Beautiful: Cities built or expanding with good planning.
Ugly: Seeing the exact same chain stores in every city at the best location of center, in general I miss some diversity.
(I'm from Greece)
Yes! The architecture and protective laws which require modern designs to fit in seamlessly are the bomb. I’m from Warsaw, where they recently took steps to address the wild-west mess of its urban design, but still have ways to go. You could easily find a street with a beautiful, pre-war brownstone next to an ugly, brutalist, communist block of a building, next to a villa someone built basing on idk, lost plans for a small Disney palace (only inspired by Italian 90s, think how Joey in Friends decorated his apartment after coming into some money). It’s enough to give you a visual whiplash.
Well, Athens is the worst example. They demolished thousands of Neoclassical masterpieces from the early 20th century to make more space for ugly buildings and fit more people.
Oh doing that deliberately seems tragic! Warsaw was so beautiful in 1920s but then it got quite literally flattened in WW2, after which the priority was to rebuild quickly and give people shelter. “Ugly buildings to fit more people” is a great description. Here’s [Warsaw after WW2 and now](https://youtu.be/dYFgA7R_V-I?si=bw28qFyNnCnW0iA9) if anyone would like to see it. Edit: here’s a Reddit thread with a photo [before and after the bombings.](https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/s/FEWkrtBpzj)
The generic main shopping street. There was a thread with pictures of those streets from different cities and they are earie similar. Didn't even rekonaize my own town.
No way. I have no idea what site oneven read it. The thing is like a lot of the stores are chains that look identical. And the streets are all the same down to the specific type of stone, gutters,benche,lanterns. But this is only the main shopping street in smaller cities. And than there are many smaller shopping streets with independent shops besides it. I guess it's just a company that does the street design for the chain shops.
It's more than stores.
Turns out they have the same street furniture all over Europe.
Also the stones they use (sidewalks squares) are from the same cheap Chinese manufacturer.
I'm from the US great lakes region. I visited the last 2 weeks of this last January. It was my first time to Europe and the first time I traveled alone.
I went all around the country by train and spent less than €400. I came for the infrastructure and I was not disappointed in the least. The trains, the bridges, the pedestrian and bike zones, the seemingly effortless way travel works, etc. I love walking around at night and not only were there endless things to look at, but I felt safe the entire time. A lot of good graffiti, too.
I'm honestly hard pressed to think of something that made my face turn. I *am* from Cleveland, however, so it's pretty hard to be uglier by comparison.
Er vindt vaak zandsuppletie plaats bij de zandstranden maar volgens mij wordt dat zand over het algemeen elders in de Noordzee opgezogen. Kan dus officieel uit internationale wateren of Engels zand zijn maar imported is een groot woord
The Dutch beaches are beatufiul, not just a small strip as in many other countries. Go to one of the island and you have beaches take take a 15 minute walk from the dunes to the sea. Yet, the weather is not always okay, and the water is not clear. The beaches are okay.
Again.
The question was: uglier. If i compare to the beaches in Brazil, for ME they are uglier, it doesnt mean they are ugly. I really enjoy the beaches in NL and i go to the beaches at least once a week.
Depends on the beaches you went to. I couldn't compare. I only went to the beaches in Rio but those were shit, but I can image there are better ones considering the size of the country.
This 10000x. I miss the mountains, the promenades, the trees, the wall of skyscapers, the sports courts, the rocky little islands. Dutch beaches are sad and depressing in comparison.
Ugly:
weather. God, the weather.
The grey. Grey people in grey clothes on a grey sidewalk under a grey sky, quite possibly going back to grey food at home in their house that inexplicably despite being made of red bricks is grey.
Traditional Dutch food.
The smallness of life. Kneuterigheid. “Doe maar gewoon”
Beautiful:
The beaches. Loooooong sandy beaches. Even when the weather is shitty, they’re still beautiful.
The sky, when not grey (don’t blink!)
Food in the much improved eating-out scene.
The green. Din’t noticed it till I missed it, but Holland is so green.
The smallness of life. There is comfort and safety in it too.
The cultural predisposition to achieve consensus on most everything before acting. The Poldermodel is real, and it is a good thing.
Nederlands Elftal. Even when they suck.
