2 posts tagged “amsterdam”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/magazine/03european-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=5&em
In his article comparing the Netherlands to the United States, Russell Shorto compares the two countries' approaches to social welfare and taxation with accuracy.
After living here for over two years, most of my apprehensions regarding the downside to living in Holland have really come up short. Most of those apprehensions stemmed from my fear of the healthcare system here, which the Dutch themselves seems to enjoy complaining about. Every time I have had to go to the doctor or a dentist the experience has always been more positive than any experience I had in the U.S., yes, perhaps a bit more rustic, but but holistically better.
To balance the tone of his article he talks about the ubiquitous sameness that is pervasive throughout Dutch society. "Normal is crazy enough." It is a lifestyle you cannot remain blind to--even geographically there are no mountains, hills, or many trees to obscure your view to this fact. But this approach works and if it is a stifling downside, perhaps to leave it is something that this bilingual and highly educated people always has available to them as an option, and that is just one more freedom bestowed upon the Dutch.
He also mentions the annoyance of shops closing too early in the day. That is indeed an annoyance, as is the lack of availability and diversity of product (especially culinary): sometimes you really have to search for something that would be abundant in the U.S. But I'll bet if the stores stayed open until 9:00 or longer like they do in the U.S. most people wouldn't take advantage of it, and the fact that most shops in the center of Amsterdam are located below residences mean that people can enjoy a quiet evening at home without people filtering in and out of the shops below. And besides, the cafes don't close at 6:00. Nor do the clubs and restaurants which makes for a highly social, exciting, and delightful lifestyle. Shops closing early is an annoyance to Americans because shopping is part of our instant gratification culture.
He also refers to conversations with Geert Mak, Dutch historian and excellent writer. Geert mentions that all-too-annoying motto that Americans love to toss about: " The U.S. is the best country in the world." Most people I know who love to say that have never been to any other country. These same people will also say that the U.S. is the most free country in the world. I will not take the time here to list out all the reasons why that statement is laughable and rooted in embarrassing isolationist ignorance.
So yeah, I am feeling cantankerous and antagonistic today. I'll make a sweeping generalization and I'll stand by it. No society is perfect, but at the end of the day, life is better in the Netherlands and I feel incredibly lucky that I get to live here, hard water, rudeness, lousy restaurants and all. The statistics speak for themselves. Dutch adults and their children are happier than Americans, and happiness is sought for nothing higher than itself. And dutch people, you have no idea how good you've got it.
Flame and lambaste me all you want. I'll publish all comments posted to this entry.
Sophia...Sophialaan 55. Be forewarned.
I have read about this place for some time--famed for its bar and artful cocktails. It has a marble bar. Huge and beautiful. Tonight, a Thursday night. Empty. Bad sign. I arrive ahead of my friend Giles. I sit at the empty bar alone save for this one man who is doing nothing at the bar except for stare at me. I am ignored for a good 15 minutes by the staff. Finally the maitre d' or or whatever he was says to me at a distance "Kan ik u hulpen?"
"Can I help you?"
"Can I help you" has a decidedly different implication than "May I offer you a drink?":
"May I offer you a drink?" implies "Welcome to our beautiful restaurant. We hope we can help you relax and enjoy yourself while you are waiting for your companion(s)."
"Can I help you" implies only one thing "Get out of our bar now you filthy hooker."
Giles and I are seated and we decide to go for the 8 course meal. I have had meals like this before. Tiny plates of decadence served up one methodically after another. My best experience dining this way was at Rover's in Seattle. by the 4th course it was a miserable marathon to the end but I loved every minute of being surprisingly overstuffed.
With trepidation we ordered the 8 course experience but were told it would be served in only 6 presentations. Hm. Ok. Let's see how this pans out. I was starving and prepared to pace myself.
The pace was taken care of by the restaurant. Between each niveau morsel served up was copious amounts of time to digest. Way too much time. The only generous portion we were served was the slimy and gamey goose liver...not fois gras mind you...goose liver the size of half of my palm. It was inedible and Giles and I asked that our servings be removed from our sight. It was done so with an unadulterated sarcastic and snide comment from our waitress.
I found myself becoming hungrier as the meal continued. The menu indicated there would be two dessert courses. When our first arrived...a raspberry puree dolloped in the middle with an "egg white foam" (hello Holland. every one got super bored with foams a minimum of 10 years ago and it is all the finer restaurants in all of holland seem obsessed now with whipping them out, pardon the pun), accompanied by a block of spongy and stale green tea sorbet clearly augmented with gelatin...we were waiting for our second dessert course.
Our fatal mistake was not reading the menu closely enough. When the head waiter was informed by Giles that we were waiting for our second dessert course, he promptly repopulatd our table with dessert cutlery, disappeared into the kitchen, and then with an efficiency that would never be replicated during actual dining service, removed our silverware and chided us: "you have already had dessert!!"
When Giles pointed out the second course the waiter informed us that it was a combination of two dessert dishes of which we had already consumed.
At first I thought his appalling behavior was funny and now I find myself enraged.
This is the first time ever I have welcomed, if not craved, the after-dinner espresso not for its expediting effect on the digestive system for for its power as an appetite suppressant. We left the restaurant in haste. Our presence was no longer welcome and we were dying to get out of there. What a horrible restaurant.
So, should you and your beloved ever desire a 6 course meal indulging in horror, disappointment, anger, embarrassment, scorn, and hostility, you will find no finer place than Sophia. Enjoy.
