The gentle feel of the Dutch seasons

The more time I spend in the Netherlands, the more I feel grateful for something I had never really noticed before. As spring slowly begins to arrive from March onwards and the country prepares for summer, I find myself paying attention to small things I once overlooked.

One of them is how every month here seems to have its own theme. Not a colour theme like blue or purple, but a rhythm created by the weather, activities, people and small events around you. As the warmer months approach, the whole country seems to wake up slowly. There are events such as Tulip Day, visits to the Keukenhof, open garden days, and historical walks organised by cities.

Flowers begin to bloom everywhere, and cycling paths feel almost ubiquitous, navigating neighbourhoods, streets and walking trails. To see them, all you need to do is open your eyes. Winter brings its own customs later in the year, such as the arrival of Sinterklaas, Christmas markets, light festivals, and little festivities that add cosiness and warmth to the gloomier months. 

How do people discover these seasonal events easily?

One thing I really appreciate in the Netherlands is that the system feels intuitive and transparent, making it easy to discover events happening around you. You can simply visit the website of your municipality and see what events are planned.

Many of these community activities feel thoughtfully and efficiently orchestrated by local municipalities, from city walks and summer dance performances to light parades and neighbourhood gatherings. The information is openly available, and anyone can access it without difficulty. You don’t need special permission or connections. You are treated like a free individual, and if you need help, someone will guide you.

Information is seamlessly available everywhere. Local library websites share community activities, official city Instagram pages post updates, and government portals like Overheid.nl guide you to public programmes. And don't forget IamExpat.nl, of course.

Even tourist information centres sometimes display small notices about local events. The NS (Dutch National Railway) website announces seasonal travel offers, and soon the tulip websites will begin sharing updates about gardens and fields opening across the country. Everything is easy to find, and that openness itself feels very comforting.

When the sun starts returning

During spring, tulip visits are planned. Gardens are cleared. Trees slowly begin growing new leaves. Supermarkets suddenly fill their aisles with gardening tools and plants. 

The sun also begins appearing more often, and you can see the difference in people immediately. People start wearing short sleeves, shorts and sunglasses. Car rooftops are often open. Cafés bring their chairs outside again. There is a subtle kind of happiness that seems to come from within, and you can feel it in every corner of the city.

I have started believing more strongly that the weather really affects our mood. The thermometer might show 15 degrees, but the happiness in the air feels like it has crossed 40. It is such a pleasant time of year that sometimes it feels like the year has just started.

Movement, travel and planned joy

As summer approaches, the railway company NS sends out its annual emails with summer vacation discount coupons and free weekend travel passes. They are bought, tucked into bags across the country, and used with one goal in mind: to travel for travel’s sake. 

Watching people sit by the canals, lie on the grass in parks, and cycle slowly without any hurry demonstrates that atmosphere of ease. If the city offers enough calm and green space, residents will naturally engage in a slower pace of life.

But while the streets remain busy, the parks become increasingly relaxed. They slowly fill with families and friends, laying out picnic blankets and pulling food from hampers. Cafes take their chairs outside. Sunlight alters the texture of silence. It feels lighter, softer.

A different sense of time

Living in the Netherlands has also changed how I experience time. Back home, months sometimes pass without being noticed properly. One season blended into another before you could pause and reflect. Here, months seem to announce themselves. Spring arrives, and people prepare for it. Summer arrives, and life moves outdoors. Even winter, though darker, has its own rhythm with lights, markets, traditions and heaters.

Nobody tells you to be happy here. Nobody insists on positivity. But life is arranged in a way that makes happiness easier to find. The country itself feels organised at a very advanced level. Infrastructure is well planned. Roads are well-connected. You rarely feel lost when using Google Maps because everything links together so smoothly. At the same time, the country is visually beautiful. Canals, windmills, cheese shops, bicycles everywhere, and well-designed cycling paths.

Sometimes it feels like walking through a Pinterest board, except it is real life.

Small moments of gratitude

I feel grateful not because everything is perfect, but because everyday life feels respected. You are trusted to move freely, to organise your time, to enjoy public spaces, and to follow the rules responsibly. That trust slowly changes you.

It makes you calmer. It makes you more aware of small things. Sometimes I am just walking without doing anything important, and suddenly I feel thankful for the sunlight, for the flowers, for the way people smile a little more and greet me as they pass. These moments are small, but they stay with you.

The longer I live in the Netherlands, the more I realise that happiness does not always come from big achievements. Sometimes it comes from seasons. Sometimes it comes from systems that quietly allow you to breathe. Sometimes it comes from a simple email offering a train pass and the freedom to go anywhere, just because you can.

And maybe that is why I feel grateful here, quietly, deeply, without always needing a reason.

A small joy for vegetarians

Another small thing that adds to my happiness here is how easy it is to find vegetarian food. Growing up vegetarian, I often wondered whether it would become difficult after moving abroad. But the Netherlands surprised me in the best way. Supermarkets offer abundant vegetarian options with clearly labelled nutritional information. Restaurants clearly label plant-based dishes. Even small cafes usually have something suitable. Sometimes the variety is so wide that choosing what to try becomes the difficult part.

It feels comforting to know that I don’t have to change something that has always been a part of my life in the name of exploration. And this is what makes me feel at home. In many ways, this reflects the same feeling I experience in other parts of daily life. Just like the seasons, the public spaces, and the small events that shape the year, even food here seems to send the same message: you are welcome to live your life in your own way. I am excited to welcome the spring and enjoy it to the fullest this year.

I am learning

Here's to slowing down and noticing the rhythm of the year. When you pay attention, every season quietly brings something new to enjoy.