Dagmaraka goes Dutch

I remember that I liked him but not much about him.

Today is Thursday, that means all the stores are open till 9pm :-)

Funny system they have. All other work days stores are open 9 to 5. Not before, not after (well, some are till 6). Not very convenient, not at all.

I alllllllmost remember it being like that in my far away childhood, probably without the Thursdays, though then I didn't care that much since I was a child. Now I think it would be quite a constraint to have no variation in hours. But in my childhood a huge proportion of women didn't work outside the home.

I suppose society benefits with people tending to eat at the same hours, etc. How about grocery type shops, are they closed too?


Adding, if most of the shops are small, it does take another whole range of money and personnel effort to keep open more than, say, eight or nine hours, and many places in the US are 'dark' in the evening and earlier morning for that reason.

Yeah, this is something one can't get used to after having lived in the U.S.
so long. In Germany most stores are closed on the weekend too, resp. they
close on Saturday around 2:00 pm.

How are your housemates? Is it stricktly sharing space only, or have you
nice get togethers in the kitchen/common living spaces?

Actually, that's locally regulated - and by the shops.

Officially, shops in The Netherlands are allowed to be open ... see below:




CJ: in Germany most shops close on Saturdays at 6pm - in large cities later (Supermarkets and department stores usually close at 8pm or 10pm .... even in our small town)

Well at least something Walter. Your store opening hours list suggests that stores are open around the clock, in reality it's not true though in Germany or the Netherlands.

That are the times stores are allowed to be open.

Since no customers shop at night - stores closed earlier. (Supermarkets here are generally open all day from 7am until 8pm ... one started, the other followed; 'hyper markets' from Thursday to Saturdays until 10pm. Thursdays, shops are open until at least 8pm, in some towns generally until 9 or 10pm.)

Whatever, Walter

But in Den Haag, the general opening times really aren't very consumer friendly - besides those on Sundays:

Visa....many stores don't take them. Gah. Otherwise a good day, did a lot of shopping (yikes!), worked on my room (got a beautiful mirror, hung my freedom curtains up, hung the Dasha_by_Modigliani_that_Kris_found_on _the_curb painting, the David and the Slovak art... and did other improvements to my room), bought toilet paper (major improvement!!!) and a pot, made pasta with shrimp, porcini and white wine with my musician roommate (he threw in chili and cucumbers and cheese....but it still tasted splendid) and now we're (me and my two housemates) going out for drinks. I may yet survive this first weekend in a big new city.

Did you get an EC card from your bank yet? It's the most commonly accepted card in Germany, and I would guess this is true of the Netherlands, too.

Sounds great! I'm so glad the picture made it! Have fun tonight.

ow, i had a bad and painfully long day. we stayed out late, but only had beer. got home after 4 am, walking with S. Everything was fine, we stopped to get a slice of pizza, talked some more. But today I was tired and felt sick all day, along with a wicked headache that is just subsiding now. My comforter has arrived from Boston (ONE day after I bought a comforter here, thinking it will take weeks), so instead of work, that i intended to do at the office for my own stuff, i pulled it out of the box, and slept rolled up in it most of the day. Dunno if it was the beer or the food or if i'm just plain too old, but it was a looooong and painful day.
Last night was fun though, met a Romanian girl (S's friend) that might become a friend.

The Dutch equivalent is called "Betaalkaart", and mostly you pay with the "Chipknip" (equivalent to the German "Geldchip") = a "stored-value card".

Friends are good! Paul says he's sorry that he didn't get to say good bye.

I know, Walter. But it is changing, credit cards will be available soon in the supermarkets. 1 year max, i was told.

k, friends are good, but these gave me the wickedest headache ever...of course, i don't have painkillers, and since i have a wicked headache (dehydration i presume), i wasn't willing to go search for painkillers in the town. so i suffer. and sleep. and suffer. and sleep. i expect to be all ok in the morning.

[Seems it depends on shops/towns - I usually pay all my bill in the Netherlands with Visa (or Mastercard).]

Sometimes two comforters are good.. no, I mean, the linens kind. Cushy, homey.

Oy, poor dag. It probably was the beer which is much stronger in Europe than
the U.S. In future, take two aspirin before heading to bed, and you'll be fine
in the morning.
The comforter comforts you - it's a part of your Boston memories. Sleep well!

dunno, in States I drink IPA, which is probably stronger or as strong as anything here... in fact i can't find a good enough beer (isn't that ironic) that would make up for IPA. i settled for leffe blond, but it's too sweet. i just want IPA

but not now. Now is a coffee time. Coffee's good....just needs more milk.
Signed,
the de facto American in The Hague.