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Rick Steves’ Europe: Flabbergasted in a Haarlem B&B

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Hans breaks in with a Tony the Tiger tourist imitation, “Oh wow, this is grrreat! What a grrreat house you have here!”

“Americans get flabbergasted,” Marjet adds.

“The English don’t know how to be flabbergasted,” says Hans.

Marjet says. “When we visited Colorado, my trip went better when I learned to say ‘wow’ a couple of times a day.”

Curling comfortably in the corner of the sofa, tucking her legs under her small body, Marjet explains, “When an American asks, ‘How are you?’ we say, ‘OK,’ to mean ‘good.’ The American says, ‘That doesn’t sound very good.’ We explain, ‘We’re European.’”

Hans says, “Then the American replies, ‘Oh, yes — you’re honest.’”

Fascinated by the smiley-face insincerity of America, Marjet says, “In the U.S., even supermarket shopping bags have big ‘smile and be a winner’ signs.”

“It’s true,” I agree. “Only in America could you find a bank that fines tellers if they don’t tell every client to ‘Have a nice day.’”

Hans says, “Did you know that the Dutch are the most wanted workers at Disneyland Paris? This is because most Dutch are open-minded. We can smile all day. And we speak our languages.”

 

Marjet explains, “In Holland when someone asks, ‘Do you speak your languages?’ they mean: Do you speak French, German, and English, along with Dutch?”

Hans continues. “And for us, acting friendly is maybe less exhausting than for the French. Can you imagine a French person having to smile all day long?”

Hans tops off my glass of Heineken. “God created all the world. It was marvelous. But France ... it was just too perfect. So he put in the French to balance things out.”

“And Canada could have had it all: British culture, French cuisine, American know-how,” says Marjet. “But they messed up and got British food, French know-how, and American culture.”

As I climb the steep Dutch stairs to my bedroom in the loft, I ponder the value of friends on the road. And I’m thankful that Europeans seem to enjoy being flabbergasted at how friendly we are. Remember, with the right attitude, the most memorable moments of your day will often come long after the sightseeing is finished.

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(Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) writes European guidebooks, hosts travel shows on public TV and radio, and organizes European tours. This article was adapted from his new book, For the Love of Europe. You can email Rick at rick@ricksteves.com and follow his blog on Facebook.)

©2021 Rick Steves. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.


(c)2021 RICK STEVES DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.

 

 

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