 After moving to the Netherlands, my wife and I were astounded and rather impressed by the extraordinary attitude towards holidays here. Every single person we know on our street and acquaintances we have met since being here takes nearly an entire month off during July or August.  Now that is quite refreshing!  People actually leave work around 430 or five in the afternoon.  The one difference however is that everyone is usually at work quite promptly no later than 8 AM.