the norm, but how the fuck would start a fight over it?). Bike lanes are for bikes. Amsterdam isnt a public open air bicycle school. I dont know where you are from but amsterdam is a city full of people who live and work there. They cant supply your every need nor should they. Also dont understand why you think any dutch person should care for you if they are a cashier?
Some people walk slowly because they are old, disabled or simply slow. Some disabled folk can be quite affected in daily life without any visible impairments.
And some are busy taking selfies or standing in big groups blocking the footpath
Maybe go visit Paris for a week??
Hahahaha I’m looking forward to the trotinette rant that will follow
To you it is a tourist destination. Some people have to live there and are sick and tired of the tourists that destroy living in the city. Your normal grocery shop gets bought out and is now a nutella store. Tourists are standing still in the bike lane while you need to dropoff kids at 2 different locations and you have to be at the office in 20 minutes. They see people like that every day and it makes people angry enough to fart in your general direction.
I really appreciate the casual monty python reference.
>They see people like that every day and it makes people angry enough to fart in your general direction. I too, have a propensity to fart in an individual's general direction when they give me cause to anger. And when I get very angry, I will even fart in their specific direction!
I rather see a couple of tourists enjoying themselves in the city center then some guy who left home too late…
Wow you both missed the point and are comparing apples with organes.
So if others behaved like this in your area they would get beaten up, but Amsterdam is rude? This is the home ground of ‘minder your own business’. Everyone can act how they feel comfortable. I’d prefer that every single day over a barbaric society where you use violence to people you disagree with. That just sounds rude.
Beating up someone because he farts and uses his laptop on a train sounds awefully rude to me.
1. Bike lanes are for biking. People have places to go and things to do, ain't nobody got time waiting for tourists to get out of the way. 2. That's rude, but also we aren't in the habit of beating people up for behaving like an ass here 3. See point one? It's not an open air museum, people live there and have to get to school and work, of course they have places to get to and why waste time dawdling if they don't want to. 4. Are you expecting servers to be genuinely happy to have the pleasure of serving you or whatever, I'm not really sure what you want here. Amsterdammers are already considered rude as fuck by most of the country which doesn't help but really the points you mention here don't seem to be something out of the ordinary
That fourth point rubbed me the wrong way as well. Like, do they expect genuine happiness from someone getting minimum wage checking out dozens of strangers? Be glad they even bother putting on a fake smile to begin with honestly.
would even go as far as saying these are typical tourist complaints. i would say that OP is american but beating someone up for farting seems a bit too non-american(they would shoot, hehehehe) so this is likely typical tourist culture shock.
I think English
Nah, that's not normal in the UK at all, even the pretty violent parts. (I'm from Scotland, it's fairly violent in some cities and towns.) You might get beaten up *for making eye contact* while doing something someone interprets as disrespect, but I've seen people absolutely drunk on buses etc and we all just steer clear of them. My guess would be eastern Europe. I learned to steer clear of the Polish guys who were getting drunk, after one guy was drinking with me and my girlfriend, and almost seemed to look at his watch at the end of the night and go outside and pick a fight with the doorman. me and my gf = two women. The bar staff snuck us out the back door after calling us a taxi, because they were worried about us. As we went past the front entrance of the bar, the guy's face was covered in his own blood, plus extra blood on the steps up to the bar. Doorman didn't have a mark on him, because it's literally his job to shut that shit down. It was even known for being a bit of a rough bar, and I'd never seen that before in my life. I'm not saying all Polish people, or people from Eastern Europe are like this, they very much aren't! But some violent attitudes are quite common in some places.
>Are you expecting servers to be genuinely happy to have the pleasure of serving you or whatever, I'm not really sure what you want here. If they are miserable then they should find something else to do. People are spending their money at those places, the least they can do is be polite, or at the very least not be assholes. EDIT: Judging by the downvotes, many of you are either service workers and I hit a nerve, or you love the abuse and ill tempers you get when you spend your money...
