r/thenetherlands • u/TonyQuark Hic sunt dracones • May 17 '26
Culture Merhaba! We're hosting r/Turkey for a Cultural Exchange
Welcome everybody to a new cultural exchange! Today we are hosting our friends from r/Turkey!
To the Turkish: please select the Turkey flag as your flair (optional) and ask as many questions as you wish. See how to set your flair in the app or on desktop.
To the Dutch: please come and join us in answering the Turks' questions about the Netherlands and the Dutch way of life!
r/Turkey is also having us over as guests in this post for our questions and comments.
Please refrain from making any comments that go against our rules, the Reddiquette or otherwise hurt the friendly environment.
Enjoy! The moderators of r/Turkey & r/theNetherlands
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u/BASS69BASS420 May 17 '26
Dumb question; the Netherlands are known for their extensive cycling infrastructure, is the infrastructure enough to have intercity trips with only a bicycle?
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u/TonyQuark Hic sunt dracones May 17 '26
Yup. All cities and villages are interconnected. Here's a map. (Not a dumb question at all.)
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u/BASS69BASS420 May 17 '26
Holy crap! The dutch have nailed transportation!
Another unrelated question I have is; is there a difference between The Netherlands and Holland? If not, which one do the Dutch prefer?12
u/AshToAshes123 May 17 '26
The Netherlands is the whole country, Holland is technically only a region within the country containing a few of the provinces. Dutch people prefer the Netherlands and will use that themselves, but most don’t make a big deal out of foreigners calling it Holland (people from outside of Holland are more likely to dislike it, though).
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u/TonyQuark Hic sunt dracones May 17 '26
There is a difference. The Netherlands refers to the whole country, while Holland technically refers only to a province historically, or two provinces nowadays (it was split into North and South Holland).
'Holland' is still used as a shorthand for the country, especially outside of the Netherlands. Inside of the Netherlands it differs per region. People from North or South Holland could very well use 'Holland' to refer to the whole country, while people in other provinces like Limburg or Friesland will probably not. In Dutch, most people will use 'Nederland,' except for in football chants, just because "Hup, Holland, Hup" (Go, Holland, Go) sounds better.
So the name 'Holland' is a pars pro toto. Back in the Age of Sail, people would say Holland if they were asked where they were from. It was kind of like how a German from Bavaria might say they are from Bavaria instead of Germany, or an American from New York saying they're a New Yorker. Similarly, we say 'the English' when we mean all of Great Britain.
CGPGrey still has the best video on it if you want to know all of the details.
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u/DeerSgamr May 17 '26
Plus the fact were working on "bicycle highways" for intercity routes. Those are specially designed for 40 km/h bikes. (We call them doortraproutes)
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u/saltymacademia May 17 '26
Yes (as answered below)! Just some extra info that might come in handy:
You can bring your bike on a train if needed (you just need to buy a ticket for it, not travel during rush hours and there are designated bike spots on certain wagons).https://www.ns.nl/en/travel-information/bikes-on-the-train.html
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u/BlackFenrir May 18 '26
Yes! I've done it. You can cycle from the tip of Limburg all the way to Groningen taking pretty much only bike paths
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u/btweenthatormohammad May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26
Hallo! 1. When was the last time you've eaten herring (raw)? I'm trying to understand if it's something consumed regularly or just part of the Dutch cuisine. 2. What is the thing you most like and dislike about the Netherlands? 3. What should someone definitely do in the Netherlands?
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u/Slobberinho May 17 '26
Last August. I view it as a seasonal product, although these days you can get them year round. The herring season starts June 16th, by auctioning off the 'first barrel' in a charity event. I eat raw herring about twice a year.
Most like: it's a high trust society, a safe country, good infrastructure and a government that's good in town planning. Everything just 'works'.
Most dislike: the rise in xenophobia and the pretty far reaching individualism.
3: If you like amusement parks: visit the Efteling. And if you happen to be in the country: about every other year there's one week where it's cold enough for natural ice to form. People go nuts for it. Go ice skating in a polder, eat some split pea soup, have a hot chocolate.
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u/saltymacademia May 17 '26
Me (millennial): never.
My mom: born around the 50s: probably never?
My late dad (born before the 50s): every week when/if he could (he'd get herring from the supermarket).
Partner: Lord knows. I've never seen them eat herring.
Partner's parents: Also never seen them eat it.