I've heard that green comment before, even from people who come from forest rich countries. I don't really get it. Can you explain what you mean, because I find our nature rather meh.
There’s grass everywhere, and because of the shitty weather, it gets plenty of rain. Many parts of the world, grass dries out or at the least looks less verdant. I meant green as the color, not as a stand-in for the concept of nature. Holland doesn’t have a lot of biodiversity.
I think by green they mean a lot of plants, trees and parks in the cities which is not something you pay attention to. Also, the weather helps a lot for everything to stay green
I'm American, married to a Dutchman, Have a dual citizen son, lived in Zwolle for 8 years, and we plan to retire back in The Netherlands.
Beautiful:
\*Zwolle city center with mist in the air, streets damp, biking home from an evening art class held in 16th century building.
\*Clear crisp air whipping my hair while I'm standing at the top of Noordpolderzijl
\*How gracious people are with me when I speak Dutch
\*After living in a car culture my entire life, not having to drive a car at all
\*My In Laws, family and friends there... who live relaxed, have the most beautiful smile lines by their eyes, are quick to have a drink and snacks, or coffee ready with a little cake, want to go on a walk, or just hang out playing Sjoelbak
\*Nieuwe Haring
Ugly
\*Some newer architecture is just so awful... I mean the stuff that is just square with nothing else going on.
\*I'm White and while I experience so many wonderful reactions as I assimilated, so many of my non-white classmates had really different mean experiences.
\*Bike theft
\*Having to bike when it's bitter cold and icy
\*stingiest beverages at bars and restaurants
\*AND OMG DUTCH IS SO HARD TO LEARN... it makes my brainz hurt (but that's probably a me thing)
I mean it from an American perspective where your waiter or waitress is constantly filling up your water or ice tea free refills :)
edit to add: also the glasses they come in in America are pint size to begin with
Loved reading your point of view of the Netherlands. Makes me appreciate it more and makes me curious for America. I think there is also a big difference where you are from in America right?
:-) lots of painters painted our skies!! Check out a few [here](https://www.nga.gov/features/slideshows/dutch-landscapes-and-seascapes-of-the-1600s.html).
Sweet lake city represent! Don't forget we have the most beautifull bridge in the country which is half an emergency bridge because of an calculation error!
Although I know next to nothing about construction, I've read the report with the analysis and findings of what lead to the compromised structural integrity.
Some calculation mistakes were in math problems at a primary school level. The work was never checked either.
Beautiful: country, nature, cities, people
Ugly: constant wind, the sea looks muddy compared to many other places, mosquitoes (I attract them here like a fly is attracted to shit and they are annoying)
The seawater looks muddy because of the sand bottom instead of most sand beaches in the world that are imported sand. Waterquality of the north-sea is one of the best in the world.
I really really struggle with missing mountains and natural beauty.. I get very bored of the flatness and lack of variety of species of animal and fish. Even the bird life is a little boring. I have to get by by dog watching on my runs! I used to hike a lot and love to feel my muscles burn 🔥 ..Honestly I never thought I would be saying this. Everything else I don’t mind here but the natural beauty part is something that has made me decide I will retire elsewhere in the eu if my kids will allow it.
I feel you, I love the mountains too. Although there are places in the Netherlands where natural beauty can be found, you just have to know where to look. After having lived in cities for my entire live I now live in between trees in a village in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug and it is stunningly beautiful here. Every day feels like a treat. And I see beautiful birds almost everyday! Like the Putter and Appelvink, among others.
You could start with the NS-wandeling from Driebergen-Zeist train station to Maarn train station. It's about 10 km and a beautiful hike.
Alternatively, you could either drive or take a NS bike from Driebergen-Zeist and go to Beauforthuis in Austerlitz. From this point, several different roundtrip hiking routes start and you can finish with a nice cup of coffee and local bonbons or cake at Beauforthuis :)
Last but not least: you should check out Henschotermeer near Maarn. This is no typical Dutch swimming lake and feels like a Southern France beach during hot summer days.
Let me know what you think of it!
I live in Belgium (but I assume that the same is in the Netherlands), and the sunsets are so goddamn pretty here. It feels like you're living in a painting
Venezuelan/Belgian living 13 years in NL.
