# Tell me about The Netherlands (travel) **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 5, 2010, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-netherlands-travel/538414 "2010-05-05T15:47:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![koufax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7ea924/32.png) [@koufax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koufax)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-netherlands-travel/538414/21 "2010-05-06T00:55:10Z")
Nicest people in any country I have ever been in. Great museums. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-netherlands-travel/538414/22 "2010-05-06T04:21:48Z")
I’m planning a trip that includes a brief, 24 hour stopover in Amsterdam. And although I intend to commit a series of moral outrages the evening of my arrival, I need something to do the following morning and afternoon. What is recommended? ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-netherlands-travel/538414/23 "2010-05-06T04:34:30Z")
> [@sqweels](#): > > I’m planning a trip that includes a brief, 24 hour stopover in Amsterdam. And although I intend to commit a series of moral outrages the evening of my arrival, I need something to do the following morning and afternoon. > > What is recommended? The Van Gogh Museum is pretty amazing, and a canal cruise can be a cool way to spend an hour or two… I don’t know what you would have to pull to morally outrage the Dutch, as they don’t seem to blink at much. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-netherlands-travel/538414/24 "2010-05-06T12:41:10Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > I don’t know what you would have to pull to morally outrage the Dutch, as they don’t seem to blink at much. 😉 So me and a couple of Mexican colleagues are in Amsterdam the last night before we fly back home from a business trip, and it occurs to us to go see the De Wallen, except we didn’t know what it was called. We took a tram from our hotel to some random section in the old downtown, and then didn’t know what to do. Do we ask someone? Take a cab? How does one _discretely_ inquire as to where all the prostitutes are? We found some free-wifi for my otherwise useless (there) iPhone, cached the maps, and made our way to De Wallen. Let’s just say we were kind of stupid and naïve to think that we should have inquired discretely. (And for future posterity, we were just window shopping.) (And the use of “me” is just a colloquialism. Sorry. It fits the tone.) ---
**Author:** ![Wincerind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@Wincerind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wincerind)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-netherlands-travel/538414/25 "2010-05-06T15:15:42Z")
Well, I am blushing for al 16 million of us from the compliments 🆒. Thanks. Some additions: if you’re into engineering, check out the waterworks in the southwest (“Deltawerken”). May become very relevant for other countries in the future. Also look into the many nice fortified towns (look on a map for star shaped town centres), like Naarden, Brielle etc. To enjoy it more, catch up on your reading on our history in the 16th through 18th century. for some of those, a car may be handy, otherwise stick to trains for the major cities. I second the motion for Utrecht, Delft is also great for a day or so. If you want anything specific, ask. I’d be glad to point you there or enquire if need be. the Wallen could turn you into a vegetarian, I must say…😃 ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-netherlands-travel/538414/26 "2010-05-06T18:12:59Z")
> [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](#): > > The Van Gogh Museum is pretty amazing Do they have his ear on display? > [@](#): > > I don’t know what you would have to pull to morally outrage the Dutch, as they don’t seem to blink at much. I was thinking of some late-night windmill-tilting. > [@Balthisar](#): > > And for future posterity, we were just window shopping I think you mean future _posterior_ in that your wife would kick your ass. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-netherlands-travel/538414/27 "2010-05-06T18:18:19Z")
> [@sqweels](#): > > Do they have his ear on display? It costs extra to lick it… ETA—there are other situations in A’dam that this might also be the case, as it were. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-netherlands-travel/538414/28 "2010-05-06T18:38:21Z")
Didn’t Ron Howard write a travel book about the Netherlands titled “Mr. Opie’s Holland”? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-netherlands-travel/538414/29 "2010-05-07T17:36:07Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Didn’t Ron Howard write a travel book about the Netherlands titled “Mr. Opie’s Holland”? Men have been killed for less. 😃 Netherlands: beautiful country, friendly people who speak English fairly well, great place to get around by bike or public transportation. What you’ll _really_ want some advice on, though, is decent restaurants where you’re going. Cuisine is not one of The Netherlands’ strong points. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-netherlands-travel/538414/30 "2010-05-07T23:19:05Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > My SO told me that that city was used by the Dutch as a test if the person was a citizen or a German spy. If they couldn’t pronounce it, they were “outed”. (I’m not sure if that’s fact or not.) My cousin’s Dutch wife told me that, also. Perhaps it’s an urban legend. ETA: A quick search for the town plus ‘spies’ shows most attributing this to anecdotal evidence. Some sites state it as fact. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-about-the-netherlands-travel/538414.md?page=1)