There is a saying ‘travel broadens the mind’. You are living proof! A traveller will also see things the local people take for granted or even stop seeing, and the traveller can remind us. I love to see and hear your thoughts. Your education is our education, so long as we keep our eyes, ears and hearts open. ;))
Trees are painted white for a reason. It prevents sunburn and sun scald which causes bark damage and allows pests and diseases into trees. You will find it in countries with very hot or very cold climates or both depending on seasons. In more temperate climates like the Netherlands, you won’t see it as much.
@@rodrigojds It’s not traditional everywhere and it also depends on the tree species and climate. If your trees are doing well and never have issues, you don’t start painting them. If you have trees that are prone to disease etc. it becomes normal to do it. I have seen a small orange orchard in Valencia with white painted tree trunks but I agree it wasn’t common there.
Keep in mind the area you visited is mostly just tourists and not entirely representative of the country as a whole. As a Dutch guy with Indonesian ancestor, I'd say the way we reflect on the "golden age" is not black and white. We celebrate successes and acknowledge the advances made by taking advantages of other (still ongoing process recently our king apologized in Indonesia for example). A while back this meant that statues relating to individuals related to slavery were moved to museums. So that part of history is not forgotten, but not celebrated. However we take pride in advances made in watermanagement, setting up the first stock market, art and ship crafting of that time. Cultures that integrated after WW2 are now part of Dutch culture. You can find Indonesian ingredients in most supermarkets, however it also took 1 generation for both the Dutch and the Immigrants to adapt to another. Currently there is a lot of polarization around immigration. As reported crimes are perpetuated by a majority of non-Dutch decent when compared to % of the population. It's a complex situation where North Africans came here and worked hard but a portion of their 2nd and 3rd generation children are caught in between 2 cultures. More recently with disturbances in the middle east like Syria and other disrupted areas this mix is changing, but foreigners are overwhelmingly represented in the media in relation to crime. Which does not represent all migrants, but it influences the polarization. Nowadays most migration is related to either highly expertise jobs, like IT, engineering etc. or practical workers like machining specialist. Foreign students are the second largest group of foreigners here.
Another thing the dutch are proud of is that during some of that time, the little oll netherlands was the global superpower, eventually needing brittain and france to work together (for once) to bring down our power, but werent able to conquer it.
Oh and money... money was at the very least back then a reason to be proud. The amount of money they got from trade and probably theft/war, was ridiculous
Amsterdam is indeed a tourist city but enjoyable, nonetheless. Try visiting Delft if you have time for a more relaxed visit, or Rotterdam if you want to see a city busy at work.
@@larsrademakers6070 Yes, and that came from free trade in Europe. 60% of the entire European merchant fleet was Dutch. The income from the colonial trade was peanuts. War was a huge cost, theft was not really the Dutch style.
@@bearpawz_ I did a 3-week cycling and camping trip in the Netherlands when I was 15. I really enjoyed it. I am from Canada. They recommended we sew a Canadian Flag on our rucksacks whilst in the Netherlands. They were right.
Dutch is the main language in Suriname. 60% speak Dutch as their first language and another 20% to 30% can speak Dutch even though it’s not their first language. So language assimilation is not an issue for people coming to the Netherlands from Suriname.
Language is not an issue, but crime is a very BIG issue! Go to A'dam zuidoost or Rotterdam and be prepared to be mugged.. Especially, during the evening hours.. Oh, how the Dutch now regret their welcoming of Millions of Muslims, blacks, etc, etc... So happy not to live there.....
of course. when the official government language is dutch, one has to learn it in order to function in the society. (many in Angola and Mozambique speak Portuguese because it was that country's colony) ...
@@briggs5534 I can assure you that thousands of immigrants in Holland speak horrible Dutch. Thousands know nothing about the history. Know nothing about liberal democracy. They have no affinity with the country and have lived there for decades. Their only reason is economic.
@@briggs5534 My point relates to language only, not cultural or social assimilation. Obviously, all immigrants are going to face issues of assimilation, but understanding the language makes it easier than being dropped into a society where you don’t understand what’s being said or how to express yourself.
Main difference between Moscow and Amsterdam is: there is only one Moscow in the whole Russia, while there are many cities in Netherlands with comparable standard of living. It goes for every developed country: living in the small village/ countryside is as good as living in the capital (or better).
Actually in developed countries, country side or suburbs are more preferred locations for well off people to live while downtown areas are usually left for the homeless
undoubtedly, the fact that your streets look like a garbage dump and that you suffer from uncontrolled immigration is one of the indices of "development" that Russia envies Holland 😅
@@manofsesame3024wtf are you talking about? I live downtown in my city and I love it, I'm not homeless. Would recommend. You might want to look at urban and rural incomes before judging them as rich/poor
Above all the other things that I like about this channel, I admire Natasha's honesty in not leaving out anything that might be considered negative. From the mildly irritating to things that spark fear, it's all part of the journey. Looking forward to other places in Europe on the channel as she works out where she is going to land for an extended stay. Hoping Vienna is on the list.
Russia colonised in the past too. Most russsian territory, not to speak ussr, is the result of colonisation of European and asian territory Read some history
Tourists are ruining Amsterdam. The rest of the Netherlands is very clean, every time I go to Amsyerdam I am always shocked by the garbage laying around.
The first time I was in Amsterdam was in the 80s, it was full of trash then too and had far fewer tourists. And with each subsequent visit I noticed the same thing. Also, I was told repeatedly by locals that it is not the tourists that leave trash everywhere. Having said that, you are right about the rest of the country. So clean and lovely!
the worst part about the trash (like seen in this video) is that it's mostly just people's laziness to clean up, if there's a bench to sit on there's a trash bin close by, so when you're done sitting and eating just take two steps towards the bin and trow it away like a civilized human. or the people that trow their fast food packaging from the car. for f sake it's a car it doesn't hurt to keep that trash a couple of minutes longer inside the car and dump it in a bin or the trash at home. people should care for the public spaces like they do for their own home. take those 2 extra seconds to clean up after yourself.
Approaching immigration honestly means acknowledging that while not all immigrants act unpleasantly or with hostility, members of the immigrant community are more likely to do so. Integration is the key but also realizing that not every single immigrant wants to or can be integrated into western society. Westerners wanting it badly to be the case because they want to be virtuous doesn't make it so.
It should, however, be emphasized that the vast majority of immigrants are normal folks who want to reasonably integrate into the culture/want to thrive in their new environment.
@@cooper6863 Hmm, I think that is not as true as maybe it was last century. I live in the United States. I see that a large part of the recent immigrants have no intention of assimilating into US society and almost have great disdain for the culture that they arrived to. I am not sure why, I am not insinuating anything nefarious. I am just pointing out the truth of today, not that of the 1960s or 1980s when you would definitely be correct in that assumption.
@@angepano8591 I think it’s always been true that it is more difficult for first generation immigrants to assimilate, as it’s hard for any person to radically change their lifestyle as an adult. However, second generation immigrants often identify more with the culture of the new country than that of where their parents came from. I’m also an American, and as Americans I think it’s important that we remember that many of our immigrant ancestors (Irish, Italians, Polish, German, etc.) were heavily discriminated against and many of the same anti-immigrant arguments that are leveled against modern-day immigrants were no doubt leveled against them. Sure they are different, sure it may take a couple of generations for full assimilation, but does that mean we should stop immigration all together? I should hope not. If not for immigration, you and I wouldn’t be where we are today. One more point, I’m always suspicious of the argument that- ‘things were better back then’, because of nostalgia bias. We tend to view the past through rose-tinted glasses. And it always feels scarier to live in the present than to dream about the past. Try not to fall victim to the current moral panic (‘they’re eating the pets’), and instead maintain an objective historical perspective.
It's possible to be at the same time ashamed of some atrocities in colonial times and be proud of some achievements during the same period. History isn't an American movie.
As an American I wish we could leave NATO and the brilliant Europeans can defend your continent yourselves. We have wasted far too much time, wealth, and attention on arrogant countries that have chosen to ignore the threat at their doorstep for years. They are quick to the U.S. to spend more helping Ukraine when you lag behind us.
@@bobbo11357 Your comment just drips with ignorance. First, let me say I am American and have spent a lot of time in Europe as well. Second, there are few countries more arrogant than our own. It is on display all over the world when observing American tourists. Third, we haven't spent more helping Ukraine than Europe...do some homework...don't just trust the perpetual lies of Trump. Also, Europe does not ignore the threat of Russia...just ask anyone from Finland, Sweden, Poland, Ukraine, and the Baltic countries. Poland and Finland spend more of their GDP on defense than we do. NATO is a critical part of our security infrastructure. It was the primary vehicle through which we prevented Soviet Imperialism and continues to be today with Russia. Truly...if you get out of your American bubble and actually take the time to learn what is happening in Europe, you would know the truth.
@@bobbo11357tbf, the countries that have russia on their doorstep have way more often kept up with the promise of 2%, the rest of europe just didnt believe anything serious would happen for a while
The houses in Amsterdam are not "crooked" they were built intentionally to lean forward to ease hoisting goods. It's difficult to transport goods up the narrow stairways.
Some lean forwards yes, but there are plenty that lean sideways. Those defintitely weren't meant to do that. I've had a relative who lived in one for a short while - walking up the stairs was dizzying because the steps were level but the 'corridor' was not straight.