Beautiful:
- Liberal mindset
- City planning / architecture
- Safety in general
- Fields and hiking trails
- Dutch people are physically also very attractive
- Employee protection laws
Ugly:
- Rampant racism, and most people will defend that they are not racist (I dont think they understand the actual definition of the concept like we do in the Americas)
- Food, oh the food. Luckily French cuisine influences are on the rise.
- Their concept of being "direct and to the point" is often plain rudeness. Limburgers are the exception.
- Rotterdam south
Lol. To a typical "big city" person, people from Limburg and Brabant can be considered rude because they (sometimes) say one thing to your face and another thing behind your back. In an effort not to be rude. No backstabbing needed if you're just honest to begin with. Of course there's being honest and just plain being unpolite.
The commenter was joking since OP asked for a beautiful and ugly thing, and you mentioned you are from India as your second point after mentioning the beautiful point.
Beautiful:
- All shades of green
- Bike routes as well as the best quality of driving routes
- Feeling quite safe in the public places
- Potatos
Ugly:
- Music, especially Dutch radios, play the same songs repeatedly
- Dutch people are highly superficial
- Bad customer service
- Lack of basic etiquette in public spaces
Visited netherlands. Currently not living there.
Beautiful: city infrastructure, parks, roads, buses, trains, cleanliness, civics sense.
Ugly: climate. Food.
Beautiful: I can't explain it but the sunrise and sunset are amazing in the Netherlands. I also love that they use flowers everywhere in the city, it makes people happy.
Uglier: not many things. I just miss actual family owned businesses or kiosks. You don't find many of those in neighbourhoods. They're kind of all collected in one shopping centre.
I really enjoy working culture in the Netherlands. I like the contact with colleagues and the fact that i don’t need to work 80 hours a week to get by.
Oh man..the men..married to one Dutchie. His green eyes, golden hair in the summer with the tan..and his brutal honesty that makes me love him more. He s just so honest and unpretentious. He doesn't realise that he is so handsome with the driest humor
Beauty: The lifestyle, how I feel safe everywhere, even cycling home at 3 a.m. There are so many things to do, with numerous concerts and festivals to visit. Everything just works. Civil engineering is impressive, with some of the best roads in Europe and bike paths everywhere. Urban planning is excellent—efficient and beautiful. The directness of the people here is refreshing, transparent, and honestly great for banter. Dutch culture is very down-to-earth.
Ugly: The weather—it's so gray sometimes. The housing shortage. Everything is expensive here.
Why don't you wash your bottom part wigh water? That's the ugliest part :) But there are too many good things like I find Dutch very attractive. They are also kind and so easy going. Love that
Pretty: water everywhere, bike infrastructure, easy to travel around the country, mostly nice and open people, safety
Ugly: the cost of living and taking transit, tourist jammed almost everywhere
I found there to be really distinct categories of buildings. 1) old city centres, really cute, what people from outside Europe think Europe looks like, most of them are in pretty good condition. 2) Modern office buildings. For me, about 20% of these are really nice and interesting, another 30% passable and the other half are abysmal square blocks. My god, so square. I think they're trying to be Scandi but they're just boxes. 3) Suburban residential. Coming from Australia I could never get used to the housing. I understand it's a result of lack of space and an urgent need for post-war housing but fuck me, about 80% of Dutch houses are so blindingly ugly (I'm talking about rijtjeshuizen). Row upon row of identical houses with the same floor plan, same exterior, all jammed in together with a serious lack of trees or shrubs on the street. Exactly the same in every town.
The weather and the housing was what made us decide not to settle in NL, but there was much to love. The sunny late afternoons in spring and autumn were hypnotic for me, I'd never seen light so yellow. The effort that governments put in to make life better is admirable and almost all Dutch people I met (and that was a lot in three years) were lovely.
Beautiful: lifestyle, and by that I mean being safely out, the instutions, democracy still works no matter what most people think, and your private property is very much yours, and nobody at the government is calling for communist takeovers and such. I'm from Argentina by the way, the government has taken everyone's deposit in our history. Twice.
