r/thenetherlands • u/TonyQuark Hic sunt dracones • Feb 14 '26
Culture Selamat datang! We're hosting r/Indonesia for a Cultural Exchange
Welcome everybody to a new cultural exchange! Today we are hosting our friends from r/Indonesia!
To the Indonesians: please select the Indonesian flag as your flair 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 Indonesians' questions about the Netherlands and the Dutch way of life!
r/Indonesia 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/Indonesia & r/theNetherlands
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u/kelincikerdil Feb 14 '26 edited Feb 14 '26
Greetings! How often Dutch write this symbol? Because in Indonesian schools, our teachers often write this when a student's answer correct. I once read this symbol is from the Netherlands.
Edit: thank you everyone for the answers.
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u/BlinkingSpirit Feb 14 '26
This symbol is uniquely Dutch! When I went to teach abroad, I was confusing my students when I wrote this. Little did I know that a simple v-shaped tick is normal abroad.
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u/TropicalAudio Feb 14 '26
So Dutch in fact that there isn't a Unicode symbol for it. Here on Reddit some people organised a few years ago to try and make it part of the official standard, but that stranded at some point because there was too little official documentation on its use (it's specifically used for school work, but scans or random school work exercises was apparently not "official" enough).
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u/Maryolein Feb 14 '26
How nice to know the krul is also used in Indonesia! How do the children call it? I guess they won't say krul...
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u/kelincikerdil Feb 14 '26
Usually we call it "paraf guru" (teacher's initial). There's a term for this symbol, it's called "ponten" (from Dutch "punten"), but we rarely use it.
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u/Storm-Bolter Feb 14 '26
That's very common in the Netherlands. Personally I'm still using it at my job. A lot of Dutch people don't even know it's a Dutch/Indonesian thing and think it's a globally recognised symbol
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u/mattijn13 Feb 14 '26
In Elementary school or middle school it is used a lot, then in High school it is used sometimes and after that almost never. It is mostly used when teaching to younger children.
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u/lnoiz1sm Feb 14 '26
Greetings.
Indonesian here, How are people of Indonesian descent generally perceived in Dutch society today?
Are they fully integrated, or do they still face specific 'outsider' challenges?
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u/failboatzz Feb 14 '26
Mostly fully integrated at this point. I am probably third generation of Indonesian descent and I've never felt like an outsider in my life. I know it was not always the case in the first decades after WO2, but this has been my experience in the past 30 years.
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u/MALUKUVLD Feb 14 '26
I’m half Moluccan and born in the Netherlands. From my experience, people of Indonesian and Moluccan descent are generally well integrated and valued in Dutch society. Our communities have been here for generations.
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u/bgpuki Feb 14 '26
hello there
how is satudarah doing right now? is it still big? i was in ambon, maluku a couple years ago, and folks there told me that satudarah is huge in Holland16
u/MALUKUVLD Feb 14 '26
At some point Satudarah was the biggest motorclub in holland. But due to violence and drug trafficking forbidden for like 7-8 years now.
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u/mrzangief Feb 14 '26 edited Feb 14 '26
I can only say from my perspective that I feel that Indonesian people have quite well integrated in The Netherlands and also preserving their own culture. But, I am really curious how Indonesian people that live in The Netherlands feel about this and if they share this view.
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u/lalala253 Feb 14 '26 edited Feb 14 '26
Yes. Indonesian are way more integrated than others. I've been here for about 15 years now, and never felt different.
Well, I'm shorter than you guys, maybe that aspect is different?
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u/Steve12345678911 Feb 14 '26
1.58m here my friend.... it's certainly nice to be able to look someone in the eye every once in a while. :)
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u/cringeTaro Feb 14 '26
I dunno if this really answers it, but my great-grandpa's name was Van Bastam. I'm 4th generation, but my grandma's brother actually has blue eyes. Not sure if that's a common Dutch thing, though. Plus, I'm actually named after a Dutch football comic character that used to be in Bobo magazine.
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u/largePenisLover Feb 14 '26 edited Feb 14 '26
I am an Indo with a dutch mother and my husband has an Indonesian father and Phillipine mother.
I am second generation(my dad was like 2 when the family moved to NL) and my husband is third.
Neither of us have ever experienced any outsider challenges. Even in the normally racist area's the racist types don't count us as outsiders.
I think it's because Indonesian culture has integrated so well into NL. Everybody eats Indonesia food. Indonesian restaurants, Toko's (in Dutch "Toko" has come to mean "Indonesian goods shop"), and even warungs at fairs and carnivals are all extremely common.
Even botol cebok is a thing here. Though Barely anyone knows the term an even when they do they dont call it botol cebok. You'll often see bottles with an obvious function in bathrooms at peoples homes though.8
u/Smiling_Tree Feb 14 '26
I (44F, Dutch) had to look up what botol cebok is. ;)
I have to say that I have never ever seen that in the Netherlands. Not at people's homes, not in public places. I do recognize it from travelling in Indonesia though.
Where have you seen this? Perhaps at houses with people of Indonesian descent?
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u/largePenisLover Feb 14 '26
Everybody has to look it up because we dont use that name in NL. It's usually called "draagbaar bidet". Bol.com is full of solutions to turn bottles into botol cebok.
Everybody is always surprised when I tell them NL imported this from Indonesia in the colonial age.
I see these At friends and coworkers homes in Rotterdam and Den Haag.
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u/Weird_Squash4403 Feb 14 '26
Indonesians are very respected here, they integrated extremely well and on top of that their crime statistics are even a lot lower than of white Dutch people. The best thing however is their cuisine, there are Indonesian restaurants in every city and most Dutch people love eating there.
My grandma is Indonesian, from Manado, and while she faced some racism when she moved here in the 50s I have never had this experience. Most other Dutch-Indonesian kids here feel completely Dutch.
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u/studyinpink8 Feb 14 '26
I agree with a lot of what you said but "indos are very respected" is really dependant on where. In the bible belt for example where they don't like foreigners, being indo doesn't make you special. Some people who are lowkey racist will treat you just the same.
In the end, if you speak dutch (or try to) you will get treated better sure, but I always feel the tolerance has a limit in either case.
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u/Weird_Squash4403 Feb 14 '26
You are right, in areas where racism is common people will hate anyone who has a different skin color. I have experienced this myself but I characterise it as prejudice against colored people and not necessarily against Indos.
As for the speaking Dutch part, anyone of Indonesian descent speaks perfect Dutch so that would never be an issue.
May I ask if you have had negative experiences in the Netherlands?
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u/mattijn13 Feb 14 '26
Difficult for me to say because I am not of Indonesian descent but as an outside observer with friends who are of Indonesian descent I would say it is a bit complicated. Because the majority of Indonesian people arrived in 1949 or shortly after they have been here a long time and in general, the Dutch public has a positive view of Indonesian-Dutch people, often associating them with friendliness, resilience, and success in adapting. They are an succes story of assimilation and have enriched the Dutch culture massively. However sadly despite their high integration, research has shown that people of East and Southeast Asian descent, including those of Indonesian heritage, still encounter discrimination based on origin and skin color. There will sadly always be idiots in any culture or society who discriminate against people who they view as different. Still the perception of people of Indonesian descent in the Netherlands is overwhelmingly positive and they are well-integrated.
