tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769Sun, 11 Jan 2026 15:50:15 +0000Weird thingsDutch CultureShoppingAmsterdamDutch foodDutch Landscape and ClimateDutch PrideSimilarities UK vs NLAlbert HeijnDays outQueuesWorking in the NetherlandsCustomer ServiceJobs in AmsterdamI'm Sarah de Mul. I'm British, but I live in the Netherlands. This blog is about my experiences as an English-woman in Holland (yeah okay, the Netherlands).http://sdemul.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)Blogger36125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-3204521650526229732Mon, 30 Mar 2015 15:51:00 +00002015-03-30T17:51:11.886+02:00 As you may have noticed.  I'm no longer posting to my Netherlands blog.  I moved home to the UK a year ago, February 2014, after 8 years in the Netherlands. My new hobby, based on the things my kids love, is all about Frozen Party ideas.  I have a website, pinterest, twitter, blog and facebook page which you can follow at the following addresses.  Hope to see you there! http://sdemul.blogspot.com/2015/03/frozen-party-ideas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-7088686645155081386Wed, 27 Nov 2013 14:47:00 +00002013-11-27T15:49:11.763+01:00Days outShopping As a quick follow up to my last post, and with Christmas just 1 month away... If you are looking for a Christmassy day out with the kids in the Netherlands, the closest thing I've found to visiting Santa's grotto, is a trip to Intratuin (Garden centre).  They have a really great, big and beautiful Kerstmarkt (Christmas market), with a Christmas village my kids loved! http://sdemul.blogspot.com/2013/11/christmassy-day-out-in-netherlands.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-9060797218999109227Thu, 14 Nov 2013 12:51:00 +00002013-11-14T20:20:57.524+01:00Days out There are just a few days out in the Netherlands which stick in my mind as really, truly, memorable.  With the kids in tow, you need to find somewhere where there's enough to keep them entertained all day with activities for kids, there's good facilities and catering to keep them fed and clean, and as an adult you're not bored out of your mind. There are several such places I could list, http://sdemul.blogspot.com/2013/11/days-out-with-kids-in-netherlands.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-1188068120533302902Sun, 12 Jul 2009 08:14:00 +00002009-07-12T11:06:34.000+02:00Dutch CultureSimilarities UK vs NLWeird thingsIt's Sunday morning. Until about an hour ago, I was trying to have a nice, lazy, lie-in. At 09:27 I got out out of bed for two minutes to make a cup of tea (with milk) and open the window to let in some air. That was my mistake - the open window. It was 09:30 when I opened the window, the exact time when, once a week, on Sunday, a prisoner escapes from the county jail. Or at least, that's what ithttp://sdemul.blogspot.com/2009/07/oh-bells-they-give-me-headache.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-6864313824727311975Sun, 03 Feb 2008 16:45:00 +00002008-02-03T18:13:41.118+01:00Dutch CultureIt's a terrible thing to admit, but one thing I miss about the UK is the consistently high quality of product advertisements. I noticed it again this weekend while listening to Dutch radio. Every other radio advertisement I heard was based on a cringe-worthy rhyme around "punt NL" (the Dutch version of .co.uk / .com), for example:Kopen makkelijk en snel op wehkamp.nlBoek flieggen snelop http://sdemul.blogspot.com/2008/02/dutch-advertisements.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-7853250804685464957Wed, 09 Jan 2008 19:24:00 +00002008-11-07T05:35:23.531+01:00Dutch foodOver the Holiday season I found a really nice book: Dutch cooking today.Written in English, this book includes many great colour photos and a lot of the old favourite Dutch recipes, including:Dutch apple pieSpeculaas cookiesHutspotsUitsmijterDutch pea soupI think this recipe book was written for two types of readers:Expats living in the Netherlands, who want to learn how to cook some traditional http://sdemul.blogspot.com/2008/01/dutch-cooking-today-nice-dutch-recipe.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-2260187797626603830Sun, 11 Nov 2007 16:19:00 +00002007-11-11T17:43:35.790+01:00Dutch CultureDutch PrideWeird thingsThe Dutch course is over now, and I'm please to say I passed. I'm afraid to say however that this blog post is mainly going to be a moan about the way the school grades exam results.The UvA grades Dutch language course exam results on the following scale:goodsatisfactoryweakvery poorThis seems very strange to me. All the grades are on the bad side of good, there's no "excellent" grade http://sdemul.blogspot.com/2007/11/my-dutch-assessment-turns-into.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-3084992321163896593Thu, 13 Sep 2007 11:50:00 +00002007-10-07T16:52:48.434+02:00Dutch CultureI’ve been learning Dutch (properly putting in big effort) for nearly a year now. But it’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I’ve mainly been learning at the INTT at the University of Amsterdam, which I highly recommend. They have really good courses, but they are really very intense. The evening courses consist of 3 hours of classes, two nights a week (Monday and Thursday) and then athttp://sdemul.blogspot.com/2007/09/learning-dutch.