Netherlands Local Custom Tips by DanielF

Exhibitionism

I have always been shocked by the shameless way in which most people expose their private lives at home. Very few homes have curtains whatsoever and living and dining-rooms are often located in the ground floor at the sight of every passer-by. I was explained this has to be with the calvinist tradition of the country, in which virtues are not presumed and he who hides is because he has something to hide.

Netherlands or Holland

Although internationally the whole country is better known as Holland, this term refers only to the western part, which is incidentally the richest and most populated, and also the areas most visited by tourist. Not without reason does the Dutch tourist board use the term Holland in its promotions concerning the whole of the country!

The official name is, however, Kingdom of the Netherlands and some people living in the non Hollandic provinces will make you clear that they are not from Holland whenever your troubled mind dares to let scape that word when talking about the Netherlands.

I think Holland is more beautiful of a name and, after all, the Netherlands is not a very apropriate term either, as it includes parts of Belgium... but netherlands should it be.

Near Breda, there is a...

Near Breda, there is a municipality that shows again how senseless the borders in Europe are: Baarle-Hertog is a Belgian enclave totally surrounded by the municipality of the Dutch Baarle-Nassau. The city was split in two parts in the XII century. One part passed to Brabant (present Belgium) the other to the city of Breda (later on under control of the Nassau family).