I'm back from my travels!
As hoped, my basic German knowledge did make Dutch a little more decipherable. Still far from transparent, but I could figure out quite a lot of signs and menus without too much effort. Spoken language is a little tricker because I don't have much idea of the phonetics, so I couldn't follow much of conversations, but I managed to understand some announcements and questions asked by staff in stations, restaurants, museums, etc.
This brings up a good point about related languages: it's common for them to look similar but sound quite different, for example Spanish and Portuguese, so learning how letters correspond to sounds is probably the single most effective thing to do at the start or before a trip and it's what I should have done!
Hopefully next time I'm in a Germanic-language-speaking country my German will be significantly better so I'll enjoy the benefit more.
Amsterdam was great from a linguistic point of view: I heard all of my languages almost constantly while out and about there, and even in my hostel there were guests and staff from Italy, Spain, France, and Germany. It was mostly listening practice rather than speaking. There was a French guy but he was very keen to use his English, and when I did speak some French it was rustier than ever! I did get chatting with some Germans so I mentioned that I was learning the language and said a few words but I really didn't feel up to a full conversation. I was happy to just get some real-life listening practice since I hadn't even had much of that since I started learning.
The music festival also had visitors (and musicians!) from all over Europe and beyond. I heard German and French (as well as Dutch of course) practically everywhere, and quite a bit of Italian, not to mention some Scandinavian languages (I admit I can't tell them apart!) and some that I just had no idea about. Spanish wasn't as common but I did hear it a handful of times.
A few personal thoughts/realisations:
1. It reminded me of how much I love mainland Europe in general, and I loved being part of the free movement in the EU and the kind of community that it creates where the countries all have their own identities and cultures and rivalries but there's also a feeling of a bigger whole. I'm just saying this from a purely personal/selfish point of view and I don't intend this as a political statement (I'll say that I voted to remain as I felt we were better off in than out as well as my selfish reasons, but I also recognise that the EU has many flaws, any useful reform is unlikely by now, and free movement also has its disadvantages, so I understand the critics...) but it is something I took for granted for too long and it felt a bit sad having to get my passport stamped and be asked about the purpose of my visit and my return plans.
2. It was yet more evidence that I'm now much more at peace regarding using, or not using, my languages than in the past. I'm glad I'm well past that stage where every interaction with a native speaker was some sort of unmissable opportunity to practice and a battle to get them to "take me seriously". I just don't really care now. In fact I've probably gone way too far to the other extreme where I'm just fine with speaking English with someone who would probably quite happily help me with their language, and I'd like to find a healthier balance eventually. I'm sure the Germans in the hostel would've been happy enough to chat a bit more in German, for example. I'll find a balance eventually. Even bringing up the subject can be quite awkward, but also not mentioning it can be weird especially if it then comes up later. But for now it's nice just being able to chill and not feel the need to insist.
3. Similarly, I'm also feeling more positive about the place of English in the world and I think it's quite nice the way it's become used as a lingua franca in places like the hostel and the festival, and being a native speaker is a blessing and a curse in various interesting ways especially when you have an "unusual" accent... I mentioned on my log that it was a bit upsetting seeing so much English creeping into German in TV series, but from reading
Is the spread of English a threat to German? and listening to real people speaking German (and Dutch) I've got a healthier perspective on that now. Younger speakers do insert a lot of English words and expressions, no doubt about it, and that will only continue but it's more a case of code-switching than of one language replacing or invading another.
4. I did mention that I'd try to evaluate Amsterdam/Holland as a potential place to live and work. Overall it seems like a good country (infrastructure works well, relaxed lifestyle, cycle-friendliness and relative lack of traffic, drug tolerance, good-quality housing...) although it didn't really grab me and pull me in and make me want to keep discovering more in the way that other places have (Berlin/Germany, most places I visited in Spain and Italy, etc.). Amsterdam was beautiful and fun to visit but a bit of a rip-off - the museums, food, entertainment, etc. were mostly very overpriced for what they were - but I know you can't really judge just by the tourist experience. Tilburg was maybe more of a genuine taste of life there, at least as much as it can be when the town is invaded by a few thousand metalheads for a festival. It's not a country I'm rushing to live in, but if I got a good offer I'd consider it.
At any rate I'm feeling very motivated to continue the German studies, having met a few friendly native speakers and perhaps for me German just represents all these nice things about Europe that I described and seems like a way to connect with that culture. Which I realise could be a dangerous way of thinking, similar to how I romanticised French and Italian cultures in the past based on ideas like that and a few positive experiences with people that didn't necessarily represent everyone there, and I don't want to go down that road again. But I think with the perspectives I have now it'll be easy enough to avoid that trap.
Right now I'm in that "back from holiday, now I want to do everything!" mood so would love to turn the German studies up a notch, but life might be getting very busy again in the near future so I'm trying to keep it sustainable. My timeline for job application preparation is moving along quickly, and it also looks like I'm joining a band which is something I've been wanting to do for a long time but could also be quite a commitment both in terms of time and of keeping me in this place if it goes well. We'll just have to see. I'm still off work until next week so that'll at least be a good time to kick-start things and maybe do a short burst of more intensive study.