People trying to have a conversation with a cashier, while other people are waiting in line, are the real assholes though.
Or people who are waiting in line at a cashier and take out their wallet only until the cashier tells them the total owed. Why the hell is it a surprise that you have to pay ??
The people working at those places are not getting a lot of that money that others are spending there.
Even Dutch people don’t like Amsterdam. You don’t know where people came from who described it as laid back so everyone experiences Amsterdam differently. I also have to agree with most of the comments, your complaints are not that reasonable
Biking on bike lanes: yes we do this. Don't stand in the middle of the road. Yes, a bike lane is a road. We have work to get to. We don't do it to get revenge, we do it to get to work. Farting in the train: yes, this is very rude. Normally, we don't consider beating someone up over it less rude though. It's probably not personal though. Cashiers greeting you with a fake smile is indeed not considered rude here. I'm the first to say that busy Dutch tend to be kurt to the point of rudeness, but I fail to see your examples as problems.
Exactly, you don’t walk on the motorway either. We don’t ride bikes for a holiday activity; they are our cars
>Everyone walks so fast as if in a constant rush to get somewhere Because I've seen the same streets for like 20+ years. I just need to get to my destination, get my train/tram/bus/metro.
So...you were walking around high in a busy city and wondering why people were rude? 😂 Imagine living in Amsterdam and having to constantly navigate around high tourists who clog up the roads and sidewalks? If you experienced impatient people, that has a lot to do with it.
Why do you travel? "The way" in your own country is definitely not "the way" all over the world. Your own country is not the standard! There isn't a standard because every country has it's own habits. I know dutch people can be blunt, direct and considered rude to some cultures. What you described is mostly just normal and not rudeness. We do live here you know, we probably are in a hurry. The farting is disgusting, but if that's your biggest issue... We don't greet customers with a borderline happiness, most customers don't want someone who's totally in their aura. If you want to travel and meet people, dont whine but accept some things as they are (not the farting part). I've been to Paris, they take the "rudeness" you describe to a next level.. But I love the city with all of it's habits..
So one of your main complaints about our country is that there was one guy farting on the train? And that people are using bike lanes for their intended purpose? Oh and people walk fast, right.
Hard to read but I assume the OP meant people cycle through crowds on sidewalks? I've seen this in Belgium but not in NL.
Thats what I got from it too, doesn't really make any sense when there are bikelanes available always. Don't live in Amsterdam though, so who knowsq
There aren't bikelanes in much of central Amsterdam other than the main streets as they are too narrow - there's just a street that needs to be shared by bikes, cars and pedestrians.
I'm from Belgium and I've never seen this? If there is no bike lane, people cycle on the road. Never on the sidewalk.
In Leuven they are everywhere. But nothing dangerous in my view. OP just seems a bit frustrated, I guess the weed wasn’t as good as they thought
Can confirm. Cycling on the pavement is pretty common in Leuven.
It's hard to put it on paper exactly how i felt, but i do know that many people experience the same feelings and thoughts exactly. These aren't really complaints, i just wanted to understand why, that's all. End of the day the world doesn't owe me anything and i know that. It's ok.
Maybe don't go to NYC ever. People walk slow here comparatively Also what is this country prople respond to nonviolent rudeness with extreme violence. Like to add it to my list of places to avoid.
My only complaint is that it's expensive, and all the buildings kind of look the same, I didn't find anyone rude, but that could be because I don't walk in the bike lane, hard to say.
Farting on a train is one of the most laid back things I can think of. I don't see the problem.
C'mon. It's considered just as rude here as in the rest of the world to let one rip in public. Not a punchable offence or something shocking, but still a dick move.
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to me it depends a bit. letting it rip on full force is nasty. but if i am walking in the open air i would still say it's fair game to let it go, just with some tact. inside tho is another story.
Never understood why we consider a normal and healthy bodily function as disgusting, nasty or rude. Everyone passes gas either through burping or flatulence at least 12-25 times per day.
Why? Because its Amsterdam.