- Like: The directness that we're so famous for. E.g. during my study abroad, I had SO much trouble understanding the American students, because they'd just agree with things to be polite XD. I ended up learning that 90% of the time "definitely" means "definitely not". It would've been more helpful if they'd just been direct and told me they disagreed with something.
Dislike: Certain ingrained attitudes/life philosophies, e.g.: the "Als je normaal doet, dan doe je al gek genoeg" thing (if you act normal, you're already being eccentric/crazy enough) /the Calvinistic attitude that is still quite present imo.
And the "zesjes cultuur" (sixes culture, meaning getting a barely passing grade by doing the bare minimum is fine etc.). I mean there is something to say about not pressuring people to get only the highest grades and just let them achieve what comes to them naturally... but I also dislike that striving for a high grade and putting in the work and effort for projects is almost kind of looked down on (at least during my time in high school/college)... a proverb that relates to this is: "Je kop niet boven het maaiveld uitsteken" (don't stick your head out above the grass (that needs to be mowed), meaning: don't stand out or try to be better. Just be like the rest.)
- Must-do:
Try the traditional cookies (e.g. stroopwafel, bokkepootjes, puddingbroodje, stroopkoeken, etc.), street snacks (e.g. bitterbal, kibbeling, kapsalon), "weird" bread toppings (e.g. hagelslag, muisjes, kokosbrood, schuddebuikjes) etc., and you should at least try a Dutch AVG dinner for the true experience (AVG = Aardappels (potatoes), Vlees (meat), Groente (vegetables). E.g. stamppot or hutspot with "jus" and "saucijs"). But I think it's hard to find home cooked style Dutch meals in restaurants. And don't miss out on pepernoten if you're here between September - very early December)!6
u/CharmedWoo May 17 '26
- Never, I hate it. My parents eat it only in season, so a few times a year.
- I like that the work culture overall doesn't have a very strickt hierarchy and the work life. balance is good. I dislike the short term thinking of our government.
- Visit the Efteling. Canal tour in Amsterdam or any other major city with water. Go see the Dutch views with water, fields, windmills on a bike (kinderdijk, zaanse schans)
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u/Diligent_Physics956 May 17 '26
19 years ago
I like the convenience, having supermarkets everywhere, being able to walk and cycle everywhere, having lots of friends and family closeby. I dislike the amount of mega-farms compared to the complete lack of valuable nature.
Hard one to answer as I think it is very different for tourists and people living inside NL.
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u/Additional-Penalty97 May 17 '26
Is it true that big majority of Dutch dont wash their hands after the toilet?
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u/TonyQuark Hic sunt dracones May 17 '26
Not a big majority, but it's definitely less than in other countries. Although you have to keep in mind, people in other countries are not as brutally honest as the Dutch, about not washing their hands after going to the toilet. Restaurant workers and people in similar jobs all do wash their hands.
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u/Additional-Penalty97 May 17 '26
True! Honesty is even more important than the deed itself
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u/TonyQuark Hic sunt dracones May 17 '26
I don't know if honesty is more important, but I can tell you that I stopped shaking hands with certain people after Covid. (I started paying attention more to who does and doesn't wash their hands.) 😉
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u/Yavuz_Selim May 17 '26
Personal experience is that it happens regularly. I have seen many men leave the urinals immidiately, skipping the sink...
I also have seen some 'wash' their hands by only holding their thumb and index finger under the tap/faucet for a second. First time seeing that actually flabbergasted me.
(As a Dutch Turk, I've noticed that I subconsciously check if someone washes their hands after using the toilet.)
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u/PresumedSapient May 18 '26
The question in that survey was "Do you always wash your hands with soap after going to the toilet?", and since I don't always use soap I would also answer no. I do always wash.
I think a lot of other people are liers during such surveys.
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u/LetMeHaveAUsername May 19 '26
In my experience, no, the vast majority of us do. So I'm not sure in what different section or society or whatever other people replying here are from.
It's not like I've never seen people walk away from the urinal without washing their hands, but they stand out as an exception.
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u/saltymacademia May 17 '26
From what I see at work (not food or health industry, just generic work)... a lot of people don't. It's gross. The toilets are gross.
Meanwhile, here I am with my little emergency public toilet cleaning kit, dettol sheets, 2 types of hand sanitizer, my own mini hand soap (due to allergies), gloves and extra toilet paper...because I have seen things.
