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I'd like to contribute a collection of my own: changes in Dutch streets from 2008-ish to today, captured on Google Streetview: https://twitter.com/z_a_c_h_k_a_t
by zachkatz 5y ago
I'd like to contribute a collection of my own: changes in Dutch streets from 2008-ish to today, captured on Google Streetview: https://twitter.com/z_a_c_h_k_a_t_z/status/1464697711442206728 https://twitter.com/z_a_c_h_k_a_t_z/status/14646977114422067...
Even in the last decade, they've still been hard at work upgrading streets, and even some of them more subtle redesigns are absolutely stunning. Dutch street design is really one of the wonders of the modern world, IMO.
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- isoprophlex 5y agoLovely link! A testimonial to the calming power of bricks over asphalt, bikes over cars and hedges over parking spaces.
- zachkatz 5y agoAnd curves! The natural, flowing, yet carefully considered geometry of the intersections (basically, design affordance) is really something unique. The Dutch have spent the last ~50 years getting the fundamentals right (something cities all over the world are doing now), so now they can focus on sheer refinement.
- vanderZwan 5y agoThere are two things I miss from my home country: hagelslag (chocolate sprinkles), and the utterly amazing bike infrastructure and traffic design in general.
- jacquesm 5y agoCan I send you some hagelslag? Puur? Melk?
- vanderZwan 5y agoHaha, you're too kind. But my family already does so every once in a while and it's enough to keep me going :)
- jacquesm 5y agoOk! If you ever need something sent that they can't get then let me know, I'll be more than happy to oblige. I've lived abroad a good 40% of my life and I totally get where you're coming from. For me it was old dutch cheese, for you it's hagelslag...
- erwincoumans 5y agoFunny to see fellow Dutch people on this forum. Noticed you blog, like you piano software. Also, be careful with your e-bike, custom battery packs can be very dangerous (we had some on our quadruped robots, stopping a battery fire is hard!). Groetjes!
- jacquesm 5y agoHey Erwin, thank you, yes, aware of the dangers, I have a huge article on battery/pack safety in the works, but thank you for the extra caution. I'm actually far more scared of falling than I am of the battery pack! The piano software is going to be my next decade, stay tuned for some interesting developments.
- lighttower 5y agoI don't understand why Dutch leave their home country. It seems so idyllic from the outside! What's San Mateo got that Utrecht doesn't? :-)
- littlestymaar 5y ago> It seems so idyllic The weather isn't. (I don't think it's the main reason for people to leave though)
- erwincoumans 5y agoI made such move, for me it is mostly about more interesting and well paying jobs, and better weather in the Bay area. Visiting NL every summer and hope to return eventually.
- Avalaxy 5y agoFor me: almost complete lack of nature (sorry guys, farmlands don't count as "green"), lack of mountains (I love outdoor sports), the depressing weather, the 20% house price increase in one year, the aggressive people who always know everything better (I refer to the large amount of covidiots who only care about themselves). There's plenty to dislike too.
- rambambram 5y agoYou went to Holland I guess, not to The Netherlands. ;)
- Avalaxy 5y agoHey, last time I checked Holland was still officially a part of the Netherlands ;)
- vanderZwan 5y agoI thought the "capital of a country/rest of a country"-split was a universal phenomenon, not just a Dutch one :p
- erwincoumans 5y agoI get hagelslag (de Ruijter, melk, 8 dollar) and appel stroop from Amazon and from summer trips abroad. I do miss pita broodje shoarma, chinese indonesian food, frikandel speciaal, kroketje.
- gsliepen 5y agoAfter living abroad for several years we found out that a lot of Dutch food we take for granted in the Netherlands but we just get from the supermarket can be made quite easily yourself. Like vla! We also made tjap tjoy and babi pangang just like you get from a Dutch Chinese Indonesian restaurant (you can actually find recipes for them online). A broodje shoarma should be easy; pita bread and shoarma meat can be found in most countries, I think making a good garlic sauce yourself will do the trick. Hagelslag is a bit harder though, we do import that.
- jorvi 5y ago8 dollar for a box of sprinkles, sweet Jesus. Feels like buying fancy cheese in Asia.
- erwincoumans 5y agoYes, it is about 3 dollar in the Netherlands (for a 500 gram box), but shipping would make it more expensive than 8usd.
- brnt 5y agoI moved to France and here I can only get those tiny 50 gram "decorative" sprinkles for 4 Euro... The struggle is real.
- Vinnl 5y agoThat's a fantastic collection, thanks for doing that.
- zachkatz 5y agoThanks!
- rambambram 5y agoAnd the best is: it's not only in Amsterdam (or Randstad, for that matter) where they're upgrading streets! ;)
- oliwarner 5y agoThe immediate thing I notice in these near-time updates is how the development has worked around trees, even smaller ones. Any road or pavement changes in the UK seem to come with total deforestation, and sticking some 2yo saplings back in to replace them.
- zachkatz 5y agoYep. A great example is here (flip back to 2008 to see the before picture): https://www.google.com/maps/place/@52.3728948,4.8591403,3a,75y,358.09h,90.2t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sZDibykLEsAW3qZpfpz2DMA!2e0!5s20200601T000000!7i16384!8i8192!4m5!3m4!1s0x47c5e272e9e01d15:0xd03845a19daa152c!8m2!3d52.3693007!4d4.8576128 https://www.google.com/maps/place/@52.3728948,4.8591403,3a,7... It's remarkable how they squeezed a protected bike lane in there while keeping all of those trees.
- TomSwirly 5y agoAll their civil engineering is. Which is why I moved here from NYC. In 2022 I'll be Dutch.