The Little (and Big!) Changes Expat Life Brings

When I boarded a ferry more than fifteeen years ago and left the UK to start a new life in the Netherlands, I never really stopped to consider how different my life would actually be.

I knew there was a new language to learn, one that I'd mistaken for a strange German dialect during a summer holiday in Turkey. 

I was, of course, aware of the typical Dutch associations with clogs, windmills, cheese and tulips but I shrugged that off as stereotypes. I learnt that the old adage 'no smoke without fire' is alive and well and there are actually a fair few windmills in the Netherlands, some farmers do wear clogs (as well as father-in-laws working in gardens) and the Dutch do happen to grow a tremendous number of tulips.... and they like cheese. But these turned out to be the least of the differences thrown at me when I embraced an expat life in the Netherlands. 

9 Not So Serious Tips to Help You Use Public Transport in the Netherlands

The public transport system in the Netherlands is in general good. There are buses, trams, metros and trains to help you make your way across the length and breadth of this small nation. But what do I know, I grew up with British Rail so anything seems good in comparison.

1. Get Yourself an OV Chipkaart
Those of you who were in the Netherlands prior to the dawn of the OV Chipkaart will remember having to travel with a strippenkaart. Thankfully, that is now obsolete. It was one of the most convoluted elements about travelling on public transport in the Netherlands. You needed to know how many transport zones you were travelling through (and then add one, double it, half it and guess which number I first thought of) to pre-stamp the paper strip; that was if your strippenkaart wasn't in at least two pieces because it was long so you had to continually fold it multiple times to get it in your purse/wallet/handbag/pocket and it tended to erode along the creases.

8 Things Every Expat Needs to Know About Driving in the Netherlands

There are some tricks to help you get safely from A to B on the roadways of the Netherlands*. It may seem like the rules of the road are self explanatory and easy to follow but often they are not quite as they seem. Here are eight tips to help you drive whilst you are driving around this little Dutch nation.

1. You Need to Change Your Driving Licence

There comes a time when your home nation driving licence just isn't valid anymore to drive in the Netherlands. For some nationalities, this means taking a Dutch driving test.  If this applies to you, don't worry. Judging by the driving habits of the rest of the nation, it really can't be that hard.

For others, it is simply a case of swapping once licence for another as is the case with the Brits. 

Interestingly, swapping a British licence to a Dutch one gave me the right to drive many more (heavy) vehicles than the average Dutchman. Don't ask me why but when I first converted my British license to a Dutch one I could pretty much drive a juggernaut here whilst my Dutch husband was limited to cars and the like - he would have to take a separate test to join me on any truck driving adventure ideas I may have harboured. When I had to renew my Dutch license last year I had to take a test to continue my non-existent juggernaut driving so I politely turned down the kind offer and am now only able to drive regular road vehicles like the majority of the Dutch nation. It was fun whilst it lasted, particularly when I was contemplating my next career move back in 2008.......

2. They're Traffic Lights but not as We Know Them

The colours are the same: red, yellow (or amber if you want to be pedantic) and green but they mean different things.

• A traffic light that is turning to red means put the gas pedal to the floor and GO GO GO because you can easily make it before it turns really red. If you stop at a traffic light as it turns from amber to red, expect to get beeped at by the car(s) behind.
• If a traffic light is amber it means speed up, you can easily make it before it turns red.
• A green traffic light means go, if you have bothered to stop in the first place.

3. Speed Limits Don't Apply to Everyone

If you choose to drive at 120km, or 130 km where it's allowed, on the motorway in the fast lane, don't be suprised to see that you pick up an assortment of "trailers" on your journey. Whilst bumperkleven (tailgating) is illegal in the Netherlands it's no deterrent for Dutch drivers and the fight for space in this little land is no more apparant than on the third lane of the nation's highways. In fact, the Dutch are trying to get bumperkleven classified as an Olympic sport to improve their gold medal tally.

When roadworks are being carried out on the motorway, and a temporary speed limit is in place do not make a mental note to take your car in to the garage to have your speedometer checked. It's fine. Really. It's just that the lower speed limit only applies to you and not to other drivers on the road.

4. You Can Make Someone's Day at a Zebra Crossing

When you stop at a zebra crossing to allow a Dutch pedestrian to cross, expect a look of surprise or shock on the faces of those waiting at the side of the road; they never believed you would actually stop so you have just made their day. Your expat status will of course be easy to spot in such circumstances.

