Netherlands vs Russia // Thoughts on Amsterdam, colonial past, public transport & immigration issues

In this video I will share my impressions of Amsterdam. I will walk around the city, visit parks, try out public transportation, and compare this all to Russia. I’ll also stop by a museum to learn about Dutch history and, of course, share what I didn’t like about my time here.

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In this video:
0:00 intro
0:34 city center & crooked houses
3:32 groceries and prices
5:35 bicycles
6:17 greening comparison in Europe & Russia
7:52 demographics and colonial past
13:37 public transportation
15:13 weird people
16:35 immigration
19:08 what people get wrong about Russia

[zamam]

First law of the sausage: one does not talk about what's in the sausage.

[Dreyno]

Trees are painted white for a reason. It prevents sunburn and sun scald which causes bark damage and allows pests and diseases into trees. You will find it in countries with very hot or very cold climates or both depending on seasons.
In more temperate climates like the Netherlands, you won’t see it as much.

[kevinfarrellUK]

There is a saying ‘travel broadens the mind’. You are living proof!
A traveller will also see things the local people take for granted or even stop seeing, and the traveller can remind us.
I love to see and hear your thoughts. Your education is our education, so long as we keep our eyes, ears and hearts open. ;))

[jumpingMS]

Keep in mind the area you visited is mostly just tourists and not entirely representative of the country as a whole. As a Dutch guy with Indonesian ancestor, I'd say the way we reflect on the "golden age" is not black and white. We celebrate successes and acknowledge the advances made by taking advantages of other (still ongoing process recently our king apologized in Indonesia for example). A while back this meant that statues relating to individuals related to slavery were moved to museums. So that part of history is not forgotten, but not celebrated. However we take pride in advances made in watermanagement, setting up the first stock market, art and ship crafting of that time.

Cultures that integrated after WW2 are now part of Dutch culture. You can find Indonesian ingredients in most supermarkets, however it also took 1 generation for both the Dutch and the Immigrants to adapt to another. Currently there is a lot of polarization around immigration. As reported crimes are perpetuated by a majority of non-Dutch decent when compared to % of the population. It's a complex situation where North Africans came here and worked hard but a portion of their 2nd and 3rd generation children are caught in between 2 cultures. More recently with disturbances in the middle east like Syria and other disrupted areas this mix is changing, but foreigners are overwhelmingly represented in the media in relation to crime. Which does not represent all migrants, but it influences the polarization. Nowadays most migration is related to either highly expertise jobs, like IT, engineering etc. or practical workers like machining specialist. Foreign students are the second largest group of foreigners here.

[richardcoughlin]

Dutch is the main language in Suriname. 60% speak Dutch as their first language and another 20% to 30% can speak Dutch even though it’s not their first language. So language assimilation is not an issue for people coming to the Netherlands from Suriname.

[MauriceEscargot]

I've been following you for at least 4 years now and it's so fun to see you visiting my city!

[mirka]

Main difference between Moscow and Amsterdam is: there is only one Moscow in the whole Russia, while there are many cities in Netherlands with comparable standard of living.
It goes for every developed country: living in the small village/ countryside is as good as living in the capital (or better).

[andgainingspeed]

Above all the other things that I like about this channel, I admire Natasha's honesty in not leaving out anything that might be considered negative. From the mildly irritating to things that spark fear, it's all part of the journey. Looking forward to other places in Europe on the channel as she works out where she is going to land for an extended stay. Hoping Vienna is on the list.

[holyfetzer]

While the Netherlands have a colonial past, Russia has a colonial present

[ggir]

Tourists are ruining Amsterdam. The rest of the Netherlands is very clean, every time I go to Amsyerdam I am always shocked by the garbage laying around.

[richkroberts]

Thank you for the informative video Natasha. You are certainly very self-aware. As someone from Detroit, I understand how you must feel when people criticize the place where you’re from. Keep traveling and living your life. You are a good soul.

[paperthinpizza]

**Clarification** I was one of the people who commented "Welcom to the free world" in your last video. Please understand I only meant that regarding the Russian government's views on LGBTQ people. I saw you meeting other people in the LGBTQ community and I was happy you felt welcomed and had fun at the Pride events in the last video. I wasn't trying to disrespect Russia as a whole, I was thinking specifically about Russia's backwards views on gay rights. I didn't mean to offend you. This was another great video! Keep doing what you're doing with these videos, it's very important! Have a wonderful day!

[AngryOlive_]

Such a high quality video. I am very impressed. I really enjoy seeing your perspective. Thank you!

[oberpenneraffe]

The houses in Amsterdam are not "crooked" they were built intentionally to lean forward to ease hoisting goods. It's difficult to transport goods up the narrow stairways.

[mnblkjh]

russia never used the word colonized, it subjugated many countries for so long they barely speak their native languages

[angepano]

Approaching immigration honestly means acknowledging that while not all immigrants act unpleasantly or with hostility, members of the immigrant community are more likely to do so. Integration is the key but also realizing that not every single immigrant wants to or can be integrated into western society. Westerners wanting it badly to be the case because they want to be virtuous doesn't make it so.

[normancarbajal]

Thanks for the tour and your thoughts Natasha! 😍...

[MarcoSwart]

It's possible to be at the same time ashamed of some atrocities in colonial times and be proud of some achievements during the same period. History isn't an American movie.

[pineconey]

Natasha, I think crowded doesn't equate to dangerous--easier pickpocketing, maybe, and perhaps you find it anxiety-inducing, but not dangerous. Empty streets are the thing to avoid in bad neighborhoods. Glad you're having an interesting experience!

[krzysztofj]

Russia and than Soviet Union was pretty good at colonizing: Siberian nations/tribes, the Baltic nations, Poland, Gerogia, Armenia just to name a few.