The
Netherlands, (Dutch: Nederland, also commonly called Holland in English) is a Benelux
country, bordering Germany to the east and Belgium
to the south. The people, language, and culture of the Netherlands are referred
to as "Dutch".
With over 16 million people on an area
roughly twice the size of New Jersey, it's a densely populated country with its
gorgeous capital Amsterdam being just one of many interesting
cities. Once a great naval power, this small nation boasts a wealth of cultural
heritage and is famous for its painters, windmills, clogs and notoriously flat
lands. A modern European country today, it preserved its highly international
character and is known for its liberal mentality. As a founding member of EU
and NATO, and host to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, the Netherlands are at the heart of
international cooperation. Its small size, welcoming attitude to travellers and
many sights make it a unique and fairly easy to discover destination and a
great addition to any European trip.
Regions
The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy, administratively
divided into 12 provinces (provincies). Even though the Netherlands is a
small country, these provinces are quite diverse and have plenty of cultural
and linguistic differences. They can be divided in four regions:
This article describes the European
part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Caribbean islands Bonaire,
Sint Eustatius and Saba
are "special municipalities" fully integrated in the Netherlands
proper. Beside the Netherlands proper, Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten are constituent countries within
the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Cities
The Netherlands has many cities and
towns of interest to travelers. Below are nine of the most notable ones:
Amsterdam — impressive architecture, lovely
canals (grachten), museums and liberal attitudes
Delft — historic unspoiled
town with the world-famous blue and white ceramics
Groningen — student city with a relaxed
atmosphere and nightlife till the sun gets up
The Hague — the judicial capital of the world,
the seat of government and the royal family
Leiden
— historic student city with the country's oldest university and three national
museums
Maastricht — fortified mediaeval city showing
the different culture, style and architecture of the south
Nijmegen — oldest city of the country, known for its marches,
left-wing politics and large student population
Rotterdam — modern architecture, good nightlife,
vibrant art scene and the largest port of Europe
Utrecht
— historic centre, antique stores and the Rietveld-Schröder House
Other destinations
These are some interesting
destinations outside of the major cities.
Efteling — renowned theme park with fairytale elements like
elves and dwarves
Hoge Veluwe
National Park — largest national park with heathlands, sand dunes
and woodlands
Keukenhof — more than 800,000
visitors see these enormous flower fields each spring
Kinderdijk — these windmills show the typical
Dutch landscape in all its glory
Schokland — old island evacuated in 1859, a
well-preserved ghost village remains
South Limburg — hilly green landscapes,
picturesque villages, castles and orchards
Texel — largest island suited
for cycling, walking, swimming and horse riding
Waterland and Zaan
Region — typical Dutch villages with clogs, wooden houses, windmills
and the Zaanse Schans
History
The southern part of the country was
part of the Holy Roman Empire until it was acquired piece by piece by the
Burgundians. At the end of the Middle Ages, it became a Spanish possession
(together with what is now Belgium). Little survives
from this period, except a few historic city centers, and a few castles.
Following the Dutch Revolt, led by national hero William of Orange (Willem
van Oranje), the Netherlands became a de facto independent republic
in 1572. The (first) split with Belgium came when the northern provinces
(including Flanders) signed the Union of Utrecht in 1579.
It grew to become one of the major economic and seafaring powers in the world
during the 17th century, which is known as the Dutch Golden Age (Gouden Eeuw).
During this period, many colonies were founded or conquered, including the
Netherlands East Indies (currently Indonesia) and New
Amsterdam (currently New York City),
which was later traded with the British for Suriname.
In 1805, the country became a kingdom
when Emperor Napoleon appointed his brother 'King of Holland'. In 1815, it
became the 'United Kingdom of the Netherlands (Verenigd Koninkrijk der
Nederlanden) together with Belgium and Luxembourg under King William I (Willem I).
In 1830 Belgium seceded and formed a separate kingdom. Luxembourg received independence from the
Netherlands in 1890, as the Salic Law prohibited a female ruler.
Avoiding the liberal revolutions of
1848 and new adopted Treaty, The Netherlands quietly became a constitutional
monarchy and remained neutral in World War I but suffered a brutal invasion and
occupation by Germany in World War II. A modern,
industrialized nation, the Netherlands is also a large exporter of agricultural
products. In 1944, the Low Countries formed the union of the Benelux
in which they economically (and sometimes politically) work together. The
country was a founding member of NATO in 1949 and the European Community (EC)
in 1957, and participated in the introduction of the Economic and Monetary
Union (EMU) in 1999.
Culture
Quite a few travellers visit the
Netherlands to enjoy its famously tolerant attitude: prostitution is decriminalized but only for those prostitutes
registered at a permitted brothel. Safe sex and use of condoms is common
practice, and the prostitute will usually have these available. It is illegal
for sex workers to solicit for customers on the street and prostitutes are most
common in the capital Amsterdam, where red-light districts are popular, even if
tourists only visit as a momento of the visit. In more rural areas,
prostitution is almost non-existent. Sex shops, sex shows, sex museums and
drugs museums are also popular. The sale, possession, and consumption of small
quantities of cannabis while
technically still illegal, is officially tolerated, but coffeeshops are
subject to increasing restrictions. Harder drugs (eg. ecstasy or cocaine)
remain illegal both in theory and practice. In the same open minded atmosphere
is the Dutch ease towards homosexuality,
gay marriage is legalized. Also the practice of Euthanasia is legalized under
strict conditions.