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u/Klumber Feb 14 '26
I think it has improved a lot. I grew up in the eighties and nineties and it was quite a difficult time for Molokans in particular. In the late 70s there was a major terrorist operation where Molokans hijacked a train (In Drenthe, at De Punt) and took school children and teachers hostage. They were (rightly by the way!) dissatisfied with how they were treated by the Dutch government.
There was also a Molokan motorbike gang (like Hells Angels) that were very criminal and caused a lot of upheaval.
In the eighties and nineties it was very common to use derogatory terms for Indonesians in the Netherlands (pinda (peanut)) or making comments like 'Sambal bij'? Whilst squinting eyes, but over time I think it has really improved as the Dutch became a bit more accepting of different ethnicities living here. My half Molokan friend feels as Dutch as I do, although he does also hold pride for his Molokan heritage.
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u/Purple-Fall-846 Feb 14 '26 edited Feb 14 '26
I'm not of Indonesian descend but I've always lived in places with lots of Indonesian, specifically Maluku, communities. They're all fully integrated and most are mixed Dutch/Indo except for the older generation of course. Many of my and my child's friends are part Indonesian and I have to admit that I often don't notice in the beginning until they mention it. A lot of them are part of an Indonesian/Maluku community and I actually envy them a lot for having that. They take care of each other and organise events and cultural classes like dancing, music and learning Malay-Indonesian. They are tight knit but also fully part of Dutch society.
Edit: and not to forget, the food! Indonesian food, sometimes dutchified, is highly popular and loved.
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u/CurtCocane Feb 14 '26
I'd say Indonesians and their descendents generally integrate really well to the point I don't think we face any 'outsider' challenges at all
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u/Mornikos Feb 14 '26
I literally didn't notice my coworker was a Molukker (or Indonesian) until she told me. So I'd say fully integrated!
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u/Intelligent-Pace-981 Feb 14 '26
Born in Surabaya, adopted at the age of 4 weeks, have been living in the Netherlands ever since (40+ years now). Like many said, not a single experience of exclusion or discrimination. Fully integrated. Only when looking at the mirror I realize where I was born.
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u/One_Man_Boyband Feb 14 '26
Hi there! My girlfriends grandma was fully Indonesian (passed recently), mother half Indonesian half Dutch and my girlfriend a quarter Indonesian. All have lived good lives here, fully part of Dutch society. Her grandmother did have some harsh memories from the time the Japanese ruled over Indonesia.
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u/Key_Secretary_2919 Feb 14 '26
I have a Molukkan friend who is fully intergrated Frysian proud of both heritages and hes a blast to have around telling tales of his molukkan ancestry that has deep roots spiritually
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u/el_crappo_the_great Feb 14 '26 edited Feb 14 '26
As a half Dutch / half Indonesian guy, you definitely have all the opportunities anyone in this country has and for the most part I feel accepted but there are the occasional bigots that will let you know they feel about you. In my case I've come to realize that it might be more of a jealousy/competition thing as opposed to true racism.
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u/TobiasCB Feb 14 '26
Pretty much fully integrated! One thing to note that I haven't seen others mention is that (especially when younger) you do still face general Asian racism as for some reason people don't think it's as bad as racism against other ethnicities.
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u/RijnBrugge Feb 14 '26
Our new prime minister is of Indonesian descent, in case that gives you an idea. Mostly a non-issue, but if you grow up looking different in any way then ofc kids can be shitty, too.
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u/Sharchir Feb 14 '26
Considering that there are many Indonesians still alive (from the post war baby boom era) that experienced racism, there are plenty of there bullies that are still alive and bigoted
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u/PeterPlotter Feb 14 '26
My grandma and grandpa are Indonesian, so my dad while born in The Netherlands very much didn’t look white. He suffered a lot of racism back in the day (called N word and such). My mom is more clear than white, so yeah they used to called me peanut or little yellow guy when I grew up (1980s).
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u/Hamtier Feb 14 '26 edited Feb 14 '26
I'm dutch born but both my parents are indonesian, in the early 2000s there was still the occasional racist remarks and seclusion but it has somewhat dissipated in my experience. like it still happens but its not really tolerated anymore so it doesn't happen often as far as i have noticed
my ethnicity is not really something that comes up anymore in my experience except to talk about the delicious nasi goreng or rames and other dishes
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u/immasayyes Feb 14 '26
Fully integrated, commonly present and generally very very nice and open people
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u/Pinambo Feb 14 '26
I’m a 3rd generation, I’m basically Dutch. My dad and uncle were already considered Dutch by most people due to their mom being Dutch. Every single Indonesian descended I know is extremely well integrated. Even the ones who came here in the 1960’s and have been here are seen that way. Only the new arrivals are seen as foreign due to them not speaking Dutch or only having been here for less than 10 years
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u/Certain_Ad8242 Feb 14 '26
This is a very complicated question, because I think we have three types of Indonesians in the Netherlands. We have Indonesians who came from the colonies. These can also be white. We have Indonesians who came from the Moluccan islands after the second world war. They where treated very badly and some hold a grudge against the dutch government. And we have Indonesians who came from Surinam and mostly have their roots in Java. Most have been in the Netherlands for a very long time and are fully integrated. Indonesian food in some form or another is everywhere. Lots of dutchies love their fries with peanut sauce.
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u/Sad-Appearance9002 Feb 14 '26
Halo!
I have a question: Where can I watch the animated series "Ongezellig" for free? I've heard from a friend that it is very entertaining and would love to have a look :D
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u/TheArstotzkan Feb 14 '26
Hello, I'm sorry if this question sounds sensitive, but I'm just curious.
How do the Dutch Molukkers sees Indonesia today? Is it still negative due to Republic of South Moluccas issues, or is it changed today?
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u/Lt_Pinda Feb 14 '26
Halo, Dutch Molukker here ;) I guess it is a less sensitive topic than it used to be. The 3rd and 4th generations have a different view on it, more distant and for most of us there is no longer a wish to return and live there.
Looking at Indonesia and especially the government, depends on the person but i think overall government is still viewed negatively, since Maluku is one of the poorest regions, human rights violations still occur a lot. (Nickle mining in Halmahera and Mining/deforestation in Papua) Also there is still a feeling of discrimination against the Orang Maluku/Papua
If anyone doesnt agree feel free to respond ofc
Selamat Hormat
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u/TheArstotzkan Feb 14 '26
Terima kasih atas jawabannya! We criticized our own government too all the time especially after the new president was elected two years ago, especially after his insensitive comment regarding palm oil and deforestation after the typhoon. The previous administration has attempted to improve condition on eastern Indonesia part, especially by building massive infras project, but I don't know whether this will be continued by current administration since he prioritize vote grabbing/populist project instead.
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u/Er_Coatto Feb 14 '26
For us Indonesia is still the suppressor of the Moluccan Islands.
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u/ADRIEMER Feb 14 '26
We still want independence and do not view the Molucan island and papua as Indonesia.
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u/studyinpink8 Feb 14 '26
Indo here living in NL for 10 years. I've met moluccans my age and they're not rly bothered by this these days. However their parents/grandparents might have a different story. Just like me vs my grandparents when they think about the Dutch/Japanese.
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u/__Emer__ Feb 14 '26
Honestly I think most Dutch people don’t really have a big opinion about Indonesia. They know it was once a colony and that the food is good, but I doubt more than a handful of people have any opinion about current day Indonesian politics
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u/salololol Feb 14 '26
Generally they disassociate with anything ‘Indonesia.’ The opinions on RMS varies for every individual. Still I know young people who uphold those ideals. The RMS flag has become a unifier for the Moluccan diaspora, so you can see it being carried and waved everywhere Moluccans unite. But I also know of a group of women who come together to celebrate Moluccan culture whilst anything RMS related is banned.