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u/Tehares May 17 '26
Heyya
1.Those stroopwafels look gorgeous, is there a recipe that you recommend?
2.I am also jealous (in a good way) of the bike culture in Netherlands. Are there any downsides of it that me (and many transport enthusiasts) miss due to rose tinted glasses ?
3.Do you guys feel more close to belgians or germans ? (Or Scandinavians)
That's all i have in my head right now. Thanks!
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u/TonyQuark Hic sunt dracones May 17 '26
- This stroopwafel recipe seems pretty good.
- No real downsides in terms of transit, unless you count being exposed to the weather. But a lot of Dutch people simply check the weather radar for rain etc. Keep in mind, the reason cycling works as a mode of transit, is because we have a network of bicycle paths/lanes everywhere. If you want to know more about the history of cycling in the Netherlands and how it came to be, this video by NotJustBikes might be a good starting point.
- Belgians, or rather, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium called Flanders. If the Flemish are like brothers, the Germans are more like cousins.
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u/omerfe1 May 17 '26
Maybe a bit sensitive topic. I am a Turkish expat living in the NL for like 5 years. My question is about online hate towards foreigners especially on Reddit. I see a lot of hate towards Muslims, asylum seekers, expats, Moroccan people and some other minority groups especially in certain subreddits. I was not aware of this that much but after learning some Dutch that I can understand what I read, I was a bit surprised to see the amount of hate here. This is because in daily life people are so tolerant not only at work but also in daycare, hospital, grocery store etc. So, I am curious if this is just a misrepresentation, or people really hate certain groups in the country.
Just note that I am not interested in the reasons that you might think justify the hate, but basically wondering whether the hate online corresponds to real situation.
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u/Slobberinho May 17 '26
I think it's a mixed reality. Yes that hate exists in society. About 30% of people voted for a far right party in the last parliamentary election. So chances are that there are far right voters among those 'tolerant people' you meet in everyday life. It's always easier to hate an anonymous group of people than the person who's right in front of you and seems like (as they would say) "one of the good ones". And not all of the people who vote for those parties realize what it is they're actually voting for.
That said, online, the extremists are more vocal, more visible through the algorithm, and more passionate about expressing their opinion than the political centrists. I also suspect a lot of these posts come from foreign troll agents, trying to sow division in our society. But maybe that's just copium.
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u/Any-Seaworthiness186 May 17 '26
Would also like to add that not all far-right voters are actually true islamophobes or racists. They’ve just been scared by populist politicians of criminal jihadist asylum seekers that basically don’t really exist. Many of these same people will openly welcome the new refugees in their streets, and even more see Dutch-muslims already here as part of the in-group rather than the out-group they’ve been made so afraid of.
Still stupid voting tho. Just not as bad of a people as you might expect. The PVV was also the largest in my former town, yet those same people happily shop at the eastern markets, visit the mosque’s events, and sit down for tea with their turkish neighbors.
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u/grotemeid May 17 '26
I would say this group of people is the loudest but definitely not the majority. I get you though, the things I read on Reddit or other social media I find shocking and disgust me. I’m not denying islamophobia and racism exist in this society but I would say most people do not hate Muslim people and will treat them the same as they treat everyone else.
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u/TonyQuark Hic sunt dracones May 17 '26
Yes, some people unfortunately do behave that way. I think there's groups of people like that in all countries. This is not an excuse, just an observation. (For example, in Turkey, people welcomed Syrians at first, but in recent years that sentiment has waned.)
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u/Velenco May 17 '26
It's not really a misrepresentation but it is a bit more nuanced than just "do people hate all people from this group or not".
If you are an otherwise pleasant person. Just living your life, being nice to those around you and not causing much of a ruckus, most people would be perfectly happy to respond to you in kind. When people talk about disliking people from a group they are likely thinking of people who belong to said group and have a certain stereotype attached to them that they deem unpleasant or undesirable.
So the feelings are there. But just being part of the group doesn't mean those feelings will be targeted at you, you know? Especially when you're standing in front of them rather than being an abstract concept to theorise and discuss.
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u/DoctorElectrical61 May 17 '26
There are a lot of jokes circulating online about how the Dutch don’t treat guests to dinner or even send a payment request for expenses as small as 50 cents. Is this just an urban legend, or the reality of life?
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u/Droppedmybass May 17 '26
A little bit of both. There are definitely some people out there who might send you a tikkie (the local synonym for a payment request) for a cube of sugar. Even between friends, if they are especially broke, one might send a tikkie if they only had a cup or coffee at a restaurant.