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-7097203343127729885Mon, 10 Sep 2007 08:26:00 +00002008-02-25T21:35:17.315+01:00AmsterdamWorking in the NetherlandsIt’s about time I wrote to update all my fellow job seekers that I’ve got a job in Amsterdam! I’ve been sorted for about 4 weeks now and I’m going to be working at Philips from the 24th September. In the end I didn’t find the role through a recruitment agency but managed to sort it out all by myself. Originally, I’d applied for a different job at Philips and had interviews at the beginning of http://sdemul.blogspot.com/2007/09/ive-got-new-job-in-amsterdam.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-2004466804460969297Mon, 03 Sep 2007 17:58:00 +00002007-09-03T20:05:23.791+02:00Dutch Landscape and ClimateIn one of my previous blogs (about climate change) I wrote that I thought there had been a lot of thunderstorms this summer. I was right: “Meteorological Institute KNMI in De Bilt (that place again) counted 25 days with thunderstorms in June, July and August... A normal summer usually has about 14 days with thunderstorms”Source: http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=19&story_idhttp://sdemul.blogspot.com/2007/09/summer-of-storms.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-6496399372195802481Mon, 27 Aug 2007 14:51:00 +00002007-08-27T17:21:55.477+02:00Weird thingsI’m not sure whether this is a typically Dutch thing or not and I’m interested in other people opinions... One of my Dutch teachers mentioned that another one of her students had pointed out to her that Dutch washing machine programmes are far too long. As soon as she said it I had to agree: the standard wash on my Zanussi Rubino II 1200 lasts about one and a half hours and for the past few http://sdemul.blogspot.com/2007/08/slow-or-not.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-2896850677269337527Wed, 15 Aug 2007 18:17:00 +00002007-08-15T20:19:47.593+02:00Weird thingsIt’s a known fact that the Dutch are the tallest nation on earth. In 2004 Dutch men averaged 6 foot 1 inches (that’s 1.85 metres) and women 5 foot 8 inches (1.72 metres). Freakishly tall people are to be found everywhere in Holland, usually bending down trying to avoid bridges and roof beams that I couldn’t even touch with my best high jump attempt. Having such height is all well and good for http://sdemul.blogspot.com/2007/08/land-of-giants.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-5080114713590941546Sun, 12 Aug 2007 20:01:00 +00002007-09-13T13:57:31.219+02:00Weird thingsI went back to England this weekend, for the first time since February and it felt wierd. I was surprised by:New twenty pound notes, which have been introduced since I was away and look like fake money. They are bigger notes, with a lot of "designery" white space, purple pictures and something about the industrial process of pin manufacturing on them.Pubs, restaurants, airports, train stations http://sdemul.blogspot.com/2007/08/foreigner-in-my-home-land.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-1697789542684260789Sun, 29 Jul 2007 13:53:00 +00002008-11-07T05:35:24.431+01:00AmsterdamDutch CultureI’ve had quite a few friends and family visits now and I’m starting to realize that I have a few favourite places to take these tourists when they are here in Amsterdam. I thought I’d share these, in my blog, for anyone thinking of visiting soon. I’m not going to pretend to know any important dates, designers, architects or historical facts, but I can tell you what I know without ripping-off a http://sdemul.blogspot.com/2007/07/top-10-things-to-see-in-amsterdam.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-1299720147572496162Mon, 23 Jul 2007 12:24:00 +00002007-07-23T14:41:22.520+02:00Dutch CultureDutch PrideI just found a Dutch Celebrity Internet Quiz and I don't know anyone on the list: http://ifarm.nl/quiz/dutch.en.htmlI don't watch much Dutch TV, just a little bit, the language practice exhausts me. The only Dutch celebs I know are:Robert JensenRuud van Nistelrooy (Footballer, in England)John de MolQueen Beatrix and familyFamke Janssen (from X-Men)Who else should I know? As far as I can tell http://sdemul.blogspot.com/2007/07/dutch-celebrities-who-are-they.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-2405215194570048217Sun, 22 Jul 2007 11:27:00 +00002008-11-07T05:35:24.770+01:00Dutch CultureWeird thingsThis week I discovered two things, two totally different things, that just don’t exist in the Netherlands. They are:Wedding anniversary cards to be sent within the married coupleIt was my husband and my 1st wedding anniversary on Monday and I was devastated that I couldn’t buy him a “happy anniversary” card. In Holland you can only buy cards to send to the couple. To take this a few years into http://sdemul.blogspot.com/2007/07/things-that-dont-exist-in-holland.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-397457213475257364Sun, 22 Jul 2007 10:29:00 +00002008-11-07T05:35:26.345+01:00Dutch CultureDutch foodI was thinking this week about all the things, good and bad, that I’ve seen/found/used in the Netherlands and would never be able to see/find/use back home. Although you’d think that culturally the Netherlands and the UK aren’t that far apart, and that through the process of globalisation, everything is becoming the same anyway, there are still some things that are simply Dutch and you won’t findhttp://sdemul.blogspot.com/2007/07/things-that-are-typically-dutch.