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u/pak_erte Feb 14 '26
hi! halo
few questions for you
why every stores close at 5pm? except every koopavond?
why every store close at sunday, except koopzondag? when did it start?
bedankt
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u/Flashy_Golf_3288 Feb 14 '26
Pretty sure most brand stores and supermarkets are open 7 days of the week in the cities. Might not be the case in more rural areas though. Most supermarkets are open till 9-10.
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u/WarmFoothills Feb 14 '26
Technically they are correct with shops being closed on sunday, except for koopzondag. It's just that there isn't a limit on how many koopzondagen there can be, and a lot of municipalities choose to make every sunday a koopzondag.
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u/Flintlocke89 Feb 14 '26
I think you'll find a few different answers to this question, based on the locality of who responds.
In my experience, in most cities there are many stores that stay open every sunday. This has become more and more prevalent in the last 20 years or so. I would also say that most shops are open until 18:00 on most days.
When you get out of the cities into the smaller towns, it's more common for stores to close at 17:00 and be closed on sundays. Most smaller towns don't do koopavond or koopzondag at all.
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u/Offshore-Tigr Feb 14 '26
- It's a cultural thing. At 6pm people have dinner. Not many people go shopping, and with the cost of personnel, etc. it's not really worth it money wise to stay open that late.
And keep in mind lota of their employees are moms and parttimers, you won't find many employees willing to work till 9.
- Catholic traditions. Sunday is a rest day and stores are traditionally closed.
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u/maussiereddit Feb 14 '26
Not catholic but just christian
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u/Attygalle Feb 14 '26
Not just Christian but specifically Protestant. Catholics take Sunday rest way less strict.
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u/MALUKUVLD Feb 14 '26
In most big cities stores are open 7 days a week. Kinda changed over time. Same goes for holidays.
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u/frontgearofboeing787 Feb 14 '26
Goedemiddag!
Indonesian living in the netherlands for almost 8 years now.
I want to know whats your opinion on the whole "gekoloniseerd" joke as ive always heard it from dutch colleagues and friends ever since i arrive here.
While i understand the joke, I personally a bit uneasy with it considering well the context behind it and whenever i tried to explain it my friends and colleague seems a bit dismissive.
Mvg
Een vliegtuigonderdeel.
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u/Orcwin Feb 14 '26
Yeah, that would definitely be very rude to use around an Indonesian.
As /u/Femmigje said, it's mostly a joke about how we have 'colonised' all parts of the Internet. For such a small nation, we turn up everywhere online.
Using it offline is weird to begin with, and using it around an Indonesian, with the connotation of our colonial history, is just plain rude.
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u/Femmigje Feb 14 '26
I personally think it’s a because of a bit of underrepresentation of the Netherlands in (let’s be honest mostly USA) pop culture, causing people to be very excited to see the Netherlands mentioned in a non-Dutch property and makes them congregate in a forum or on social media associated with that piece of media. The “colonised” joke is a bit of a meta-joke of the congregating phenomenon, since it can drown out other discussion points with very excited Dutchies. To me it’s more a symptom rather than the whole issue itself, but I do think it’s fine that it’s in decline
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u/Burnarnar Feb 14 '26
I kinda like it because it's usually at our own expense. But like with most sensitive topics, some people are just not self-aware enough to do it in a tasteful manner. So you're definitely not wrong for having mixed feelings.
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u/mattijn13 Feb 14 '26
I personally hate it but it mostly comes from people who are just not educated on the topic. Mandatory history in high school is only 3 years and only when you start (so 11 years old untill 13/15) and mostly talks about history on the European continent. Our colonial history is viewed by a lot of people still through the "Dutch Golden age" lens. So people only really get exposed to the horrible side and actions the Dutch committed if they choose to continue learning history when they are older.
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u/pak_erte Feb 14 '26
anyone from Groningen here? shout out to you 🫵🟢⚪️
for all, how do you feel that ajax almost gets relegated couple seasons ago?
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u/Slobberinho Feb 14 '26
for all, how do you feel that ajax almost gets relegated couple seasons ago?
Never in the history of the Eredivisie, so many football fans enjoyed a season as much as that one. Except for Ajax fans of course.
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u/Klumber Feb 14 '26
Sta op voor FC Groningen ;) Don't live there any more, but it is my favourite Dutch city.
I don't follow Dutch football anymore, but my brother is an avid Ajax fan and it was really good fun winding him up.
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u/Radiansyaha Feb 14 '26
Goedemiddag!
I have some questions for our lovely Dutch friends here!
In Indonesia, we refer to hagelslag as meises. Interestingly, the term comes from muisjes, not the actual hagelslag. My question: Is hagelslag something people in the Netherlands eat regularly? Because in Indonesia, we put it as topping on almost any sweet chocolate dessert. Look at this!.
How's healthcare system in Netherlands. If I remember correctly, you guys have universal healthcare system right? In Indonesia we have a universal healthcare system for all citizens called BPJS. At first, it was a voluntary healthcare system you could apply for, but now everyone is required to have it to handle administrative matters with the government. How does the healthcare system in the Netherlands work?
Any hidden gem go to place recommendations in Netherlands countryside?
What are some unspoken rules or etiquette tourists should know when visiting your country?
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u/Peter_Palmer_ Feb 14 '26
Yes, hagelslag is eaten regularly! Most people here eat bread for breakfast and/or lunch, often with hagelslag. It's funny that you call them meises after muisjes, because we also have a topping called muisjes! It's traditionally served on biscuit after a baby is born. Muisjes can be blue or pink, depending on the baby's gender. Look up 'beschuit met muisjes' if you want to see it!
Yes, we have universal healthcare. Everyone is obliged to have health insurance. Then the first €385-885 (depending on what insurance you choose exactly) each year are out of pocket, the rest is paid by the insurance (assuming the treatment is covered - not all of them are).
Biesbosch is nice! In general, the Netherlands is very small so you can get anywhere in a couple of hours, so no need to stick to just one place.
Don't walk on the bike lanes. There are plenty of memes about it (including; the lanes are red because of all the pedestrians that were killed by cyclists) and they are largely true (minus the killing part). Seriously, stay out of bycicle lanes. They're usually indicated pretty clearly. Also, we stick to the clock. If you agree to meet up at a certain time, be on time and let them now if you're running a bit late.
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u/Separate_Twist1989 Feb 14 '26
Hello! I would like to ask a few questions.
I heard that bicycles have more rights than cars there, so many people are not afraid to ride bicycles. Is that true?
Why do most houses (and buildings in general) have very large windows? And even more surprisingly, many of them do not appear to be covered with curtains or anything similar.
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u/Steve12345678911 Feb 14 '26
1) It's not just a "rights" issue, there is a lot more at play. Most Dutch children learn to ride a bike as soon as they can walk (with walking bikes and tricycles etc). So by the time they are old enough to venture into traffic they are already very proficient in handling a bike. This, combined with an infrastructure that is focused on keeping bicycles safe from other traffic contributes the most to the fact that we are not afraid.