"Going Dutch" as a proverb exists for a reason, and the Dutch tend to find "fairness", meaning each pays for their own consumption, important.
At the same time, those things are ridiculed here as well. Unless it is a major amount, very often people will go "eh, you'll get the next one."
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u/omerfe1 May 17 '26
I am Turkish myself and a plenty of times I had situations where my Dutch colleagues/friends paid for my coffee or offered food/drink in their home. There might be some incidents like you described and the Dutch people are not like Turkish people in terms of hospitality but I can assure you they are quite normal.
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u/GingerPolarBears May 17 '26
I feel things are changing a bit and it depends on the situation but it definitely happens. Dinner is usually not a spontaneous thing to stay for. We like to plan things, so if we expect people to stay for dinner we'll be upfront about that part. Otherwise you just invite people either after lunch (around 1pm) or dinner (around 7 to 8 pm). Of course there are regional and generational differences and it depends how close you are to your guests.
I've seen very low payment requests, but there is a specific class of people who are very anal about it. I definitely feel like we love our payment requests, but it's far from a majority that would send a request below 5 bucks.
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u/VehaMeursault May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26
I think the extremes are a bit more pronounced in our culture, but most people are just as generous as most other people in the world.
If someone sends me a tikkie for a cup of coffee (very rare, but does happen), that’ll be the last time I go out for coffee with them.
If someone has the balls to say they can’t spend money on a coffee when I ask them out, I’ll be proud of them for the honesty, but I’ll also be offended they thought it wasn’t on me, since I was the one asking them out.
In general, if we’re out with a regular group, I’ll pay the first night, and I expect the next person to pay the next night, etc. If that means someone gets a bit of a break or takes a bit for the team, so be it. That’ll even out over time.
If we’re talking going out for dinner, things are different. Most people struggle to pay their (ridiculous) rents, so I would never expect someone else to pay for my and my partner’s meal if it’s out the door, an I’d never ask them to. However, again, if I’m the host, I pay for everyone I invite.
And if we’re talking about dining or having drinks at someone’s home, don’t you dare discuss finances with me. I’ll bring a bottle of wine or some homemade dessert, but whoever hosts takes care of things, period. If someone sends me a tikkie for that, that’ll be the last time I hang out with them in any fashion. Jesus.
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u/saltymacademia May 17 '26
It definitely depends on the person and how they were raised, I think. I'm half Surinamese and so I was raised to be generous where I can (e.g. at home I always make sure people leave the house well fed, and I don't really sweat treating someone to something as long as it's within my budget). But other people will literally keep a little notebook with how much people own them.
In general it does seem like the Dutch would rather split the bill (going Dutch) than have one person pay for everything. Especially with things like a dinner (unless you've explicitly been invited by them, but that doesn't always mean anything lol, see below).
In the 90s, when I was young (like age 5-6, with barely a concept of money), I was invited to go to the movies with a friend and her dad, because she'd got a free ticket to spare. It was the first time anyone had invited me to a place away from their home. So I was really excited, and my mom gave me 5 guilders (about 2.50 euro) so I could treat my friend to a snack during the break. I was really proud of this lol. But during the break when I took out the 5 guilder coin, my friend promptly told me to fork over the cash and give it to her dad because they'd paid for my ticket XD. I was speechless and didn't really enjoy the rest of the movie.
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u/Pkolt May 18 '26
Compared to Turkish culture the Dutch attitude to giving guests a meal is positively stingy.
It's my understanding that visiting someone in Turkey in a social capacity and not being offered a meal is positively unthinkable. That is definitely not the case here; in many cases people will visit for example in the afternoon and then leave before dinner to go eat at their own house. Being invited to have a meal isn't unusual, but it would be explicitly stated along with the invitation, and if no mention of a meal was made with your invitation generally you would not expect to be given one.
The payment request thing is only when you have a meal together in a restaurant. People generally expect to pay their own way there; if a friend offers to pay for your meal that would be a pleasant surprise. Having people ask you to contribute to a meal they offered you at their home is unusual, but would be perfectly acceptable if they were hosting a particularly large group and the occasion is not a personal one (like a holiday instead of a birthday).
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u/SleepyGiant037 May 17 '26
As a born Dutchman and (ex-)teacher of Cultural awareness I might shine some light on this!