@@mfbfreak Luckily the walls were very close for support and the stairs steep so the experience was over quickly. Those are all build on poles. Some not enough poles for this many centuries, some were build too heavy, too few windows, a lot got rotting wooden poles because of too low water levels. It's when they get exposed to oxygen the problems start. They do exchange those poles with concrete ones, but that of course is a huge operation, not fun besides the money it costs. Many also have a "good lean", the floor isn't level but no structural integrity problem, so of course people leave it that way.
Thank you for the informative video Natasha. You are certainly very self-aware. As someone from Detroit, I understand how you must feel when people criticize the place where you’re from. Keep traveling and living your life. You are a good soul.
**Clarification** I was one of the people who commented "Welcom to the free world" in your last video. Please understand I only meant that regarding the Russian government's views on LGBTQ people. I saw you meeting other people in the LGBTQ community and I was happy you felt welcomed and had fun at the Pride events in the last video. I wasn't trying to disrespect Russia as a whole, I was thinking specifically about Russia's backwards views on gay rights. I didn't mean to offend you. This was another great video! Keep doing what you're doing with these videos, it's very important! Have a wonderful day!
@@piccadelly9360 modern technology has created a new trend where most people seem incapable of using more than one sentence to try and communicate their thoughts. I think that's because most people now have much shorter attention spans thanks to technology. Since people understand that we live in a world with exceedingly shorter attention spans many people now only communicate with a few words and maybe a couple of emogis. This leads to massive amounts of misunderstandings and miss communications. So now people have lots of micro-communications throughout the day but I find that it's rare to engage in deep meaningful conversations. This goes for all ages. Not just the young people. My old friends have also lost their attention spans to social media and technology. It saddens me.
Natasha, I think crowded doesn't equate to dangerous--easier pickpocketing, maybe, and perhaps you find it anxiety-inducing, but not dangerous. Empty streets are the thing to avoid in bad neighborhoods. Glad you're having an interesting experience!
I saw that in Las Vegas! We accidentally got into the streets behind the Strip casinos, the streets used by delivery trucks. There wasn't a soul to be seen and that was the most unsafe I ever felt in the US.
If you are referring to what she says at 1:40 at first I thought she said it was crowded and dangerous. When I listened to it again I heard that she actually said crowded and diverse.
We Chuvash (and other 150+ ethnicities in Russia) are still under colonization and Russification in Russia. But Russians don't use the phrase “Your nation doesn't exist. Lenin created you” against us. because Lenin's father was a Chuvash😂
@@msitso Russia will never recognize ethnic minorities. They call their country "Russian Federation" where minorities are being ripped off their natural resources, forcefuly russified and sent to wars as cannon fodder.
@@VeK-jg7dx Brit’s tried to rid us of Welsh but they just wouldn’t lie down and forget it. We eventually capitulated and let them keep it. Probably because tourists liked to have their photo taken beside the very long railway station sign at Llanfairpwllwynghyllgogererychwyrndrobwyll-llantisiliogogogoch.
NATASHA the production quality of your videos and your command pf the English language has become so good over the time since you started making them. I look forward to seeing each one. PEACE AND SAFE TRAVELS TO YOU
A very interesting video and it was so good to hear your impressions as a first-time visitor. Also it was really interesting to hear you talk about Russia. Thank you!
To answer your questions from many older videos, you have become the best perspective of how russians think. Change will come, but it will take time. So thank you for your humor, and your insights. Your time is not wasted.
Can only repeat it. Try not to take everything too seriously, try to have fun. And sometimes do something you never do, like going to a restaurant in the evening. It's not as nice on your own as with someone, but it's better than just putting something in the microwave in your hotel or room.
That can be expensive as hell tho even if it's not a fancy place. Just a takeaway coffee is €5. Last time me and my brother made the mistake of going to McDonalds it was €30, like damn what type of joke is this!? 👀
@@rosen9425 Then you should go to Zurich and go to a normal restaurant. You'll see how cheap Amsterdam is. I assume that in Amsterdam you can get a reasonable dinner for one person for 50-80 euros. And sometimes you can afford that.
@@peterpan7903 Switzerland!?! That's a different league on it's own. I'll just exchange these unnecessary gold bars I have laying around first before going or something sheesh
Suriname is an old Dutch colony - located just north of Brazil. I visited the country in 2005 - and Dutch is the language. There were many of African descent, since the Netherlands had slavery in the not so distant past.
I have travelled extensively and I can tell you that every city in the world has some people that are unpleasant, have mental problems, use drugs or are involved in criminal activity. However, it is a minority. You should always be aware of this fact and stay alert, but you should not worry and just enjoy yourself. Honestly, my desire for you is that I would like to see you enjoy yourself a bit more and be happy.
I literally just yesterday had that thought about the wild grasses and flowers. Where I work in a government building in Texas, we have literally an entire football field (soccer pitch) sized grass area that is maintained by ground crews, cut and watered weekly, yet it is on the back side of the building that literally nobody uses!! I thought, "why not just throw some wildflower seeds on it and let nature do its thing?" It would save all the pointless work of the mower guy, not to mention the thousands of gallons of water that are wasted every month!
You've got to remember that this rather useless activity greatly contributed to the GDP of the U.S.A. I've come to love the potholes on our roads. Just imagine how many cars' suspension systems are inflicted damage by a pothole in a single day ! Williamsburg Bridge 🌉 was a higher-GDP producer than the Brooklyn Bridge because the Williamsburg Bridge had to be *COMPLETELY* built afresh even though it's younger than the Brooklyn Bridge.
in the (not so distant) past they used to trim/cut the green spaces a lot more here in The Netherlands. but letting it become more "wild/overgrown" is way better, so they started to let nature be nature (within reason of course). it saves money, less maintenance means less costs. it also makes the place more biological diverse (better for insects etc), and it makes every green space their own, instead of having everything look like the rest.
Excellent video / report... as a Dutch resident, I just want to point out that The Netherlands is more than Amsterdam. Thank you, Natasha & I wish you well on your journey(s)!
Absolutely true. Amsterdam is by far the most busy and chaotic city of the entire country, with the most tourists. It also has the most fun underground culture and queer stuff, but the overcrowded nature of the city makes it so the city's laws and regulations get stricter and stricter every year. It is also - and that might surprise people - not a great city to cycle through, because of the many traffic lights in the area within the ring road. Many other cities have wider cycle paths with fewer traffic lights. At least not great to dutch standards - it's of course much better than cities that don't have physically separated cycle lanes at all. Cycling in Amsterdam is slow but safe. Outside of the ring road you'll find more modern city planning and easier cycling, but those are generally not the areas where you'll be as a tourist.
Thoughtful, well-curated and professional video! Love the maps and other information you provided. Thank you for allowing us to see you stretching your comfort zones bit by bit while practicing self-care and using good common sense. You're amazing Natasha!
How nice you visited my city of Amsterdam. A pity I didn't know that you would come, otherwise we could have met. I would have liked to show you around. But you did that by yourself and your impressions, from a Russian perspective, are very interesting.
6:28 The white paint at the bases of trees can serve several purposes. Prevent sun scald and splitting bark in certain trees at certain times of the year, also lime (white) can prevent insect infestation that may damage the tree.
Yeah, it's in the category "what grandpa still knew", or "forgotten knowledge of the past". Btw., it may also serve as a protection against urine, not only from dogs.
I might remember this wrong - but I've heard that some insects that can harm the trees gets confused by the bright color. Because their instincts tells them to search for dark shapes, not bright shapes, when they want to find a tree to lay their eggs in. (they usually land on the ground right next to a tree).
@@markbernier8947 it's not that we care about US politics. the media likes to keep an eye on it because they have to fill the news with something, so we get to share in the joke that is US politics. believe me most of us are laughing at the orange candidate and are shocked that someone like him can even run again to try to become POTUS.
Most of the major European countries have a colonial past. UK, France, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Nederlands, Italy, Turkey (not specifically European) It was just something that everyone did hundreds of years ago.
@@Ge0rGi. Eastern Europe did have it own colonialism, best example: Russia, it colonized everything east of the Urals and it "colonized" most of Eastern Europe. it was just more difficult for Eastern European nations to do. the western ones are located on the Atlantic so they could "easily" step into a boat and sail the seven seas. the eastern ones had to traverse the Baltic Sea and then dodge the navy's of the west to get out to rule the seas, or they were stuck in the Mediterranean. they also had the Russian and Ottoman Empire's that kept them busy protecting their land, so they didn't have the spare manpower to go around the world and look for profitable ventures.
@@ChristiaanHW I knew you are going to say Russia😂 Rusia is not really Eastern Europe,it’s Asia. If Russia was Eastern Europe,Romania ,Bulgaria,Poland are Western Europe. Eastern Europe never colonised anything;Russia took those Asian countries around them.
@@Ge0rGi. the part of Russia between the rest of Europe and the Ural mountains is considered part of Europe and it's the most Eastern part, so it's Eastern Europe. just like Armenia and Georgia. Poland is officially part of central Europe. but it all depends on how you define European, and how much different area's you use. west, central, east, north, south, Balkan etc.
Love your colorful hairclips in the middle of the video! That is great you got to see so much about Amsterdam and really learn about it, and point out differences like the fences in the parks & the tree paintings. Regarding the person commenting that you must have culture shock finally seeing the “free world,” they must be a new subscriber bc you literally talked about visiting gay clubs , etc, in Russia in your old videos. I enjoy your grocery shopping trips a lot :D I love grocery shopping abroad and seeing what is offered and how much it is. I especially find it interesting to read where the fruits and vegetables are from, compared to where the same fruits and vegetables come from in my town (NYC). Happy and safe travels!!
