I have been in Leeuwarden for more than half a year now, but when I first got here, there was a lot of stuff that surprised me. For example, at the beginning it was quite awkward because at the time of introducing to someone, everyone shook my hand! In Spain, the normal thing to do is to introduce to someone giving to kisses in the cheeks, and that’s why every time I met someone I got closer with the intention of kissing them, but they gave me their hand to shake it. At the beginning it was a bit uncomfortable to me, but now shaking hands is the normal thing to me. More
Posts with: bike lanes
Through the eyes of…. Maria Fernández from Spain: Lanes ánd parking garages for bikes
Everyone somehow knows about how much they like to cycle in The Netherlands but you don’t really realise how serious this is until you experience it. I came to Leeuwarden by train and even before getting to the city where I would live, before actually standing for more than five minutes on Dutch ground, I was already surprised. On my way from the airport to the station, the train passed somewhere next to a three-floor bike parking garage. What a thing! It may sound like the most common thing for Dutch people, and I’ve seen a few more since then, but you need to know that’s really shocking at the beginning for foreigners. I had never seen such a thing before. More
