Dažas interesantas lietas, ar kurām saskaros, dzīvojot Nīderlandē:

#1 Laikapstākļi. Ir iespaids, ka tie ir neparedzami un ĻOOOTI mainīgi. Tā, piemēram, vakar rīts bija silts un saulains, pēcpusdienā vēsāks, tad lija lietus, tad spīdēja saule, tad bija karsts, tad lija lietus, tad spīdēja saule, tad bija apmācies, tad lija lietus... naktī, savukārt, pēkšņi uznāca ārprātīgs pērkons! Tik skaļu (un tālumā!) nebiju dzirdējusi nekad. 3x noducināja un tad tikai lija lietus. Rīts atkal bija lietains, tad spīdēja saule, tagad ir apmācies. Es tiešām nezinu, kāds laiks būs pēc 30 minūtēm, un vai var droši doties kādā izbraucienā. Latvijā vismaz laiks ir kaut cik paredzams! Bet te nu gan nav... Tagad nebrīnos, kāpēc vietējiem tik ļoti patīk apspriest laikapstākļus un par tiem allaž gausties (vispārzināms fakts).

#2 Pa krānu tek dzeramais ūdens! Tas ir tik jauki! Un tas ir dzerams visur, ne tikai mājās!

#3 De Fietsenstalling. Vieta, kur pa dienu vai nakti atstāt savus velo drošībā un par maksu. Ļoti laba ideja! Un gada maksa par šo pakalpojumu ir vien 25 eiro. Uz diennakti - 1 eiro. Tomēr mēs savus velo pa nakti turēsim mājas dārzā. Te ir vieta, un tie netraucē! Ietaupīts!

#4 Pirkuma summas noapaļošana. To piedzīvoju vienā veikalā, kad pie kases redzēju, ka summas, kuras beidzas ar -6,-7,-8 vai -9 centiem, tiek noapaļotas uz tuvāko apaļo summu (0 vai 5). Man noapaļoja uz leju. Vai apaļo uz augšu, piemēram, 4,09 uz 4,10 eiro, nezinu.. varbūt.

#5 Diennakts veikals ap stūri. Kā jau zināms, lielākajā daļā Eiropas (bet ne Latvijā) veikali vakaros un brīvdienās ir slēgti. Ārkārtas situācijā aiz stūra ir diennakts veikals, kurā ir nepieciešamākās preces. Veikals strādā no plkst. 16 līdz naktij, un tā īpašnieki un darbinieki ir indieši. Interesants fakts par šo veikalu: precei ir divas cenas - viena - zemākā - attiecas uz pēcpusdienu, otra - augstākā - uz vakaru un nakti. Jāpiemin, ka tur jau tāpat ir dārgi...

* Some interesting things I have seen while living here in the Netherlands:

#1 The weather. I have an impression that it is totally unpredictable and changes a lot. For example, yesterday's morning was warm and sunny, then it got cooler, the the rain came, sun shone again, then it rained, then was sunny, then cloudy, then rain again... at night, however, a sudden thunder came for a short while, but it was so strong and loud! First time I heard such loud thunder (and it was a distant one). After that it was just raining until morning, then it was sunny and now it's cloudy, after all! I don't really know whether I should risk and go for a ride by a bike, because the weather is too unpredictable to know what in 30 minutes will come! So now I don't wonder why locals like to talk and complain about the weather so much (it's a commonly known fact).

#2 There is drinkable water coming from taps! That's so nice! And it's that way everywhere, not only at home!

#3 De Fietsenstalling. A place where you can leave your bicycle in a safe place for a fixed amount of money. Such a good idea! It's basically a specially designed parking lot just for bikes. An annual fee is only 25 Euros, per night it's 1 Euro. Although we will place our bikes in our garden, we have plenty of space for that. Saved on that!

#4 Amount of money per purchase is being rounded up (or down) to -5 or -0. For example, you have to pay 4,16 but in the end you pay only 4,15! Or 2,38 = 2,40. Things like that. Hope you got what I mean :)

#5 The Day and Night shop. As it's known, in majority of Europe (however, not so common in Latvia) shops are closed in evenings and on weekends. In emergency situations around the corner we have a day and night grocery store where you can find the most necessary things, and a little bit beyond that. The shop is run by men from India. This shop is open from 4 p.m. until late night. An interesting fact about this shop: there are two kinds of prices - the lowest one refers to afternoons, and the highest ones - to evenings. I have to mention that the shop is already expensive without all that...