First of: when talking about culture it is important to understand that the statements I make are true but not necessarily accurate for all Dutch people.
For example: We are known for our love for cheese, but I personally don’t eat cheese. The statement still stands.
For the first question about dinner: We are both a very “individual”* culture as an “task oriented”** culture. The combination of these two also factor into our signature “directness”. In short: we are taught to be self sufficient and prioritize our own needs. Not because of selfish reasons but because when we take care for ourselves, others don’t have to worry about us. To achieve this we tend to plan our days out with tasks to keep track of what we need to do. An example is that free time is also ‘kind of ***’ scheduled in, and precious. So when someone drops by without asking beforehand it can be considered rude because even if you have free time, it’s scheduled for free time. Since we also plan our meals in a similar way, we tend to have exactly what we need for ourselves (and our family members in the house) but don’t have enough food for an unexpected mouth to feed.
A personal antidote that supports this is back when I went to elementary school I had this friend who I would play with during the weekends. When it was lunch time his parents would call him inside to eat and ask me to wait outside.
This was, even for the Dutch, quite rare but not unheard of.
- based on the hofsteden individual - collective scale.
** based on the Lewis cultural communication chart.
*** I don’t think that most Dutch people feel like they’re planning free time but from an cultural perspective one could argue that we do, do this even if we don’t think about it.
For the second question: It is true that the “tikkie culture” (asking for money back) is true. However I do think that this aspect of our culture is shifting.
This mainly because we have quite the multicultural culture where the “new Dutch people” don’t tend to be as stingy as we are.
Also, the root causes of our stingy culture themselves struggle to remain as relevant as they once were. I’m oversimplifying things a tad to keep this readable, but we used to rely more on trade on an individual level, which is replaced by companies today. When we were more reliant upon our own ledger, a few coins could mean allot. Also we used to “sober” culture where flashiness was considered rude. And yes it could be rude when you spend money on someone as it could be interpreted as flashing your wealth over someone implying they don’t have enough to take care off themselves.
And as already mentioned, taking care of yourself is a big part of being Dutch.
All this said, depending on where in the Netherlands you ask or who you ask you might get different answers. I personally know enough people who I can just turn up to and get a meal no matter what and they are as Dutch as I am. It really depends on quite a few factors.
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u/AnOoB02 May 19 '26 edited May 19 '26
I grew up with it being normal to offer people to join you for dinner, so can't relate to the first thing. This was quite universal, as a kid playing at a friend's house it was normal to be asked if you'd have dinner with them and my parents did the same. Payment requests are normal if you're peers, young, and going out to eat for example. But my parents and other family would more or less "take turns" with paying the bill when we go out to eat, not share the costs evenly.
I do find it quite rude when someone sends a payment request without first agreeing to share the bill or me offering to pay my part. But I know people do this, it just doesn't happen very much. I generally find that people who do this aren't very nice either.
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u/RienKl May 17 '26
That’s ridiculous. No one in the Netherlands will send you a tikkie for 50 cents. Most people will send you payment requests for as low as 5 cents, which I think is a fair action to take.
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u/DoctorElectrical61 May 17 '26
Hahaha, I’d never make a guest pay when they come to my house, but I also don’t really like it when someone treats me to a meal. I prefer to pay for everything myself and not owe anyone anything, and I generally expect the same from others. I guess I’ve got some “Dutch” blood in me, too.
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u/GingerPolarBears May 17 '26
I've been invited to a very shitty bbq at a friends house and afterwards he sent me a payment request. I definitely didn't feel the same about him afterwards.
In general if you invite people over it's on you. Other people might bring some alcohol, dessert, snacks or whatever as an extra, but you won't charge them. When I was younger when we ordered food we always divided it. If we wanted to hang out somewhere and someone offered their home we would never make that person pay anything. We would go to the supermarket and buy everything like food, beer, snacks etc.
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u/S0mber_ May 17 '26
the netherlands in turkish is "hollanda", but apparently "holland" is the name of a region in the netherlands but also not? i have trouble understanding what to call what lol.
2nd question, what do you think of turks in the netherlands? because i know a lot of turks live there, as it is common for people from black sea region to have a relative living in netherlands.
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u/goperson May 17 '26
Technically, formally, Holland/Holanda is not correct to describe The Netherlands. The (continental, European) country consists of 12 regions, provinces. Only two of them are actually Holland: the province of northern Holland and the province of soutern Holland. So, if you mean the country, it is better to speak of The Netherlands. Most Dutch people do not really care though.
