The long- if little-awaited vacation report

( The Netherlands )

( Bruges )

( Brussels )

As a stickler for linguistic humor, I’ll throw in some more odd wordings and whatnot. An Enkhuizen sign started a sentence with “The hammer was sued to…,” presumably meaning “used.” “Made-made” almost passed for “man-made.” A menu listed “Dub. espresso” (that’s a double) and “Thee” (tea) back to back, making me think, “I hereby dub thee Espresso.” And the Dutch name for a water mill is the suspicious watermolen.



Other notes for visitors to the general vicinity:
- Be patient in restaurants. They have low waiter-to-customer ratios and will not bring the check any time soon unless you ask, after which you’d best pay at the front desk. Expected tips are lower, but you have to tip in cash. You will get only the silverware you need for your ordered meal; occasionally they slip up on that. You may have to do more food preparation on your own, like mixing hot chocolate as you like. Also, the fries (which they don’t call chips) tend to come with good mayo or no condiment at all, tho I’ve heard some places offer a peanut sauce for ‘em.
- If you buy breakfast and snacks at grocery stores, consider the sweet stroopwaffels or poffertjes. The cereal aisle is big on muesli; if you want American brands, Kellogg’s and Quaker dominate with modified product names like “Frosties.”
-Bathrooms vary. Some faucets reverse the usual directions for hot and cold. Toilets have numerous flushing mechanisms and may be in rooms separate from the sinks and/or showers.
-If you use a local computer, you may find slight adjustments from your usual keyboard. I like to call it “awerty.”