But this story lacks detail so either you can immediately jump to the conclusion that the police in the Netherlands are asking people for ID on the streets when

But this story lacks detail so either you can immediately jump to the conclusion that the police in the Netherlands are asking people for ID on the streets when they ask for directions, or you can maybe assume that your friend wasn’t being honest with you and was trying to save face, or something else entirely was going on. Usually when you travel you keep at least one form of ID on you - probably not your passport but a local ID or driving license or something.