5. There are More than Just Cars on the Road

At a junction, the absence of cars or pedestrians nearby does not mean it is safe to pull out or turn; watch out for buses, trams and cycles as they come out of nowhere and usually have priority.

If you have to make an emergency maneuver to avoid something hitting you expect the middle finger should you hit your horn as a warning or in frustration or anger.  It does not matter that they have almost hit your car, or that you have had to use all your driving know-how to avoid a collision - you have no right to beep at the offender.

6. Right has Priority

If there are no clear markings on the road, then any road turning onto the road you are on from the right has priority. This means that cars may pull out in front of you from the right and they DO actually have right of way, though it might seem like anti-social driving to you. Do not shout, blaspheme or stick your middle finger up. It's not nice.

7. There's a Knack to Roundabout Etiquette

Do not wait for Dutch drivers to signal on the roundabouts. You must guess when they will turn off - it is a sort of national game. You must also pull out on to the roundabout even when it looks like you don't have enough time to do so safely. Someone will eventually stop for you. Or in the back of you.

8. Cars do not Float

Even if you have not been in the Netherlands very long you have probably noticed there is a fair bit of water around in the form of canals, rivers and lakes. Oh, and the sea. Be careful when you are parking in the narrow spaces near the water - spaces that are typical in Amsterdam and Leiden for example. There are rarely barriers and it is a harrowing drop down to the water if you don't brake in time. Trust me when I tell you it's not just shopping trolleys and bikes that are fished out of Dutch waterways.

*Despite anything you may read here, or may have heard from others driving in the Netherlands is safer than it looks. The CBS relays that the Netherlands is in the top five when it comes to the least amount of road fatalities per 1 million people within the European Union.

8 Essential Items Every Expat Needs in Their Dutch Home

In order to integrate in the Netherlands there are (at least) eight essentials you need to have tucked away somewhere in your home. Without them your integration will never be complete and you may even fail the inburgeringscursus*.

1. Potato Masher
Without this vital piece of kitchen equipment you can never hope to truly master Dutch cuisine. Using a masher effectively is hard work but never fear because practice makes perfect. As a guide, you need to keep mashing until the food object in question looks squished beyond any hope of resuscitation.

This kitchen tool allows you to make a perfect stamppot or hutspot- perfect for warming the tummy in winter. Also very handy for preparing meals for after major dentistry work or whilst waiting for the healing of a broken jaw.

2. Birthday Calendar
This is an essential for the smallest room in the house, namely the downstairs loo. If you don't have a downstairs loo, then I fear total integration may be just out of your grasp. Make sure you include the birthday of anyone likely to visit your house - everyone checks for their name whilst they are making use of your facilities. They really do. If they come out of your downstairs loo looking mad it is in no way a reflection of the quality of your chosen toilet paper, rather it's because you forgot to put their birthday in your calendar..

3. Bicycle
It almost goes without saying, but without a bike in the Netherlands you are no one. You simply must have a bike - it really doesn't matter how much you use it but you should have one. Where it is stored differs from household to household. The shed is a popular place. Public hallways in shared accommodations are also popular, preferably blocking emergency exits and any means of entrance. Creating an obstacle course for fellow residents is seen as good sport here. 

You can also leave your bike(s) chained to a lamppost outside your house - it externalises the obstacle course and gives dogs new and varied targets to pee on.

4. Window Foil
Many Dutch homes do not have curtains. They may have blinds or no window fittings at all. This is traditionally so you can peek in and view the showcase living rooms. However, over the years many Dutch homeowners have become torn between tradition and dignity. Do they really want you seeing them in their dressing gowns with bed hair every morning grabbing their first koffie of the day? The solution is window foil. Placed strategically over the windows you can't see out so obviously nobody can see in (except very small and very tall people).

5. Sauces

Your fridge door must be full of different sauces to be served with every meal. Every meal, regardless of what it is. Of course, the food you serve will determine exactly which of the sauces you are to serve but there are some staples: knoflooksaus (garlic flavoured sauce), currysaus (spicy ketchup in essence) and chillisaus (chilli sauce). There are other sauces which are variable and optional but for kids you must serve appelmoes (apple sauce). I have heard that the wide choice of accompanying sauces is related to the lack of flavour in Dutch cuisine.......but I couldn't possibly confirm or deny that rumour.

6. Vases
Flowers are everywhere in the Netherlands. They are also commonly brought by visitors. So if you are a bit of a socialite, then you will need a lot of vases and many free surfaces to put your flowers in and on. Wide vases, narrow vases, tall vases and short stumpy vases - you'll probably need them all.

