Anyone here from the Netherlands?

[anuffername]

I am hanging on to the very slim hope that we may be able to have our planned long weekend there in January. I'm not in the UK so there are no current issues for us re quarantine, but one of the couples will be coming (or not!!) from the UK.

Interested to know the general feeling among the residents re the next few months? Obviously I know that nobody can tell me if/when the quarantine will be lifted, but it would be good to have some input from anyone who actually lives there.

TIA.

I've just seen on the news that new measures are going to be announced next week so I guess I'll wait and see what they are.

my son moved to the Netherlands in July (from UK)
he is working from home at the minute, was due back in office in Oct, but this has been moved back to Jan (but it is a very technical/It based job, easily done from home)
His view is generally people are slightly more relaxed there than in the UK in terms of there seems to be less angst and panic. He thinks that plans are communicated better (wouldnt be hard!) than in the UK.People mostly follow restrictions, but these are less than in most parts of UK currently. He has been out to museums, parks, cafes etc...(following guidelines)
will be interesting to see what the new restrictions bring next week though...

My brother lives there and he had said all along that they have had a very relaxed approach, shops and cafes never closed and he's been back in the office for at least a month.

I lived in the Netherlands for three years.

They’re very relaxed about health matters. Paracetamol is prescribed for everything! 😂

DD1 moved there in August to study, and was pretty appalled by the relaxed attitude to covid among the general population: not a mask in sight (we're in Germany and have been using masks since April) and precious little social distancing. No surprise that the rates in Amsterdam, the Hague and Utrecht have gone through the roof. Apparently there are limits on the number of people who can gather indoors, but DD shares a kitchen in halls with 13 other people, so that's a fairly large bubble to start with.
She's just said the supermarkets are now limiting how many people can enter at once (another measure in place since March in Germany...), so action is slowly being taken.
I've booked a train and apartment to visit her in November, but am fully mindful that I might need to cancel at the last moment (have booked flexibly with this in mind), and equally that Germany has declared DD's province a high-risk region, so I will have to quarantine and get tested when I get back (work from home so not an issue) - equallyDD will have to quarantine when she comes back at Christmas.
Rutte is threatening more measures next week, we'll have to see what those are.
Incidentally, the track and trace system does seem to work somewhat - DD got a mail (from the contact details she left)that someone in a cafe she'd visited had tested positive and she should watch for symptoms. She then worked out from the timing that she only entered the cafe after the infected person had left.

Thanks very much for taking the time to reply.

We will also have people travelling from Germany so it's not looking hopeful. We thought we had made a sensible decision and picked somewhere that would avoid the need for anyone to fly.

Will wait to see what the new measures are when they announce them.

Anuffer, I'm sure it was a sensible decision for you at the time- when I booked my train a fortnight ago the rates were less than half what they are now.

A lot can change in the next few months, I wouldn't completely write it off yet, if there's no financial disadvantage to you in hanging on a bit before canceling.

Surely it depends too on your exact plans. Lots of visits to cafes in Amsterdam, not so great. Outdoors sightseeing on bikes, less risky.

About your friends in Germany: the way I understand the rules, returning travellers from Risikogebiete without symptoms don't have to isolate the full 14 days. You get your test on arrival at the station or airport, then just isolate until receiving a negative result. In most cases you'd be out of quarantine after 2 or 3 days.
The only issue for me would be if the Netherlands introduced a 14-day quarantine for me on arrival there, which would make my short stay pointless. But the rates where I live in Germany are way below the Dutch rates so that would be a strange measure to introduce. I could understand it if quarantine were introduced for people from eg Bolton. And lots of DD's fellow students from non-European countries had to isolate after arrival in NL.

Thanks @Mentounasc

Yep - it seemed like a great idea at the time (it's a "big" birthday). Trying to stay positive and hope that things change for the better.

We won't be going to any of the big cities and our weekend will be very much outdoorsy . We can cancel/rebook if any of the party are affected by changes in the quarantine rules so it's just a case of holding our nerve.

Ironically, DH and I would be absolutely fine to quarantine on our return, but it would be a real pain for the German/UK contingent.

We have just had our November flights to Germany from France cancelled Hope you have more luck with your plans!