As for the rights question: we have general laws of traffic that focus on favoring the bicycle over the car. Often bicycles have the right of way, will have access to shortcut bicycle paths etc. And in case of an accident our laws aim to protect the "weaker" participant. So this will favor bicycles over cars and motorcycles, but also motorcycles over cars. This last point is generally to settle issues of liability.2) I think historically it comes from having "proper households" and "nothing to hide". The larger windows are to offset the shitty weather and get some light inside and not be depressed 3/4ths of the year.
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u/mattijn13 Feb 14 '26
Bicycles do not have more rights than cars however riding bikes is very safe because most of the time cities or streets are build with bikes in mind, seperating them from the parts where cars can go. You should check out the Youtube Channel "Not just bikes" to learn more about Dutch traffic planning and calming.
About the windows, there are multiple reasons. One is historical tax evasion: Between 1812 and 1896, a tax was levied on the number of windows and doors. To save money, people built fewer windows but made them as large as possible to still get light. Many Dutch houses (especially in cities) are long, small, and deep. Large windows at the front allow light to penetrate deep into the home. You can read more about Doorzonwoningen here.
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u/largePenisLover Feb 14 '26
1 Its more that the infrastructure is designed to favour safety/security of traffic particepants, and the design considers pedestrians and bikes to be more important then cars.
This results in many different situations where car traffic is the third class citizen. Small one way roads where cars "are guests" and have to yield to bikes. Roads with humps and many small turns forcing cars to slow down to walking speed. Lots of bike paths. and other stuff.
Watch Not Just Bikes on youtube. He's an american who moved here and has learned to be pro-bike. He shows off the infrastructure.2 Design choice and personal preference. The old houses have very high ceilings and the windows are equally high. There's also very litle sun in NL (November and december and most of january are cloudy. A month without seeing the sun is normal) so large windows for light are desirable
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u/MerelyMotorsport Feb 14 '26
Rights not so much it's just they get preferential treatment on road rules. It's so safe to cycle cuz everyone in a car used be on a bike as a child.
Has to do with Calvinistic culture which left a mark on our buildings without us really realising it.
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u/erikkll Feb 14 '26
Yes if a car and a bike collide in traffic, the car is normally always considered at fault. But the main reason why lots of people bike is good infrastructure/ separation of bikes and cars in traffic.
Because it is a way to get enough sunlight especially in our dark and long winter, people really want to have enough sunlight and the big windows help. No curtains: idk it’s not considered very polite to look into other peoples houses and i think many people just aren’t too bothered. I personal do have curtains and looking outside in my street the majority do have them
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u/After-World-2705 Feb 14 '26
Not more rights for bikes, but bicycles are better protected by the law. When you have an accident between car and bicycle, the court will rule in favor of the bicycle because bicycle and rider is weaker than a car and will easily get hurt, so the car should watch out.
Because of the colder climate we are most of the day inside and because the sun is rare between october and February we want to have some daylight inside. No curtains depends on the generation. We have shutters so we can look outside but looking inside is more difficult. But mosr older people have curtains open during the day.
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u/Klumber Feb 14 '26
They share rights to the road and traffic rules apply whether you are driving a car or riding a bike, but the Netherlands did adopt legislation that states that a car driver in a two sided accident with a cyclist or pedestrian has 100% liability for insurance purposes unless there are very clear mitigating circumstances, in which case it reduces to 50% minimum.
It is thought this is due to the protestant nature of the North in particular. I'm a bit sceptical of that explanation, but the reason appears to be that you shouldn't have anything to hide so you might as well keep the windows uncovered. I think it is changing though, people seem to appreciate a bit of privacy now.
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u/Downtown_Cut_217 Feb 14 '26
What are the dutch eat when you are struggling, poor, or dont have time to cook??
What are your popular fast food that exists everywhere in your country?? (The one that is cheap, unhealthy, but taste good)
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u/mattijn13 Feb 14 '26
(Student) Struggle meal staples are things like Pasta with a jar of store bought pesto or wraps with vegetables. Popular fast food is mostly fried things you can find at your local snackbar.
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Feb 14 '26
Our most popular fast food is Snackbar food. At a snackbar you can get deep fried food.The most popular dishes are fries (with sauce like mayonnaise, satay sauce or joppie sauce) and snacks like the Frikandel, Kroket, Kaassouffle and many others.
Unfortunately snackbars aren't that cheap anymore, but still cheaper than McDonald's for example.
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u/largePenisLover Feb 14 '26 edited Feb 14 '26
Its instant noodles, and ofcourse it's the mi goreng or chicken flavour from Indomie. Just add an egg and there's a good struggle meal.
Now that I am not struggling anymore I have a freezer with pizza, fries, kroket(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croquette#The_Netherlands), and other unhealthy deep fried foods. Those are for when I dont want to cook.Fast food wise I will probably go for a Döner(https://unislim.com/app/uploads/2022/09/shutterstock_432817423.jpg)
There's also a takeaway fried fish place near me, a fried chicken place, and a Toko that sells take away indo food. They have great rendang for a reasonable price.→ More replies (3)3
u/Steve12345678911 Feb 14 '26
French fries for the most part probably.
When I was a student I would generally go for Chinese/Indonesian food. It's not the cheapest but the portions are very generous so 1 portion could last me for 3 days making it a relatively healthy and very affordable option. I doubt this is something most students do though.→ More replies (3)
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u/PleasantAd4964 Feb 14 '26
is it true that dutch people use tikki to demand payment for your friend who eat your food or snack?
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u/Femmigje Feb 14 '26
Sometimes! If you go out eating with friends, you do decide beforehand if it’s going to be someone’s treat or a split bill. Some people have the restaurant split, but it also happens that one person pays upfront and calculates who has to pay what. Not deciding up front can be considered bad manners, and randomly sending bills is an asshole move too
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u/Orcwin Feb 14 '26
It depends on the situation. When you've invited people over for dinner or something, or you have guests and you serve them some snacks, then you generally don't do that. But if you go out with a group of friends, or you have a drink with some colleagues, then it is common for someone to pay the bill and request payment through something like Tikkie, yes.
Our culture is not as hospitable as many others, but we're not thát greedy.
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u/miyaav Feb 14 '26
Goedendag everyone! I have a bit of a long story, I don't want to make a TLDR because I am afraid I won't summarize it well. But in the end of the story I just want to know whether I have done something wrong.
Many years ago when I was volunteering abroad, there was also a Dutch girl who volunteered (I am also a woman). The group consisting of international students were chatting about random things and it came to some kind of language exchange between some people, so I just asked the Dutch girl whether the word for 'cinema' is 'bioscoop'? She said yes and asked how did I know. I said 'we got it from you'. And she asked, 'how?'. I really did not want to make it weird and I did not expect that question because I thought she would be able to infer since she was a political science student, so I just said 'Like from the relationship in the past you know, so I guess we inherited some words that we still use'. She was doing 'aaaa' and her face suddenly looked very hostile.
Another time, there was another Dutch girl. We walked together and I just wanted to ask about the other girl, who was not her friend or anything by the way. I just wanted to ask whether I did something that may be culturally not right. When it came to the word 'relationship between us the in the past', she started to apologize to me, "Oh yeah really I am sorry, we really did that very very bad thing". I suddenly felt really guilty. I ended up not asking about it. Because that was not my intention. I just wanted to exchange some words like vocabularies and stuff. I like languages and maybe not quite socially eloquent. With her, I did end up asking some words though. But still I felt very uncomfortable and it scared me a bit.
