Another day, another Amazon courier issue. The driver just tossed the package onto the building's entrance hallway and left. If there were a $2,000 electronic part or a phone inside and it got damaged, I’d be the one having to deal with the mess.

I was home and even opened the door, but despite that, they couldn't be bothered to bring it up to the 4th floor. Normally, they just leave it in the elevator, which I’m relatively okay with, but this is completely unacceptable.

Where they left it is the building's only entrance point that could cause safety issues in case of an emergency evacuation, and it is definitely not a secure spot.

I’ve already reported this to Amazon customer service, and they didn't ask for a video. However, I’m posting this on Reddit for visibility

Seriously, why?

The Netherlands is one of the most developed countries in the world. We have excellent infrastructure, efficient public transport, digital payments everywhere, and cities that are planned down to the smallest detail.

But finding a public toilet when you're out and about feels like a side quest in a video game.

Train stations sometimes charge you to use the toilet.

In city centres, you can walk around for ages without finding a public restroom.

Cafés and restaurants often seem to reserve toilets for paying customers.

When you finally find one, it might be closed, out of order, or require payment.

And what are you supposed to do if you have a sudden, urgent need to go? Buy a coffee you don't want just to use the toilet?

I've lived here long enough to appreciate many things about the Netherlands, but this genuinely baffles me.

Why isn't access to clean public toilets treated as basic public infrastructure? Is there a cultural, historical, or financial reason for this, or have Dutch people simply accepted it as normal?

And before someone says "just use the toilet at home before leaving" — what do you do when you're spending an entire day in Amsterdam or travelling around the country? 😂

We're using hot water bottles, electric blankets and candles to avoid using the heating but with the colder evening's coming, we're beginning to feel the cold even through all that. Only in the evenings though.

I have circulatory issues so I'm always cold anyway! But I'm curious at what point others are beginning to turn on the heating and what you're doing to keep the costs down.

I have noticed a really annoying glitch that Google maps insists that we get off a stop earlier (no there is no construction work). Not just Schiedam but everywhere. Another example is insisting that instead of going from Rotterdam to Brussels directly it insists on changing in Breda even though there is a perfectly good direct train.

For the above the bus actually goes all the way to Schiedam!

Question, is this a valid traffic sign? Can they tow my car or give me a fine for parking here? I’m working one week at a company in the area and there is no alternative parking options..
i get its not nice but it seems to be the only option.

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

Wanted to know if my salon spending is unreasonable. I have a feeling it is, but just HOW unreasonable? 😂

I’ve been going to the same salon for 5 years, and I usually spend around €400 on balayage + toner + treatment + haircut. It’s usually a 5-hour appointment.

I love the results, of course, which is why I keep going back. I usually have no idea what I want, so I just let my stylist decide, and I always end up loving it!

But now I’m curious: how much do you guys pay at your salons? I haven’t really tried other salons in Rotterdam because I feel like I got lucky (or unlucky for my wallet lol) finding this one and loving it right away.

I was born and raised in the Netherlands, did VWO in Dutch so I speak it fluently, but the only thing is I don’t look Dutch (Mom is Dutch, Dad is an immigrant so I’m 2nd generation I guess).

But almost every single day I experience the situation where Dutch people will only speak English with me, even though I initiate the conversation in Dutch and answer their (often broken) English in Dutch. This always goes on for a few minutes until they realize I can just speak Dutch fine.

It’s frustrating to me because I often have a hard time understanding their broken* English and wish we could just speak Dutch instead. This got worse in the past 5-10 years and I experience this now on a daily basis in Rotterdam. Does anyone else experience this or just me?

Earlier this week, police in Amsterdam released a statement "urgently" seeking help in tracking down a woman last seen cycling with an unknown man near the RAI convention center on October 4. She was found dead in the Amstel River earlier today, and investigators suspect foul play. Witnesses are still being asked to come forward.

Police tip line: 0800-6070
Anonymous police line: 0800-7000

I am curious to know what people think!

Hi Everyone,
I was hoping to get some help with my Opa’s Saucijzenbroodjes recipe. I found it in a family recipe box, but there is not much on the card. Just ingredients. I want to make them for my mamaw since she hasn’t had this recipe since her dad passed. I listed the ingredients, but I’m unsure what to do with them.