7. Cheese Slicer

I had never owned a cheese slicer (kaasschaaf) in my pre-Netherlands life. Cheese in the UK is soft and comes in square chunks so can easily be cut with a knife or crumbled or grated for sandwiches. I now own two cheese slicers. (I actually had three but whilst some might find that luxurious, I found it to be a little excessive and as it came free with some cheese I chucked it away). Anyways.... Dutch cheese is hard and triangular shaped. Trying to cut it with a knife is just asking to lose at least one finger dangerous so cheese slicers are essential.

8. Chairs

Foreigners in the Netherlands all have to step into the circle of death at some point. If you have a Dutchie in your house, you may even have to create that birthday circle for yourself. For this you need as many chairs as you can muster from friends, family and neighbours. But you must also have a good supply in house. The good news is (so I am told) that the birthday circle is dying out and a thing for the older generations. There's hope for us expats yet......

*This may not be actually true at all.

20 Signs You're Almost Ingeburgerd in the Netherlands

When you have lived long enough in the land of the Dutch some things become such a normal part of your life that you no longer give them a second thought. These are the things you do when you are an expat in the Netherlands but are well and truly on your way to an ingeburgerd (yes, of course that's a real word) state.

1. You have orange clothes tucked away in your wardrobe especially for King's Day and those major international football tournaments. Oranjegekte is something you can really get behind.
2. You own a pair of ice skates and there's a good chance you've used them on natuurijs and not just at a skating ring.
3. You own a gourmet set and are hellbent on using it at Easter and Christmastime, and probably any other celebratory occasion you care to dream up.
4. You don't even flinch when you see hoards of Zwarte Pieten descending on your home town in November. 
   
   
   
5. You don't even blink when you see a child pour half a box of coloured sprinkles on their heavily buttered bread and have even been known to partake yourself in a little hagelslag fun.
6. You contemplate whether you could actually spell arbeidsongeschiktheidsverzekering using the letters you have on your Scrabble rack.
7. You don't gasp in shock when someone utters "Jij kunt" to you.
8. Sausage floating in your thick dark green soup doesn't scare you.
9. You and your bicycle have become one. It's like a Siamese twin with wheels.
10. You search out three for two offers in the supermarket and cram your trolley full of said items in multiples of three even though you don't need even one of the product. you know, just like every other Dutchman around you, that gratis is gratis.
11. HAVO, MAVO, MBO and VBO actually mean something to you.
12. It feels like you have scored a bargain when a toilet visit is only 25 cents.
13. You own both a kaasschaaf and a potato masher and you are not afraid to use them. 
14. It's Calve pindakaas, or no pindakaas.
15. You've started watching the Winter Olympics because for the first time in your life you actually have some kind of association with those winning the gold medals. (This may actually only be applicable to British expats.)
16. You no longer fear the contents of UFOs (Unidentified Fried Objects) you see lying in the coolers of every snack bar you walk into.
17. You leave your curtains undrawn (or don't bother putting any up at all) and actually wave at passers-by.
18. You've accepted that oven gloves turned into oven glove and you just take everything out of your small oven with one hand now.
19. The farmer wants a wife is more than a song to you, it's good TV.
20. Your throat growls and regurgitates the 'g' sound so well that your non-Dutch relatives look somewhere between scared and concerned every time you say "Goed zo!" to a passing native.

16 Must Have Items to Survive a Dutch Spring

Ah yes, the daffodils are blooming and the snowdrops are bursting out of the ground. It must be spring. But what does springtime look like in the Netherlands? What do you need to survive a Dutch spring? Here's the low down.

1. Umbrella - that umbrella you needed in autumn and winter? Don't store it away just yet. You'll be needing that throughout the spring too. April showers are as prominent here in the Netherlands as they are in Britain. The nice thing about rain during the spring season here is that there is an element of surprise to it. One minute the sun is shining and you're thinking of heading to the beach, the next minute you are pissed wet through. Think of it as a fun Dutch game, but without the fun.

2. Sunglasses - as I mentioned above, the sun shines in spring. Just be sure to carry your sunglasses case with you as the sunshine can be short-lived (see above).

3. Camera - springtime in the Netherlands is a feast for the eyes so be sure to carry photographic equipment around with you. It's the time when flowers cover the ground - and the Dutch are not known for their blooms for nothing. Exploring the flower fields at this time of year is a must if you are in the Netherlands.