Geography
The Netherlands is one of the most
densely populated countries in the world. No matter where you go, you are never
far away from civilization. Cities can be crowded especially in the Randstad
area, where congestion is a serious problem. Much of the country is flat and at
or below sea level making it an ideal place to cycle. Hills may be found only at the Veluwe and Southern Limburg.
Much of countryside is dominated by highly industrialized farming: despite its
population density, the Netherlands are one of the largest food exporters in
the world. Though there are some beautiful spots scattered across the country,
tourists expecting a countryside full of picturesque villages, tulips and
windmills may be in for a bit of a shock. The villages, tulips and windmills
are there for sure, but you just have to find them (for example, in the Waterland and Zaan
Region). The most beautiful places are most of the times the places
known only by the Dutch themselves. Asking a Dutch person for some ideas of
what to see could be helpful. Otherwise, just visit local 'tourist shops',
known as the VVV, found in all the larger towns.
The geography of the Netherlands is
dominated by water features. The country is criss-crossed with rivers, canals
and dikes, and the beach is never far away. The western coast of the
Netherlands has one of the most beautiful North Sea beaches that can be found,
attracting thousands if not millions of people every year, among them a lot of
Germans as well.
Climate
The Netherlands have a temperate climate, which means that summers
are generally cool and winters are generally mild. Every month of the year has
rainfall, some are although very dry or wet. The best time to go is from May to
September (daily maximum 18/19°c up to 23°c), but also April and October can
once be pretty good months to come, if you're lucky.
The OV-chipkaart comes in three
versions:
Disposable OV-chipkaart sold with a
travel product that cannot
be recharged or reloaded with another
product. It does not
contain an electronic purse and is
meant for people who rarely use public transport in the Netherlands. They are
available for a range of fares, such as a three-day pass to all public
transport in one city. The single-trip variants are sold on the bus by the
driver, and sometimes on the tram.
Anonymous OV-chipkaart available for
€7.50 at ticket offices and vending machines valid up till 5 years. This card
is reusable and has an electronic purse. It is transferable, and therefore
cannot be used for discounted travel, or for monthly or annual season tickets.
However, the anonymous card can contain multiple products simultaneously, as
long as those are 'simple' travel products, like those available for the
disposable card.
Personal OV-chipkaart is useful for
anyone entitled to travel with a discount. It is also the only type that can
hold a monthly or annual season ticket. Because of these characteristics, the
personal card is non-transferable and features the holder's photograph and date
of birth. The personal OV-chipkaart has an electronic purse. In addition, it
can be set to automatically top its balance up when it drops below a certain
level. The personal card is the only one that can be blocked if it is lost or
stolen.
Which card you should choose, depends
on how often and how long you are in the Netherlands and how often you use
public transport. If you are likely to use the bus/tram/metro three times or
more per year, it usually pays to get an anonymous card, rather than buy a
disposable one for every trip. If you are likely to do a lot of travelling in a
relatively short time, you could opt for a disposable one-day or multi-day
card.
Travelers can buy a travel product, for
example a one-day pass for an entire city or a monthly season ticket for a
certain route. When they check out after the trip (see next section), the
system will recognise that a certain product has been used and, if necessary,
deactivate it. The other option is to use money from the electronic purse on
the OV-chipkaart. On checking in, the system will charge a checking-in fee (€20
for NS trains, €4 for metro, tram and bus), which will be refunded as soon as
the traveller checks out, minus the fare for the trip actually made. If a user
fails to check out, the checking-in fee, which is higher than the fare for most
actual journeys, is not refunded. Loading travel credit can be done at station
ticket machines, at ticket offices and some tobacco shops and supermarkets.
During a trip, personnel can check cards with a mobile card reader. You must be
travelling away from the point where you checked in.
When travelling by train or metro, the
OV-chipkaart is held against a card reader as soon as the traveller enters the
platform. The card has now been 'checked in', and the boarding fee will be
charged to the card. When the passenger ends the journey at another station,
the card is held against the card reader again in order to 'check out'; the
boarding fee is refunded (minus the fare for the journey actually made if the
traveller is using the e-purse). There are two types of card reader systems on
train and metro stations: free-standing card readers, and card readers
integrated into ticket gates. When travelling by tram or bus, travellers check
in and out when entering or leaving the vehicle. Card readers are placed near
each door for this purpose.
Checking in and out is always required,
except when you transfer from one train to another from the same operator.
Changing trains from one operator to a different operator requires checking out
at a card reader of the first operator and checking in at a card reader of the
second operator. At this moment, when traveling by train, it is advisable to
buy paper tickets instead of using the OV-chipkaart since the boarding fee will
be deducted from your card on every transfer. When you cannot check-out (i.e.
the check-out device is defective), you can claim costs with your public
transport company.
It is possible to get a refund of
unused credit on Personal and Anonymous cards at a ticket office for a €2.50
fee. The anonymous and personal OV-chipkaart have a validity of four to five
years. Any credit that's still on an old card can be transferred to a new card;
for free if the old card is still valid, or for €2.50 if it isn't.