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-4129555267859056945Sun, 08 Jul 2007 09:01:00 +00002007-07-11T14:41:01.546+02:00Dutch Landscape and ClimateOkay, now this blog post may seem to be a reaction to yesterday’s big worldwide concerts “live earth” and I guess in a way it is, but I want to set it clear that I am genuinely concerned about the issue of human-induced climate change, it’s something that I’ve grown up being concerned about and I guess I know more about it that your average pop/rock star as I did a degree in Geography, where I http://sdemul.blogspot.com/2007/07/flat-as-pannenkoek-and-in-trouble.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-6273853586543503332Sun, 01 Jul 2007 13:43:00 +00002008-11-07T05:35:26.738+01:00Dutch foodOne thing that surprises and disappoints me, almost daily, in Nederland is the huge quantities of raw onion to be found in food.The best example of this is with the Dutch Haring, which is absolutely smothered in raw onions.See if you can spot the fish in the image below:I can’t understand this. When you eat raw onions, even the smallest snippet, the taste stays in your mouth for at least the http://sdemul.blogspot.com/2007/07/raw-onions-everywhere.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-6566473774268121602Sat, 23 Jun 2007 18:14:00 +00002008-11-07T05:35:27.124+01:00QueuesShoppingWeird thingsThe population of the Netherlands is 16,570,613, tiny compared to the UK which has 60,209,500 people. So if the population of Netherlands is 27.5% of the size of the UK, how come, HOW COME, the Netherlands has 12 IKEAs, but the UK only has 15? Map source: IKEA.nl and IKEA.co.ukNothing is different about the stores. In both countries IKEA follows the exact same store format, which guides you http://sdemul.blogspot.com/2007/06/ikeas-helping-needyespecially-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-8067179858236802194Mon, 18 Jun 2007 19:59:00 +00002007-06-23T21:36:14.509+02:00Dutch foodOne of the most difficult things for any English person living abroad is the fact that you have to learn to make it through the day without, necessarily, being able to lay your hands on a nice cup of tea. Fellow Brits will be able to sympathise with me; every time any of us goes abroad on holiday from the UK we wake up in our hotel rooms desperate for a cuppa, but have to put up with the weak http://sdemul.blogspot.com/2007/06/nice-glass-of-tea.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-7262206918731000405Thu, 14 Jun 2007 10:54:00 +00002014-06-04T15:21:53.342+02:00AmsterdamJobs in AmsterdamWorking in the Netherlands The international companies below are listed in alphabetical order. They have all posted English-speaking job opportunities, based in Amsterdam, on their websites recently. ABN Amro Accor AKZO NOBEL Alliance Boots American Express Avery Dennison Backbase Belkin Booking.com Canon Europa Cisco Corporate Express Diageo DSM Foot Locker Forrester Research Golden Tulip Hotels Greenpeace Heineken http://sdemul.blogspot.com/2007/06/international-companies-based-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-7401589549630095309Thu, 07 Jun 2007 15:10:00 +00002008-11-07T05:35:27.534+01:00Dutch Landscape and ClimateDutch PrideMany times when I have introduced myself to a Dutch person, or when I’m speaking to a Dutch person about England, they will say “I bet you don’t miss the English weather!?” By this they are, of course, referring to the fact that it rains a lot in England. It does rain a lot in England, I agree, but I certainly don’t think that it rains a lot more in England than in the Netherlands. And it http://sdemul.blogspot.com/2007/06/i-bet-you-dont-miss-english-weather-do.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-8140368718348559654Tue, 05 Jun 2007 06:58:00 +00002008-11-07T05:35:27.659+01:00AmsterdamShoppingSimilarities UK vs NLContinuing the shopping theme once again, this post is a comparison between the most expensive/luxury shopping streets in Amsterdam and London. These are:Bond Street – LondonPieter Cornelisz Hooftstraat – AmsterdamWhere the street names come fromPieter Corneliszoon Hooft was a seventieth century poet, playwright and historian.Sir Thomas Bond was the head of a syndicate of developers who purchasedhttp://sdemul.blogspot.com/2007/06/dutch-equivalent-of3-bond-street.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36755769.post-8734747220973176691Fri, 01 Jun 2007 12:32:00 +00002008-11-07T05:35:27.854+01:00ShoppingI ran out of Ribena stock around about Easter time. My friends and family can no longer easily bring it to me in the plane from England for risk of being arrested as terrorists or having all their clothes dyed purple.Local supermarkets don't really have an equilavent in Holland (see previous post: Things that cannot be bought at my local Albert Heijn) so I thought I'd check the Internet for any http://sdemul.blogspot.com/2007/06/im-not-rich-enough-to-drink-ribena.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Sarah de Mul)2