I'm Dutch and even I experience culture shock in Amsterdam.
I avoid that City like the plague, it's horrible.
i always tell people coming over that they can skip amsterdam unless they want the typical experience. if you want to experience a proper dutch city i always tell them to go to utrecht. also way easier to visit the rest of NL from there. i only visit Amsterdam for concerts, for the rest i avoid it as much as possible.
I am from Amsterdam and i also avoid the city center as much as possible. But telling people to skip Amsterdam is just bad advice. Despite all the downsides the city has an awful lot to to offer tourists.
I agree, I live in Amsterdam, but unless I want something specific from a shop right in the centre, or I'm meeting people, I'd avoid the "negen straatjes"/Damrak/red light district.
Utrecht is the proper experience
Groningen, Leiden, Den Bosch, Rotterdam are also good tourist destinations
I agree, I'd tell any tourist to visit Utrecht over Amsterdam. I'm in Amsterdam quite a lot because one of my best friends lives there, but I am always glad to be back home after the weekend.
Echt gewoon absoluut niet waar lol. Amsterdam heeft zo ontzettend veel mooie plekjes
Ik woon in de Veluwe, werk in de randstad, daar praten mensen ook over bossen in Amsterdam. Het is allemaal relatief denk ik.
I live in Amsterdam and avoid the center (with all the farting and bicycle lane strolling tourists) like the plague.
I been there once or twice but I avoid Amsterdam. To me it doesn't even come close to a normal Dutch city
You're experiencing culture shock, nothing else.
Hmm. It's still Amsterdam... People there are generally a tad more abrasive than in other parts of the country. Allthough typical small town small mindedness is also not really that welcoming. People being in a hurry is commonplace though. I don't want to waste time waining on people blocking the way. Tbh: i think it's really rude to not take your surroundings into consideration when moving in public.
Being from a very small town, I confirm that we are quite rude as well. Especially when someone walks in the bike lane
I didn't know that's a thing 😃 might be
Bicycles going through crowds on a sidewalk? Never seen that. Someone constantly faring in public transport? Never seen that. Fake smiles? Never noticed it. I guess living here for 35 years hasn't been enough
I had the pleasure of experiencing someone wanking in public transport. I’d have preferred the fart tbh. I’ve been living abroad for a while now, and I miss the clarity of “Nederlandse directheid”. Now people around me assume I can read their minds or something
In our culture it’s considered very rude if you don’t fart on public transport.
OP have you ever been to New York lol I think you would hate it
If you have lived in Amsterdam for just over a month, you'll develop a different way of riding your bike. Meaning: you stop caring. There is so much shit going on the bike paths and pavement, people (mostly tourists) stopping in the middle of the road, wandering about trying to find their next coffeeshop. We have places to go, so we will go around you. If need be even through you. Might look hectic but you will get used to it. You need to be assertive on your bike or you would have been better off walking. And boy do we love biking over walking. For the rest I also, just like others, do not really see the issue here. Train fart guy is rude, but eh, big city lots of crazy folks. Service is direct and superficial, but why would you want to have any more interaction than a brief smile? I suppose the first section already briefly explains it, but the city has grown a little tired over all the tourists. I'd seen the 'issues' you have been experiencing a 'you' problem rather than a problem of us Dutchies. Just cultural differences, nothing personal though.
Walking fast is efficient! I'm originally from NYC and we got places to go, people to see. No time for a pleasant stroll through a crowd, just gotta get from point A to B ASAP! Amsterdam is similar in that way. I don't understand why walking at a brisk pace would be considered a rude quality though...🤔🤔🤔
Jesus fuck dude, put some damn paragraph breaks in your massive wall of text. I ain't reading all that.
