by Willem van Hoorn | Apr 10, 2024 | Dutch Culture, Expats Netherlands
One particular mirror in which you can closely observe a country’s culture and its do’s and don’ts, is how it celebrates its festivities. And a major yearly festivity in the Netherlands is ‘Koningsdag’ [pronounced koːnɪŋzdɑx, listen]. Koningsdag is the day the Dutch...
by Willem van Hoorn | Mar 10, 2024 | Dutch Culture, Expats Netherlands
Recently an international friend suggested ‘Trains in the Netherlands’ as a topic for a new blog post. As a frequent commuter by train, she’d be interested to learn more about Dutch trains. Being a frequent train traveler myself, I was happy to comply. Before we dive...
by Willem van Hoorn | Jun 11, 2023 | Dutch Culture, Expats Netherlands
In a previous blog post, we discussed the concept of ‘rituals’. At the time it was about the Dutch rituals that have to do with a birthday party. And we found out: a ritual is ‘a procedure in which the actions and wording follow a more or less prescribed form and...
by Willem van Hoorn | May 14, 2023 | Dutch Culture, Expats Netherlands
In this edition of the blog I´d like to take a look with you at the inner workings of Dutch birthday parties. You stand a fair chance of occasionally skimming past such an event at work or study. And you may even one day find yourself to be invited to one. (In the...
by Willem van Hoorn | Apr 15, 2023 | Dutch Culture, Expats Netherlands
Often, my blog posts are about the Dutch and the Dutch culture in particular. And they explain one or another aspect of that to internationals (or ‘new locals’, if you prefer). Not this time, though. The topic of this post is a phenomenon that everyone can experience...
by Willem van Hoorn | Mar 29, 2023 | Dutch Culture, Expats Netherlands
This month’s post may be a bit shorter than usual, because I have just a little introductory story to tell. And if I succeed, this post will serve to send you on a discovery tour afterwards, so you can find out more yourself. If you haven’t done so already,...
