On the negative side, I have never seen so many overweight and outright obese people, especially young people of both sexes as this time. Most of them were Germans, though, unfortunately, we encountered some countrymen falling into this category as well.
The degradation of morals progressed to the point that we came across an enormous billboard advertising a wh***house right next to McDonald's alongside the road. Ironically enough, it was situated only a couple of kilometers away from a monastery. I really don't understand why Holland gets such a bad rep about prostitution, as such brazenness isn't allowed in my country, at least for now.
Recession also gets more noticeable, as some middle price category shops closed, and got substituted with those selling either very cheap/second hand stuff or expensive boutiques. The same process is underway in our neck of woods.
Prog students
On the positive, the tourism industry was blooming, with at least the half of the tourists being Dutch-speaking. As a result, we got menus and price tags in Dutch, and even some waiters who addressed us in our own language.
The quality of the tourists also improved, and they generally looked much better dressed, especially in the evening, as folks obviously changed for dinner, even in our village.
The house prices stay low, it's still relatively clean and safe, even in cities, accommodation and food are very affordable. Illegals aggressively pushing trinkets in the streets have virtually disappeared. All in all, it was a great vacation.
What causes were the students demonstrating about?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, glad to hear you had a good vacation.
ReplyDeleteDid you see any romanian beggars? They are huge problem here in Finland.
ReplyDeleteWe had a big demonstration against racism. Since one member of parliament was so demonic and evil that he dared to express some patriotic feelings in his Facebook-status. People here love sloppy thinking; if one is nationalist, or concervative, or traditionalist, you must be racist. Everything is racism nowadays, or homofobia. What is wrong with europians?
I have been preserving strawberries and picking blueberries. I think I have almost 20 kg berries in the freezer. I tend to go crazy with the strawberries... Tomorrow it is time for blueberry pie.
What causes? rainbow flag and getting more of new welfare recipients into Europe, of course. I wanted to go and have a chat with them, but decided that my German wasn't good enough to tell them exactly what I think. Every German city with a uni is as progressive as what. Luckily, you don't see much of it in the countryside.
ReplyDeleteHousewife, yes, I read about it. Don't worry, the other side is just getting desperate:)
ReplyDeleteWow, 20 kg berries, that's sure something! Are you going to make jam out of it?
No, we just eat them raw with yoghurt. I usually make jam from apples and plums.
DeletePS, no, we haven't seen any Romanians. You sure mean gypsies, or is it politically incorrect to call them so? I remember last time we went to Paris, it was full of them.
ReplyDeleteI actually do not know if they are gypsies or not. Propably yes. They are allways called just "Romanians" in the media, so it must be politically incorrect to call them gypsies. :) Our finnish gypsies do not want to be called gypsies ("mustalainen" in finnish) but "romany". They also have their own special dress code, all finnish gipsy women dress like this:
Deletehttp://www.kansallismuseo.fi/fi/Image/6500/pukuedesta-iso.jpg
http://oulu.ouka.fi/ppm/tilapaisnayttely/romani_kuvat/naisen%20puku_uusi_iso.jpg
So I am little bit confused wether those beggars are gypsies or not. They do not dress like "our" gypsies, but I have understood that only finnish gypsies dress like that.
Those I've seen in Paris were gypsies 100%. Romanians look modern and get quite angry if they are mistaken for a gypsy, as far as I can say.
ReplyDeleteCute dresses, btw!
ReplyDelete