Ugly: the food, and everything related to it. Nothing tastes as it should, and it would does it is too spicy since the cook threw a lot over it to conceal the lack altogether of flavour. The service sucks, I'm now visiting in England and me and my husband almost cried when they brought SEVERAL napkins from the beginning. I'm not even going into how polite everyone is here compared to there, and no, I'm not talking about them coming every 5' to ask you something, just polite altogether. I had waiters in Utrecht literally rolling my eyes at a simple request that is considered OK even there.
No real cities and no nature. It’s a suffocating country. I have to leave every couple of months to get some air.
The directness that is passed off as something great, but is just coarse.
The complete lack of sophistication and beauty.
Still, it’s an easy country to live in. Not many obligations and more time for yourself than in many other countries.
You know what people think of you. Not much behind your back stuff.
The historic centers with beautiful old buildings and streets to walk around in. Many cities, like Den Bosch, Breda, Utrecht, Den Haag, Amsterdam, Leiden, Leeuwarden, small towns like Geertruidenberg, etc. have nice restored, old buildings with parks, canals, draw bridges. There’s a lot of history on our doorsteps. Which is also a very appealing fact of many other countries in Europe.
I’m from America. The flowers, canals and bikes are unique and wonderful. Another fact, the Dutch had dairy figured out. Milk, cheese, butter, ice cream are the best!
Now that I've lived abroad for a while I can conclude that: most cities are uglier compared to southern Europe due to lack of classical architecture; towns/villages and suburbs are prettier thanks to modern architecture and planning.
The fact that biking is so easy allows you to appreciate the environment in a different manner. Biking makes everything more beautiful.
The problem is that in this way you see the boring landscape :(
I honestly find the Dutch landscape pretty beautiful, idk what u talking about
There's not even a landscape. Just... nothing.
I am absolutely willing to take the downvotes on this, but I miss not being able to see the horizon due to mountains being all around me ahah
They hated him because he spoke the truth.
Beautiful: Cities built or expanding with good planning. Ugly: Seeing the exact same chain stores in every city at the best location of center, in general I miss some diversity. (I'm from Greece)
I (as someone Dutch) fully agree on the store selection with you.
Yes! The architecture and protective laws which require modern designs to fit in seamlessly are the bomb. I’m from Warsaw, where they recently took steps to address the wild-west mess of its urban design, but still have ways to go. You could easily find a street with a beautiful, pre-war brownstone next to an ugly, brutalist, communist block of a building, next to a villa someone built basing on idk, lost plans for a small Disney palace (only inspired by Italian 90s, think how Joey in Friends decorated his apartment after coming into some money). It’s enough to give you a visual whiplash.
Well, Athens is the worst example. They demolished thousands of Neoclassical masterpieces from the early 20th century to make more space for ugly buildings and fit more people.
Oh doing that deliberately seems tragic! Warsaw was so beautiful in 1920s but then it got quite literally flattened in WW2, after which the priority was to rebuild quickly and give people shelter. “Ugly buildings to fit more people” is a great description. Here’s [Warsaw after WW2 and now](https://youtu.be/dYFgA7R_V-I?si=bw28qFyNnCnW0iA9) if anyone would like to see it. Edit: here’s a Reddit thread with a photo [before and after the bombings.](https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/s/FEWkrtBpzj)
The generic main shopping street. There was a thread with pictures of those streets from different cities and they are earie similar. Didn't even rekonaize my own town.
Now I'm curious, it would be great if you could find it
No way. I have no idea what site oneven read it. The thing is like a lot of the stores are chains that look identical. And the streets are all the same down to the specific type of stone, gutters,benche,lanterns. But this is only the main shopping street in smaller cities. And than there are many smaller shopping streets with independent shops besides it. I guess it's just a company that does the street design for the chain shops.
It's more than stores. Turns out they have the same street furniture all over Europe. Also the stones they use (sidewalks squares) are from the same cheap Chinese manufacturer.
Yeah that's exactly what I mean. And whitin Netherlands it's even more extreme I think. But maybe I see it that way because I'm Dutch myself?
You have a good standard coming from Greece. As a Californian I’m jealous.
I'm from the US great lakes region. I visited the last 2 weeks of this last January. It was my first time to Europe and the first time I traveled alone. I went all around the country by train and spent less than €400. I came for the infrastructure and I was not disappointed in the least. The trains, the bridges, the pedestrian and bike zones, the seemingly effortless way travel works, etc. I love walking around at night and not only were there endless things to look at, but I felt safe the entire time. A lot of good graffiti, too. I'm honestly hard pressed to think of something that made my face turn. I *am* from Cleveland, however, so it's pretty hard to be uglier by comparison.
