I don’t know what foreigners say about your people, but the Dutch are also the victim of stereotypes. On the other hand, they don’t exist without a reason. Or they do? Let’s review what you guys think and say about us.

True or False?

–          Drugs, smoking pot legally, coffeeshops.

True, I guess. Holland is very liberal when it comes down to pot, although it has never been legal. The government is mild towards this form of recreational drug, but there is no law that says we can smoke pot as much as we want. Recently a rule got passed that smoking on the street is no longer allowed.

–          The Dutch are cheap

False. Every country knows cheap and generous people, and so do the Dutch.

–          Clomps

False. Yeah, yeah, we used to have them, but it’s not our daily footwear these days, believe it or not.

–          Tulips, colorful fields of flowers

True. Tulips are still a part of the environmental decoration of the Dutch landscapes. We do have other flowers too, though.

–          Holland is liberal and offers a lot of freedom

True, I would say, although Holland is not as liberal as it used to be. Still, when you compare our country to others, I would say we are still a country with a lot of freedom.

–          Cheese, windmills and bicycles.

True. Of course!

–          Looks of the Dutch: blond hair, blue eyes, tall

False and True. I think you will find more blond people in Sweden. We do have the blond human species though, but a lot of them are dark haired, me among them. The Dutch are tall. I even wrote a blog about it.

–          Amsterdam

True. There is not much to argue about this one. Amsterdam is our capital and lots of tourist come to visit this place.

–          All the Dutch speak English

True. We learn English from a young age, so almost all of us can speak a good word of English.

–          Bad dressers

False. Although it has a lot to do with personal taste, I think the average American dresses way worse (sorry!)

–          Prostitutes

True. If you walk by the canals of Amsterdam, the red lights shimmer and shine in your face, with all kinds of ladies posing behind the windows. It’s legal in the Netherlands.