We were enjoying a beer and the sunshine yesterday afternoon on the Nieuwmarkt (a prominent tourist landmark) when I discovered just how seriously the Dutch take their pub regulations. It seems that space is at such a premium in this country that a pub with outside seating (terraces) has a strictly demarcated area it is allowed to use. My chair was placed squarely athwart the border and I was politely asked to move inside the legal zone. To my delight, there was actually a line painted on the cobblestones, helpfully labelled “terrasgrens” (lit. terrace border).