4. Winter coat - don't dump it yet, the mornings snd evenings are surprisingly nippy well into April. It's tempting to look at the sun out your bedroom window and think you can pass up your thick coat for that lovely springtime jacket but don't do it. Not yet.

5. Orange clothes - April means King's Day. Which means orange. If you ain't in orange on the 27th of April I suggest you leave the country.

6. Tickets for the Keukenhof - spring means flowers. Did I say that already? And flowers can only mean one thing - the annual spectacle that is the Keukenhof. If you have never been it should be on your bucket list, no matter where in the world you live. Yes, it's busy. Yes, it's jam packed with tourists. But wow, it's beautiful.

7. Food for brunch - spring brings the paas haas to the Netherlands (that's the Easter Bunny to you and me - to the Dutch it's a hare) and on Easter Sunday it's traditional to sit down with family and eat brunch together. It's something driven by the supermarkets I'm sure.....

8. Waterproofs - did I mention it rains a lot in spring here? So you'll need protection. All over rain protection.

9. Pedalling power - spring storms (like the one this week) are not unusual and the wind blows over this flat land with nothing to stand in its way. However, do not think for a minute that winds gusting at 70km per hour stops any real Dutchie from getting on their bike. Depending on whether you are cycling into the wind, or have it in your back, your bike journey will either be done in record time or you'll need every drop of pedalling power you can muster to make it to your destination.

10. Long pants and a jumper - at least that is what Trip Advisor tells those planning on visiting the Netherlands in spring. I would listen to me, and not Trip Advisor - you'll usually need a damn sight more than a jumper and long pants (presumably they mean trousers and not underpants) to stay comfortable in April but hanging about in May in your pants may work.

"The spring months of April and May are also great times to visit during, even though the cooler daytime temperatures may require long pants and a jumper to stay comfortable." Trip Advisor

11. Suncream - having said what I said for number 10 we have had some remarkably summery weather at the end of April in years gone by so sun cream should be at the ready.

12. A favourite strandtent - that's a beach cafe to non-Dutch speakers. At the end of March the cafes are rebuilt on the beach and the terraces and doors open once more. It's THE place to hang to enjoy a drink and a bite to eat with friends and loved ones. With a jumper and long pants on of course.

13. Wellington boots - did I mention it rains in spring? If you like wet feet put on your summer footwear, otherwise keep those wellies on hand.

14. A garden centre - spring is when the Dutch move outside and the garden gets a spruce up. Garden furniture is replaced, renovated or uncovered. Signs and pictures go up in the garden. Candle holders and ornaments appear on patio tables. The garden centres across the nation are buzzing with a capital B (although having said that our local Groenrijk has gone bust so that's a little less buzzing this spring time).

15. Holiday plans - the meivakantie falls, surprisingly, in May and the nation heads off for anything from a mini-break to a two week long vacation. You should too.

16. A car or a bike - if you are in the Netherlands in springtime you'll want to visit the flower fields. Did I mention flowers already? Online there are lots of touring routes to get the best views of the spectacular blocks of colours that cover the Dutch landscape. And if you do it in a convertible with the top down then you'll blend in a treat. And one free tip - a family photo session in such a location is a great idea for the memory treasure trove - something that Vinita Salome can help you with but be quick because those blooms are gone before you know it.

My Dutch Neighbourhood

I live in the Dutch equivalent of England's Milton Keynes. In other words it's what is known as a new town, created to quell the expansion of The Hague in the 1970s. Of course, before that time there was a Zoetermeer, but that was small, quaint and old style. Zoetermeer today is an ever expanding concrete suburbia with its fair share of social issues. But that's not what this post is about - this post is part of another great series through Multicultural Kid Blogs called 'Your Neighbourhood around the World'.

So without further ado... welcome to my little part of Zoetermeer....

This is a typical looking family house in my neighbourhood, though to be honest there are many different types of housing style locally from unremarkable family terrace houses, square houses with wood panel exteriors, to split level apartments.

This is a nearby street. Many streets are tree lined (the subject of a current battle as the council wants to chop many trees down in the neighbourhood because they have gotten too big for the streets - many residents are opposed) and lined with parked cars.....

This is one of the many local primary schools. Dutch primary schools tend to have a very local catchment area and be numerous but small scale. Children may start at age 4 but are legally required to attend school from 5.

One of the local supermarkets. Many Dutch have a tendency to pop into their supermarket on a daily basis to grab fresh food, instead of doing a huge shop on a weekly basis. This means supermarkets are generally small and compact.