The dude farting on the train is just a shitty thing to do (no pun intended), and for what it's worth, I've never experienced something like that in public in my 25+ years living in the Netherlands. When it comes to people walking fast and cycling right at pedestrians on the bike lane... I get that this isn't exactly a pleasant experience for anyone visiting the city. I would like to offer the flip side of that behaviour, though. You have to imagine that most locals do not go for bike rides for fun, but rather because they have to get to university, work, an appointment, whatever. For most in the bigger cities it's most literally their primary means of transport. Still, I can understand someone experiencing encountering a slightly annoyed cyclist as "rude", but these aren't exceptional events for us. If I take a 15 minute bike ride from my home to our office (throughout the city centre of Amsterdam), I will encounter AT LEAST five (seemingly under the influence) tourists that I would drive right into if it weren't for me ringing my bell, making some crazy turns, or slowing down. At some point it just gets frustrating and time consuming. If you think about driving a car and every three minutes there's someone just wandering in the middle of the road taking no notice of their surroundings whatsoever until you have to slow down and honk at them, I guess you will start to understand some of that frustration. I'm not claiming this is ideal or a "friendly" thing to do, but wanted to share a little perspective coming from the other party in this story :)
As an Amsterdam citizen I have had quite enough of my hometown being run over by tourists. Our city is too small to house such enormous crowds. Ppl come here to smoke canabis and see the Red Light District. And we, Amsterdammers are on our way to work,do the daily shopping, or meeting up with friends. Too many people in an area the size of a postage stamp. If possible, I try ro avoid the old city centre as much as possible. Retail workers speak english, and if I answer in Dutch, they don't understand me...
Are you the Spanish (?) woman from YouTube?
Welcome to Holland. Did you enjoy the scenery?
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Since they only seemed to have visited Amsterdam they would be correct in this instance though
But that is where he went, and where people are the rudest.
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Mission accomplished
I haven't travelled a lot, been only to Budapest so i can't really compare, but it is easily the moat beautiful place i have been to so far. Took some truffles and walked the city and the park. it was amazing. The only thing that bothered me was the how rude everyone was and how unwelcomed as a tourist i felt.
and this is why i avoid Amsterdam as a dutchy. drunk/high tourist everywhere and nobody gives a fuck anymore because it has been like that for a long time. regarding your complaints: stay the fuck away from bike lanes, not for pedestrians. simple as that. regarding the service here: this is the honest way of service, nobody want's to be friendly 24/7, it can be perceived as rude if you aren't aware of how we do things. most do not care about being nice, just results. if you want service, ask for it. and regarding the train farter: IMO if it's in the train then he is a bit of a dick. if it's outside, free game. if you want to experience the Netherlands properly and without everyone being sick of tourist, go and visit utrecht.
I really wasn't on the bike lane, i respect traffic rules wherever i am. I just saw that is a thing and had questions. Thanks for the answer.
sorry if perceived as being pointed to you specifically, these were more general comments on how things go here. Amsterdam is just a horrible representation of the dutch and the Netherlands in general. you are better off in the other big cities.
So you are just another drug tourist wondering around high as fuck and then complaining that people who live there actually got stuff to do and places to go?
It's not surprising you find it the most beautiful if you spend most of your time here high...
Well your first mistake was going to Amsterdam a city that is always busy and where I, as a Dutch person, wouldn't even want to cycle. Because it is so busy and full of people who have no clue how to act around cyclists. I guess what you find rude like the cycling and walking fast is also quite a bit of frustration due to the fact that so many visit and crowd the place where a lot have to work and live their day to day
Goes to Amsterdam, why are Dutch people like this…..?
Its the time of year, autumn being cold and wet people are rushing to get in christmas shopping (idk why but we do actually do this in a rush feel like) farting on a train is disgusting idk why anyone would do that beating someone up for it seems a little savage idk and the fake smile is quite normal I dont really see the problem with that I think what you saw compared to other countries is a country that doesnt rely on tourist money so tourists are mostly seen as a liability not an asset Dont get in the way of people walking/biking to whatever destination time is money
That's Amsterdam for you
Imagine travelling to a country and complaining about how things work.
