I've been traveling recently, and after spending a few weeks in Germany, crossed the border to the Netherlands.
Wow. What a difference! Absolutely as soon as we crosssed the border, people were SO MUCH friendlier! It was really remarkable to see. People were smiling, started greeting us, and smiling and talking to one another as well. In Germany, people seemed very down and depressed.
I've never seen that before, such a large difference, just traveling a few kilometers. All of sudden I went from being the friendly one (trying to greet people first, smiling, etc), to feeling like I was the rude one (other people were greeting me first, etc.). At least until I adjusted to the predominant level of friendliness.
I've never experienced this before. And we were traveling at a slow pace, from one relatively rural area to another (I know of course being in a city makes a big difference in terms of friendliness).
I wonder what the background is, to this difference. I mentioned it to a few people, one came up with the idea that the Dutch have been big traders and travelers for centuries, so that makes them more outgoing.
Another thing that may make a difference is that Germany appears to have a much higher percentage of migrants. There were a couple cities I was in, where walking around, you could walk for a good 30 minutes before you heard 2 people speaking German together, instead of speaking some other language. And these were often young people as well, who normally intergrate very well into a new culture.
Thoughts? Are there other places where you've noticed big differences in personality/atmosphere, crossing a border?