Had a bad time in czech republic. Very badly ripped off by taxi driver, worst train journey ever (overbooked and scary), Prague people unfriendly. Won't be back.
@@whimaway876Sorry to hear that :(. You should watch some Honest Guide (YT channel) videos before visiting Czechia/Prague. They will teach you how to enjoy it without all of that you have experienced. Taxi drivers are a bit issue when it comes to tourists in Prague, but it got a lot better in the past 10 years or so. And to be honest, in the most cases, it’s faster to take public transport in Prague. And when I need a taxi, I just use Uber or Bolt. It’s cheaper than common local taxis and you just open an app in your phone. Trains are just trains like everywhere. It depends what train did you take… If it was a commuter train heading to some small village, I can imagine (in terms of rolling stock) but most of our trains are sort of standard and ok for Central Europe region. On the most trains here there is no seat booking available, so you just buy a ticket and find a place to sit or stand. There is no limit for number of sold tickets. When it’s a rush hour, it can get crowded but that’s like everywhere else. If you need a quiet and larger space, you can buy ticket to first class, it’s not much pricier than the second class. The most overcrowded and also one of the scariest trains (in terms of rolling stock) I took was in Japan, not in Czechia :). And the people? We Czechs (and for Prague it apllies twice) are sometimes a little bit cold when it comes to talking to strangers. But I think we are always trying to be helpful, at least I’m trying when I’m asked. Well, hope you will give us another chance someday ;).
It is nice to have someone that can talk reasonably about Netherlands. Kudos to you for the reference about the guy that lost it and spouted lies about immigrants eating dogs.
I am happy for you and us Natasha. This trip represents that you are getting closer to your ultimate goal. Also, we benefit from your unique perspective and can join you in your exploration of new experiences and cultures.
About midway through this video I was tempted to reply in a critical way about a few things you said, but I'm glad I didn't. By the end my overwhelming impression is that it's valuable, and likely difficult, to share your experiences as rawly as you can so we can get an accurate sense of a Russian's view of these new things in the west for you. It's always helpful to get an honest take from the outside that we may not be able to see very well. No need to sanitize. Interesting video...thanks!
Along with learning the primary language of the country that people immigrate to, I believe that it is equally important for immigrants to assimilate to and appreciate the culture of the country in which they currently live.
Interesting video. I am not an expert on colonialism, but to some extent I would say most Western European countries have had some colonies in the world at some point in time. Some countries had more colonies than others, and the Dutch did have some larger areas of colonies back then for a long time time. Using the binoculars of colonialism, one can say Russia has also had some colonies during the time when they expanded eastwords and southwords, like some Asian countries f.ex. like Kirgistan, Kazakhstan and the countries in the Caucasus like Chechnya. I don't think Russians think of this as colonies, but more like brotherly nations bound together. However, I would argue this is colonisation as well, Russians just don't sail overseas to colonise. With the breakup of the Sovjetunionen, Russia hasn't used the time to reflect on their own colonisation like the museum you visited in Amsterdam. Therefore these aggressive Russian started wars against Chechnya in the 1990'ties, Georgia and now Ukraine are waged from Russia.
@@markmuller7962 Partly yes, partly no. Compared to Germany black people were already much more present in the Dutch streets in the 1980s. That was clearly related to colonialism. What we find now is a mix of that and recent Immigration from elsewhere.
@@florianmeier3186 The guy is talking about African immigrants. African immigrants in the 80’s also didn’t come from Dutch colonies. The Netherlands didn’t have any African colonies since a long long time, more than 100 years with ease… One could argue that it were more trading posts as well, since they weren’t full fledged states like Indonesia, Suriname etc… Perhaps with exception of South Africa which grew from Dutch Cape Colony into the country South Africa starting after 1806 when the Brits took over. Black (one could argue even that they still mostly werent black, but all sorts of non-white) people who were in the Netherlands in the 80’s mostly came from Indonesia, Maluku Islands, Caribbean, Suriname, Turkey and Morocco of which Morocco was the largest African contributer I think. No African immigrants then came from any Dutch colony, because the Netherlands had none at the time.
Correct… the Netherlands didn’t have any Dutch colonies in Africa for since a very long time. See my other post for more elaboration. African immigrants here mostly come as refugees and for work as “gastarbeider”…
9:15 Indonesia was colonised by the Dutch from the 17th century and there is still a very strong bond between Holland and the people and food from Indonesia. The typical bami goreng and nasi goreng is very Indonesian in style and i can now even buy it in Aldi in England.
people tend to think that all the countries that were part of the USSR get united as a free will but it wasn' true, some of them were forced to form part ot the soviet union
It's good to see a new video of yours, I learn a little about the world and places. The best in your journey and keep sharing your point of view of this world.
Nice to see you again. I've been watching for about 2 years from California. I appreciate your perspective of Amsterdam! I'm so jealous. It's one place I've always wanted to travel. Thank you again! I look forward to the next one.
Another great video Natasha. In addition to the Netherlands and the UK (which you mentioned), other European countries that used to have colonial empires include Belgium, Portugal, Spain, France and - on a much smaller scale - Germany.
What a shame, Amsterdam! Litter all over the streets, people bullying and harassing you on the tram... As a Westerner, I have to apologise for such discomfort she has encountered during her short visit: I completely agree that we need to keep improving when it comes to tourists, above all. Coming from Russia and Georgia recently, the culture shock must have been brutal for her, and I'm not surprised. Since you have mentioned it, yes: the Moscow metro and I think the St. Peterburg metro, too, literally fall into the "underground museum" category in my mind. I would love to visit them one day! 🤗❤
The Netherlands is an small country compare to Russia , the expectation are that the small country will be well developed with good roads and services and so on but that’s not the case unfortunately. Russia is huge and becoming a much better nation than in the nineties but the western people don’t know or don’t wanna know. Russia is for the connoisseur
It's fun to see you exploring the city where I've lived my whole life. A shame about the unpleasant interactions you've had, those can really ruin your day. I think most Amsterdammers know not to extrapolate those experiences to whole ethnicities or foreigners in general, as the more xenophobic parties are not very popular here (and in other bigger cities) compared the rest of the country.
Places with huge tourism numbers and outside dining always generate some litter. It will be cleaned every night and sometimes during the day but if you have people eating outside for 12+ hours per day, a certain amount gets on the ground. It’s something once for d in lots of countries. A random town will be spotless but the cities with tourists always look dirtier.
@@Dreynoif you go by that theory, then areas of amsterdam without tourism (yes there are quite a lot) wouldn’t have that problem. But the problem manifests in those areas too (source: I live there). Just not as bad as the city center, for sure. But compared to other cities I lived in, it’s definitely more messy in amsterdam, and I can tell you some shocking things about it (have you ever heard of people throwing their trash bags out of the window, and they’d be left hanging in trees?)
@@Dreyno I dom’t exactly know, never read research on it. If I’d have to guess, a combination of a) tourism, b) youth and some other people hanging on the street because they don’t have anywhere else to go and littering the place (very common here), and c) antisocial behavior (used to be common in bijlmer, later on also in eg Noord) where people simply throw out their trash (literally)
Hi Natasha. Where I grew up it was all white, no people of color none that I knew, none in my school. My father was a bit racist. Colored people jokes. I knew in my heart racism is bad. I'm 66 now, and it is my opinion that diversity is good. Regardless of origin, beliefs, gender, or sexuality, everyone deserves equal treatment. I'm happy to see your confidence. I think you are brave. Thank You. Enjoy your exploring travels.🐦✌️
Hi Wayne. Being this open and honest about your father’s way of coping with racism in the past makes me want to say: I think you too are brave. Acceptance starts with looking ourselves in the mirror and/or looking the generations before us in the face. Like you put it: everyone deserves equal treatment. A wonderful adage but I believe it will still take a few generations of hard work in order to truly become this enlightened. I believe we are on a sliding scale at this point in time. It has always been like this in past times so I don’t believe were ’lost’ per se. Democracy is a vulnerable ‘entity’. Met vallen en opstaan (falling and rising). I’m a 53yo male from The Netherlands, I’ve been living in Amsterdam for app. 30 years but grew up around Eindhoven - up till recently Philips, now mainly ASML - in the southern part, Noord-Brabant, of our small country (plus some five years from age 9 to 14 in Northern Italy). And yes indeed, like Natasha mentiones/states: Amsterdam is very diverse, it does have a very diverse population but it’s not the ‘friendliest’ of places compared to many other parts of The Netherlands. ‘Amsterdammers’ (especially the well off highly educated ‘import’ people not born in Amsterdam earning high salaries and mainly caucasian people - like myself, except the well off part :) are seen as (quite) arrogant, exposing (some might say: oozing) ‘self privilege’ people. That’s why many Dutch people ‘Amsterdam mijden als de pest’, literally: will avoid Amsterdam like the plague (and might prefer The Hague ;-). Also: it’s too crowded, especially the (still small, it will never get any bigger :) city center, mainly because of tourism. ‘Een vloek en een zegen’, a curse and a blessing. That plus ‘Gentrification Galore’ and lots of highly paid expats (this goes hand in hand) and with that far less social cohesion mostly due to the short term (5 to 10 years) jobs. I’ve lived in four different so called ‘stadsdelen’ (boroughs more ore less) since 1996 and with that I’ve had the opportunity to experience the city from as many viewpoints: the city changed a lot. But that’s what cities do: they’re living organisms. Add to all this the fact I grew up in a village, that’s my blueprint so I guess I will never feel totally ‘at easy’ in our capital or any big(ger) city for that matter. And yet, up to this point I never left. The inexplicable attraction of a thriving, ever-changing city 🙂 Even though Amsterdam nowadays app. has 950k inhabitants but double the amount of people during high season (tourists, dagjesmensen). So, 950k might not sound as a lot in comparison to let’s say London or Moscow for that matter but it’s quite simple really: Amsterdam is relatively small as a city, there is simply no room for expansion. As I’m writing I’m wondering why I’m telling (you) all this since my motivation for leaving a reply was telling you (once again ;): I think y o u are brave! Let’s all reject fearing the unknown and embrace diverCity 🖖🏽🦜 ;) Take Care!
