"The Netherlands" Netherlands by nighthawk

Netherlands Travel Guide: 31,765 reviews and 86,398 photos

Image of Holland

The Netherlands is the river delta area formed by the big rivers flowing from the mountains of Switzerland, Germany and France on their way to the North Sea.
40% of the land is below sea level, the dark blue parts of this map.

Over the centuries, large parts of the Netherlands have frequently been flooded.
Every now and again some parts get flooded still.

Croquette aka kroket

The Netherlands, country of porn, croquettes and drugs. Country of traffic jams, consensus, speed skating and audacious art. Does this represent an accurate portrayal of the country? Decide for yourself. The state of the nation. This is the intro to a Dutch profile that can be read on the <a href="http://www.nrc.nl/W2/Lab/Profiel/Netherlands/inhoud.html" target=_blank>NRC-site</a href>, a Dutch newspaper online. I found it fun reading, maybe you think so too. The photograph of the croquette and the one below can be seen there as well.
<img src="http://www.nrc.nl/W2/Lab/Profiel/Netherlands/windmills.jpg">

The text that goes by it is as follows: Snacks Snack bars are an essential part of many people's eating habits in the Netherlands. On average, they eat 29 grams of 'nuts, seeds and snacks' per day. Bread is the most popular food at 135 grams per day. The photograph shows a kroket (croquette), a deep-fried roll containing meat stock, breadcrumbs and wheat flour. (Source: Food Institute) The Netherlands
The shape of The Netherlands has changed dramatically during the last 2000 years. Since the Romans ruled here large pieces of land were swallowed by the sea , a thing that has happened in Zeeland and in the Zuiderzee-area (now the IJsselmeer) and the Frisian Lowlands. During the Middle Ages the provinces North and South Holland were almost completely covered with water, something which can still be seen on historical maps.
Since then large pieces of land were gained from the sea. The Dutch created The Netherlands. The ongoing fight against the water came to a climax when it was decided to carry out the Deltaplan. This hydraulic mega project has to protect the south western part of our country against flooding. After the great flood in 1953 first was started with this plan.
The Dutch way of living
The German poet Heinrich Heine stated once that everything in The Netherlands happened 50 years afterwards, a place where easy-going, hard working, law obedient citizens who are averse to changes, but for those who study the Dutch policy towards drugs, the Gay Games or the resistence of the Dutch population against the placing of nuclear weapons on Dutch soil (in NAVO circles called 'hollanditis'), will see a different picture. 

Je Maintiendrai!

The young earl (count?) William of Orange inherited the possessions of his second cousin Rene of Chalons, which also held the principality of Orange. The house of Chalons had as device: Je maintiendrai Chalons.
Prince William of Orange decide to use this device but replaced Chalons by Nassau: Je maintiendrai Nassau, which meant as much as: I will maintain my house of Nassau and I will stand up for the rights of my family.
The end of the apology of prince William of Orange also ends with this saying. In later years he just used Je maintiendrai and so it stayed after some years.
The descendants of the prince kept this motto, even when they had their own motto.
Since 1813 is it the motto of the Netherlands.
Go to <a href="http://www.friesian.com/ross/orange.htm" target=_blank>The house of Orange</a href> for more about it. Don't forget to look at my travelogues! In one of them I have placed some photographs of plates, so called Delfts Blue. And yes, one of the walls in our home is this colour orange! Real Dutch :-). <a href="http://www.24fun.com/cgi-bin/gmapview.pl?owneremail=nighthawk@virtualtourist.com&gmap=worlddmotion&mapstyle=style1&urlsite=http://www.virtualtourist.com/nighthawk&welcomemessage=Please leave me a message, I will reply :-)" target="_blank">Please sign my guestmap!</a>

Dutch class

book

Read the book 'The Undutchables' or visit their site --> <a href="http://www.theundutchables.com/" target=_blank>The Undutchables</a href>.
It s hilarious and for me it was an eyeopener on how we live.
The pic is from their site...let s hope I don t get in trouble 'cause of it :)

For those of you who are interested how to pronounce Dutch, I found an interesting link: http://www.sr.net/srnet/InfoSurinam/dutch.html

Pros and Cons

Pros:small, what you see is what you get
Cons:small, little surprises
In a nutshell:a good country to live in

Intro Updated Feb 23, 2003
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Reviews (24)

Candy coated aniseed on rusk - Netherlands

December 7th, 2003 Birth of a new... Local Customs (5)

Our crown prince Willem-Alexander and his wife Maxima had their baby : Catharina-Amalia Beatrix Carmen Victoria. Her... more travel advice

Wrong pronunciation Warnings and Dangers (3)

Came across this site and it s funny to see what pronunciation English tongued are tought ... we never talk like that! more travel advice

Orange Pringles :-) Local Customs (5)

these pringles tasted a bit cheesy, sweet, not too bad however best not eaten too much of it ... the shops once sold... more travel advice

Postcards Shopping (4)

Postcards are a fun souvenir and best thing is they are not overexpensive! more travel advice

Travelogues (9)

1 - 4 of 9

Comments (58)

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La_Holandesa Sep 20, 2005 at 2:44 AM

Hoi Roelien! mmmm lekker broodje kroket..yummi!! getting hungry here.heyy hows the driving? am having fun in my little car :o) let meet somewhere. where? Veeel groetjes xxxAniatxxx
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ZanieOR Jan 13, 2005 at 11:49 PM

After reading your intriguing introduction to the Netherlands, it moves up on my list of places I must visit someday. Thanks for your tips!
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jamiesno Dec 23, 2004 at 3:27 PM

That is a great clog to start of this page! Don't mix your booze under "sports travel", now there is some great advice that I concur with, LOL :-) Especially during the holidays!
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masc4s Dec 20, 2004 at 7:42 AM

Super light hearted birds-eye view of the Netherland's. Very interesting tips. Now if I could just get my hands on those cakes..:-)!
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Maillekeukeul Oct 30, 2004 at 1:02 PM

It looks like you have a lot to say about Holland !!!!
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Waalewiener Oct 18, 2004 at 11:41 PM

Prachtig mooi Roelien I really enjoyed seeing al these dutch items again dropjes Delft blue Klompen houte schaatsen etc etc . There is no place like it ,Nederland is very special and always will be Thanks Roelien
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XenoHumph Apr 5, 2004 at 1:57 PM

Fun tips, great pictures! Huuuummmm... I love croquettes!!!
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manuelEB Apr 3, 2004 at 4:07 AM

I liek this page very very much. Reading here about SPinoza was a great surprise. Thanks. Kus voor jou (-;
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Braveheart.southafrr Mar 24, 2004 at 3:27 PM

great tips roelien ,awsome photo`s .....................ken
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sim1 Feb 26, 2004 at 2:42 AM

Fantastic page Roelien!!! I'll be back for the T'logues later (run out of time for the day). Hahaha, I've still got an orange t-shirt to dress up for Queensday, lol. And... ooooh, drop, Drop, DROP... yep, I am drewling, lol :-))))