Sure they have clean streets, quiet cities and pretty quaint scenery...but have you seen their toilets? They are so freakin tiny. The dutch are skew on the taller side so I don't know how they deal with this. As a 6' 2 in person I hate it. Also the food isn't anything to celebrate. Having lived in both Amsterdam and the US, I greatly prefer the US and our larger houses with proper sized toilets.
Wut? What is your beef with Dutch toilets? I’m 6’4” and I can’t say it ever bothered me.
The food is ok. It’s just that Dutch people seem to be a bit more utilitarian about food consumption (something I didn’t know until leaving the Netherlands).
The bathrooms are typically smaller as well. It can often be claustrophobic. (Although the bathrooms in France are the worst, I once couldn't even close the door because my legs were too long)
>It’s just that Dutch people seem to be a bit more utilitarian about food consumption (something I didn’t know until leaving the Netherlands).
Restaurant quality seemed poor during my time living there. Bitterballen is delicious the first time, afterwards its just grease food. Other than good cheese I can't seem to point to any particular Dutch foods that really stand out.
Hard to say without anything for scale. They look about the same size to me.
They're different models though. The standing one would be considered a bit old-fashioned here. New toilets don't touch the ground for easier cleaning of the floor. And the flush compartment will be hidden in the wall just because it looks nice.
That dutch model is everywhere I have lived and traveled. Its not just an apartment thing. I lived in a monastery in the countryside for a while, same tiny toilets. Also tiny bathrooms.
Bitterballen are snacks, not a dish. If you're in a place that has bitterballen on the menu, you're not in a restaurant, you're in a cafe or a snack bar.
But yes, we do not have a haute cuisine culture. Traditional dutch dishes are mashes or stews (boerenkoolstamppot, hutspot, hachee, zuurkool met spek) or equally simple dishes based on local vegetables (witlofsalade, asperges met ham en ei, erwtensoep).