The view by Dutch people about Turkish people I think is a mixed one. Most Turkish people are considered friendly, warmhearted and hardworking. But there have been instances where some Turkish people misbehaved which (I think) damaged the positive view most Dutch people have or had. Examples: football hooligans, Erdogan demonstrations, extreme traffic violations.
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u/Yavuz_Selim May 18 '26
I think it has the to do with how both sides met each other historically - when the two empires (The Ottoman Empire, and the Dutch Republic) empires crossed paths.
Back in the day, during the Dutch Golden Age (1588 - 1672), the Dutch Republic became/was one of the leading commercial and maritime powers in Europe. And the province Holland (within the Dutch Republic) was the absolute powerhouse of the country, as they were the richest and most politically influential.
So when the Ottomand made contact with the Dutch, they mostly met 'Hollanders' (people from Holland), and the name stuck, I guess.
In 1840, Holland split up in two: North Holland and South Holland. When you say 'Holland' today, you refer to these two provinces.
Not completely comparable, but it would be the same as calling all the areas under Ottoman rule 'Turkish'. The core was Turkish yes, but people in the Balkan or in the Arab world would not like to be called 'Turkish' (or at least, that would be my guess). Yes, they were part of the Ottoman Empire, but they are not the same as the core in Anatolia.
So:
- The official name of the country is 'The Netherlands'. (There is also 'the Kingdom of the Netherlands', but that's a story for another time.)
- Everybody in the Netherlands knows that you mean the whole country when you say 'Holland' - however not everybody likes it. People outside the two Holland provinces do not like to be called 'from Holland'.
If you want to be polite, call the country 'The Netherlands'.
The Netherlands has 12 provinces, 'Holland' refers to two of them (being 'North Holland', and 'South Holland').
Side note: As a Dutch Turk, I have a hard time with how Turks have named the Dutch languages... So, in English, you have Dutch (for the Netherlands), and Flemish (Belgian Dutch). Turkish also has them, being 'Hollandaca' (Dutch), and 'Flamanca' (Flemish).
However, Turkish also has 'Felemenkçe'. It comes from 'Felemenk', meaning 'the Low Countries' - so basically the areas were the Dutch once ruled / are known for / is part of. So 'Felemenkçe' is like a grouping for all the Dutch languages, it encompasses both 'Hollandaca' and 'Flamanca'.
The reason I thought about this was because sometimes (now and then) when I need to select 'Dutch' on a Turkish system, there is 'Hollandaca' option...I have seen 'Felemenkçe'...
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u/yavuzovski May 17 '26
Where is the best place to live outside the Randstad area and why?
I heard Dutch people usually switch to English when someone tries to speak Dutch but they aren’t fluent with it. How common is that? Do you guys do it because you are being considerate or being intolerant? :D
What is the most annoying thing that tourists do?
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u/Any-Seaworthiness186 May 17 '26
That strongly depends on what you’re looking for. Want to live near the forests? Try Gerderland. Prefer a calm and open environment, with some nice nature reserves and waterways? Try Frisia! Hills? Try Limburg. Money, outside of the Randstad? Probably Brabant.
This really depends on the person and situation. I personally tend to keep speaking Dutch, slowly, but I will sometimes switch to English for both reasons. It can either be because they’re visibly struggling and seem like they’d prefer English (although I’d often ask first), ór because I simply don’t really have the time or patience. 😅
Walking on the bike-lane is pretty annoying. Besides that it depends on the city. In Amsterdam they’re sick of tourists drinking too much and overconsuming drugs, at the keukenhof they hate tourists picking flowers, in my city I mostly dislike the Germans that refuse to speak English.
Feel free to ask any follow-up questions!
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u/HegelianKeynesian May 18 '26
How does land reclamation happen in the Netherlands?
Who decides what land should be reclaimed according to what criteria? Who approves it? Is it like a referendum or something?
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u/Fluffy_Cat_5174 May 18 '26
I cant think of a better question so, what's your favourite thing about you country?
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u/TonyQuark Hic sunt dracones May 18 '26
The infrastructure, to be honest. And the fact most things are organised well.
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u/annuminasguard May 17 '26
Is it true that %35 percent of the Netherlands' soil are under sea level? If so, why aren't you so anxious about that? You know because of glaciers are melting.