13:14 I would rather say it's a shared responsibility. Governments often give immigrants certain requirements to stay in their countries indefinitely, then it's the responsibility of the governments to provide these immigrants with language courses and whatever else is needed to help these people integrate into the society of the country they moved to. At the same time, immigrants actively moved to a different country themselves. Refugees of war or politics aside, nobody had put a gun on their heads to pack their stuff and leave. So it's also most definitely the responsibility of immigrants themselves to partake in language courses and other activities to help them integrate into the society of the country they moved to.
Amsterdam was a melting pot with a very diverse population in 1600! Jewish immigrants from Portugal and Antwerp (fleeing discrimination), French Protestant Christians (Huguenots) arrived a bit later, Protestant English populations in the 17th century, many different groups from German lands came to dig the canals as economic migrants, very many seafarers arrived through this largest port city of the 17th century, groups from all around the world through the colonies - and many departed to migrate elsewhere: North America and the Dutch West Indies, South Africa and New Zeeland, Australia, southern European countries and I am sure also to Russia. Poland, Germany and Russia have small city neighborhoods from the 17th century with Dutch architecture as Dutch shipbuilders and other skilled workers came to assist local construction: ships, bridges, waterways, mills and sometimes buildings like their own. A lot of this was all to and from Amsterdam. This results in a city with a very open and 'liberal', tolerant, culture. Also, in terms of the second world war, unfortunately and horribly, due to a German - civilian governance (not a military one), the Jewish population in Amsterdam was hit very very hard: about 90% did not survive this time. We see the internationally very popular Anne Frank museum in Amsterdam as a reminder of the local tragedies. And I just watched a TH-cam video with a Russia Georgia person discussing Amsterdam as quite an interesting place. .... Success with your exciting and freedom loving lifestyle, travel the world!! And share it ... ;)
Great video, Natasha, with a lot of things to make me think about our life style and, mostly, our politics. And i adore your irony too - the real pidgeon who looked exactly like your fake one and his shit while you was announcing that in the video there will be even some cons was amazing and made me laugh so much! This is one of the most enjoyable video of yours. Very well done, Natasha. H&K
12:04 Surinamese people don't speak Dutch well because they learned it in the Netherlands, it's because it's the official language in Suriname (because of colonialism). It's similar to French speakers from Cameroon or Senegal immigrating to France.
Above all the other things that I like about this channel, I admire Natasha's honesty in not leaving out anything that might be considered negative. From the mildly irritating to things that spark fear, it's all part of the journey. Looking forward to other places in Europe on the channel as she works out where she is going to land for an extended stay. Hoping Vienna is on the list.
although i am a friend of many russians . . i dont agree. The Dutch people are not the same at all and no city is the same as well. It is like comparing Moscow with magadan ore whathever . . . Just be welcome in Holland . . .
All she does is talk about negative things when it comes to Russia. She leaves you with the impression that there is not a single good thing about Russia at all - I’m pretty sure this is exactly what the CIA pays her for through their NED front organization which she is connected to in Georgia
New York used to be New Amsterdam, a Dutch Colony in the lower east side of Manhattan. East Village was just that village on the eastern side. One can see this Dutch legacy in the peculiar orientation of some Manhattan streets relative to the ones around them. Stuyvesant Street (formerly Stuyvesant Place) was oriented West to East pointing towards the East Village neighborhood. Broadway in its southerly portion ran fairly true North to South but not perpendicular to the enumerated streets. Peter Stuyvesant was the still-revered former mayor of New Amsterdam because he gave it up to the British peacefully which became New York. His nickname was the Pegleg. Yes, he was a Dutch veteran who lost a leg 🦵 to a cannon ball but spared New Amsterdam a bloodbath, for which the so-called loser is still revered several centuries later.
One thought on prices is that you are in a capital city and if you're spending money in the middle of a capital city then you will be paying way over the price you'd find elsewhere.
Thanks for the tour and your thoughts Natasha! 😍...
There is a saying ‘travel broadens the mind’. You are living proof!
A traveller will also see things the local people take for granted or even stop seeing, and the traveller can remind us.
I love to see and hear your thoughts. Your education is our education, so long as we keep our eyes, ears and hearts open. ;))
mooi gesproken:)
@@pevaso-9392 bedankt ;))
First law of the sausage: one does not talk about what's in the sausage.
Spices and a high percentage of fat that is about it.
@@692ALBANNACH but he is talking about the "about" part ...
Hahahaha
True. Also beware the Indonesian peanut sauce if you have an allergy to nuts.
same goes for the frikadellen lol
Trees are painted white for a reason. It prevents sunburn and sun scald which causes bark damage and allows pests and diseases into trees. You will find it in countries with very hot or very cold climates or both depending on seasons.
In more temperate climates like the Netherlands, you won’t see it as much.
Yeah it's called tree-whitewashing, it's done with none toxic paint.
Good to know! I always thought it was to make the tree trunks visible at night so cars wouldn't crash.
It is a lime wash which deters harmful insects and animals attacking the tree.
i live in the south of spain and ive never seen trees painted white like that
@@rodrigojds It’s not traditional everywhere and it also depends on the tree species and climate. If your trees are doing well and never have issues, you don’t start painting them. If you have trees that are prone to disease etc. it becomes normal to do it.
I have seen a small orange orchard in Valencia with white painted tree trunks but I agree it wasn’t common there.
Keep in mind the area you visited is mostly just tourists and not entirely representative of the country as a whole. As a Dutch guy with Indonesian ancestor, I'd say the way we reflect on the "golden age" is not black and white. We celebrate successes and acknowledge the advances made by taking advantages of other (still ongoing process recently our king apologized in Indonesia for example). A while back this meant that statues relating to individuals related to slavery were moved to museums. So that part of history is not forgotten, but not celebrated. However we take pride in advances made in watermanagement, setting up the first stock market, art and ship crafting of that time.
Cultures that integrated after WW2 are now part of Dutch culture. You can find Indonesian ingredients in most supermarkets, however it also took 1 generation for both the Dutch and the Immigrants to adapt to another. Currently there is a lot of polarization around immigration. As reported crimes are perpetuated by a majority of non-Dutch decent when compared to % of the population. It's a complex situation where North Africans came here and worked hard but a portion of their 2nd and 3rd generation children are caught in between 2 cultures. More recently with disturbances in the middle east like Syria and other disrupted areas this mix is changing, but foreigners are overwhelmingly represented in the media in relation to crime. Which does not represent all migrants, but it influences the polarization. Nowadays most migration is related to either highly expertise jobs, like IT, engineering etc. or practical workers like machining specialist. Foreign students are the second largest group of foreigners here.
Another thing the dutch are proud of is that during some of that time, the little oll netherlands was the global superpower, eventually needing brittain and france to work together (for once) to bring down our power, but werent able to conquer it.
Oh and money... money was at the very least back then a reason to be proud. The amount of money they got from trade and probably theft/war, was ridiculous
Amsterdam is indeed a tourist city but enjoyable, nonetheless. Try visiting Delft if you have time for a more relaxed visit, or Rotterdam if you want to see a city busy at work.
@@troypast3589 Or Utrecht, my own favourite, if you want to see a city centre that makes Amsrterdam's seem recently built.
@@larsrademakers6070 Yes, and that came from free trade in Europe. 60% of the entire European merchant fleet was Dutch. The income from the colonial trade was peanuts. War was a huge cost, theft was not really the Dutch style.
Thanks!
Great video Natasha! Enjoy Europe!
Dear Natasha you are a true gem.
I've been following you for at least 4 years now and it's so fun to see you visiting my city!
Better to sit in Hilersum, close enough, far enough, equally close to Utrecht.
@@jamegumb7298 I like Utrecht!
@@jamegumb7298 Yeah but the downside is you'd have to be in Hilversum.
@@VladislavBabbitt Me too!! Every time I go to the Netherlands, I stay in Utrecht. Such a beautiful, friendly city!
@@bearpawz_ I did a 3-week cycling and camping trip in the Netherlands when I was 15. I really enjoyed it.
I am from Canada. They recommended we sew a Canadian Flag on our rucksacks whilst in the Netherlands. They were right.
Dutch is the main language in Suriname. 60% speak Dutch as their first language and another 20% to 30% can speak Dutch even though it’s not their first language. So language assimilation is not an issue for people coming to the Netherlands from Suriname.