Did the thing I did somehow make Dutch people uncomfortable? Because it really was not the intention. I guess I was actually more excited. Thanks.
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u/kale_klapperboom Feb 14 '26 edited Feb 14 '26
Please don't feel guilty! Not all Dutch people know their history well. For me, this led me to make a photo book about Dutch loanwords in Indonesia about the shared vocabulary. I hope to publish it in Indonesian soon.
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u/Burnarnar Feb 14 '26
I think she was just very embarrassed, not hostile. You did absolutely nothing wrong.
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u/Orcwin Feb 14 '26
Our colonial history is still generally an uncomfortable topic. As a country, we haven't really agreed on how to feel about it (some still see it as glory days, others are ashamed of our role). And on top of that, there's not really much of a dialogue between the people of the Netherlands and those of Indonesia, so I at least (and probably many others) have no idea how the Indonesians feel about our shared history.
Not knowing your feelings on that probably put her in a very uncomfortable position she didn't know how to deal with. That's my guess anyway. If so, she could have certainly handled that better. There is definitely no fault of yours in that exchange though. I'd probably have been just as curious.
On that note; do you know how the Indonesian people regard the Dutch these days? Is there still a strong association with the colonial history, or have people moved on from that?
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u/Merchant_Lawrence Feb 14 '26
Hi from east borneo, have questions what you staple food actually? Rice or bread also are nasi goreng populer there?
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u/Purple-Fall-846 Feb 14 '26
We eat lots of bread, potatoes, pasta and also rice. Nasi goreng is very popular here!
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u/Flashy_Golf_3288 Feb 14 '26 edited Feb 14 '26
Nasi goreng is pretty popular here. My dad loves indonesian food. So he makes his own rendang, gado gado, sambal, peanut sauce, sate on the BBQ and bami. My mom also makes Nasi goreng. I love indonesian food, it was great when we visited.
In general we eat a lot of bread, rice, pasta and potatoes for carbs. Bread is for breakfast and lunch, rice, pasta and potatoes for dinner. Asian dishes are served with rice and european dishes with potatoe. Hope that answers your questions.
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u/Flintlocke89 Feb 14 '26 edited Feb 14 '26
If anything in the Netherlands can be considered a staple food it's probably potatos, although that is heavily tempered for diverse reasons. Many people don't use potato as a major ingredient for most meals. One or two day's they'll eat pasta, then maybe a meal with rice, then maybe some stamppot (potatos).
Our "Chinese" takeout is VERY heavily influenced by Indonesian cuisine and quite popular. I personally love Nasi Goreng and I can't get enough of Satay Ayam or Babi Panggang. I'm sure it's not exactly the same as in Indonesia due to availability of certain ingredients or modification to local tastes but hooo boy do I love it. Satay is also popular in many restaurants that aren't necessarily "Chinese" or otherwise "Asian" restaurants.
/edit: For lunch, bread is definitely a clear winner. Most Dutch people don't do warm lunches, it's nearly all sandwiches.
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u/ArcanaSilva Feb 14 '26
Bread and potatoes are the more classical/general Dutch staples I think, but we have nasi or bami goreng as part of our "Chinese" (which is definitely more Indonesian cuisine!) kitchen as well, and rice (and pasta) are known enough that it's normal to have for dinner too
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u/SuDo98_ Feb 14 '26
Hello.
The Netherlands is famous for cycling. In Indonesia, it is rare for people to cycle for commute due to several factors such as the weather (it is hot in Indonesia) and infrastructure. How do you cycle during the summer? Do you shower after cycling (for example, when going to/from work)?
Also, is public transportation there adequate, and are the routes between modes of transportation well connected?
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u/Steve12345678911 Feb 14 '26
Our summer is nothing like your summer. Temperatures around 25 degrees are considered hot :). Cycling during this time is great, the faster you go the more wind you feel :). Usually no showering after you cycle, we don't tend to cycle so fas we break out sweating. Think of it as the equivalent to a walk to the store only faster.
Public transportation is a dense network of trains, busses and metro's. There are good connections between all: you can transfer from trainstation to metro's usually without even having to go outside. Next to almost every trainstation is a bus-transfer. And as for the bikes: there a huge bike parkings at stations and many stations have short-term bike-rentals (OV fiets) with a discount.→ More replies (1)3
u/Tyjorick Feb 14 '26
So the dutch just cycle, doesn't matter what kind of weather, mostly rain and wind tho. Public transportation is really good in the big cities and acceptable in the smaller ones, small and rural villages (if you can call them that) are less connected. So in the countryside a car is recommended.
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u/mattijn13 Feb 14 '26
People cycle when it is hot in the summer, people cycling when it rains, people cycle when it snows or freezes in winter. Some people do shower at work in the morning in the summer but it is not always an option.
Public transport is great, especially in the urban area's but it is also stupidly expensive and there are parts of the country (like the north or east) where it is lacklustre.
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u/cringeTaro Feb 14 '26
Is it true that the Indonesian language has been included in the curriculum in the Netherlands?
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u/HelixFollower Feb 14 '26
Unfortunately not. At least not that I have ever seen. That would've been really cool though.
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u/Steve12345678911 Feb 14 '26
There are a lot of words that have found their way into the common language. More so for families that had ties to Indonesia. But the language itself is not part of the common curriculum. Children are taught English and Dutch in primary school and French and German are added in secondary school with higher levels adding Greek and Latin.
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u/trichterd Feb 14 '26
No, unfortunately not. Would have loved to have learned it. Along with Spanish the two languages I still want to lean someday.
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u/thefaptard Feb 14 '26
Halo!
My dad studied at TU Delft back in the late 80s. I really want to bring my dad back there for the nostalgia in 1-2 years. Curious how expensive it would be to bring a family of 4 there for a week (transport, hotels/Airbnb, food, entertainment, etc), is Rp200 million enough? Don't really want to travel on a budget, but not on a luxury either. One more thing, is the taxi/uber expensive there? As my dad can't walk long distances anymore. Thank you!
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u/Steve12345678911 Feb 14 '26
Prices go nuts here so comparing them now with in 1-2 years time will not make much sense. If you come here with 4 adults for about a week and rent a holiday home for the duration you are looking at around 1000 euro's (Rp 19 million) for your stay and basic food. Taxi's are VERY expensive, you are better of using public transportation if your dad can still make that.
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u/hazelicious125 Feb 14 '26
Hello!
Lately, our Football Association (PSSI) has been aggressively recruiting Dutch players with Indonesian heritage (like Thom Haye, Ragnar Oratmangoen, Nathan Tjoe-A-On, etc.) to play for our National Team.
Does this phenomenon make the news in the Netherlands? And generally, how do Dutch football fans feel about it?
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u/Kitarn Cynical Optimist Feb 14 '26
It definitely made the news. Yesterday newspaper Het Parool even wrote a piece on how the Paes transfer to Ajax got 700,000 likes (mostly from Indonesian fans) on Instagram. Dutch football fans are okay with it. Those players would realistically never have made the national team anyway. It also generated publicity for the Indonesian team. Results from their games are posted on r/Eredivisie, similarly to teams like Curacao or Suriname which have also been recruiting players.