The country is densely populated and
urbanised, and train services are frequent. There are two main types of trains:
Intercity trains and Sprinter (or sometimes 'Stoptrein') trains which stop at
all stations. An intermediate type 'Sneltrein' is found in a few places. All
these types of train have the same prices. Also, there are high-speed trains
called 'Fyra' between Amsterdam and Breda, which are more expensive. Travelling
all the way from the north of the country (Groningen) to the south (Maastricht)
takes about 4.5 hours.
Most lines offer one train every 15
minutes (every 10 minutes during the rush hours), but some rural lines run only
every 60 minutes. Where more lines run together, the frequency is, of course,
even higher. In the western Netherlands, the rail network is more like a large
urban network, with up to 12 trains per hour on main routes.
The Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) [30]
operates most routes. Some local lines are operated by Syntus, Arriva, Veolia
and Connexxion.
Because of the high service frequency,
delays are quite common. However, the delay is usually not more than 5 or 10
minutes. Note though that the NS boasts a punctuality of 85% (meaning that
percentage of trains departs/arrives within 3 minutes of the scheduled time),
which could be higher than you're used to. Trains can be crowded during the
rush hour, especially in the morning, but you should nearly always be able to
find a seat. Reserving seats on domestic trains is only possible on the Fyra.
One particular mistake tourists often
make is getting on the wrong part of a train. Many trains consist of two parts
with different destinations. Somewhere on the way to the final destination,
both parts will be separated and will continue on their own to their respective
destinations. In that case, the signs over the platforms will show two
destinations and which part goes where: achterste deel/achter means back
and voorste deel/voor means front, referring to the direction of
departure. Feel free to ask other passengers or an employee.
Another frequently made mistake
involves travelling from Schiphol to Amsterdam. From Schiphol you can go to
either Amsterdam Centraal or Amsterdam Zuid (South). These railway stations are
not connected directly and many tourists with the idea of going to Amsterdam
Centraal wind up at South. Therefore always check the destination of the train.
From Amsterdam Zuid you can take the metro to Centraal, or a train to Centraal
with a interchange at station Duivendrecht (2nd floor). If you discover it too
late you might wind up in another part of the country, especially in the case
of intercity trains. If you're found out by the conductor stay polite and play
the inexperienced tourist, this mistake is regularly made.
There is a convenient night train
service (for party-goers and airport traffic) between Rotterdam, Delft, Den
Haag, Leiden, Schiphol, Amsterdam, and Utrecht, all night long, once an hour in
each direction. In the nights Friday onto Saturday and Saturday onto Sunday, North-Brabant is also served. You can get to
Dordrecht,'s-Hertogenbosch, Eindhoven, Tilburg, and Breda.
Some intercity trains have free WIFI
internet access. See the screens in the train on how to access. Electrical
outlets are only available in a few Intercity trains, and then only in First
Class.
If you travel by train using more than
one operator it is advisable to use paper train tickets to avoid paying a
boarding rate every time you change from one operator to another. Somewhere
early 2012, this should be corrected within the OV-chipkaart system.
There is one national tariff system for
train travel. You don't need separate tickets for other operators. Tickets are
valid on both sprinter and intercity services; there is no difference in price.
The most used tickets are the single (enkele reis) and return tickets (retour).
The latter is valid only for a return on the day itself, but the price is equal
to two singles, therefor a return offers no price advantage over buying
singles.
Tickets are valid in any train on the
route (as opposed to being valid in only one fixed train). It is allowed to
break at any station on the route (even on stations on the route where you
don't have to change). Like in many countries, there is a difference between
first and second class. A second class ticket is 60% of the price of a first class
ticket. The main advantage of first class is that it is less crowded, and seats
and aisles are generally wider. For children 4-11 years accompanied by adults,
a Railrunner ticket can be bought for €2.50.
Tickets cannot be purchased cheaper in
advance, unlike in some countries. The ticket price is uniform and depends on
distance. Note that you can buy a ticket without a date in advance, which has
to be validated when entering the platform, but it makes the ticket no cheaper:
it is only for convenience. If you have a ticket without a date printed on it,
do not forget to validate it by stamping it in the small yellow boxes usually
located at the platform entrance.
Tickets can be purchased from machines
in stations using Dutch bank cards. No international credit or debit cards are
accepted (except MasterCard for an additional fee at Schiphol and Amsterdam
Centraal station). Some of the machines, at least one at each station, also
accept coins (but no notes). Only larger stations have a ticket counter: you pay
€0.50 more than at the machine, per ticket, if this ticket could also have been
bought at the machine. An exception is made for the elderly. The ticket
machines have English-language menus available. There is also a demonstration
of this system [31]
on the internet. A common mistake made by foreigners is accidentally getting a
40% discount ('korting') ticket from the machine. A special discount-card is
required for these tickets, although you can travel on other people's discount
cards too. (See Discount rail pass). If you have
trouble using the ticket machine, ask someone else for help; almost everyone
speaks English and will help you out. It is also possible to buy e-tickets [32] online, although a Dutch bank account for
payment (iDEAL) is necessary.
You must buy a ticket before travelling—since 2005, you can no longer
simply buy a ticket from the conductor, as in some other countries. If you buy
a ticket onboard, you will have to pay the normal price plus a € 35
fine. If the ticket machines are defective, go to the conductor immediately
when boarding. The conductor is not allowed any discretion on this policy,
though being polite and pretending to be an ignorant tourist might help
you get away with having an invalid ticket. In worst case though, if you do not
have either enough cash, or a passport, you could be arrested by railway
police.
