Intelligence, Please…

The Dutch are a strange people, strange in the sense that their actions seem to be performed in the name of logic, pragmatism, and the idea that their neighbor is worthy of respect. Just this fine day I learned a chunk of Dutch religious history that told me a lot about their overall culture. After the Protestants swept into royal power, the Catholics decided their heads were best served by going into hiding. Rather than try to exterminate the minority, the Protestants literally said “whatevs,” and just let them keep practicing their not-so-secret religion. This seem to result in considerably less stress, and the country appears none the worse for having both Catholics and Protestants.

Among the other curiosities I have noted:

The Catholic unmarried women have their own apartment complex, complete with church. Not a nunnery, as men can come and go as they please.

The types of people you see in coffee shops are the types of people who enjoy the herb in America – generally young, college-looking, artsy-looking, and the sort. Also, tourists. And Bill Clinton, but he doesn’t inhale.

Their version of the magical bean is not the drip coffee, but rather an americano. It is served in small cups, and I have spent many a euro on it.

Things are strangely cheap here, both in euro and dollar terms. Shirts at department stores are advertised for €10, roughly what you might pay in the U.S. China likes them more, I suppose.

More to come, but the Dutch seem worthy of assimilation when I return to conquer with my army of followers.