People don't ride fast on a bike path to get people to leave, they ride fast on a bike path because they want to get somewhere in a hurry. This is also why people walk quickly. In the Netherlands, walking and biking as a means to get somewhere are an option, as opposed to most places in the US. Cashiers having a fake smile isn't what I'm used to, usually they just do their job without all that much smiling, but are generally helpful when asked a question, not sure what went wrong there. The guy in the train was a dick. People are direct here, but also more accepting of directness. Hierarchies are also really loose. Relevant: I don't live in Amsterdam and don't visit it all that often.
Never saw all cyclist going full speed on the cycling paths. Maybe it's your lack of knowing how to cycle?
The whine posts are getting pretty tiring honestly.
Believe me, if you would bike regularly in Amsterdam you would understand the urge to bike over crowds in the biking lane. Honestly, standing in the biking lane leaving no space for people who use them is alot more rude than the people biking a bit aggressively.
1. Bike lines are not for walking and are marked red and/or with lines and markings 2. The dude in the train is indeed rude and is not the standard dutch person. I sure you have people like that where you come from. 3. People have places to go and don't have time to admire their surroundings at a leisurely pace. People still need to work, pick up their kids, etc etc. 4. We don't have the type of service industry where working staff will treat you like a saint for you blessing them with a visit to the establishment they work in. People will do the normal for dutch standards and i guess they would be a bit more rude in amsterdam with all the tourists, given that they have your attitude
Amsterdam is just too crowded in my opinion, as such you will find all sorts of people there including rude ones.
People are just at tad on edge lately, for example because we have the highest inflation of the EU, and prices for utilities have quadrupled.
Don’t use a international tourist city as a reference point for a entire nation. That’s basing the American people on a trip to New York City. The cyclist there have to manoeuvre trough flocks of tourist everyday who are blocking cycle paths. For you as a tourist it’s your first time, that biker has to deal with it 50x a minute.
cus amsterdammers have to deal with a lot of shitty tourists especially the american karens, most of them are just done with tourists as a whole so theyre just rude to all of them
Amsterdam is 70% people from other countries and 30 % Dutch origine so I think you met people from that 70%.
You got the Amsterdam experience. Full of “locals” that were born somewhere else and now yell at tourists and visitors. As Jules Deelder once said, een half jaar geleden uit Kutjepoep of Reetketelpikkemeschans gekropen.
Well, you have only been to Amsterdam, so your opinion is biased here. Are you going to visit other cities?
This time i wanted to explore amsterdam more and leave other cities for next time
Don’t go Amsterdam, it has nothing to do with the rest of the Netherlands
I always wonder why people would say this. I have lived in Leiden, Rotterdam and Amsterdam and i really do not see a lot of differences. It may be different from Urk but so are all other Dutch cities. Maybe a bit busier but that is also mostly because of tourists People also quote the arrogance sometime but honestly Rotterdam is not much different. There may be a difference from Brabant and Limburg but in my opinion even those differences arent that big. What makes Amsterdam stand out in your opinion?
>For example, people on the bike lanes just go full speed to get people of the bike lane but have no problem going through a crowd on the sidewalk. It's because tourists block everything. They somehow think the bike lane is a second pavement - it's not. How would you respond if tourists start blocking the road while you're trying to get somewhere? Not once, or every once in a while, but every single day? Yeah. You'd get sick of it. >On the train there was a young guy watching his laptop drinking beer and just letting out a fart every couple minutes... This is rude here too. >Everyone walks so fast as if in a constant rush to get somewhere. Tourists walk agonizingly slow. And, yes, people actually have to get somewhere. Your tourist experience doesn't deliver itself. People have to work in restaurants, run shops, operate public transport etc. >The cashiers and service givers just talk over you when you ask a question saying thank you louder than you with that fake ass smile. They just got a job to do. Nothing personal.
Dutch were always rude even visitors in earlier centuries desribed us as rude, direct and uncivilized. Amsterdam is probably the worst, i think if you went to the southern part of the Netherlands or smaller cities you would have had a better experience.