While many villages have small stations
with only one or two platforms and no railway staff, cities like Amsterdam and Utrecht
have large central stations with up to 14 platforms. It can take 5-10 minutes
to move from one platform to another, especially for people not familiar with
the station.
The platforms are all numbered. When
platforms are so long that two or more trains can halt at the same platform,
the different parts of the platform are indicated with the lowercase letters a/b/c.
On some stations, capital letters are used to indicate which part of the train
stops at which part of the station. Do not confuse the lowercase and uppercase
letters.
Time tables can be found in the station
hall and on the platforms. All train tables are normally yellow, with
exceptions for the different schedules during planned maintenance works (blue)
and queen's day (orange). Departing trains are printed in blue (on yellow
tables), arriving train tables in red. Unlike in other countries, the tables themselves
are not ordered by time of departure, but by direction. In some cases, more
than one table is necessary to cover a single day for a certain direction.
Additionally, most stations have blue electronic screens, indicating the trains
departing during the next hour.
Visitors planning to travel by train in
the Netherlands should consider the Eurail pass with the Benelux
package. This allows for unlimited train travel within Belgium, the
Netherlands, and Luxembourg over multiple days. Europeans, not being eligible
for Eurail passes, should look into Inter Rail Passes for their discount train
travel.
If two or three people want to travel
around the Netherlands together for a few days during the summer, the Zomertoer
may be used. This pass gives them two, not necessarily consecutive, days of
unlimited travel. An add-on also allows you to travel on all other public
transportation in the country. In autumn weekends, the Herfsttoer also
gives some discounts.
If you're thinking of staying a longer
time in the Netherlands it can be a good deal to get the Dal Voordeel
Abonnement (Off-peak discount)[33], which gives the cardholder (and up to three
additional persons travelling with him or her) 40% off for one year on NS
trains, except when traveling during peak hours (working days 6.30-9.00h and
16.00-18.30h, except holidays). Price €50 for one year (2011). The subscription
includes a personal OV-chipkaart which takes 2 weeks to process. If you already
have one, the subscription can be loaded onto your own personal OV-chipkaart.
Remember that you always have to check in and out, the discount will be
automatically applied, depending on the time of check in. Depending on your
travel pattern, NS also have monthly and yearly subscriptions for free travel
in weekends, off-peak hours or the entire subscription period including peak
hours, and also a subscription that offers a 40% discount for the entire period
including peak hours.
If you are in the Netherlands for only
one day and want to see much of the country by train, you may want to get a
"Dagkaart" (day pass), for € 47 (2011)). But note: it may be cheaper
to just buy a ticket. For example: to get your money's worth on the dagkaart
would require about 6 hours train travel in one day. For an additional 5,50 you
get the OV-Dagkaart, which adds free transport on bus, tram and metro.
The network of regional and local buses
in the Netherlands is fine-grained and frequent and usually connects well with
the train network; you can reach most small villages easily. However, for
long-distance travel, these regional buses are not convenient at all, and are
much slower than the train.
Fast long-distance buses are only
available on a small number of routes that aren't covered by the rail network;
these buses have special names that differ by region, such as Q-liner, Brabantliner
and Interliner, and special tariffs.
There are four main bus companies in
the Netherlands, Connexxion, Veolia, Arriva and Qbuzz.
A few large cities have their own bus company.
A cheap way to get across the
Netherlands is to buy a "buzzer" ticket. It costs €10 a day, and is
valid after 9AM on every single Connexxion bus for two grownups and up to three
children. On weekends and holidays it is also valid before 9AM. Because Connexxion
has a near monopoly on the bus market, you can get from Groningen to Zeeland
this way in a day, and it undercuts the train. A big downside though is that
bus lines are very indirect. For example, if you want to travel from Amsterdam
to Rotterdam, you have to change three or more times to get all the way there.
In short: bus journeys will almost always take longer than train travel. For
example, trip to Rotterdam from Utrecht will take 40 minutes, but in the Bus it
will take 1 hour and 30 minutes. However, if you want to enjoy the countryside
and villages you can prefer the bus trips.
Many companies and regions have their
own bus discount tickets, which are often cheaper than using credit on the
OV-chipkaart.
Park-and-ride-(travel-)tickets: some
towns and cities have special cheaper bus tickets from car parks near the city
limits to the city centre, for outside rush hours, usually a return ticket.
Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague,
Utrecht offer public transport at night. Only Amsterdam has a service all night
and every night; in the other cities it is more limited to the beginning of the
night or only during the weekend. Several other cities and regions also have
night buses, usually even more limited.
You might need special night-bus
tickets so be sure to check the city pages.
The two largest cities Amsterdam
and Rotterdam have a
metro network which runs mainly on elevated railways outside the city centers,
and underground within the center. Furthermore there is a large city tram
network in the agglomerations of Amsterdam,
Rotterdam and The Hague; Utrecht has two sneltram lines (fast tram
or light-rail).
Talk
The national language in the Netherlands is Dutch. It's a
charming, lilting language punctuated by phlegm-trembling glottal gs
(not in the south) and schs (also found, for example, in Arabic). Dutch,
especially in spoken form, is partially intelligible to someone who knows other
Germanic languages (especially German and Frisian), and you might be able to
get along at least partially in these languages if spoken slowly.
