To those Americans who dismiss Europe as a backward, leftist, and socialist land, I say, back off—the business leaders I met and to whom I listened at the GRI Conference would run circles around my business school professors and most managers across the pond! To those Europeans who slam America as a consumer-frenzied, overindulged society, I say, not so fast: based on the crowds I saw in the shopping areas and the lines I saw in the stores, I think both sides of the Atlantic know how to spend a buck (or Euro).

A walk through Amsterdam’s Aelbert Cuyp market gives you a first-hand introduction to the high-quality, fresh, and local products for which The Netherlands is famous.

Sometimes being abroad makes you make the most unintuitive analogies. Please take this exercise to see if you are an expert in Dutch cuisine and culture.

Before the GRI Conference began on Wednesday, the City of Amsterdam invited us to spend the morning on a canal tour of the city. The Netherlands is quite vested in reversing the role that climate is having on our planet–most of the country lies below sea level.

Who said reporting and disclosure conferences must be dull? Last night the GRI hosted an awards ceremony for companies who proved that they have successfully engaged their shareholders in ESG (environmental, social, and governance) reporting.

Just as Julia Child’s first impressions of France reminded her of China, The Netherlands so far remind me of Vietnam. Watch a posse of bikes cross an intersection to see why!