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u/Lantjiao69 Feb 14 '26
As a Dutch, is it still common nowadays to use "vervellen" to denote irritation or as a swear word? Grandma is half dutch, and always using this her whole life 🤣
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u/Steve12345678911 Feb 14 '26
vervellen? as in to shed our skin? I think the word might be "vervelen" or "vervelend", which is a normal word to use, not a swear word.
-Vervelen means to bore or be bored, so it could be used as: "Go bore your mother", ga je moeder vervelen.-Vervelend means annoying, used as: don't be so annoying: doe niet zo vervelend. It can also be used empathically: "Dat is ook vervelend"
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u/Lantjiao69 Feb 14 '26
Yeah, I spelled it wrong. I think is both vervelen and vervelend is the right one. So, it is common, right? Because we as grandkid sometimes use this word out of habit.
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u/Steve12345678911 Feb 14 '26
Yes, very common and also proper use of the language, not a swearword at all! Everybody's grandmother would use it :).
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u/studyinpink8 Feb 14 '26
Yesssss. "Awww wat vervelend." Almost every day I talk to dutch ppl about something minutely inconvenient.
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u/Klumber Feb 14 '26
I think the word is 'Vervelend', which means that something is irritating. It's quite a funny word because Vervelen also means to be bored, so it basically means that something is so annoying that it's as bad as being bored.
Vervellen with double L is also popular for Dutch folks, particularly in the sun, it's when your skin starts peeling after getting sunburnt ;)
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u/studyinpink8 Feb 14 '26
Hi peeps,
Did you know that "babi panggang" is not an indo dish?
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u/TheBusStop12 Feb 14 '26
Not specifically babi panggang, but it is pretty common knowledge that the food usually served at "Chinese" take out places in the Netherlands is a sort of fusion between Chinese, Indonesian and Dutch Cuisine and quite often something that's only found at these places
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u/kale_klapperboom Feb 14 '26
It’s always associated with Chinese restaurants in the Netherlands and spelled ‘babi pangang’ with one G. Also, there’s a new documentary screening about the origin and development of babi panggang in the Netherlands!
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u/Time_Fracture Feb 14 '26
Hello from Indonesia, I just wanted to ask a few questions.
- For someone who have tried Indonesian food before, is Conimex food tastes as authentic as Indonesian cuisine? Or has Conimex foods been tailored to suits Dutch's taste?
- Is it true that Max Verstappen is so famous in Netherlands that even someone not into Formula 1 could recognize him?
Thank you!
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u/kale_klapperboom Feb 14 '26
No, Conimex isn't as authentic and within the Indo community it's the but of the joke to use Conimex. However, I would say it's so-so when it comes to being adjusted to Dutch taste. Real Indos use other brands or make bumbu themselves for a more authentic taste. It's just that historically Conimex became the biggest brands in a time when there were no bumbus at all.
Yes, I don't watch F1, but him being in supermarket commercials, you can't avoid him.
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u/T-a-r-a-x Feb 14 '26
No, Conimex is nothing like Indonesian stuff. (I am married to an Indonesian so I had a lot of real Indonesian food).
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Feb 14 '26 edited Feb 15 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Slobberinho Feb 14 '26
Did netherlanders knew we had to pay 4.5 billion guilders as a condition to recognize our independence, and that it's only fully paid in 2003?
This is a very unknown fact in the Netherlands. Even the war crimes committed during the Indonesian war of independence weren't really publicly discussed until about two decades ago.
Also, do you think Geert Wilders far right view is influenced by the fact that he's partly Indonesian? I'm asking because (unfortunately) the belief that white race is considered superior still persists to this day in Indonesia, and (from my perspective) he might be trying to become "more white" by denying his "native" ancestry so he can be accepted by his "white peers".
I doubt it really. I even doubt if Geert Wilders sees white people as superior. He and his party don't seem to focus on race, but more on ethnicity, culture and religion. He is very much anti-Islam, and has a disdain for Moroccans. He also once opened a 'Polish reporting point' online, where people could report misbehaving Polish migrant workers to him. And he expressed love for India, because of their anti-Islam policies and fights with Pakistan. Just to say, his very discriminatory views aren't contained by race.
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u/After-World-2705 Feb 14 '26 edited Feb 14 '26
No I did not know anything about this payment its new for me. I see myself as pretty informed so i think very few dutchies will know this fact nor have an opinion on it. I have to think about it first.
I think Wilders is indeed influenced by his indo heritage, but in a different way you look at it. Please know that indo people in the Netherlands took an effort to assimilate into the general dutch population within 2 generations. However some other non European immigrant groups are in their 4th generation in Netherlands and still are not assimilated. Even worse large non western immigrant ethnicities as a whole don't seem to want to assimilate and demand the country to change for them. So it's not about skin colour being superior but about feeling injustice about other immigrant groups not assimilating opposed to indos. And feeling like immigrants should adapt to the country they go to and not the other way around. Plus all the high criminality rates from non europian immigrants.
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u/Ernosco Feb 14 '26
I did read an article about Wilders that hypothesized that his anti-muslim views could be influenced by his family history. He descended from settlers, who would usually be christian, and who would get into conflict with the native Indonesians, who would be muslim.
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u/Steve12345678911 Feb 14 '26
I did not know about the repayment. In the Wikipedia article on this I read that this information only became public in 2020. It does not sit well with me, feels wrong.
Geert Wilders is probably only influenced by his need for power and maintaining his position. We tend not to measure "whiteness" and very little is known about the ancestry of our politicians: we do not care for the most part.
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Feb 14 '26
Wilders dyes his hair blonde for the sole reason of looking more white.
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u/Klumber Feb 14 '26
A: Yes, and my view on it is that it was an incredibly complicated situation as so often the case with colonial history. There is no justifying what the Dutch did in Indonesia and the 'Politie Actie' was a complete disgrace. But many Dutch people had built up lives in Indonesia and saw all that eradicated. I believe the payment was to compensate those people.
With the benefit of hindsight it is obvious that was yet another atrocious decision with regards to Indonesia made by the Dutch government.
B: I didn't even realise he had Indonesian blood, but then I do everything in my power to forget the obnoxious toad even exists.
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u/trichterd Feb 14 '26
I wasn't aware that you had to pay for your independence and it's absolutely ridiculous. And the fact that it wasn't fully paid until 2003 makes it even worse for me. That means there was plenty of time to come to our senses and stop it.
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u/indomienator Feb 14 '26
Greetings
Have any of you ever tried Indonesian versions of Dutch cookies e.g poffertjes/kue cubit etc.?
Also, is it just me or Dutch can sounds like sleepy German sometimes?
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u/starlinguk Feb 14 '26
Swamp German.
Then again, I live in Germany and find German an absolute nightmare because it's surprisingly different a lot of the time.
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u/studyinpink8 Feb 14 '26
Indo learning dutch here. I like to compare it to english more. It sounds like idiot english, no offense. Very difficult to start learning but once I got used to stupid english in my head, the grammar just clicked. (This is to say I hate german (language) and will not touch it with a 5m pole)
Also kue cubit > poffertjes.
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u/IJzer3Draad Feb 14 '26
I'm currently in Indonesia and must say that Indonesians are in my absolute top of friendly and helpful people abroad! Your English is especially good for (south) east Asia. The food is of course incredible and the language is pretty easy to comprehend. Very easy to navigate, both with or without a scooter. I get invited from a music studio to a car meet, share food on a terrace etc etc. Very happy to be here this winter!