Besides Dutch, several other languages
are spoken in the Netherlands, in the eastern provinces of Groningen,
Overijsel, Drenthe and Gelderand people speak a local variety of Low Saxon (Grunnegs
or Tweants for example). In the southern province of Limburg the majority
speaks Limburgish, a language unique in Europe because of its use of pitch and
tone length to distinguish words (for example: 'Veer' with a high tone means
'we', while the same word with a low tone means 'four').
Officially, the Netherlands is
bilingual, as Frisian is also an official language. Frisian is the closest
living language to English. Despite its status as official language, it is
spoken almost exclusively in the province of Friesland. Other forms of Frisian are also
spoken by small minorities in Germany. When travelling through Friesland you
will come across many roadsigns in two languages (similar to Wales and South
Tyrol). This is also the case in southern Limburg. Everybody speaks Dutch, but
the Frisians are so protective of the minority language that ordering a beer in
it might just get you the next one free. In areas bordering Germany, German is widely
spoken. However, outside of the eastern provinces, a good amount of people
(especially amongst the younger generation) can also speak basic German too.
French will be understood by some as well, especially the older generations.
Immigrant languages are prominent in urban areas, they include Turkish, Arabic,
Sranan-Tongo (Surinam) and Papiamento (Netherlands Antilles).
"They all speak English
there" is quite accurate for the Netherlands. Education from an early age
in English and other European languages (mostly German and French) makes the Dutch some of the
most fluent polyglots on the continent. Oblivious travelers to the major cities
should be able to make their way without learning a word of Dutch. Dealing with
seniors or finding yourself in a family atmosphere, however, will probably
require learning a bit of the native tongue.
Foreign television programmes and films are almost always shown in
their original language with subtitles. Only children's programmes are dubbed
into Dutch.
Traditional Holland
Zaanse Schans
For many foreigners, nothing captures the idea of the Netherlands
more vividly than windmills, wooden shoes, tulips, and remarkably flat lands.
Although some of these characteristics have evolved into stereotypes far off
from the daily lives of Dutch people, there's still a lot of truth to them and
plenty of authenticity to be found. The Dutch have preserved many elements from
this part of their past, both for touristic and for historic reasons.
Kinderdijk boasts a network of 19 windmills,
once used to drain the adjoining polder. The Zaanse Schans has windmills as well, and a nice
museum with traditional crafts and old Dutch houses on display. Schiedam, world-famous for its jenever, has the
tallest windmills in the world, and they're right in its lovely old town
centre.
Thinking about the Dutch countryside,
you might imagine wide, flat, grasslands with black and white cows. If you do,
you're not that far off. A large swathe of the country, especially the western
part of it, consist of polders; reclaimed land separated by ditches. These
rural areas are dotted with picturesque villages, old farms, impressive summer
estates, and of course, windmills; the Waterland and Zaan
Region is especially scenic. For a touch of folklore, see the
traditional clothing and fishermen boats in Volendam or Marken.
The Netherlands are a major
international player in the flower industry. The tulip fields are seasonal, and
are specific to the Bulb Region and some
areas in North Holland. They are a lovely Dutch
alternative to the lavender fields you could find in France. The famous Keukenhof,
the world's largest flower garden, only opens between March and May. It is a
great way to see what the Dutch flower industry has to offer.
They make great destinations for a
recreational bike trip or can serve as a laid-back base, from where you can
explore cities in the area. The rolling hills of South Limburg have characteristic timber-framed
houses and a lot of castles. The province of Gelderland combines its many castles (Palace 't Loo in Apeldoorn being the highlight) with the natural
scenery of the Veluwe. Don't worry if you're headed elsewhere:
you'll find a beautiful countryside in every Dutch province.
Wandering through the magnificent city
of Amsterdam, with its lovely canals and hundreds of 17th century monuments, is
a delightful experience. For most people, a visit to The Netherlands would not
be complete without a good day in its bustling capital. Nevertheless, it is
only one of many towns in the country that offers a beautiful, historic centre.
Before Amsterdam's rise to fame in the
late 16th century, the fortified city of Utrecht
was the country's most important town. Much of Utrecht's mediaeval structures
remain, with canals flanked by warf-based structures, lots of buildings from
the Early Middle Ages and some impressive ancient churches. Maastricht is often claimed as the most
beautiful city of the country. It is known for its romantic lanes, ancient
monuments, and for what the Dutch call its "Burgundian" atmosphere.
Leiden,
the birthplace of Rembrandt and home to the oldest university of the country,
is yet another beautiful place with canals, narrow streets, and over 2,700
monuments. The Hague is often called the "judicial
capital of the world", as it famously hosts the Peace Palace and many
international organisations. It has a spacious layout, with large estates, and
the ancient Binnenhof, where the Dutch government had its seat for centuries.
Also consider the gorgeous old town centres of Haarlem,
Delft,
's-Hertogenbosch, Delft,
Alkmaar, and Amersfoort.
Considering its small size, this
country has brought forward an impressive number of world-famous painters. Arts
and painting flourished in the 17th century, when the Dutch Republic was
particularly prosperous, but renowned artists have lived in the country before
and after that age as well.
Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer, Vincent
van Gogh, Frans Hals, Jan Steen, Jacob van Ruysdael, and Piet Mondriaan are
just a few of the Dutch painters whose works now decore the walls of the
world's greatest museums. Fortunately, some of these world-class museums can be
found in the Netherlands as well. The Museum Quarter in Amsterdam has the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh
Museum and the Stedelijk Museum
right next to each other, all three with excellent collections. The Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam also has a huge collection of
drawings, including Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and foreign masters.
The Kröller-Müller Museum is beautifully located in the Hoge Veluwe
National Park, with the second largest Van Gogh collection in the
world (after the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam). Less focused on Dutch art, but
with a unique modern collection, is the Van
Abbe Museum in Eindhoven. Other cities
with notable art museums include Groningen with the Groninger Museum, and Haarlem
with the Frans Hals Museum. The
newly established Hermitage in Amsterdam has all the grandeur of its big sister
in Saint Petersburg, with changing Russia-oriented
exhibitions on display.
Oosterscheldekering, part of the Delta Works
The Dutch are famous for their struggle
with the sea. As a great naval power, the Netherlands owed its 17th century
Golden Age to the water, and still depends heavily on it for modern day trade
and fisheries, as the massive, modern port of Rotterdam demonstrates. However, with much of
the country's land below sea level, the water also caused terrible floods and
great losses over centuries.
Dutch attempts to protect their lands
with dikes are well recorded from the 12th century, but started around 2,000
years ago. An enormous flood in 1287 created the large Zuiderzee, an inland sea
that is now known as the IJsselmeer. From that period onwards, a long process
of reclaiming lands lost to the sea began. Windmills and extensive networks of
dikes were created to pump out the water, slowly creating the characteristic
polders. One of these polders is the Beemster Polder, and when
you visit you get a few fortifications of the Defence Line of Amsterdam
included as a bonus.
After another devastating flood in
1916, the country started the Zuiderzee
Works, a massive undertaking to reclaim and tame the Zuiderzee once and
for all. In the 1930s, the impressive Afsluitdijk was finished, which turned the
inland sea into a fresh water lake called the IJsselmeer. The Zuiderzee Museum in lovely Enkhuizen is devoted to the cultural heritage
and folklore of the region, as well as the maritime history of the Zuiderzee.
Another devastating flood struck the country in 1953, recording
1,836 deaths in the province of Zeeland.
In the following fifty years, the famous Delta Works were
constructed to protect the southwestern portion of the Netherlands from
flooding. It can be visited at various visitor centres, the most notable of
which is the Neeltje Jans park
near the Oosterscheldekering
(Eastern Scheldt Storm Surge Barrier). The American Society of Civil Engineers
have recognised the Zuidezee Works and the Delta Works collectively as one of
the Seven Wonders of the Modern World.
Festivals
Every two years, the country goes football crazy as either the European
Championship or the World Cup is held. Complete streets will be decorated with
orange flags, the country's national colour. It's not uncommon for literally
fifty percent of the population to be watching a game if it's a particularly
important one. Often bigger cities will put up large tv screens for the general
public, like on the Rembrandtplein in Amsterdam. Likewise, cafes and bars are
another popular place to watch games.
In the Southern Netherlands
(North Brabant, Limburg
and to a smaller extent also in Twente, Overijssel and the south of Gelderland), the Catholic celebration of Carnival is held since mediaeval
times. It occurs immediately before Lent; which is usually during February or
March. Parades can be seen almost in any town on Sunday, sometimes also
occurring on Monday. Parades can also be held in the evening, usually on Saturdays
all the wagons are then lit up by numerous small lights. The other days of the
week, many activities can be found ranging from street painting (stoepkrijten)
to beer drinking contests. The cities of 's-Hertogenbosch, Breda and Maastricht
are advisable for attending Carnival.
Queen's Day (Koninginnedag)
is held every year at April 30th all over the country (except if this day is a
Sunday, then it will be held at the Saturday before). In every village and
town, you will find frollicking Dutch, free markets and authentic Dutch games.
Nowadays Queen's day much more becomes a day of festivals and partys. It is
advised to wear orange clothing, as most Dutch people walk around in their
national colour. An advisable city to attend at this day is Amsterdam, because
it's one of the largest events of the year there. In several larger cities
(most notably The Hague and Utrecht), the festivities start in the evening of
the 29th of April.
Pinkpop [42] is a three-day pop festival every year with
Pentecost ("Pinksteren") in Landgraaf, Limburg.
Summercarnaval [44]
- A big parade through the center of Rotterdam. One of the biggest events in The
Netherlands.
Heineken
Dance Parade [45]
- A big dance parade through Rotterdam. Much in the
spirit of the popular Love Parade in Germany.
Northsea Jazz
Festival [46] -
Big summer jazz festival, held in the Ahoy stadion, Rotterdam since 2006 as it moved there from The
Hague. Around 1,800 jazz, blues, funk, soul, hip Hop, latin and r&b acts
play during this 3 day event.
Vierdaagsefeesten [47] - Summer festival in Nijmegen lasting seven
days, during the Nijmeegse Vierdaagse, which always starts on the 3rd Tuesday
in July. The celebrations though start already the weekend before and over 1
million people attend. During the festival, there is a section for all the top
Dutch bands such as Moke and Racoon, De Affaire which is focussed on alternative
and rock, The Matrixx which has all your electronic dance music needs, and of
course the numerous terraces and bars.