Language is not an issue, but crime is a very BIG issue! Go to A'dam zuidoost or Rotterdam and be prepared to be mugged.. Especially, during the evening hours.. Oh, how the Dutch now regret their welcoming of Millions of Muslims, blacks, etc, etc... So happy not to live there.....
of course. when the official government language is dutch, one has to learn it in order to function in the society. (many in Angola and Mozambique speak Portuguese because it was that country's colony) ...
@@briggs5534 I can assure you that thousands of immigrants in Holland speak horrible Dutch. Thousands know nothing about the history. Know nothing about liberal democracy. They have no affinity with the country and have lived there for decades. Their only reason is economic.
@@briggs5534 My point relates to language only, not cultural or social assimilation. Obviously, all immigrants are going to face issues of assimilation, but understanding the language makes it easier than being dropped into a society where you don’t understand what’s being said or how to express yourself.
I agree Rich, nice one. Thank you for posting. Seattle.
Main difference between Moscow and Amsterdam is: there is only one Moscow in the whole Russia, while there are many cities in Netherlands with comparable standard of living.
It goes for every developed country: living in the small village/ countryside is as good as living in the capital (or better).
Actually in developed countries, country side or suburbs are more preferred locations for well off people to live while downtown areas are usually left for the homeless
@@manofsesame3024
True,
Main difference is amsterdan as dirty as shit an became an morrocan shithole
undoubtedly, the fact that your streets look like a garbage dump and that you suffer from uncontrolled immigration is one of the indices of "development" that Russia envies Holland 😅
@@manofsesame3024wtf are you talking about? I live downtown in my city and I love it, I'm not homeless. Would recommend.
You might want to look at urban and rural incomes before judging them as rich/poor
Above all the other things that I like about this channel, I admire Natasha's honesty in not leaving out anything that might be considered negative. From the mildly irritating to things that spark fear, it's all part of the journey. Looking forward to other places in Europe on the channel as she works out where she is going to land for an extended stay. Hoping Vienna is on the list.
Takk!
Danke!
While the Netherlands have a colonial past, Russia has a colonial present
that is well said
and what is the problem?
Which still does not excuse either of them.
That said, at least the Netherlands tries owning up to their past.
Russia colonised in the past too. Most russsian territory, not to speak ussr, is the result of colonisation of European and asian territory
Read some history
@@forkless Europe brought progress to the colonies, they should be thankful for that.
Such a high quality video. I am very impressed. I really enjoy seeing your perspective. Thank you!
Tourists are ruining Amsterdam. The rest of the Netherlands is very clean, every time I go to Amsyerdam I am always shocked by the garbage laying around.
The first time I was in Amsterdam was in the 80s, it was full of trash then too and had far fewer tourists. And with each subsequent visit I noticed the same thing. Also, I was told repeatedly by locals that it is not the tourists that leave trash everywhere. Having said that, you are right about the rest of the country. So clean and lovely!
the worst part about the trash (like seen in this video) is that it's mostly just people's laziness to clean up, if there's a bench to sit on there's a trash bin close by, so when you're done sitting and eating just take two steps towards the bin and trow it away like a civilized human.
or the people that trow their fast food packaging from the car. for f sake it's a car it doesn't hurt to keep that trash a couple of minutes longer inside the car and dump it in a bin or the trash at home.
people should care for the public spaces like they do for their own home. take those 2 extra seconds to clean up after yourself.
Amsterdam is dirty and clean, with red carpet at the same time.
@@ChristiaanHWHmm... imagine what their home is like 😫
It's not the tourists, that's just me
Approaching immigration honestly means acknowledging that while not all immigrants act unpleasantly or with hostility, members of the immigrant community are more likely to do so. Integration is the key but also realizing that not every single immigrant wants to or can be integrated into western society. Westerners wanting it badly to be the case because they want to be virtuous doesn't make it so.
It should, however, be emphasized that the vast majority of immigrants are normal folks who want to reasonably integrate into the culture/want to thrive in their new environment.
Smart comment
@@cooper6863 Hmm, I think that is not as true as maybe it was last century. I live in the United States. I see that a large part of the recent immigrants have no intention of assimilating into US society and almost have great disdain for the culture that they arrived to. I am not sure why, I am not insinuating anything nefarious. I am just pointing out the truth of today, not that of the 1960s or 1980s when you would definitely be correct in that assumption.
@@angepano8591 I think it’s always been true that it is more difficult for first generation immigrants to assimilate, as it’s hard for any person to radically change their lifestyle as an adult. However, second generation immigrants often identify more with the culture of the new country than that of where their parents came from.
I’m also an American, and as Americans I think it’s important that we remember that many of our immigrant ancestors (Irish, Italians, Polish, German, etc.) were heavily discriminated against and many of the same anti-immigrant arguments that are leveled against modern-day immigrants were no doubt leveled against them. Sure they are different, sure it may take a couple of generations for full assimilation, but does that mean we should stop immigration all together? I should hope not. If not for immigration, you and I wouldn’t be where we are today.
One more point, I’m always suspicious of the argument that- ‘things were better back then’, because of nostalgia bias. We tend to view the past through rose-tinted glasses. And it always feels scarier to live in the present than to dream about the past. Try not to fall victim to the current moral panic (‘they’re eating the pets’), and instead maintain an objective historical perspective.
It's possible to be at the same time ashamed of some atrocities in colonial times and be proud of some achievements during the same period. History isn't an American movie.
As an American I wish we could leave NATO and the brilliant Europeans can defend your continent yourselves. We have wasted far too much time, wealth, and attention on arrogant countries that have chosen to ignore the threat at their doorstep for years. They are quick to the U.S. to spend more helping Ukraine when you lag behind us.
@@bobbo11357Europe has given far more than the US. 98 billion vs 187 billion (feb 2022 - jun 2024) Don't spread propaganda nonsense
@@bobbo11357 When the US invoked article 5 after 9/11 Dutch troops joined Enduring Freedom.
@@bobbo11357 Your comment just drips with ignorance. First, let me say I am American and have spent a lot of time in Europe as well. Second, there are few countries more arrogant than our own. It is on display all over the world when observing American tourists. Third, we haven't spent more helping Ukraine than Europe...do some homework...don't just trust the perpetual lies of Trump. Also, Europe does not ignore the threat of Russia...just ask anyone from Finland, Sweden, Poland, Ukraine, and the Baltic countries. Poland and Finland spend more of their GDP on defense than we do. NATO is a critical part of our security infrastructure. It was the primary vehicle through which we prevented Soviet Imperialism and continues to be today with Russia. Truly...if you get out of your American bubble and actually take the time to learn what is happening in Europe, you would know the truth.
@@bobbo11357tbf, the countries that have russia on their doorstep have way more often kept up with the promise of 2%, the rest of europe just didnt believe anything serious would happen for a while
The houses in Amsterdam are not "crooked" they were built intentionally to lean forward to ease hoisting goods. It's difficult to transport goods up the narrow stairways.
Very interesting, thank you for sharing and posting.
All non colonial goods, the VOC had it's own warehouses, the big money came from all these individual merchants dominating the whole European trade.
Some lean forwards yes, but there are plenty that lean sideways. Those defintitely weren't meant to do that. I've had a relative who lived in one for a short while - walking up the stairs was dizzying because the steps were level but the 'corridor' was not straight.
@@mfbfreak Luckily the walls were very close for support and the stairs steep so the experience was over quickly.
Those are all build on poles. Some not enough poles for this many centuries, some were build too heavy, too few windows, a lot got rotting wooden poles because of too low water levels. It's when they get exposed to oxygen the problems start.
They do exchange those poles with concrete ones, but that of course is a huge operation, not fun besides the money it costs. Many also have a "good lean", the floor isn't level but no structural integrity problem, so of course people leave it that way.
Thank you for the informative video Natasha. You are certainly very self-aware. As someone from Detroit, I understand how you must feel when people criticize the place where you’re from. Keep traveling and living your life. You are a good soul.
**Clarification** I was one of the people who commented "Welcom to the free world" in your last video. Please understand I only meant that regarding the Russian government's views on LGBTQ people. I saw you meeting other people in the LGBTQ community and I was happy you felt welcomed and had fun at the Pride events in the last video. I wasn't trying to disrespect Russia as a whole, I was thinking specifically about Russia's backwards views on gay rights. I didn't mean to offend you. This was another great video! Keep doing what you're doing with these videos, it's very important! Have a wonderful day!
That means a democracy, when we talk to each other and clarify things, well done, that is desirable for politicians too
@@piccadelly9360 modern technology has created a new trend where most people seem incapable of using more than one sentence to try and communicate their thoughts. I think that's because most people now have much shorter attention spans thanks to technology. Since people understand that we live in a world with exceedingly shorter attention spans many people now only communicate with a few words and maybe a couple of emogis. This leads to massive amounts of misunderstandings and miss communications. So now people have lots of micro-communications throughout the day but I find that it's rare to engage in deep meaningful conversations. This goes for all ages. Not just the young people. My old friends have also lost their attention spans to social media and technology. It saddens me.
Natasha, I think crowded doesn't equate to dangerous--easier pickpocketing, maybe, and perhaps you find it anxiety-inducing, but not dangerous. Empty streets are the thing to avoid in bad neighborhoods. Glad you're having an interesting experience!
Aye, Netherlands is one of the safest countries in Europe.
@@TMMReznor Yes but Amsterdam is a tourist city with lots of pickpockets.