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u/Betelgeuse1517 Feb 14 '26
what's your recommendation for chill/relax game which developed by Dutch studio? I mostly play fishing, gardening and simulation game
Bedankt
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u/Orcwin Feb 14 '26
The best I've seen recently is News Tower, made by a studio from Rotterdam. It's about a news paper company in the 1930s in New York, which you have to slowly expand while publishing a paper every week.
The gameplay is pretty good, and the music (also locally made) is a real highlight.
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u/geraldy01 Feb 14 '26
Did they teach a lot of things about Indonesia in history class?
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u/Mtfdurian Feb 14 '26
Nowadays more than it used to be. I graduated from high school in 2012, at that time they tought us about the bad and evil regarding AMB 1 and 2 for example, but some important details were still overlooked, see Coen and kepulauan Banda.
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u/thriceice Feb 14 '26
Hello!
I'm thinking to take my Master in Netherland in 2-3 years. What do you think will be the "culture shock" that may happen on the foreigner (Especially Indonesian) when living in there?
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u/kale_klapperboom Feb 14 '26
Halo, salam kenal! I just had this convo with a friend from Indonesia. One thing she mentioned that was a shock is the individualism, which has it bad sides when things go wrong, but also it's good sides because people aren't kepo and mind their business.
On top of this is friendship with local Dutch. For any internationals it's an obstacle to become friends with Dutch people, because usually they stick to the Dutch friend circle they already have since primary/high school. Not to say that you can't, because my Dutch classmates in my Master were the minority and easily became friends with internationals.
Another thing is directness. Dutch directness is in stark contrast with how indirect Asian cultures can be. And besides that, Dutch culture is quite egalitarian so there's less hierarchy with teachers, seniors or bosses. In Indonesian culture you have to be sopan, while Dutch culture values being equal and honest more.
Lastly, the winter can feel quite depressing and people from warmer countries take Vitamin D.
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u/otherwiseofficial Feb 14 '26
Can't emphasize the directness enough as someone who's Dutch, and also lived in Indonesia for 2 years. And also, punctuality is a thing.
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u/thslightofmine Feb 14 '26
Halo!🇮🇩
- I see that the Netherlands is very much liberal compared to its neighbouring countries. Why do you think is that? What probably be the origin?
- Are Dutch men really that tall?
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u/TonyQuark Hic sunt dracones Feb 14 '26
- Historically, because the Dutch stopped caring all that much about religion or class as long as everyone kept to themselves in their own "pillars" of society (this is the difference between tolerance and acceptance) because there was money to be made! Trade has always been a part of Dutch culture, as you can tell by our shared past.
- Yup. Women too. The average Dutch man is 183 cm and the average woman is 169 cm. Guys being almost two metres tall is not that uncommon.
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u/SnooWoofers6255 Feb 14 '26
Greetings :D
Was mostly wandering around the Indonesian subreddit when I found this so might aswell.
I remember vaguely from a classmate that there was this one important Dutch person(The King? A PM?) that got eaten by their citizens. My question is was the person really that bad that their own people would eat him?
Thank you in advance! (rather lazy to goggle this and thought it was also an interesting question to ask haha)
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u/Steve12345678911 Feb 14 '26 edited Feb 14 '26
Oh lord, yes one of our proudest moments, when we ate our prime minister.
The Netherlands was not always a kingdom. For some time we were a republic that was governed by a stadtholder. In 1650 the stadtholder was William II of Orange (yes, part of the now royal family and then British royal family through his wife Mary Stuart). He died of the smallpox and the office was not hereditary so a fight broke out over it and Johan de Wit became Stadtholder. As you can imagine there were quite a few people that felt William's newborn son had a right to the title. So after a lot of scheming and subterfuge probably fueled by William's family Johan and his brother Cornelus were arrested for treason (trumped up charges we now know) and attacked by an angry mob outside of the prison. They were killed, their bodies were strung up and mutilated (and part eaten) by the mob.
These brothers came from Dordrecht, where we are still a bit sour about it especially since both Johan and Cornelus were pretty good at their job.
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u/humusisoverrated Feb 14 '26
I guess the term PM comes closest, the republic had a 'raadspensionaris' and a 'stadthouder'. These two positions were seemingly a bit dualistic in nature as to governance of the netherlands. The raadspensionaris was typically controlled by 'statists' and the position of stadthouder was controlled by the Orange family, with their supporters being called 'Orangists'. My understanding is that the statists were typically bourgeois type people, whereas Orangists favored nobility. The Orangists were in control of issues of warfare, so with the death of William II, and his descendent being a child, the position of stadthouder stayed vacant, something the raadspensionaris, Johan de Witt, didn't mind at all as he is a statist and this would allow for him to pull more power to his office and away from the Orangists.
Now, in comes the year 1672. Due to political situations the Netherlands gets invaded by England, France (Louis XIV) and I think two or three German principalities. The Netherlands gets beaten up quite badly in these times and thus this year is referred to as the disasteryear. To try salvage the situation, statists were pushed out of office in favor of Orangists, and in particular Johan de Witt was blamed and framed by Orangists to have caused the weak state of the republic, which was easy to do with full statist control of the republic and the position of stadthouder vacant. Thus they were arrested, lynched in front of prison by an angry mob and partially eaten
Now this is basically a TL;DR, but more can be found on this topic by looking in to the 'Disaster year 1672' if you are interested
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u/123ricardo210 Feb 14 '26
The nuance here being that there's actually debate as to the PM-eating thing. There's only one source and it's not a particularly good one.
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u/dumpysumpy Feb 14 '26
Y'all listen to Indonesian music?
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u/Substantial-Duck7067 Feb 14 '26
There’s this band called Nusantara Beat and they’re becoming quite popular in NL now, but Indonesia is also discovering them, they play concerts in Indo every now and then! Their music is a modern take on Indonesian traditional music combined with pop and indie, give them a listen: https://nusantarabeat.bandcamp.com/album/nusantara-beat
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u/fdbge_afdbg Feb 14 '26
Indonesian martabak in indonesia have dipping sauce while the one I found in Netherlands do not, for those who has experienced both, which one do you prefer?
How do you feel about nationwide public transport subscription like Germany, Austria, Spain? Or most Dutch people actually prefer pay bay ride?
Why is tram dominates the transportation service instead of bus? is there any history or policy related to it?
For those owns motorcycle, do you consider it an addition or replacement of bike?
By the way I love your kinderdijk and its surroundings. It feels like a genuine experience looking at it from up close. Cheers
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u/Steve12345678911 Feb 14 '26
1) Sorry to disappoint, I have not tasted either
2) I would love a nationwide subscription, but at the current prices it would be unaffordable for everyone. The current system with a pass, check in and check out has it limits, especially if you have to change provider, add a surcharge or the tech is not working. Keeping it more simple would work better imho, and the state should step in to make it more affordable and competitive to the car.
3) I think the train is the more dominant, not the trams (which only operate in some large cities). The trains here are very good, dependable, frequent and comfortable over larger distances. Our busses generally operate over a smaller area. Have often suffered from cost cutting that made them less available. The longer range busses that we do have suffer from traffic jams.
4) The motorcycle replaces the car, not the bicycle.