Sensation [48] - (Formely known as 'Sensation White') One
of the best-known parties in the world organized by ID&T.[49] 40,000 people all dressed in white gather
to hear some big and upcoming house music DJs. Tickets usually sell out very
fast. Several international editions are being organized several times a year
around the world with the main concert being held in Amsterdam ArenA every
summer. Sensation Black (with hardstyle music) was previously hosted annually
in the same location but is now being held in Belgium instead.
Dance Valley [50] - The largest dance festival, with over
40,000 visitors. Annually mid July in park Spaarnwoude, near Schiphol Airport.
The focus is on celebrating summer, and has circus tents in which every tent is
a different genre in dance music.
Mystery Land [51] - Dance festival with a flower-power theme.
In the last week of August near Schiphol Airport. Most dance genres are
present, including even electro. Also has activities such as workshops and
theatre, which are usually uncommon with dance festivals.
Defqon.1 [52]
- Dance festival focussing on the harder dance styles, such as hardstyle and
hardcore. Residing in Flevoland, usually in mid June, but in 2009 is held in
mid September.
Buy
Netherlands
has the euro (EUR, €) as its
currency. Therewith, Netherlands belongs to the 23 European countries that use
the common European money. These 23 countries are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus,
Estonia, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Ireland,
Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain (official euro members which are all
European Union member states) as well as Andorra, Kosovo,
Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino and Vatican which use it without having a say in
eurozone affairs and without being European Union members. These countries
together have a population of 327 million.
One euro is divided into 100 cents.
While each official euro member (as well as Monaco, San Marino and Vatican)
issues its own coins with a unique obverse, the reverse as well as all bills
look the same throughout the eurozone. Nonetheless, every coin is legal tender
in any of the eurozone countries.
A lot of shops do not accept banknotes
of €100, €200 and €500, due to concerns about counterfeiting and burglary.
Shops usually open by 9AM and they usually close by 5:30PM or 6PM. Most shops
are closed on Sundays, except at the "koopzondag". "Koopzondag"
means the biggest part or all the shops are open. It depents from town to town
wich Sunday is the "koopzondag". In most towns it is the last or
first Sunday in a month. In a few cities (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag and
Leiden) the shops are open every sunday, in most cases they are open from noon
till 5PM or 6PM. In Amsterdam centrum area is an exception, since you can see
the shops open till 9PM and Sundays from noon till 6PM. The shops can be
crowded with people coming into town from outside the city. In some areas shops
are closed on Monday morning.
For safety reasons, credit card use in
the Netherlands increasingly requires a PIN-code. Credit card use in general is
reasonable common, but not by far as much as in the US or some other European
countries. The Dutch themselves often use (debit) bank cards, for which even
small shops and market stands usually have a machine. In tourist destinations
you will generally find credit cards widely accepted, as well as in larger
shops and restaurants in the rest of the country, but ask in advance or check
the icons that are usually displayed at the entrance.
ATM's are readily available, mostly
near shopping and nightlife areas. The very smallest ones excluded, even
villages usually have an ATM.
Accommodation and food is on the
expensive side. Rail travel, museums, and attractions are relatively cheap.
Retail prices for clothing, gifts, etc. are similar to most of Western Europe;
consumer electronics are a bit more expensive. Gasoline, tobacco and alcohol
are relatively expensive due to excise taxes. however tobacco products can be
considered cheap compared to prices paid in the UK, it is possible (especially
in 'Marlboro) to find packs of 20 cigarettes for as little as 4 euros.
The Netherlands is a good place to buy flowers. Besides florists, you can buy
them pre-packaged in most supermarkets.
The Netherlands is famous for its
wooden shoes. However, nowadays almost no one, except for farmers in the countryside,
wear them. You could travel through the Netherlands for weeks and find no one
using them for footwear. The only place where you'll find them is in tourist
shops. Wearing wooden shoes in public will earn you quite a few strange looks
from the locals.
If you do try them on, the famous
"wooden shoes" are surprisingly comfortable, and very useful in any
rural setting. Think of them as all-terrain footwear; easy to put on for a walk
in the garden, field or on a dirt road. If you live in a rural area at home,
consider taking a pair of these with you if you can. Avoid the kitschy tourist
shops at Schiphol and Amsterdam's Damrak street, and instead look for a regular
vendor which can usually be found in towns and villages in rural areas. The
northern province of Friesland has a lot of stores selling wooden shoes, often
adorned with the bright colors of the Frisian flag.
Eat
Pea soup (snert) with Bacon
The Netherlands is not known for its cuisine, but hearty Dutch
fare can be quite good if done well. A conventional Dutch meal consists of
meat, potatoes and some type of vegetable on the side. The Dutch, however, are
known for their specialties and delicious treats:
Dutch cheese is particularly famous,
especially Gouda, Edam, Leerdammer, Maaslander and Maasdam.
Raw herring (haring),
which is actually cured in salt. It's available both from ubiquitous herring
stands and fancy restaurants, usually served with chopped onion and
occasionally even plopped into a bun to make broodje haring. New
herrings (Hollandse Nieuwe) is a special treat available around June.
Pea soup (erwtensoep
or snert), made of green peas and smoked sausage. Can be very hearty and
a meal itself if there are enough potatoes and other veggies mixed in.
