Become a Virtual Tourist Member Today!  Sign Up for Free | Sign In

"The Netherlands at ~ and Holland under... " a Netherlands Travel Page by Pavlik_NL

Search:
Home » Europe » Netherlands » The Netherlands at ~ and Holland under the sea - Netherlands

"The Netherlands at ~ and Holland under... " a Netherlands Travel Page by Pavlik_NL

See the Entire Netherlands Travel Guide

Click Picture to enlarge.
 email me
 add as friend


Pavlik_NL   
Our dream: one world, without borders


Real Name: Paul and Ilja
Lives In: Arnhem, NL
Member Since: Feb 08, 2002
VT Rank: 163

 > View Larger Map
Amsterdam, NL  108  135
Ameland, NL  89  107
Arnhem, NL  66  106
Delft, NL  74  94
» more...
 

Page Views: 2,907            Last Visit to Netherlands: -      I Used To Live Here

The Netherlands at ~ and Holland under the sea

by Pavlik_NL - last update: Mar 20, 2004

Multicultural society on ground level (flat land)

Variety of The Netherlands
Denkend aan Holland
Zie ik brede rivieren
Traag door oneindig laagland gaan

Thinking of Holland
I see wide rivers
slowly go through an endless lowland


The Netherlands, my country. Colour: green from the grass, blue from the water and sky (on one of the few good days). Holland, say many, not knowing that this actually is only the Western part of the country, in name the two provinces North and South Holland. However from here the (in)famous VOC-ships sailed all over the world and together with Portugal our tiny country settled a worldempire (only later England and Spain followed). Amsterdam was for a whole century a world-centre in trade, finance and science. Now Rotterdam is stil the largest harbour in the world as being the port (gateway) to Europes mainland. The Hague ("Den Haag", the third town) is the governemental capitol and the old governement there can be named the oldest democratic. Saying in Holland is that now-a-days the money is made in Rotterdam, devided in Den Haag and spent in Amsterdam. If your focussed on only these three towns you will see a lot, but ... you will miss a whole lot more.

A country with one of the most dense populations on earth, yet no city has over a million citizens. However you will notice, while driving through the country by car (be carefull: terrifying traffic!) that as soon as you leave one town, you enter the next. Especially in the West the towns are built together and it's known as "Randstad Holland" ("rand" = circle and "stad" = town/city). In this Randstad Holland, seven million people live. In The Netherlands 16 million people are packed together. Distance East-West is 150 kilometres and North-South appr. 300 kilometres.
Colours until the horizon, the flowerbulb-fields

The Netherlands are famous for their flowers.

As largest flowerbulb-growers in the world we provide export over all continents. Despite the dense population, in Holland the agricuktural production is - per head - higher then anywhere else in the world. Reason to the success is greenhouses and a top-of-the-bill technology in growing crops. Besides that the Dutch (Hollands-Fries) black-and-white cows are the best for milk-production. And what is cheese made from?

Back to the water, where it all began.

The Netherlands are the low lands. Half of the country is below sealevel (lowest point is appr. minus 8 metres). If the pumps that keep the land dry would all be switched of at once, half of the country would submerge under the North Sea within 48 hours! Don't be alarmed, the country is perfectly safe, otherwise we wouldn't have so many inhabitants that actually most choose to live in the West (that is almost totally under sealevel). The Netherlands have a long history of fighting against and having as best friend: the sea. A love and hate-relation that took many lives from the land, but also brought us the rich history and current economical wealth. Especially in South Holland and the new province Flevoland (taken from the sea) have many spots where a Dutch typical saying is shown:
Land where the river runs high, above the rooftops.
The mighty rivers finding the path to sea

> Add to your Custom Travel Guide [What's This?]

Pavlik_NL's Netherlands Travel Tips

OverviewThings to Do
Tips: 7 - Photos: 7
 
Restaurants
Tips: 3 - Photos: 3
Hotels & Accommodations
Tips: 1 - Photos: 1
 
Nightlife
Tips: 1 - Photos: 1
Off The Beaten Path
Tips: 1 - Photos: 1
 
Tourist Traps
Tips: 2 - Photos: 2
Warnings Or Dangers
Tips: 1 - Photos: 1
 
Transportation
Tips: 5 - Photos: 5
Local Customs
Tips: 15 - Photos: 15
 
Packing Lists
Tips: 1 - Photos: 1
Shopping
Tips: 1 - Photos: 1
 
Sports Travel
Tips: 3 - Photos: 3
General Tips
Tips: 4 - Photos: 4

Pavlik_NL's Netherlands Travelogues
Title [Click to view]Travel YearPictures
Wild flowers in The Netherlands (so, no tulips)- 8
"Tamed" Dutch flowers (no, again no tulips)- 7
Biking The Netherlands, best way of getting around- 8
"Sinterklaas", most important Dutch (holy)day- 6
Only in NL: a collection of the weirdest stories- 3

Comments for Pavlik_NL about Netherlands
Helenbb Fri Dec 21, 2007 13:56 UTC
 Zalig Kerstfeest en Gelukkig Nieuwjaar!!!! i just learned :))
iandsmith Thu Nov 2, 2006 21:23 UTC
 Who needs and encyclopedia when you can turn to your pages.
VeronicaG Tue Dec 20, 2005 21:29 UTC
 Amazing place...the Netherlands. I enjoyed your commentary.
Waalewiener Wed Sep 22, 2004 21:53 UTC
 It is an amazing page Paul absolutely amazing that you covered almost everything ,at least everything I could think of I felt I was back in school learning about Nederland , Would you give Irina & Ilja a BIG hug from Lori & Hans please Paul
See More Comments

Netherlands Hotels

About VirtualTourist10 Great Things to Do On VirtualTouristContact UsPress CenterHelpUser AgreementPrivacy Statement
Virtual Tourist® ©1994-2009 VirtualTourist.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.