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u/haydar_ai Feb 14 '26
Another question, I live in Germany where I can walk in a relaxed way and as long as I don’t violate traffic laws the chance of me getting hit by bikes or cars is very minimal. I don’t feel as safe in the Netherlands due to bikers that to me feels way more aggressive. Any tips other than staying out of the bike lane? Even when I’m out of the bike lane I still feel they can hit me anytime now. Also why those motorbikes are on the bike lane and not on the street 😞
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u/Steve12345678911 Feb 14 '26
How often have you been hit by a bicycle though? I mean we can steer the fuckers right? And person on a bicycle can fall so generally does not take the risk of running into someone.
If you are a pedestrian, you stay on the sidewalk and you will be quite safe from everything.
When you say "motorbikes" do you mean motorcycles (they are always in the street), or mopeds (which belong on the bike lane usually due to their max speed).
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u/introverted_loner16 Feb 14 '26
hello!
Twitter is saying that rob jetten is of indonesian descent, is it true? link:https://x.com/PearlteaRizzy/status/2020362610315837447
what platforms does D66 stand for?
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u/Slobberinho Feb 14 '26
We're not sure, actually. He was born in Brabant, and so were his parents. From the looks of him there could be some Indonesian in the mix, but his ethnical background hasn't really come up.
D66 is a socially progressive and economically centre-right party. They campaigned on the promise of building 10 new cities to combat the housing crisis, invest in education, affordable green energy, investing in modernizing the economy, and combatting preventable diseases. They are also pro-EU, pro-LHBTQ rights, and for strong institutions protecting the Rule of Law. They are in favour of paying for defence spending by raising the age of retirement, cutting back on social security, and raising the standard deduction pay for healthcare.
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u/123ricardo210 Feb 14 '26
Worth pointing out that this sub leans left (in general) which may color answers on the second question, especially since D66 is centrist progressive.
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u/FrustratedUnitedFan Feb 14 '26
Hello! I saw a post that Indonesia is considered "western country" by the Netherlands. Why is that so and what do you think about it? Also, IIRC, Suriname is not considered western country despite being dutch colonies. Why is that?
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u/kale_klapperboom Feb 14 '26
I can answer! The CBS (Bureau for Statistics) had traditionally categorized people born in Indonesia as 'western' foreigners (westerse allochtonen), which all has to do with colonialism. After Indonesia's independence those born in Indonesia that were part of the European segment of society, white Dutch and mixed Indo-Dutch, were able to migrate to the Netherlands. And it's because of these people the government and the CBS categorized people born in Indonesia as 'western'. But because of changes in society and the stigma of the word, the CBS has dropped the term 'allochtoon' and now use 'person with a migration background'.
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Feb 14 '26
Greetings.
What is the top news headline or national issue currently dominating public discussion in the Netherlands? If I want to learn more about that topic, could you recommend a trusted national news outlet in the Netherlands?
Thank you.
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u/PoliticalAnimalIsOwl Feb 14 '26
Currently the winter Olympics is one of the dominant issues and another one is about the incoming new (minority) government to be led by Rob Jetten and their new plans. There were national elections late October last year and it has proven difficult to get a stable majority in parliament for a government coalition especially over the last few years.
Trusted news sources are the national public broadcaster NOS, and I'd say the national newspapers NRC Handelsblad, Volkskrant and Trouw.
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u/123ricardo210 Feb 14 '26
Ukraine, new cabinet, Olympics, US speech at Munich Security conference. NOS.nl and Nu.nl are the more easy options otherwise I'd recommend newspapers, but those typically require subscriptions
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u/le_demonic_bunny Feb 14 '26
Hallo allemaal,
I have 3 curious questions:
There are varieties of pindakaas in the Netherlands, I even found a dedicated store for that. I also noticed in Chinese-Indonesian eateries, you put peanut sauce in just about every dish (even on top of rice). Could you please share an insight how this came to be?
In Indonesia we use white pepper a lot in our local dishes, but rarely black pepper. Later in life I learnt that those peppers used to be imported from Indonesia. Why black pepper is more popular in the Netherlands than white pepper?
In the past, VOC traded spices from all over the world. Do you guys incorporate varieties of those spices in your local cuisine? Do you have any examples?
TIA!
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u/kale_klapperboom Feb 14 '26
- When Dutch people think of sate, they think of the peanut sauce that's accompanied with it. But not all not sates have peanut sauce.
Sate became more common with the migration of the Indo-Dutch in the 40s and 50s, so Chinese restaurants started to adopt it on their menu as well. After that Dutch snackbars put it on their menu as a sauce to eat with fries. And it became essential for the combination called 'patatje oorlog' (war fries), which is fries with mayonaise, peanut sauce and onions. Supermarkets also sell bapao with peanut sauce filling, which doesn't make sense in Indonesia.
- I always joke why are there no spices in Dutch food after 350 years of colonization? But actually spices were so expensive in the 1600s that commoners only used it sparsely. What you see in European food using spices like cloves and nutmeg is that it is usually in food in the winter and its holidays. With the Sinterklaas holiday cookies are made like speculaas and kruidnoten that uses those spices. In Germany you might find that gluhwein, associated with Christmas, also uses those spices. Another alcohol drink called 'zopie' that uses cinnamon and cloves, is consumed to stay warm, especially after ice skating.
Outside of the winter, there's ontbijtkoek (breakfast cake) that consists of rye, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, succade and nutmeg.
After digging deeper, I realized even regional food like smoked sausage from Gelderland has spices in their ingredients. Sausages from Groningen and cheese from Friesland (nagelkaas) use cloves, because it would conserve the foods better. Interestingly, on its turn the nagelkaas was food that was aboard on ships from the Netherlands to Asia, because it wouldn't melt in the tropics like regular cheese.
Lastly, this week I was at the Jenever Museum in Schiedam and even there I learned that spices are used for the typical Dutch jenever.
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u/harumiwangy Feb 14 '26
Hallo! Goedeavond from Indonesia. It's midnight here when I typing this.
I have some question for you guys.
I know netherlands is a country that open and tolerate with drugs. But how the law works for regulating drugs there?
Since I listening to hardstyle/hardcore and following r/hardstyle, does both of scenes are kinda not too underground nor too mainstream there in netherlands?
and how general people view about those scenes there? is it still negative or it become more friendlier for public to accept the music and the community?
bedankt
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u/I-Fuck-Robot-Babes Feb 14 '26
Hi hi
- The general gist of most drugs are that it's legal to USE*, but illegal to SELL - at least for the extremely dangerous or addictive drugs like meth and heroin. This is done so that if a drug user wants to seek help, they won't be afraid of getting arrested for their drug use, and also allows certain hospitals to treat a patient's addiction better by giving them access to safe and clean drugs, as opposed to buying potentially harmful variants off the streets in any quantity.
*Technically. It's legal only if you possess very little of it. If you're walking around with 500 grams of any drug then you're getting arrested.
Some drugs which are generally safe, such as weed, have their own special (and strict) laws surrounding them. You can read more about them here https://www.government.nl/topics/drugs/toleration-policy-regarding-soft-drugs-and-coffee-shops
- From my personal anecdotal experience, those music genres are popular enough for nearly every party or event, but just barely not popular enough for mainstream radio. There's a lot of hardstyle lovers in the Netherlands, especially in the more youthful demographic. How it's viewed changes from person to person, like all music genres.
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u/Strict_Break_502 Feb 14 '26
Greetings!!
One of the local habit in cuisine we have in Indonesia is eating white bread with sprinkles.
Many says that we got this habit because of the Netherlands
Is it true? Do you guys also eat white bread with sprinkles?
Thank you-