I saw that in Las Vegas! We accidentally got into the streets behind the Strip casinos, the streets used by delivery trucks. There wasn't a soul to be seen and that was the most unsafe I ever felt in the US.
If you are referring to what she says at 1:40 at first I thought she said it was crowded and dangerous. When I listened to it again I heard that she actually said crowded and diverse.
Awesome video Natasha, you are a joy to listen. Your sarcasm although a bit rare is lovely, I would love to see more of it.
Russia and than Soviet Union was pretty good at colonizing: Siberian nations/tribes, the Baltic nations, Poland, Gerogia, Armenia just to name a few.
Yes, the colonies do not need to be behind the seas.
She is well aware of that. if you watch all of her videos, she is candid about the failings of her homeland...
We Chuvash (and other 150+ ethnicities in Russia) are still under colonization and Russification in Russia. But Russians don't use the phrase “Your nation doesn't exist. Lenin created you” against us. because Lenin's father was a Chuvash😂
@@msitso Russia will never recognize ethnic minorities.
They call their country "Russian Federation" where minorities are being ripped off their natural resources, forcefuly russified and sent to wars as cannon fodder.
russia never used the word colonized, it subjugated many countries for so long they barely speak their native languages
Hear Hear
А сколько народов не говорят на своих языках из-за Британии ?
@@VeK-jg7dx none, all still use their native language
@@johngggg Gaelic is an immidiately example but im sure there exist many around the world.
@@VeK-jg7dx Brit’s tried to rid us of Welsh but they just wouldn’t lie down and forget it. We eventually capitulated and let them keep it.
Probably because tourists liked to have their photo taken beside the very long railway station sign at
Llanfairpwllwynghyllgogererychwyrndrobwyll-llantisiliogogogoch.
So very interesting, thank you for your commentary Natasha! Greetings from 🇺🇲 and of course 👍 and 😘 too.
@Yt_NatashasAdventures downvoted, blocked and reported. You are impersonating the channel operator and are not fooling anyone. 👎
I'm so glad to see you happy and enjoying your traveling, my best wishes to you Natasha.
NATASHA the production quality of your videos and your command pf the English language has become so good over the time since you started making them. I look forward to seeing each one. PEACE AND SAFE TRAVELS TO YOU
A very interesting video and it was so good to hear your impressions as a first-time visitor. Also it was really interesting to hear you talk about Russia. Thank you!
Tak!
nice, I was waiting for you tu upload!
To answer your questions from many older videos, you have become the best perspective of how russians think. Change will come, but it will take time. So thank you for your humor, and your insights. Your time is not wasted.
White-Painted trees : probably "Lime" to discourage pest-Insects from climbing tree-trunk :)
.
Can only repeat it. Try not to take everything too seriously, try to have fun. And sometimes do something you never do, like going to a restaurant in the evening. It's not as nice on your own as with someone, but it's better than just putting something in the microwave in your hotel or room.
As someone who travels a lot for a living, this is very true!
Travelling solo is best!
That can be expensive as hell tho even if it's not a fancy place. Just a takeaway coffee is €5. Last time me and my brother made the mistake of going to McDonalds it was €30, like damn what type of joke is this!? 👀
@@rosen9425 Then you should go to Zurich and go to a normal restaurant. You'll see how cheap Amsterdam is. I assume that in Amsterdam you can get a reasonable dinner for one person for 50-80 euros. And sometimes you can afford that.
@@peterpan7903
Switzerland!?! That's a different league on it's own. I'll just exchange these unnecessary gold bars I have laying around first before going or something sheesh
Suriname is an old Dutch colony - located just north of Brazil. I visited the country in 2005 - and Dutch is the language. There were many of African descent, since the Netherlands had slavery in the not so distant past.
Thank you for also talking about the negatives, it's more valuable than the positives (we already know most things are good). I loved the video :)
I have travelled extensively and I can tell you that every city in the world has some people that are unpleasant, have mental problems, use drugs or are involved in criminal activity. However, it is a minority. You should always be aware of this fact and stay alert, but you should not worry and just enjoy yourself. Honestly, my desire for you is that I would like to see you enjoy yourself a bit more and be happy.
11:53 Perceptive and honest... another good report.
I literally just yesterday had that thought about the wild grasses and flowers. Where I work in a government building in Texas, we have literally an entire football field (soccer pitch) sized grass area that is maintained by ground crews, cut and watered weekly, yet it is on the back side of the building that literally nobody uses!! I thought, "why not just throw some wildflower seeds on it and let nature do its thing?" It would save all the pointless work of the mower guy, not to mention the thousands of gallons of water that are wasted every month!
Mower guy is probably glad of the job. But yeah. The U.S. seems to waste an inordinate amount of water growing grass where it shouldn’t be.
You've got to remember that this rather useless activity greatly contributed to the GDP of the U.S.A.
I've come to love the potholes on our roads. Just imagine how many cars' suspension systems are inflicted damage by a pothole in a single day !
Williamsburg Bridge 🌉 was a higher-GDP producer than the Brooklyn Bridge because the Williamsburg Bridge had to be *COMPLETELY* built afresh even though it's younger than the Brooklyn Bridge.
in the (not so distant) past they used to trim/cut the green spaces a lot more here in The Netherlands.
but letting it become more "wild/overgrown" is way better, so they started to let nature be nature (within reason of course).
it saves money, less maintenance means less costs. it also makes the place more biological diverse (better for insects etc), and it makes every green space their own, instead of having everything look like the rest.
@@ChristiaanHW It's purely for the insects, they are declining
@@solconcordia4315great economic insight! It is indeed how this works and why GDP isn't the only important statistic to lookbat
overall great report, I always enjoy your videos Natasha, thank you
You always tell it straight up, that is what i like about you…love your video’s!
Bapao is Indonesian, which used to be a Dutch colony.
Keep on exploring W Europe
Excellent video / report... as a Dutch resident, I just want to point out that The Netherlands is more than Amsterdam. Thank you, Natasha & I wish you well on your journey(s)!
Absolutely true. Amsterdam is by far the most busy and chaotic city of the entire country, with the most tourists. It also has the most fun underground culture and queer stuff, but the overcrowded nature of the city makes it so the city's laws and regulations get stricter and stricter every year.
It is also - and that might surprise people - not a great city to cycle through, because of the many traffic lights in the area within the ring road. Many other cities have wider cycle paths with fewer traffic lights. At least not great to dutch standards - it's of course much better than cities that don't have physically separated cycle lanes at all. Cycling in Amsterdam is slow but safe.
Outside of the ring road you'll find more modern city planning and easier cycling, but those are generally not the areas where you'll be as a tourist.
Thoughtful, well-curated and professional video! Love the maps and other information you provided. Thank you for allowing us to see you stretching your comfort zones bit by bit while practicing self-care and using good common sense. You're amazing Natasha!
How nice you visited my city of Amsterdam. A pity I didn't know that you would come, otherwise we could have met. I would have liked to show you around. But you did that by yourself and your impressions, from a Russian perspective, are very interesting.
6:28 The white paint at the bases of trees can serve several purposes. Prevent sun scald and splitting bark in certain trees at certain times of the year, also lime (white) can prevent insect infestation that may damage the tree.
Good to know. Thank you.
I also thought it was to prevent traffic accidents at night.
I always thought it was for the visibility of the drunk drivers at night. Peace/JT
@@johnthompson6374 I thought that too. Even if they are not drunk.
Yeah, it's in the category "what grandpa still knew", or "forgotten knowledge of the past". Btw., it may also serve as a protection against urine, not only from dogs.
I might remember this wrong - but I've heard that some insects that can harm the trees gets confused by the bright color. Because their instincts tells them to search for dark shapes, not bright shapes, when they want to find a tree to lay their eggs in. (they usually land on the ground right next to a tree).
Natasha used the line "eating dogs and cats in Springfield" --- This made me laugh, I didn't realize this line had spread so far and so fast
Many people have the internet.
@@HershelLacey == Yes, but I didn't realize so many people cared about USA politics
@@markbernier8947 Everybody *has* to care about US politics.
@@markbernier8947 it's not that we care about US politics.
the media likes to keep an eye on it because they have to fill the news with something, so we get to share in the joke that is US politics.
believe me most of us are laughing at the orange candidate and are shocked that someone like him can even run again to try to become POTUS.
@@markbernier8947 they do. Especially if we become a dictatorship.
Gelderse worst: "I don't know what it is made of."
Made of Gelderlanders of course. Right there in the name. Do not ask about the Jodenkoeken.
🤣
lol
Insider joke, for those who aren't inside the club of Dutch
Evil chuckle 😂😂😂
What's inside a negerzoen?
Most of the major European countries have a colonial past.
UK, France, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Nederlands, Italy, Turkey (not specifically European)
It was just something that everyone did hundreds of years ago.
Every country in the world has had a colonial past. Only some more successfully than others.
@@erosgritti5171 in europe only the western europe has had a colonial past ; the eastern europe never had...
@@Ge0rGi. Eastern Europe did have it own colonialism, best example: Russia, it colonized everything east of the Urals and it "colonized" most of Eastern Europe.
it was just more difficult for Eastern European nations to do. the western ones are located on the Atlantic so they could "easily" step into a boat and sail the seven seas.
the eastern ones had to traverse the Baltic Sea and then dodge the navy's of the west to get out to rule the seas, or they were stuck in the Mediterranean.
they also had the Russian and Ottoman Empire's that kept them busy protecting their land, so they didn't have the spare manpower to go around the world and look for profitable ventures.
