Unexpected Quirks and Experiences Involving Mail in the Netherlands
If you’ve never lived in a different country, or had to deal with international shipping, learning the ins-and-outs of a new system can present a unique set of problems (or “learning experiences” if you are in a more positive frame of mind today).
All addresses are recorded. The option of pulling a prank that involves a fake address is nearly impossible, which makes it nice when having something delivered. A mistake in the address is rare, and often difficult to accomplish due to online forms with automatically populating fields.
Zipcodes (or postcodes) are something I have grown very mindful of since moving here. You use them for everything, and they are incredibly specific, to the cityblock. When giving a loved one back home my address, I am very emphatic about them having the right postcode.
A couple of years ago, my parents sent me a gift for my birthday. Everything on the label was correct, with the exception of the postcode. That resulted in a fun adventure, starting with the box being delivered to the same street and house number as mine, but a different town. Funnily enough, that house was being remodelled, so the head of the construction crew took it home, which was in yet another town.
Thankfully, when the man opened the box and saw all of the Cajun spice cans and a birthday card, he realized it was a mistake. My partner was able to pick it up for me after work. Moral of the story: make sure the postcode is correct!
One other thing I learned about in the past couple of weeks was about envelopes with black borders. When I checked the mail, I saw a rather elegant looking white envelope with a thin black border. There was no stamp, so I was a bit confused. It was a funeral/memorial service notification for an elderly woman in our building who had recently passed away. Sad lesson, but also touching because I also learned that postal charges are not expected on these. Decency can come from unexpected places.