This is the local basketball court where children ride their bikes, sit and talk and sometimes actually play basketball with each other. In winter it is filled with water and becomes the local skate rink and a real neighbourhood gathering point.

 A local playground. Again, small scale and numerous is the theme when it comes to neighbourhood play areas.

This is just about the most popular way of travelling where I live. There are almost as many bikes as there are people in the Netherlands and bike riding begins young.

This is one of the local Dutch snack bars where UFOs are served (unidentified fried objects). There are often long queues! I guess this the Dutch answer to Britain's fish and chip shops.

This building used to house our local library but it was the victim of budget cuts so disappeared a year or so ago. It remains open as the neighbourhood/police post to flag issues or suggestions. 

One of numerous local hairdresser salons in the neighbourhood. There seems to be a Dutch obsession with hairdressers. We have four situated in two little shopping areas in the local neighbourhood. This one is specialised in kids' haircuts and has an array of cars and scooters for the kids to sit in or on. My youngest was there last week for his very first haircut.  

This last picture, whilst showing more typical family homes in my neighbourhood, also shows a street sign for a national drink driving awareness campaign. "BoB" is the designated driver, someone who should avoid alcohol even at those neighbourhood BBQs.

A Letter from my Future Expat Self

September 1999

Dear Amanda,

In an unexpected turn of events you will move to the Netherlands in a year's time. It's a country just across the North Sea, but don't be fooled by the short distance: it's a different country for sure.

Remember when you were holidaying in Turkey and kept hearing what you thought was a strange dialect of German? Well, that was Dutch, and now you need to learn it. It's actually not the same as German at all and by the time you have immersed yourself in the Dutch language your German language skills will have gone out the window. Similarities sure, but absolutely not the same.

So, if you want to be taken seriously and feel even a teeny bit integrated in your new home, you need to learn Dutch. Get cracking. It's not the easiest language for a Brit to learn because some sounds just don't exist in the English language. This is why you'll avoid saying where you live for the first three months you are in the Netherlands - Voorschoten will be impossible for you to say correctly until you master the 'sch' sound, similarly you'll avoid telling people about any trip you make to Scheveningen.

Whilst you get the basics covered, don't worry because Dutch people speak brilliant English, and will attempt to practice with you at every opportunity. In 2013 somebody will come up with the idea of a badge that lets Dutch people you want to speak Dutch with them and not English, but that's way ahead of your time. Therefore you will have to act as if they haven't spoken English at all and continue in Dutch as best you can. Keep at it, after a few years the Dutch will stop talking English to you.

And whilst we're on the subject of practising, find someone with a bicycle you can borrow. Yes, a two wheel pedal yourself type bike. The Dutch cycle everywhere and as you currently don't, starting now will avoid you making a fool of yourself when you buy a bike in 2002. Even the expat woman who will become queen in 2013 thinks nothing of hopping on her bike to open some park or building. Get on your bike.

There are those that will tell you moving to the Netherlands is easy, that it's like living in England. Those people never moved to the Netherlands. They settled there for a while and stayed in an expat world. Moving there permanently is not easy. It is foreign. It is abroad. It is an alien culture. Of course, there are harder places to adjust to, but you will experience culture shock. There will be days when you feel so lonely you'll want to throw the towel in. There will always be a reason to turn back, abort your journey, pack your bags and book a single ticket back to England. But don't. Hang in there. You'll get through everything thrown at you. Good days will start outnumbering the bad days and eventually you'll have worked yourself right through the culture shock spectrum. You'll wake up one day and realise you're home.

One day you'll have a husband, three children and a family home. You'll have been open to a home birth without pain relief, your children will go to local Dutch schools, you'll talk almost exclusively daily in Dutch and you'll have the career you always dreamed of (not much time to do it in but you can't have it all). You'll realise you're an expat at home.

I promise you it's the right move to make. Don't doubt it.

Good luck!

Lots of love,

Amanda

P.S. For future reference, when your future mother-in-law asks you if you have 'E K Ya' in England, your answer is "yes but we call it Ikea". Don't shake your head and look at her as if she's from another planet.

How to BBQ on the Beach in Style

Photo: Fonq.nl 

I saw this advertised in Mama magazine and just had to share. This bike/bbq encompasses everything Dutch there is about summer here: bicycles, sunshine, BBQ and gezelligheid.

