Dutch chocolate, but this isn't about the chocolate

[DFW]

All but one of the full time and part time people who work at my office in the Netherlands were infected by the Covid-19 virus about a month ago. One was asymptomatic, one had to be hospitalized, and the rest had mild to severe symptoms, except for one who tested positive, but was completely asymptomatic. Those few that can are still working from home. Those that have since tested negative twice have returned to work.

The head guy works longer hours than anyone, and had an infection that was somewhere between mild and heavy. But he's over it, and back at the office, as are most.

But, typical Dutch, it wasn't enough for him to greet everyone coming back to work. He went to a local confiserie, and had the following made up last week for each employee, even including the one who never was infected, and me because I'm in integral part of the operation from afar:


I was there after weeks of absence last Thursday (I'm usually there once a week).
The motto in the middle says "Great that you are back again!"
And that is why I love working with the people in my Dutch office. THAT is pure class.

[flibbitygiblets]

1. I miss traveling. And yes, the Dutch are great people

Thanks for sharing

[DFW]

2. One of the best things I ever did

When we first opened a permanent representation in the Netherlands, I told our guy there to speak to me slowly and clearly in Dutch until I could answer him back and hold a conversation. Since he was from a part of the Netherlands where Dutch is not the local language, his Dutch was already clear and distinct, just like the clearest "Spanish" you will hear in Spain is in Catalunya, since "Spanish"--actually correctly called Castilian-- is a second language for the Catalans.

Almost everyone in he Netherlands knows decent English, since they are required to study it in school starting about age 7, and uninterrupted through high school. Anyone will speak English to you if you don't know Dutch, but when they are among themselves, they speak their own language, of course. If you REALLY want to make lifelong friends there, you have to speak to them in their own language. I did, so I do.

[panader0]

3. Same treatment you received at that hotel.

You are a popular guy. But the question is why? (kidding)

[DFW]

6. Well, the hotel was in Sprout City

Not far (not even a 3 hour train ride9, but that was in Belgium, not NL.

As for why--no, no, I 'm with you. I haven't the faintest clue why. Maybe an excess of classy behavior left over from the lack of it in Washington, these days? Carried over here by the Gulf Stream maybe?

[panader0]

10. Yeah, I remember. I actually had to ponder for a moment on "Sprout City" when you posted that.

One of my good buddies here is a guy from Friesland in the NL. What a great guy.

[DFW]

14. Friesland has its own language, too. Several, in fact

There's West Frisian (NL), East Frisian (Germany) and North Frisian, some perverted version of Danish that no one in the world understands except people born there. My colleague is from Drenthe, which is "up there somewhere."

Brussels has been "Sprout City" in company slang for decades. Second nature to me now. Their three main train stations are Bruxelles Nord, Bruxelles Centrale and Bruxelles Midi if you're a French-speaking Belgian, Brussel Noord, Brussel Centraal and Brussel Zuid if you're Flemish-speaking, and North Sprout, Sprout Central and South Sprout if you're part of my outfit. It has been brought to my attention in the past that most people aren't.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

4. I don't know what kind of chocolate was used...

... in the "Mars" candy bars in Germany, but they were far superior to the "Milky Way" version found in the USA!

I visited with my parents in the early 80's while one of my older brothers was stationed over there.

The Germans sure enjoyed STARING at us at restaurants and such. Lol. They didn't act mean, but more like people watching TV and awaiting some kind of entertainment from my quiet family.

Edit: Staring has been noticed over there by others, so I guess it wasn't unusual for my family.
https://40percentgerman.com/home/2020/4/4/what-are-you-staring-at

[DFW]

7. Four different kinds!

Semi-dark for the frame, bitter dark for the thin inner frame, white for the center background, and some hybrid for the text.

The greatest example of Germans staring was the morning of November 10, 1989. The wall fell the night before. My wife and I happened to be in Hamburg, which is 30 miles from the old East German border. The city was FULL of East Germans the next day, gawking in disbelief at what was (to them) the opulence of a large west German city. Their amazement at what was the everyday norm in Hamburg, in turn, was instantly visible to the West Germans, who, in turn stared at the East Germans staring at everything.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

8. Thanks for sharing that story!

I would've enjoyed staring at that spectacle too!

[spooky3]

5. You really should write a book when you retire!

I had a brief trip to Amsterdam and loved it. To have spent a whole life working in Europe and knowing people so well—what an opportunity!

[DFW]

11. Well, I am married to one of the friendler natives

And I had the good fortune to get a job at age 23 with a very forward-thinking top guy. When I asked if I could have more than 2 weeks vacation to visit my girlfriend (now wife) in Germany, he said, hell, if you can make yourself useful over there, spend as much time as you want. At age 23, I already spoke German, Russian, Catalan, Italian, Spanish, Swedish and French, so I had a headstart in making contacts.

As for "retire," I went and looked it up, but the word didn't ring a bell. Check back with me in 15 years (I'm only 68). Yes, my job is sometimes stressful (I heard James Bond turned it down due to the demanding schedule), occasionally dangerous, but it's still a hell of a lot of fun, and for sure it beats a desk job. I get to write my own ticket vacation-wise, and they even pay me a decent salary to do it. I have been doing this (slightly lower rank when I joined!) for 45 years now. If I stopped, what the hell else would I do?

[spooky3]

13. I'm very jealous--in a good way, of course!

I enjoy your stories

[DFW]

15. Thanks. Not all do.

But to each his/her own. What is routine to one man is exotic to the next.

[Firestorm49]

9. In my trips overseas I would often bring back 2 kilos of H. Burie liqueur filled chocolates.

The bottom row usually had a few casualties after the trip back home, but it was well worth it.

[DFW]

12. Oh, yes, gotta watch for those casualties

I wouldn't EVER buy liquor-filled anything (including a glass at a bar), but I have no issue with those who do. Different strokes for different folks, as the song goes.