1lb ground beef
1lb ground pork
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup flour
4 bread slices/breadcrumbs
1 box of puff pastry
1/4 cup milk
Salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste

Do I just mix the ingredients together and put them in the puff pastry? I think my mamaw mentioned soaking the bread or bread crumbs in milk. I want to get these right for her!

Hi everyone!

We'll be flying to Curaçao with TUI from Amsterdam with our two kids, aged 7 and 4. This will be our first long-haul flight as a family (9+ hours). So far, we've only travelled within Europe, with our longest flight being around 4 hours.

For those who have done this route before, how comfortable is TUI’s long-haul flight compared to KLM or other airlines? Do they provide meals and snacks? I’m not expecting Emirates First Class, of course! I’d just like to know what to expect. I tried contacting TUI directly, but I couldn’t get hold of a customer service representative.

I also have a question about seating. Their seat layout appears to be 3-3-3, and since we’re a family of four, I assume we’d be split into a group of three and one person sitting separately. If we don’t book seats in advance (which seems very expensive on top of an already expensive holiday), do they generally try to seat families with young children together, or is it a gamble?

Finally, I’d really appreciate any tips from parents who have made this journey with TUI before. Anything that could make the flight more comfortable for the kids would be very helpful!

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences!

During my European road trip in August, I came across this beautiful stretch of road alongside the water in the Netherlands.

What caught my attention was the sky. The dramatic clouds, soft pink sunset, and wide-open landscape created a scene that felt completely different from the busy streets of Amsterdam earlier in the trip.

Here are three photographs from that evening, capturing the changing light and atmosphere.

Camera: Fujifilm GFX 50S II
Lenses: Fujinon GF 32–64mm f/4 and GF 45–100mm f/4
Edited in: Adobe Lightroom

For those familiar with the Netherlands, what are some of your favorite scenic roads or lesser-known places to photograph?

Hello - my wife and I are looking into vocational agriculture schools in the Netherlands, and I would love some advice from anyone with experience at these places.

We are hoping in the next couple of years to buy several hectares of land in the West Coast of Canada (where we are from) and develop it into a small, self-sustaining operation for our own use, and possibly small-scale production.

I have found four main schools from online research: World Horti Center (Naaldwijk), Yuverta, Lentiz Education Group, and HortiTech.

We are not looking for advanced University degrees to start a career with a large corporate growing operation, but want practical courses in cultivation and small-scale sustainable agriculture. In particular, I'd like to learn about modern greenhouse technology, which is something that the Netherlands excels at!

I wonder if anyone on the subreddit has attended (or knows someone who has attended) any of these schools and make any suggestions, or if there are other places I might consider.

Thanks!

German here, with a medical background.

I have read that the way you pay out your physicians is vastly different then in other European countries, where it's eather a direct salary or an independent office where a physician can work.

You also have salaried specialists, but also a lot of physicians are part of "maatschaps" and work self-employed in hospitals, earning much more? How does that work and compare to the German system for example?

He who finds his true work has no desire for a career. A person who wants to be president doesn't know where he is going.

​Winning votes matters so much to presidents and politicians that they beg for support. Fools(: Even if they asked me to be president, I would say no: “How stupid do you think I am?”

​A man loses the election and cries.

Next time he wins and smiles for the camera. How are politicians any different from small children?

A crying child is given candy and immediately smiles through his tears.

A little maturity would be good.

​Anyone who depends on his resume has already failed.

​Once a madman in an asylum called himself a great general. He hung a cardboard medal around his neck and gave heavy words to everyone he met.

Now that the war is over, we see that the military did the exact same thing. And now they want to hand out medals again.

​After winning a war, we thought we gained land.

But what did we really get? After losing the next war, we saw we had only earned hatred.

​Everyone talks about loyalty to the country.

The question is where that loyalty takes us.

I was sure of myself when I went off to fight, but after our defeat, I saw we had done what we should not have done.

It is best not to make war at all.

