Aye Megan L., he'd be in the dog house alright - for supping in a Vaux pub.
As for Rotterdam , it may have a fine conservatory for Flamenco, I will gladly accept the writers word, but it is not a pleasant place to lose ones way - be careful.
The "Sad Dutch songs" are not so much sad exactly, they're nostalgic, generally inward-looking ,extremely sentimental etc.
A British example might be "We'll meet again" and plenty of Brits of a certain age group love that type of song. It's all about the Dutch having their own songs, and their own "tradition" as opposed to having influenced from German Lieder .
I do believe Red Rose Cafe (Kleine cafe bij de Haven) comes from that ilk.