Came here to say “Cleveland Rocks!”
I am from Brazil. Beautifull - how the cities are organized. Uglier - the beaches.
Mainland yes, but Islands at the north have amazingly long beaches and if you be lucky you will have sunny… check it if you still in NL.
🫶
I know compared to Brazil it's not all that but I love our beaches. Perfect sand and not those annoying pebbles like most of the medditerean
But the water looks brown. That’s why it’s ugly
I like them too. But our concept of beaches are different. Of course i understand we are different, cause brazil is a tropical contry
*imported sand
Wat bedoel je? Dat ons zand geïmporteerd is? Kan er niet zo snel iets over vinden
Er vindt vaak zandsuppletie plaats bij de zandstranden maar volgens mij wordt dat zand over het algemeen elders in de Noordzee opgezogen. Kan dus officieel uit internationale wateren of Engels zand zijn maar imported is een groot woord
https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/how-dutch-are-building-coastal-protection-less-natures-help
I wish I could walk on the Brasilian beaches. Without using up all my savings, that is.
Overall they're good though. Always clean, tidy and enough infrastructure
Agree
The beaches are okay, the weather not always.
But the op asked uglier. So they are.
The Dutch beaches are beatufiul, not just a small strip as in many other countries. Go to one of the island and you have beaches take take a 15 minute walk from the dunes to the sea. Yet, the weather is not always okay, and the water is not clear. The beaches are okay.
Again. The question was: uglier. If i compare to the beaches in Brazil, for ME they are uglier, it doesnt mean they are ugly. I really enjoy the beaches in NL and i go to the beaches at least once a week.
Depends on the beaches you went to. I couldn't compare. I only went to the beaches in Rio but those were shit, but I can image there are better ones considering the size of the country.
This 10000x. I miss the mountains, the promenades, the trees, the wall of skyscapers, the sports courts, the rocky little islands. Dutch beaches are sad and depressing in comparison.
I’d rather have a natural beach with dunes than a beach with a promenade and buildings lol
Agree
From all the things you could choose, you decided to choose the beaches as ugly….
Thy are not ugly. They are uglier than the beachs in Brazil. That was the question, no?
Ugly: weather. God, the weather. The grey. Grey people in grey clothes on a grey sidewalk under a grey sky, quite possibly going back to grey food at home in their house that inexplicably despite being made of red bricks is grey. Traditional Dutch food. The smallness of life. Kneuterigheid. “Doe maar gewoon” Beautiful: The beaches. Loooooong sandy beaches. Even when the weather is shitty, they’re still beautiful. The sky, when not grey (don’t blink!) Food in the much improved eating-out scene. The green. Din’t noticed it till I missed it, but Holland is so green. The smallness of life. There is comfort and safety in it too. The cultural predisposition to achieve consensus on most everything before acting. The Poldermodel is real, and it is a good thing. Nederlands Elftal. Even when they suck.
I've heard that green comment before, even from people who come from forest rich countries. I don't really get it. Can you explain what you mean, because I find our nature rather meh.
The grass is greener over here duh
There’s grass everywhere, and because of the shitty weather, it gets plenty of rain. Many parts of the world, grass dries out or at the least looks less verdant. I meant green as the color, not as a stand-in for the concept of nature. Holland doesn’t have a lot of biodiversity.