@@ChristiaanHW I knew you are going to say Russia😂 Rusia is not really Eastern Europe,it’s Asia. If Russia was Eastern Europe,Romania ,Bulgaria,Poland are Western Europe. Eastern Europe never colonised anything;Russia took those Asian countries around them.
@@Ge0rGi. the part of Russia between the rest of Europe and the Ural mountains is considered part of Europe and it's the most Eastern part, so it's Eastern Europe. just like Armenia and Georgia.
Poland is officially part of central Europe.
but it all depends on how you define European, and how much different area's you use. west, central, east, north, south, Balkan etc.
As a Dutch citizen, I really like your observations. Not just the honesty, but also the nuance and well thought out critique.
Calling Russia ill at this moment in history is a really good description. I hope Russia gets well so that you could return if you wanted to.
Чем она больна ? Тем, что всяких гомиков не принимает ?
Thanks for posting this video Natasha
Interesting fact: in 2023 there were people with 174 (!) different nationalities living in Amsterdam
Congratulations.... How many rapes, muggings, and murders???
Love your colorful hairclips in the middle of the video! That is great you got to see so much about Amsterdam and really learn about it, and point out differences like the fences in the parks & the tree paintings. Regarding the person commenting that you must have culture shock finally seeing the “free world,” they must be a new subscriber bc you literally talked about visiting gay clubs , etc, in Russia in your old videos. I enjoy your grocery shopping trips a lot :D I love grocery shopping abroad and seeing what is offered and how much it is. I especially find it interesting to read where the fruits and vegetables are from, compared to where the same fruits and vegetables come from in my town (NYC). Happy and safe travels!!
You are welcome in Czech Republic, Prague. If you haven't been there already.
Is Slovakia better than the Czech Republic? Is Bolivia better than Peru?
Prague is by far one of the most beautiful cities.
Had a bad time in czech republic.
Very badly ripped off by taxi driver, worst train journey ever (overbooked and scary), Prague people unfriendly. Won't be back.
@@whimaway876Sorry to hear that :(. You should watch some Honest Guide (YT channel) videos before visiting Czechia/Prague. They will teach you how to enjoy it without all of that you have experienced.
Taxi drivers are a bit issue when it comes to tourists in Prague, but it got a lot better in the past 10 years or so. And to be honest, in the most cases, it’s faster to take public transport in Prague. And when I need a taxi, I just use Uber or Bolt. It’s cheaper than common local taxis and you just open an app in your phone.
Trains are just trains like everywhere. It depends what train did you take… If it was a commuter train heading to some small village, I can imagine (in terms of rolling stock) but most of our trains are sort of standard and ok for Central Europe region. On the most trains here there is no seat booking available, so you just buy a ticket and find a place to sit or stand. There is no limit for number of sold tickets. When it’s a rush hour, it can get crowded but that’s like everywhere else. If you need a quiet and larger space, you can buy ticket to first class, it’s not much pricier than the second class.
The most overcrowded and also one of the scariest trains (in terms of rolling stock) I took was in Japan, not in Czechia :).
And the people? We Czechs (and for Prague it apllies twice) are sometimes a little bit cold when it comes to talking to strangers. But I think we are always trying to be helpful, at least I’m trying when I’m asked.
Well, hope you will give us another chance someday ;).
Thank you Natasha your perspective is valued.
It is nice to have someone that can talk reasonably about Netherlands. Kudos to you for the reference about the guy that lost it and spouted lies about immigrants eating dogs.
Immigrants do eat dogs. We had a Tongan guy in trouble for eating a dog in NZ.
I am happy for you and us Natasha. This trip represents that you are getting closer to your ultimate goal. Also, we benefit from your unique perspective and can join you in your exploration of new experiences and cultures.
About midway through this video I was tempted to reply in a critical way about a few things you said, but I'm glad I didn't. By the end my overwhelming impression is that it's valuable, and likely difficult, to share your experiences as rawly as you can so we can get an accurate sense of a Russian's view of these new things in the west for you. It's always helpful to get an honest take from the outside that we may not be able to see very well. No need to sanitize. Interesting video...thanks!
Which part were you going to be critical about?
Everybody walking in the background looks so relaxed. Even happy!
Maybe because most people are tourist? 😅
Along with learning the primary language of the country that people immigrate to, I believe that it is equally important for immigrants to assimilate to and appreciate the culture of the country in which they currently live.
This does not apply to Canada, though.
Especially if it's based on freedom, equality and mutual respect :)
Interesting video. I am not an expert on colonialism, but to some extent I would say most Western European countries have had some colonies in the world at some point in time. Some countries had more colonies than others, and the Dutch did have some larger areas of colonies back then for a long time time. Using the binoculars of colonialism, one can say Russia has also had some colonies during the time when they expanded eastwords and southwords, like some Asian countries f.ex. like Kirgistan, Kazakhstan and the countries in the Caucasus like Chechnya. I don't think Russians think of this as colonies, but more like brotherly nations bound together. However, I would argue this is colonisation as well, Russians just don't sail overseas to colonise. With the breakup of the Sovjetunionen, Russia hasn't used the time to reflect on their own colonisation like the museum you visited in Amsterdam. Therefore these aggressive Russian started wars against Chechnya in the 1990'ties, Georgia and now Ukraine are waged from Russia.
I am enjoying your personal journey in the Netherlands and your thoughts and feelings expressed.
I don't think the African immigrants comes from the former Dutch colonies, they cross the Mediterranean coming from all sort of African countries
@@markmuller7962 Partly yes, partly no. Compared to Germany black people were already much more present in the Dutch streets in the 1980s. That was clearly related to colonialism. What we find now is a mix of that and recent Immigration from elsewhere.
@@florianmeier3186 The guy is talking about African immigrants. African immigrants in the 80’s also didn’t come from Dutch colonies. The Netherlands didn’t have any African colonies since a long long time, more than 100 years with ease… One could argue that it were more trading posts as well, since they weren’t full fledged states like Indonesia, Suriname etc… Perhaps with exception of South Africa which grew from Dutch Cape Colony into the country South Africa starting after 1806 when the Brits took over.
Black (one could argue even that they still mostly werent black, but all sorts of non-white) people who were in the Netherlands in the 80’s mostly came from Indonesia, Maluku Islands, Caribbean, Suriname, Turkey and Morocco of which Morocco was the largest African contributer I think. No African immigrants then came from any Dutch colony, because the Netherlands had none at the time.
Correct… the Netherlands didn’t have any Dutch colonies in Africa for since a very long time. See my other post for more elaboration. African immigrants here mostly come as refugees and for work as “gastarbeider”…
And the Dutch women love them over their own 😂
@@ラーメンのボス Are you Asian?
9:15 Indonesia was colonised by the Dutch from the 17th century and there is still a very strong bond between Holland and the people and food from Indonesia. The typical bami goreng and nasi goreng is very Indonesian in style and i can now even buy it in Aldi in England.
people tend to think that all the countries that were part of the USSR get united as a free will but it wasn' true, some of them were forced to form part ot the soviet union
Almost all was
It's good to see a new video of yours, I learn a little about the world and places. The best in your journey and keep sharing your point of view of this world.
Nice that you finally visited my country. Remember you are always welcome to come back 🙏
14:12 I can see my house. Funny how you were in my street and I didn't know. I enjoy hearing your perspective on my city.
Natasha! Your new life! Joyful. Starting to see that “western” smile again. 😅
Natasha, I love your honesty. Don't stop!
Always be safe Natasha and take care. God bless
Free Palestine 🇵🇸
Nice to see you again. I've been watching for about 2 years from California. I appreciate your perspective of Amsterdam! I'm so jealous. It's one place I've always wanted to travel. Thank you again! I look forward to the next one.
Another great video Natasha. In addition to the Netherlands and the UK (which you mentioned), other European countries that used to have colonial empires include Belgium, Portugal, Spain, France and - on a much smaller scale - Germany.
...France, Italy.
Denmark
Russia was a colonial power. Alaska and a tiny enclave in Ethiopia.
German colonial possessions between 1880-1914 where rather large though. More than Belgium and Portugal for sure.
It still is. Nobody joined russia willingly.
Your analysis is so deep and so right, you must have very high IQ! Also the way you express is interresting with a subtle sense of humour
What a shame, Amsterdam! Litter all over the streets, people bullying and harassing you on the tram... As a Westerner, I have to apologise for such discomfort she has encountered during her short visit: I completely agree that we need to keep improving when it comes to tourists, above all. Coming from Russia and Georgia recently, the culture shock must have been brutal for her, and I'm not surprised. Since you have mentioned it, yes: the Moscow metro and I think the St. Peterburg metro, too, literally fall into the "underground museum" category in my mind. I would love to visit them one day! 🤗❤
Köszönjük!
Bapao is Vietnamese and the rice with meat you bought is Chinese-Indonesian
The Netherlands is an small country compare to Russia , the expectation are that the small country will be well developed with good roads and services and so on but that’s not the case unfortunately.
Russia is huge and becoming a much better nation than in the nineties but the western people don’t know or don’t wanna know. Russia is for the connoisseur
It's fun to see you exploring the city where I've lived my whole life.
A shame about the unpleasant interactions you've had, those can really ruin your day. I think most Amsterdammers know not to extrapolate those experiences to whole ethnicities or foreigners in general, as the more xenophobic parties are not very popular here (and in other bigger cities) compared the rest of the country.