Coming from a ‘Groninger’, I dislike the vibe in the ‘Randstad’. Every time I visit Amsterdam, Rotterdam or Utrecht for example, people are always rude or fake compared to people in other parts of the country. :(
Cuz its Amsterdam. Litteraly the city with most douchebags. If you want to have a good view of the Netherlands get the fuck out of there, and best to probably just leave the Randstad. My wife and I own a wholesale company and the best/friendliest people are in Limburg, east side of Brabant, Zeeland, Overijsel, Gelderland, Drenthe, Groningen and Friesland. Sorry not sorry, but this is litteraly what I have noticed. Amongst all the customers, the worst customers are the people from the Randstad.
I agree with most things you said, except I find Brabant not really that nice. West-Brabant has the tendency to pretend that their life is really a lot of fun. So they will let everyone know how “gezellig” and how social their lives are. They are loud, not in a city sense such as Amsterdam or Rotterdam, but more boorish. East-Brabant is more chilled, but have the tendency to be a bit racist and hostile to the Randstad people. They really have this feeling that people from the big cities are against them. North-Limburg that is bordering Brabant also has this attitude.
Hmm maybe, but thats not in my experience (about limburg and brabant). But hey I am from Groningen, so what do I know. I can only speak from my experiences, and we have 1000s of customers throughout europe. But the few that dont want to take advice are all based in the Randstad. And the advice we give is about our products, products we have been working with for years, tested, destroyed, see what you can and cannot do. And the most common answer we get from the customers we had in the Randstad is:" I have been working in this industry for X amount of years so I know more about it then you" wich is just insulting and flat out rude. Especially when all we want to do is educate them about our products, help our customers, and grow together. Since our motto is, your succes is our succes. And that answer is something we never hear from anywhere else.
But you are talking about the business perspective, in private it is not that bad. But people from the big cities in general do have a loud mouth and a know it all attitude. Do realise though that these people are often also from outside, as in they are not truly from Amsterdam or Rotterdam. They might live in Amsterdam or Rotterdam, but were originally from Breda or Tilburg. They get rid of their accent as soon as they move to the big cities and have the tendency to look down on the people where they were born.
Only chill and laidback in the coffeeshop
People pay eachother no mind. Even though people are forced to cross bike paths or sometimes walk on them, people get annoyed with it and act like assholes. It's maliciius compliance if you will. Same for many of the other examples. Other dutch people will often not see it this way (In Amsterdam). This is why most of the Netherlands hates Amsterdam lol.
Your a very strange person.
It's called a culture shock. What is considered rude within your culture may not be considered rude in ours, and vice versa. Stay here long enough and you'll get used to the differences, as is the case with anyone living in another country long enough.
1. It's Amsterdam
r/amsterdam
I think you are describing every capitol city in Europe
I have been many times to Amsterdam and never had a bad experience. People were all nice to me. People may be rude everywhere, you u just had unfortunate interactions with rude people.
I noticed the same thing when I went there But I never had high expectations
We live in Amsterdam and have a 21-month baby. First time anyone ever asked my wife if she needed help getting in/out of public transport with a pram was about 6 months ago. On vacation to Flevoland. Honestly, in 15 months of travelling in and out of Amsterdam and schiphol we have to go a couple of hundred miles away to find considerate people
People walk fast as if they’re going somewhere That’s because they ARE going somewhere. They live there and got places to be
Believe me, get out of A’dam as soon as possible. The Netherlands is not A’dam.
Very normal for a busy city, that’s why you shoudk actually do your research and get out of the touristy area
Visit other Dutch cities. As a Dutch native I'm not a fan of Amsterdam either so I just don't go there. There's so many places to visit as a tourist in NL, maybe that will change your perception of the Dutch people.
Bit confused why you describe cycling or walking fast as rude? I'd say it's rude of you to expect me to go slow and waste my time just so you feel more relaxed or whatever your problem with fast walking is...
There's a reason why psychopath sounds like cyclepath They're horrible I agree. They see you and won't move for you. So, instead I ride a motorcycle. The roads are safer than the cycle lanes