Going to preface that the Netherlands is among my favorite places in Europe, and the Dutch probably my favorite people.
I cycle tour all over Europe, and LOVE to cycle in the Netherland. A family cycle tour there will be our first stop on this summer's trip, and is the part of the trip I'm most looking forward to.
But the Netherland's general lack of public drinking water is a PITA. Nearly all other European countries have both public water fountains and accessible spigots on the sides of many buildings (like hotels and offices etc, where people don't mind if you fill a bottle to drink). Even in the more libertarian-leaning USA, there's far more access to public drinking water. But in the Netherlands public drinking water seems to nearly not exist, and buildings either don't have external spigots, or the do but they don't have handles - you need a special handle or tool to make it work. It seems quite strange to me that I've never been as dehydrated as touring in the Netherlands on a cool day. I was nearly reduced to knocking on doors and begging water.
Why? There must be a reason that it's much harder to encounter drinking water in Holland than most other first world places I've been. There's a whole movement around the social and health benefits of abundant public water. In Switzerland for example it feels as if you could close your eyes and randomly hold out a bottle it might come back full. Is water particularly expensive in Holland or something?