Life in NL | 5 (more) differences between PT & NL

A while ago, I have written a similar post (here) to today’s where I highlighted some of the cultural differences between life in Portugal and in the Netherlands.
Living abroad for a while has its charms; you start pinpointing all the little differences between your motherland and where you currently live.

5 (more) differences between PT & NL

Apparently, over here in the Netherlands, at the end of each school year, students hang their backpacks out of their window (or even on a flagpole) as a symbolic way of showing they have passed and/or finished their exams.

Source: Depositphotos.com

Yep, never seen such things before moving to the Netherlands!

source: www.theenvironmentalblog.org/bike-the-netherlands/

The more the merrier; Dutchies like to make sure everyone knows there is a birthday going on. You often see signs/balloons hanging in front of their windows, and they’re not afraid to tell how old they are becoming. Adults do this on “special” birthdays: 30,50,70 and so on…

This one totally caught me off guard the first time I saw it happening, right in front of me. We in Portugal would normally use these to decorate cakes, but the Dutch, actually use them as a sandwich topper…

Pancakes to me, and I think for most Portuguese people are something relatively new in our diet; I’d say something from the last 10 years or so.
They have become part of the weekend breakfast when families have more time to prepare something extra.
Well, apparently the Dutch have a different take on pancakes; for Dutch people, pancakes are a meal, let’s say lunch or dinner, but not so much as breakfast (at least, not to my knowledge).
I found it very strange at first, like, how could someone have pancakes for dinner?!.
Just Google “Dutch Pannekoeken” and see the diversity of pancakes Dutch eat…

After 7 years of living in the Netherlands, I am still amazed by the little differences between both countries.
But 7 years ago, I would not expect us, Portuguese and Dutch, to be so different and in such particular ways.

Tell me: are any of the points mentioned above “normal” in your country or what are the peculiar things about where you come from?
Let me know in the comments section. I’ll be glad to know more about you & your countries.