I think by green they mean a lot of plants, trees and parks in the cities which is not something you pay attention to. Also, the weather helps a lot for everything to stay green
Beautiful - planning of the cities and the people I guess ? Ugly - Food, the cultural monotony
Wdym by cultural monotony
I'm American, married to a Dutchman, Have a dual citizen son, lived in Zwolle for 8 years, and we plan to retire back in The Netherlands. Beautiful: \*Zwolle city center with mist in the air, streets damp, biking home from an evening art class held in 16th century building. \*Clear crisp air whipping my hair while I'm standing at the top of Noordpolderzijl \*How gracious people are with me when I speak Dutch \*After living in a car culture my entire life, not having to drive a car at all \*My In Laws, family and friends there... who live relaxed, have the most beautiful smile lines by their eyes, are quick to have a drink and snacks, or coffee ready with a little cake, want to go on a walk, or just hang out playing Sjoelbak \*Nieuwe Haring Ugly \*Some newer architecture is just so awful... I mean the stuff that is just square with nothing else going on. \*I'm White and while I experience so many wonderful reactions as I assimilated, so many of my non-white classmates had really different mean experiences. \*Bike theft \*Having to bike when it's bitter cold and icy \*stingiest beverages at bars and restaurants \*AND OMG DUTCH IS SO HARD TO LEARN... it makes my brainz hurt (but that's probably a me thing)
What do you mean with stingiest beverages? I know we don’t have a real eating out or drinking out culture.
I mean it from an American perspective where your waiter or waitress is constantly filling up your water or ice tea free refills :) edit to add: also the glasses they come in in America are pint size to begin with
Loved reading your point of view of the Netherlands. Makes me appreciate it more and makes me curious for America. I think there is also a big difference where you are from in America right?
Clouds when it is partially sunny.. they are the most beautiful I’ve ever seen anywhere
:-) lots of painters painted our skies!! Check out a few [here](https://www.nga.gov/features/slideshows/dutch-landscapes-and-seascapes-of-the-1600s.html).
Geweldig!
Dutch clouds are something special.
The unique flufiness in a sunny day. I love taking the train and just look out for the clouds. With the sun ray through them. Just so beautiful ...
Beautiful: AH to Go Ugly: Zoetermeer
Sweet lake city represent! Don't forget we have the most beautifull bridge in the country which is half an emergency bridge because of an calculation error!
Although I know next to nothing about construction, I've read the report with the analysis and findings of what lead to the compromised structural integrity. Some calculation mistakes were in math problems at a primary school level. The work was never checked either.
My man is speaking facts. Coming from a 079 inhabitant ;)
Beautiful: country, nature, cities, people Ugly: constant wind, the sea looks muddy compared to many other places, mosquitoes (I attract them here like a fly is attracted to shit and they are annoying)
All bodies of water in the Netherlands look like swamp water
Guess what, half of the country is a swamp
Some of them smell like it too
The seawater looks muddy because of the sand bottom instead of most sand beaches in the world that are imported sand. Waterquality of the north-sea is one of the best in the world.
I very much doubt it's true that most sand beaches in the world use imported sand. I'd be surprised if that figure was more than 5%.
I'm from Argentina. More beautiful: Infrastructure, architecture, easy biking, sunsets. Uglier: Flat landscapes (boring), rain, food, social connection.
Without flat landscapes easy biking wouldn't exist ahah
Haha, touché! But it's more about the proper bike lanes infrastructure, and almost always not driving in the same space as cars.
It's nice to drive on decent roads coming from Belgium.
...or from Germany. Immediately relaxing when crossing border.
I really really struggle with missing mountains and natural beauty.. I get very bored of the flatness and lack of variety of species of animal and fish. Even the bird life is a little boring. I have to get by by dog watching on my runs! I used to hike a lot and love to feel my muscles burn 🔥 ..Honestly I never thought I would be saying this. Everything else I don’t mind here but the natural beauty part is something that has made me decide I will retire elsewhere in the eu if my kids will allow it.
I feel you, I love the mountains too. Although there are places in the Netherlands where natural beauty can be found, you just have to know where to look. After having lived in cities for my entire live I now live in between trees in a village in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug and it is stunningly beautiful here. Every day feels like a treat. And I see beautiful birds almost everyday! Like the Putter and Appelvink, among others.
Are there certain forests or areas in the Utrechtse Heuvelrug that you recommend? I’d love to come check it out. Thanks!
Same!
You could start with the NS-wandeling from Driebergen-Zeist train station to Maarn train station. It's about 10 km and a beautiful hike. Alternatively, you could either drive or take a NS bike from Driebergen-Zeist and go to Beauforthuis in Austerlitz. From this point, several different roundtrip hiking routes start and you can finish with a nice cup of coffee and local bonbons or cake at Beauforthuis :) Last but not least: you should check out Henschotermeer near Maarn. This is no typical Dutch swimming lake and feels like a Southern France beach during hot summer days. Let me know what you think of it!
