Let me try to entertain you with my hypothesis that the climate and surface influences people in Holland: the Dutch are healthy because they cycle, less hypochondriac. They act instead of complaining and are water-resistant.

It’s easier to concentrate on work when it’s cloudy, but as soon as the weather improves, they take a day off. The Dutch love travelling and going on holidays. Dutch people are cultural (not only like bifidus), they make time for reading and being informed. Everyone appreciates creativity or tries to be active in various creative fields. Gardening is also an expression of art. Everything seems to be in balance and working. Also the behaviour: very few emotions, direct speech, everything under control. Therefore, it’s difficult for foreigners to guess what lies beneath the surface. Genuine friendship is almost impossible to establish, I am wondering whether it’s the language barrier?

Slovakian people should learn to be more assertive from the Dutch, not to take the reality as a given, but to feel responsible for changes. We have quite a lot of mountainous regions, and the moods of people can be climbing or falling as the temperatures do. Maybe because of the barriers in the past, people appreciate foreigners and create strong friendships quite fast. They seem to work nonstop, instead of taking a rest. Hopefully the new materialism won’t turn people into daemons.

Usually, in Dutch restaurants we can hear this question: “Heeft het u lekker gesmaakt?” I think this is a good example of positive thinking. The waitress doesn’t expect a negative answer, but rather “Ja, het was lekker!” In Slovakia you would hear something like this: “How was the food?” which leaves much more room for any kind of answer.

Planned forests in the NL
In SK, a way to escape a system, hectic life, it is a habit of many to go to the wild forest (70% of the country), where nothing is organized. It is all more surprising to see planned woods in the NL - trees planted on a grid, aligned, so if you walk past them they make all kinds of optical effects. Such effort is incredible to those who know the uncontrollable aspect of nature.

Dutch lunch = Slovak breakfast
Slovak culture, if there is any, is centred around food. Come for an unexpected visit to anyone and you will be served food. If you come expected, there will be tons of food. If you have any conversation, you will have difficulties talking because there will be too much food and drinks on the table.

NL lunch is literary identical to average SK breakfast: juices, dairy products, bread, ham, cheese, etc. SK lunch can be approximated to NL dinner, except it comes almost by rule in three courses: soup, main (warm) dish, desert. Dinner is a simplified version of the lunch.

Beer sizes
First observation of any visitor is the beer size. 3 fluitjes = 1 pivo

Mountains vs snowboarders
SK may have many ski slopes, and mountains, but surely not as many snowboarders as the NL. Quite incredible, where do those people take the inspiration to do that, when the country is so flat? A mystery of the flatlands..

Design visibility
Design is ubiquitous everywhere, that is a social phenomenon, but only in the NL is so visible. Probably the density of population and lack of wilderness is the reason.

Dutch antifreeze freezes in Slovakia
Went on a road trip with a Dutch friend, driving from the NL to SK. It was December, so I warned him that it will be freezing and he should get winter
tires and proper antifreeze liquid for the car. It froze the first night after we arrived. I guess it was never tested for -25C.

No mineral water only SPA
Slovakia has mineral waters (about 30 different bottled ones, from 30 sources). NL has Spa (about 30 different tastes of the same water). It probably says something about efficiency and ability to exploit a single idea/product.

Dutch sweets are salty and black
While everywhere else the kids are tempted by colourful, super sweet candies, the Dutch kids grow up on rather unattractive dropjes. I think it represents perfectly the dominant religions: Catholicism relying on special effects, and sober down to earth Calvinism

Dress, cars, titles are not used as social status
Another different which might be rooted in the religion. Successful public person in SK must be represented by adequate status symbols: jewels, cars, dresses, etc, something which is less visible in the NL. It is a very much
macho culture, where these symbols (and women used as symbols as well) are expected. A rusty bike, comfortable cloth will do in the NL.

different concepts of beauty
Dutch word for beauty (schoon) means clean, something ordered. Slovak word for beauty (krasa) has roots in denying the ordinary, something almost unordered.

Order and dirt
The Dutch may be renowned for the order of the country, but on the surface, the cities are very dirty (dog shit, garbage, etc). The SK is the opposite. Pretty on the surface, but one does not want to know what is behind it.

Advertising mirrors people
TV advertising in SK is sweet, naïve, full of happy people who are promised improvements and changes. People are willing to believe it. The TV ads in the NL is making fun of it self, aware of the manipulative style of TV, and over quite doubtful and cynical.

Despite the density, less physical contact.
People don't expect to talk to each other. Take a train journey in either country and observe the differences. In the SK, you will be talked to within minutes. In the NL, I've been approached by a stranger twice in 5 years. Walkmens, bags placed in the seat next to you is a way to indicate that one does not wished to be talked to or touched.

Kohlrabi
Kohlrabi, one of the most common Slovak veggies, is not recognized by the cash person in Albert Hein in 9 of of 10 attempts to buy it. "Hé, wat is dat?", is a usual question, than three other colleagues come by and examine the vegetable. Nobody ever knows the name, they think it came from outer space. Quite amusing, when I have enough time, but if I am in the hurry I never buy it.