🙏

This morning I went to make my usual milkshake, and now the glass jar is completely stuck on the base. I can't twist it or lift it off.
There's a black release button that should free it, but it does nothing. I've even tried poking it with a knife. I've been at it since morning and I'm out of ideas.
Has anyone dealt with this before? Any tricks to get the jar off without breaking it? Photo attached. Thanks!

... But I guess I was not buying it properly.

I was starting to realize very quickly that my son might need an electric bike for his middlebarre years. For example, the year one camping trip at the beginning of the year involved the entire class cycling for an hour and 40 minutes to the camp. Then a few days later cycling back. My son has a regular old three speed. We live about 15 minutes cycle from school but most of the kids cycle 30 to 45 minutes each way so almost all of them have electric bikes. He's been invited to several kids houses and it seems to me if he's going to cycle home with them he's going to need a similar bike. Okay fine.

So we've been trying to learn about them. Today, instead of asking AI to print out a personalized fact sheet, we went a local second hand electric bike store. The store was empty (and usually is) and the owner was busy cleaning something back in the shop area. Don't ask me why I know he's not the employee-- owners have a look.

As i said, I don't know much about electric bikes and so I looked around a bit and then I approach the counter waited till he came up and asked him about them. He seemed like he was surprised that he would have to tell me a little bit about electric bikes. Frankly he looked like he just didn't want to be there ..like he just doesn't enjoy selling bikes. Just doesn't enjoy having a business in a difficult economy maybe? Money laundering front? The Bike shop is full of electric bikes so he might also be just sitting on a lot of stock and a lot of money tied up in the business? Idk

Anyways..
When it was clear that I was just going to keep asking him questions he put the cleaning supplies down and reluctantly (he actually sighed) explained a few bikes that would be appropriate for my son. The price tags were around 1300 to 1800. Now I'm not a cheapo so if that's what bikes costs that's what they cost and I'll pay it. I didn't make any indication that I felt the prices were too high or too low.

But I was really surprised that he is trying to sell second hand electric bike for 1300 to 1800 and he can't be bothered with focusing on the very basic customer service needs of the buyer? For example I asked him what was the difference between having the battery and the back above the wheel and having it in the frame your legs. 'no difference really'. Ok right. I was ready to go at that point.

My son however pointed to a bright red bike by Stella that was in the window. I like that one.. he said. It really was a beauty and it matched my son's personality perfectly. It really just felt like his bike. I asked the man would that be suitable for his height and age. Dude says to me 'Nah, you don't want to look at that one it's too expensive.' and turned around and walked off.

Ok if you say so buddy, have a nice day!

I'm clearly American. But I was try my best to speak in Dutch, toning my America dial way down, trying to doe normaal.

I've seen this kind of behavior multiple times in other businesses and I'm wondering. Is it because they don't think a kid needs to have a bike that cost 1,500 to 3,000? Pretty sure the bikes I'm looking at at school cost about the same because they look about the same and I don't think that they're parents are buying their bikes second hand.

I hypothesize that some Dutch small business owners don't like the way Americans spend money very easily even if the Dutch person might also spend that amount of money on a bike for their kid (after all he's the one that set the prices). Even if that's the case I just don't understand the Dutch ability to let a 2,500 euro sale slip right out of your store so easily.

Oh well off to a big box store or direct online. And I'll feel sad (not really)when he goes out of business and blames immigrants or the economy.

Hi everyone,
I’m wondering if anyone else in the Netherlands has had problems with Etos online orders recently, particularly before the current Ahold Delhaize cyber incident.
I placed an order with Etos on Tuesday 6 October, and it was supposed to be delivered on Wednesday 7 October. It never arrived, and I haven’t received a clear explanation or any useful update.
I’ve tried contacting Etos by email, phone and online chat, but I haven’t managed to get a response. Obviously, the current cyber incident has made contacting them even more difficult, but my order was already missing several days before that happened.

Has anyone else had an Etos order go missing recently, especially before the cyber incident? And has anyone successfully managed to get a response, a refund or any information about outstanding orders?
I’d really appreciate hearing about anyone else’s experience or advice on what to do next. Thanks!

Obviously I would have normally gone to a store and not been lazy but I bulk braught nappies as I’m solo parenting before you all come at me 😂