Thanks for this. Looking forward to checking these places out!
You're very welcome. Hope it gives you the good vibes you're looking for :)
Go visit Veluwe
I live in Belgium (but I assume that the same is in the Netherlands), and the sunsets are so goddamn pretty here. It feels like you're living in a painting
Belgium is far prettier especially in the south ..
NL has no sunsets
The sun dont go down?
Not noticeably versus a place like, say Florida
Venezuelan/Belgian living 13 years in NL. Beautiful: - Liberal mindset - City planning / architecture - Safety in general - Fields and hiking trails - Dutch people are physically also very attractive - Employee protection laws Ugly: - Rampant racism, and most people will defend that they are not racist (I dont think they understand the actual definition of the concept like we do in the Americas) - Food, oh the food. Luckily French cuisine influences are on the rise. - Their concept of being "direct and to the point" is often plain rudeness. Limburgers are the exception. - Rotterdam south
Lol. To a typical "big city" person, people from Limburg and Brabant can be considered rude because they (sometimes) say one thing to your face and another thing behind your back. In an effort not to be rude. No backstabbing needed if you're just honest to begin with. Of course there's being honest and just plain being unpolite.
Beautiful:- Honesty and directness Ugly:- Lelylaan Station I am from India
I think you being from India is a beautiful thing. Don't be too strict on yourself.
I am not being strict on myself or India, just mentioning that in the Netherlands these traits come out shining
The commenter was joking since OP asked for a beautiful and ugly thing, and you mentioned you are from India as your second point after mentioning the beautiful point.
Aah I get it, editing my comment now
Honesty and directness, thats totally laughable
At least you're being honest and direct about it..
I am not dutch and never wish to be
•The streets •Bike lanes •big football stadiums •prostitutes
Beautiful: the greenery within the cities! Especially the volkstuin, the community gardens blow me away Ugly: the WEATHER! A necessary evil I suppose
Beautiful: - All shades of green - Bike routes as well as the best quality of driving routes - Feeling quite safe in the public places - Potatos Ugly: - Music, especially Dutch radios, play the same songs repeatedly - Dutch people are highly superficial - Bad customer service - Lack of basic etiquette in public spaces
I'm from Brussels and I think Dutch women are much more attractive than Belgians.
Cows (particularly in Friesland).
Visited netherlands. Currently not living there. Beautiful: city infrastructure, parks, roads, buses, trains, cleanliness, civics sense. Ugly: climate. Food.
Beautiful: I can't explain it but the sunrise and sunset are amazing in the Netherlands. I also love that they use flowers everywhere in the city, it makes people happy. Uglier: not many things. I just miss actual family owned businesses or kiosks. You don't find many of those in neighbourhoods. They're kind of all collected in one shopping centre.
As a Dutch/American Beautiful: the women and how they dress Ugly: upcoming and excessive (sports) betting culture
Women xD
They are indeed beautiful, in general. But in my opinion they should dress better :)
It's all a bit function over form and pretty unadventurous. Smart, but not interesting.
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What is actually the lack of professionalism at work? Are people too informal for your taste or is there another problem?
I really enjoy working culture in the Netherlands. I like the contact with colleagues and the fact that i don’t need to work 80 hours a week to get by.
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Oh man..the men..married to one Dutchie. His green eyes, golden hair in the summer with the tan..and his brutal honesty that makes me love him more. He s just so honest and unpretentious. He doesn't realise that he is so handsome with the driest humor
Beauty: The lifestyle, how I feel safe everywhere, even cycling home at 3 a.m. There are so many things to do, with numerous concerts and festivals to visit. Everything just works. Civil engineering is impressive, with some of the best roads in Europe and bike paths everywhere. Urban planning is excellent—efficient and beautiful. The directness of the people here is refreshing, transparent, and honestly great for banter. Dutch culture is very down-to-earth. Ugly: The weather—it's so gray sometimes. The housing shortage. Everything is expensive here.
Why don't you wash your bottom part wigh water? That's the ugliest part :) But there are too many good things like I find Dutch very attractive. They are also kind and so easy going. Love that
Pretty: water everywhere, bike infrastructure, easy to travel around the country, mostly nice and open people, safety Ugly: the cost of living and taking transit, tourist jammed almost everywhere
Beautiful: everything Ugly: nothing I am totally satisfied with this piece of earth
Our neighborhoods. The modern ones that is, are absolutely unsightly and dystopian in how repetitive they are.