Lovely to see you exploring Amsterdam Natasha, despite a few challenges along the way.
Places with huge tourism numbers and outside dining always generate some litter. It will be cleaned every night and sometimes during the day but if you have people eating outside for 12+ hours per day, a certain amount gets on the ground. It’s something once for d in lots of countries. A random town will be spotless but the cities with tourists always look dirtier.
True. But Amsterdam has a serious garbage problem, which is acknowledged by the city councel
@@JohnBlutarski It’s the amount of tourists. The Haag is clean. Leiden is clean. Amsterdam people aren’t inherently dirtier. It’s tourism.
@@Dreynoif you go by that theory, then areas of amsterdam without tourism (yes there are quite a lot) wouldn’t have that problem. But the problem manifests in those areas too (source: I live there). Just not as bad as the city center, for sure. But compared to other cities I lived in, it’s definitely more messy in amsterdam, and I can tell you some shocking things about it (have you ever heard of people throwing their trash bags out of the window, and they’d be left hanging in trees?)
@@lb9029 Then what is the reason? I have been in different parts of Amsterdam and didn’t notice anything particularly bad.
@@Dreyno I dom’t exactly know, never read research on it. If I’d have to guess, a combination of a) tourism, b) youth and some other people hanging on the street because they don’t have anywhere else to go and littering the place (very common here), and c) antisocial behavior (used to be common in bijlmer, later on also in eg Noord) where people simply throw out their trash (literally)
thank you for another informative video Natalie
Hi Natasha. Where I grew up it was all white, no people of color none that I knew, none in my school. My father was a bit racist. Colored people jokes. I knew in my heart racism is bad. I'm 66 now, and it is my opinion that diversity is good. Regardless of origin, beliefs, gender, or sexuality, everyone deserves equal treatment. I'm happy to see your confidence. I think you are brave. Thank You. Enjoy your exploring travels.🐦✌️
Hi Wayne.
Being this open and honest about your father’s way of coping with racism in the past makes me want to say: I think you too are brave. Acceptance starts with looking ourselves in the mirror and/or looking the generations before us in the face.
Like you put it: everyone deserves equal treatment. A wonderful adage but I believe it will still take a few generations of hard work in order to truly become this enlightened. I believe we are on a sliding scale at this point in time. It has always been like this in past times so I don’t believe were ’lost’ per se. Democracy is a vulnerable ‘entity’. Met vallen en opstaan (falling and rising).
I’m a 53yo male from The Netherlands, I’ve been living in Amsterdam for app. 30 years but grew up around Eindhoven - up till recently Philips, now mainly ASML - in the southern part, Noord-Brabant, of our small country (plus some five years from age 9 to 14 in Northern Italy).
And yes indeed, like Natasha mentiones/states: Amsterdam is very diverse, it does have a very diverse population but it’s not the ‘friendliest’ of places compared to many other parts of The Netherlands. ‘Amsterdammers’ (especially the well off highly educated ‘import’ people not born in Amsterdam earning high salaries and mainly caucasian people - like myself, except the well off part :) are seen as (quite) arrogant, exposing (some might say: oozing) ‘self privilege’ people.
That’s why many Dutch people ‘Amsterdam mijden als de pest’, literally: will avoid Amsterdam like the plague (and might prefer The Hague ;-).
Also: it’s too crowded, especially the (still small, it will never get any bigger :) city center, mainly because of tourism. ‘Een vloek en een zegen’, a curse and a blessing.
That plus ‘Gentrification Galore’ and lots of highly paid expats (this goes hand in hand) and with that far less social cohesion mostly due to the short term (5 to 10 years) jobs. I’ve lived in four different so called ‘stadsdelen’ (boroughs more ore less) since 1996 and with that I’ve had the opportunity to experience the city from as many viewpoints: the city changed a lot. But that’s what cities do: they’re living organisms.
Add to all this the fact I grew up in a village, that’s my blueprint so I guess I will never feel totally ‘at easy’ in our capital or any big(ger) city for that matter. And yet, up to this point I never left. The inexplicable attraction of a thriving, ever-changing city 🙂
Even though Amsterdam nowadays app. has 950k inhabitants but double the amount of people during high season (tourists, dagjesmensen). So, 950k might not sound as a lot in comparison to let’s say London or Moscow for that matter but it’s quite simple really: Amsterdam is relatively small as a city, there is simply no room for expansion.
As I’m writing I’m wondering why I’m telling (you) all this since my motivation for leaving a reply was telling you (once again ;): I think y o u are brave!
Let’s all reject fearing the unknown and embrace diverCity 🖖🏽🦜 ;)
Take Care!
Nope no racism against Blacks just against Whites
Your father was a good man.
13:14 I would rather say it's a shared responsibility. Governments often give immigrants certain requirements to stay in their countries indefinitely, then it's the responsibility of the governments to provide these immigrants with language courses and whatever else is needed to help these people integrate into the society of the country they moved to.
At the same time, immigrants actively moved to a different country themselves. Refugees of war or politics aside, nobody had put a gun on their heads to pack their stuff and leave. So it's also most definitely the responsibility of immigrants themselves to partake in language courses and other activities to help them integrate into the society of the country they moved to.
very articulate and interesting observations on a wonderful city
I've been following you since February 2021, it's great to see you in the country I grew up in! I hope you had (have?) a great time!
Amsterdam was a melting pot with a very diverse population in 1600! Jewish immigrants from Portugal and Antwerp (fleeing discrimination), French Protestant Christians (Huguenots) arrived a bit later, Protestant English populations in the 17th century, many different groups from German lands came to dig the canals as economic migrants, very many seafarers arrived through this largest port city of the 17th century, groups from all around the world through the colonies - and many departed to migrate elsewhere: North America and the Dutch West Indies, South Africa and New Zeeland, Australia, southern European countries and I am sure also to Russia. Poland, Germany and Russia have small city neighborhoods from the 17th century with Dutch architecture as Dutch shipbuilders and other skilled workers came to assist local construction: ships, bridges, waterways, mills and sometimes buildings like their own. A lot of this was all to and from Amsterdam. This results in a city with a very open and 'liberal', tolerant, culture. Also, in terms of the second world war, unfortunately and horribly, due to a German - civilian governance (not a military one), the Jewish population in Amsterdam was hit very very hard: about 90% did not survive this time. We see the internationally very popular Anne Frank museum in Amsterdam as a reminder of the local tragedies. And I just watched a TH-cam video with a Russia Georgia person discussing Amsterdam as quite an interesting place. .... Success with your exciting and freedom loving lifestyle, travel the world!! And share it ... ;)
Great video, Natasha, with a lot of things to make me think about our life style and, mostly, our politics. And i adore your irony too - the real pidgeon who looked exactly like your fake one and his shit while you was announcing that in the video there will be even some cons was amazing and made me laugh so much!
This is one of the most enjoyable video of yours. Very well done, Natasha. H&K
12:04 Surinamese people don't speak Dutch well because they learned it in the Netherlands, it's because it's the official language in Suriname (because of colonialism). It's similar to French speakers from Cameroon or Senegal immigrating to France.
Thank you for sharing your fresh new impressions.
"They're eating our dogs and cats in Springfield" Touché Natasha! 😆
20,000 foreigners invaded a town of 58,000. I don’t think Russia would allow such a thing!
@silvermine2033 is that cat and dog population? 😅🤣
Excellent video. One of your best.
Above all the other things that I like about this channel, I admire Natasha's honesty in not leaving out anything that might be considered negative. From the mildly irritating to things that spark fear, it's all part of the journey. Looking forward to other places in Europe on the channel as she works out where she is going to land for an extended stay. Hoping Vienna is on the list.
Exactly..and any time, she has the intelligence on reflecting on it, analysing the pros and cons in a very humane way!
although i am a friend of many russians . . i dont agree. The Dutch people are not the same at all and no city is the same as well. It is like comparing Moscow with magadan ore whathever . . . Just be welcome in Holland . . .
Yes. I second this! 👍
All she does is talk about negative things when it comes to Russia. She leaves you with the impression that there is not a single good thing about Russia at all - I’m pretty sure this is exactly what the CIA pays her for through their NED front organization which she is connected to in Georgia
@@js70371Why would the NED be a threat when Russia is already a beautiful democracy?
New York used to be New Amsterdam, a Dutch Colony in the lower east side of Manhattan. East Village was just that village on the eastern side.
One can see this Dutch legacy in the peculiar orientation of some Manhattan streets relative to the ones around them. Stuyvesant Street (formerly Stuyvesant Place) was oriented West to East pointing towards the East Village neighborhood. Broadway in its southerly portion ran fairly true North to South but not perpendicular to the enumerated streets.
Peter Stuyvesant was the still-revered former mayor of New Amsterdam because he gave it up to the British peacefully which became New York. His nickname was the Pegleg. Yes, he was a Dutch veteran who lost a leg 🦵 to a cannon ball but spared New Amsterdam a bloodbath, for which the so-called loser is still revered several centuries later.
That was one of your best videos, because it covered so many different topics. Another video, please!
One thought on prices is that you are in a capital city and if you're spending money in the middle of a capital city then you will be paying way over the price you'd find elsewhere.
Natasha, I honor your true vision of Amsterdam and Russia. You got a very realistic view of all this already at a very young age. Well done my dear!