Well, I tried to learn Dutch in the time I was there and found the biggest problem, when people could understand my simple dutch, was that everyone replied in English. The pronunciation is a problem, I agree - I won't bore you with that old saw about how the Dutch spotted Germans in WW2, according to my ex wife's family, anyway.
You are probably right about Amsterdam, I spent more time in other cities, however, I agree about predictability - mentioned it myself - however, I think the problem is unfortunately general to tourism, in the short tours do nothing to help the tourist understand a people or its culture. It's also true that you can find English TV programmes easily. I also agree with a point made in another thread, that bicycle lanes are not always restricted to bicycles alone, and therefore that can create problems.
Anyway, presumably things are calmer in Groningen, compared to further south.