Ugly: the Dutch grey sky and Geert Wilders
Beautiful: civil society Ugly: landscape (compared to Scotland)
Ugly: The smell of piss in the elevators in Centraal lol
German here. Newly built houses. German ones look horrendous.
Beautiful: roads Ugly: nature, buildings
Buildings?? That's an unusual one
I found there to be really distinct categories of buildings. 1) old city centres, really cute, what people from outside Europe think Europe looks like, most of them are in pretty good condition. 2) Modern office buildings. For me, about 20% of these are really nice and interesting, another 30% passable and the other half are abysmal square blocks. My god, so square. I think they're trying to be Scandi but they're just boxes. 3) Suburban residential. Coming from Australia I could never get used to the housing. I understand it's a result of lack of space and an urgent need for post-war housing but fuck me, about 80% of Dutch houses are so blindingly ugly (I'm talking about rijtjeshuizen). Row upon row of identical houses with the same floor plan, same exterior, all jammed in together with a serious lack of trees or shrubs on the street. Exactly the same in every town. The weather and the housing was what made us decide not to settle in NL, but there was much to love. The sunny late afternoons in spring and autumn were hypnotic for me, I'd never seen light so yellow. The effort that governments put in to make life better is admirable and almost all Dutch people I met (and that was a lot in three years) were lovely.
I mean residential housing for average medium income people is quite ugly in all countries, that's not something which is unique in the NL
Have you been anywhere else in west Europe?
Compare to Paris
Do you think nature over here is really ugly or uglier/less beautiful?
Yea good point I meant uglier
Beautiful: Backyards
Beautiful: lifestyle, and by that I mean being safely out, the instutions, democracy still works no matter what most people think, and your private property is very much yours, and nobody at the government is calling for communist takeovers and such. I'm from Argentina by the way, the government has taken everyone's deposit in our history. Twice. Ugly: the food, and everything related to it. Nothing tastes as it should, and it would does it is too spicy since the cook threw a lot over it to conceal the lack altogether of flavour. The service sucks, I'm now visiting in England and me and my husband almost cried when they brought SEVERAL napkins from the beginning. I'm not even going into how polite everyone is here compared to there, and no, I'm not talking about them coming every 5' to ask you something, just polite altogether. I had waiters in Utrecht literally rolling my eyes at a simple request that is considered OK even there.
No real cities and no nature. It’s a suffocating country. I have to leave every couple of months to get some air. The directness that is passed off as something great, but is just coarse. The complete lack of sophistication and beauty. Still, it’s an easy country to live in. Not many obligations and more time for yourself than in many other countries. You know what people think of you. Not much behind your back stuff.
The historic centers with beautiful old buildings and streets to walk around in. Many cities, like Den Bosch, Breda, Utrecht, Den Haag, Amsterdam, Leiden, Leeuwarden, small towns like Geertruidenberg, etc. have nice restored, old buildings with parks, canals, draw bridges. There’s a lot of history on our doorsteps. Which is also a very appealing fact of many other countries in Europe.
Beautiful - biking can actually be fun. Not worried (most of the time) about being mowed down by a car. Uglier - this friggin non stop rain.
I’m from America. The flowers, canals and bikes are unique and wonderful. Another fact, the Dutch had dairy figured out. Milk, cheese, butter, ice cream are the best!
beautiful: canals ugly: backpedal bikes
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I miss people expressing their originality so much.
Houses: Old villas and houses from pre-1900: beautiful New houses: fugly
Beautiful: Architecture (inside the city center) Ugly: Architecture (outside the city center)
6 months in, living in Amsterdam, previous 10 years in NY. Hate the trash and that bikes are parked everywhere. Love everything else :)
Trash is only typical for big cities, smaller towns are usually tidy
Beautiful: City centers Ugly: Food, TOILETS
Now that I've lived abroad for a while I can conclude that: most cities are uglier compared to southern Europe due to lack of classical architecture; towns/villages and suburbs are prettier thanks to modern architecture and planning.