1936 On the Continent

charges a guinea for a room and full board, while other first-class hotels charge inclusive rates of 5 florins to 6 florins per day (13s. to 15s. 6d.). Finally, in the very good family hotels full board and lodging may be had at 3.50 florins (8s. 6d.) per day. Inclusive terms in first-class hotels in the country are 4.50 florins to 5 florins per day (12s. to 13s.).
And Drinks
    On the question of drinks little need be said. There are no restrictions as to the hours during which strong drinks may be purchased. One can have real Dutch gin at any licensed café or restaurant at any time between 8 a.m. and midnight, in Amsterdam even till 1 o’clock in the morning. A “single” gin costs 20 to 25 cents (5d. to 6½d.), a whisky 60 cents (1s. 3d.). Speaking of gin, there is one place in Amsterdam which no tourist must miss. In the Pijlsteeg (Arrow Lane)—a narrow little street near the Dam Square—is the three-centuries-old liqueur distillery of Wynand Fockinck. In a small room whose walls are decorated with antique flasks and bottles, behind an immaculately clean scrubbed wooden counter, an elderly lady and an old man in shirtsleeves serve the famous drinks of the firm. You may choose from over a hundred different kinds of liqueurs, in the same old way as their ancestors did three hundred years ago. Bearing in mind the centuries-old tradition of the place, you must perform the time-honoured ritual of the first sip. Nowhere in Amsterdam is the glass filled right to the brim as it is in this little room which, with its wooden floor, resembles “Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese” in Fleet Street. It is impossible to lift the glasswithout spilling part of the contents. Therefore, at the moment the stranger stretches out his hand to take up his glass, the old man in shirtsleeves solemnly warns him: “Don’t take it up! Sip it!” You have to stoop down and sip it! Only when the danger of spilling the liqueur has been lessened are you allowed to take the glass in your hand.
    Beer is a very popular drink in Holland, and it is often drunk with dinner or hot lunch. Of course, there are wines for every taste, and a great variety of mineral waters and fruit drinks for those who do not care for alcoholic beverages.
Manners
    Although generally speaking the customs of the Dutch, their etiquette, their manner of salutation, do not differ very much from the universal, there are nevertheless some points you will do well to bear in mind if you do not wish to be considered a “queer bird.” For instance, it is not customary in Holland for men to walk arm in arm. This intimacy is reserved for the ladies and, of course, for married and engaged couples. In the matter of salutation, courtesy in Holland demands that men should greet each other by raising their hats. Only very close friends may wave a hand or exchange a cheery “hello.” And when a gentleman meets a lady acquaintance in the street he raises his hat without waiting for the lady to greet him or to smile at him.
    What coffee-stalls are to London, herring stalls are to the Dutch. Working-class people in particular like to eat a herring at a stall. This is not quite the thing for the tourist to buy a herring at a herring stall. But you may be interested to watch the typical street scene of an Amsterdam labourer holding up the boned fish by the tail, bending his head back and swallowing the fish at one big gulp.
    Amsterdam is a very convenient centre for the visitor who wishes to have permanent headquarters from which to make short trips to the various parts of the country he wishes to see. In fifty minutes the electric, train brings you to The Hague, and by the same line Rotterdam can be reached in seventy minutes. Between Amsterdam and The Hague lie Haarlem and Leiden, and between TheHague and Rotterdam, Delft, three towns which no visitor to Holland should miss seeing. A short distance north of Amsterdam lie the quaint old towns of Edam (with Volendam and Marken) and Monnikendam; a little farther are Hoorn, Enkhuizen, Medenblik, and the more widely known Alkmaar, famous for its cheese market on Fridays.
    This cheese market is immensely interesting. The round, red and golden Edam cheeses sold here have been rolling round the world since the fifteenth century, carrying the story of picturesque Holland, land of meadows, canals, windmills and bulbs to the far ends of the earth. Millions of these brightly coloured cheese globes find their way annually to the shelves of shops in