Greeting someone in Amsterdam and other Amsterdam, Netherlands Local Custom Tips

As a general rule the accepted form of greeting is the handshake. In business, the Dutch tend to expect you to address them by their titles and last names, unless they invite you to do otherwise. Outside business, people are less formal and usually address each other by their first names.

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Birthdays are even more important than Christmas. Forgetting one or not coming to visit is seen as totally antisocial. Birthdays for children consist of a party for the children and later the adults of the family come to visit. For the adults, there is coffee with pastries and some alcoholic beverages, sometimes even a sandwich.

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Nou nou (pronounced like the english word ``now`` is something dutch people think in their mind or say when for ex. there is a big piece of cake and they would like to get it all but they better choose the smallest peace.
``mmh...nou-nou, i get the smallest...``
It is like they force themself to some limitation because it is not proper to ``exceed``. This is for food or for whatever else.

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What to say, just take a deep breath before visiting your friends on the very top and...make sure they have fresh drinks ready ;)
(PS...fortunately I just live on the first floor)

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As buildings and apartments are usually narrow and there is usually no lift, moving implies taking all your furniture out of the window. (This is why many buildings have hooks positioned just under the roofs).
Nice job eh?

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The Dutch are generally informal dressers and casual clothing outside of business is the norm, with the possible exception of the more exclusive restaurants and hotels that may stipulate a jacket and tie. For business meetings both men and women wear suits.

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Amsterdammers are a very tolerant breed, but they do expect you to behave in the same fashion. It is not a good idea to criticise the way they run things in Holland. The Dutch love to eat herring, either raw or pickled. Try some at one of the many fish stalls on the side of the street. The many cafes are a great place to relax for a while on a rainy day, and to sample Dutch gin, the national drink (ask for a Jenever). Smoking is widespread in Amsterdam, with very few non-smoking areas, so again, be tolerant of this. Marijuana smoking is illegal outside of 'smoking coffee shops'.

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No, gezellig is not a city anywhere. It is a state of mind and a way of describing an atmosphere that the Dutch create without thinking about it. If I were to translate gezellig into English, it would come out like or maybe, "Hey why are you in such a hurry to go somewhere all the time? Why don't you relax, take your coat off, and stay awhile. What's your rush?"

In a restaurant, gezellig would sound like this: "Come in, order dinner, but you won't ever get your check until you ask for it. We do not expect that you're in a hurry, and we'll think you're a little wierd if you are. Don't worry about constantly ordering something new -- we expect that you will sit there and talk amongst yourselves as long as you like, and we do not count drinks/hour. Just let us know if you need anything, and don't freak out if the waiter sits down at your table and joins the conversation. Just relax and enjoy yourself."

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Perhaps it's just their infamous thriftiness or a rationing behavior left over from the war days, but the Dutch are not known for their generosity when it comes to food. Sandwiches usually have just a couple of ingredients like thinly sliced cheese and butter, and not much of either. Dutch bars serve the smallest beers in Europe, usually 6 to 8 ounces. Then there's the cookie thing. There's a legend that the Dutch only offer their guests ONE cookie with their very good strong coffee. Then they take the cookies away. I can confirm this is the case as the Dutch do serve a single cookie with coffee (don't bother to ask for a second), even in restaurants. Then there's that coffee. Just like many other European countries, it's served in espresso cups. You can get it with steamed milk and the cup will be slightly larger. Then there's the movie theaters. If you've ever had to stand on line to buy tickets in Holland you've probably wondered why it takes soooo long for the line to move. I was curious too, so I watched what was happening. And the Dutch theaters sometimes have several different prices for seats depending on the location or type of seat. (sometimes you can get served champagne with your movie!). So there is more to choose from. However, not only is it rare for the Dutch to treat their friends, but they seem reluctant to give others money to buy the tickets. This is the origin of the phrase 'Dutch Treat'. In addition after each purchase, the Dutch must count their change and the remaining coins in their purse. And so wait we must! Despite their tightwad ways, the Dutch are very generous when it comes to donating to charity or worthy causes. But it must be a cause they really believe in.

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Characteristically the city centre of Amsterdam consists of separate houses; each house with its own roof, front door and facade. We usually distinguish between ordinary single houses (3 bays, total width 25-30 feet, i.e. 7-8.5 metres, with the front door placed to one side but often in the middle in the case of 17th century houses) and double houses. Kloveniersburgwal 29 and Keizersgracht 177 are "king-size" houses which in fact belong to the category of two houses sharing one facade.

Another common distinction applies to the function of the houses. Merchants' houses are characterised by top floors designed to serve as storage space for commodities, whereas mansions were built for residential purposes only. Most of the Amsterdam houses come under the first heading. However, even though the houses were conceived as separate entities, together they form a unified whole because of the harmony in size and proportions that can be observed throughout the city centre. This is one of the reasons why the Amsterdam city centre is such a unique and rare whole. Merchants’ houses are by definition canal houses. Characteristic features of such houses are attics and cellars which served as storage space for the commodities which were transported by boat. It is true to say that trade determined the Amsterdam cityscape; water being an essential feature.
The style of the facade is one way of dating canal houses. However, a word of warning is in order for a house may be younger or older than its facade. In the 18th and 19th centuries the facades were often replaced by more modern ones, whereas in our days it is not uncommon to retain the historical facade and build a new house behind it. Besides, most of the windows had to be replaced in the course of the lifetime of the houses. One rarely finds a 17th century house in possession of its original cross-bar windows. Even 18th century window frames largely disappeared, although many of them are reconstructed as part of restoration projects.

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