For the Dutch there is none of this instant, disposable BBQ rubbish to lug about. Only a man size, real life cooking apparatus will do. A BBQ may be heavy but where there's a will, there's a way. And where the Dutch are concerned that solution usually involves a bike. Voila!

So, what are you waiting for? Kids on the front, BBQ on the back and off to the beach. Perfect right?

You Know You're An Expat Parent in the Netherlands When...

Being a parent abroad means facing situations that you probably wouldn't face if you had stayed in the country you were born in. Being an expat parent means adapting...... Here are twenty things that make me realise I'm a Brit parenting in the Netherlands.

1. You actually consider a home birth as a viable option.
2. You think you can give birth without the help of pain relief.
3. The whole idea of a maternity nurse spending a week in your home directly after the birth of your child is inconceivable. You reluctantly commit to her coming a few hours a day (half of your entitlement) but make sure everyone knows you are giving in begrudgingly. When your second is born you sign up for your full entitlement and dream up elaborate ways to get more hours out of your maternity nurse.
4. When the well-baby clinic recommends your child eats six slices of bread a day you involuntarily take in a sharp breath.
5. Your three year old speaks Dutch better than you do. 
6. Your five year old actually corrects you when you speak Dutch.
7. You are floored by the way your toddler can roll their "r's" and say "Scheveningen".
8. You're amazed because there is no complicated school enrolment system* for your children. You fill in an application form and the school informs you within a week or two if they have a space for your child or not. You can't believe it can be that simple.
9. When your child starts school you have no idea how the school system works because it's not the same as the one you grew up in. 
10. You cannot get to grips with the idea that eating in a pancake house is "going out for dinner" and still see those Dutch pancakes as eating dessert before the main meal.
11. You stop calling your GP for every minor ailment your kids get because you know the answer will be "Take paracetamol and if he's not okay in three days come back."
12. There is more paracetamol in your medicine cabinet at any one time than you would conceivably use in a year in your own country. What's more you have paracetamol for every possible age range and for every orifice and  - you're not afraid to use it.
13. Your kids cycle better and more than you do.
14. The phrase you use most whilst walking to and around the local playground is "Watch out for the dog poo. I said WATCH OUT! OK, you can clean that when we get home...."
15. Your children eat sprinkles on bread for breakfast.
16. Your child brings home a different friend book to fill in on a weekly basis. But of course your child cannot yet write so guess what you spend your weekends doing....
17. You wouldn't dream of driving to school. Instead, you join the masses and walk or cycle with your child to school.
18. You have an impressive array of attachments for your bike, including a bike trailer and child seats.
19. You race to the nearest lake when the temperature drops so that your children can wear their ice skates.
20. Your child has a tendency to find the idea of poo sandwiches hilarious. 

*except in Amsterdam.....

11. You don't call the GP....
Photo: Andrzej Gdula



What have I missed? What makes you realise you are parenting abroad, which ever country you are parenting in?

Bikes, Kids and the Dutch

Ferrying children around on a bike - as easy as ABC in
the Netherlands
(c) The Writing Well

*A recent article confirmed that it's actually safer to ferry your children around in a bakfiets (a carrier fixed to the front of the bike) than a child seat fixed to either the front or back of your bike. The reason for this is simple - if you are involved in an accident with a car whilst on your bike more often than not your head tends to meet the windscreen. In a bakfiets this won't happen. The other reason cited for it being safer than a child seat is because drivers notice a bakfiets more than child seats. It all makes sense to me when you think about it logically - with a bakfiets the centre of gravity is lower and it is therefore more stable.

With the imminent birth of our third baby I have thought about a fietskar (a child carrier in the form of a trailer that fits to the back of a bike) as getting about would be a lot easier by bike as the kids get a little bigger. It is safer than two children in seats on the front and back of my bike - particularly given my amateurish, shaky cycling skills. The downside of bike trailers or bakfiets is that they are not cheap!

For a bakfiets you can expect to part with more than a thousand of your hard earned euro - but it is a replacement for a car for many. A bike child seat will set you back anything from 50 to 100 euro depending on the model and the price for a trailer for your bike starts around 170 euro (but remember you need to buy accessories to attach your children safely in the trailer....) and rises easily to near 1000 euro.......

Do you cycle around with your children on your bike? Do you use child seats, a trailer of a bakfiets? Which form do you feel is safer? Did you transport your kids by bike before you moved to the Netherlands? I would love to hear your views!


*This article first appeared on my other blog, A Letter from the Netherlands in September 2011.