Bitterbal (a
round ball of ragout covered in breadcrumbs and deep-fried), served in bars as
snacks with drinks and usually arrive in groups of at least five or as part of
a bittergarnituur, always with mustard. Be sure to try these, Dutch people love
them.
Bittergarnituur, a
plate containing different warm and cold snacks, like blocks of cheese, slices
of sausage, bitterballen, perhaps something like chicken nuggets or mini spring
rolls, and mustard or chili sauce for dipping. One usually orders a
bittergarnituur along with (alcoholic) drinks, from which the name of the dish
is derived (translated to English "bitterganituur" would become
"Dutch gin garnish").
Borecole mash
pot (boerenkool), mashed potatoes with borecole, often served
with a sausage.
Asperges
Flamandes. White asparagus with Hollandaise sauce, ham, crumbled
hard-boiled egg and served with boiled new potatoes. Highly seasonal and
usually only eaten between spring and summer.
Dutch
Sauerkraut (zuurkool), mashed potatoes with sauerkraut.
Hotch-potch (hutspot),
mashed potatoes with onions & carrots. Served with slowly cooked meats or
sausage.
Stoofvlees is
the slowly cooked meat eaten with hutspot.
Endive mashed
pot (stamppot andijvie), potatoes mashed with endive and
bacon.
Rookworst
(literally "smoked sausage"), available to go from HEMA department
store outlets, but also widely available in supermarkets.
Dutch
pancakes (pannenkoeken), which are either sweet (zoet) or
savoury (hartig) in variety of tastes, like apple, syrup, cheese, bacon
etc. Eat them in pancake houses (pannenkoekenhuizen)
Food from
former colonies like Indonesia and Suriname. Many traditional dished from
these countries have become part of the Dutch kitchen or even staple foods.
For dessert:
Poffertjes are
small slightly risen pancakes with butter and powdered sugar Eat them in poffertjeshuizen.
Syrup waffle (Stroopwafel).
Two thin layers with syrup in between. Available packaged from any supermarket
or made fresh on most street markets and specialized stalls.
Limburgse
vlaai (predominantly in the Southern Netherlands),
dozens of kinds of cold sweet pie, usually with a fruit topping.
Other "typically Dutch"
foodstuffs are:
Chocolate
sprinkles (Hagelslag), sprinkled on top of buttered slices of
bread (much like jam).
Chocolate
spread on bread (like Nutella).
Unadorned
chocolate bars (Pure chocolade).
Dutch peanut
butter on bread, which is considerably different from e.g. US peanut
butter. Dutch peanut butter is also the basis for Dutch Indonesian or 'Indo'
saté (satay) sauce which also contains lots of Asian herbs and spices.
A bread roll with butter and a slice of
cheese for lunch, rather than more elaborate lunches,
Dutch coffee
(dark, high caffeine grounds, traditionally brewed),
Liquorice (drop)
is something you love or hate, you can buy all kinds of varieties. You can get
it from sweet to extremely salty (double salt) and in a hard or soft bite.
Tompouce (a
mille-feuille or Napolean).
Nonnenvotten (a
Limburgish braided doughnut sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. Usually seasonal
in the winter).
Some of these "typically
Dutch" foodstuffs taste significantly different from, but do not
necessarily improve upon, specialties from other countries. For example, while
Dutch coffee and chocolate can instill feelings of homesickness in expats and
might be seen as "soul food", fine Belgian chocolate and Italian
coffees (espresso, etc.) are considered to be delicacies.
Other seasonal food: Pepernoten, Kruidnoten, taai-taai
(for the Sinterklaasfeest at 5 december), kerststol (at christmas), paasstol
(at easter), oliebollen(new
years eve).
Restaurants
As Dutch people usually eat Dutch food
at home, most restaurants specialize in something other than local fare. Every
medium-sized town has its own Chinese/Indonesian
restaurant, often abbreviated as Chin./Ind. restaurant, where you can
eat a combination of Chinese and Indonesian dishes. Usually you get a lot of
food for a small amount of money. Do not expect authentic Chinese or Indonesian
cuisine though, the taste has been adapted for Dutch citizens. These
restaurants have been influenced by the Dutch East Indies (currently Indonesia)
from when they were a colony of the Netherlands. Typical dishes are fried rice (Indonesian:
nasi goreng), fried bakmi (bami goreng) and prawn crackers (kroepoek).
A suggestion is the famous Dutch-Indonesian rice table (rijsttafel),
which is a combination of several small dishes from the East Indies, not unlike
the nasi padang of Indonesia. Most of them have a sit-in area and a
separate counter for take-away with lower prices.
Besides Chinese/Indonesian, the bigger
cities offer a good choice of restaurants with Middle Eastern cuisine for a bargain price (such as the Nieuwmarkt
in Amsterdam). Popular dishes are shawarma (shoarma), lahmacun (often
called Turkish pizza) and falafel. The Argentinian, French, Italian,
Japanese, Mexican, Spanish, Surinam and Thai cuisines are also well-represented
in the Netherlands.
Modern Dutch restaurants serve good
quality food and are relatively expensive compared with surrounding countries.
Most of the time, profit is made from the drinks and the desert, so be careful
ordering those if you are on a budget. In the Netherlands, going to a
restaurant is generally not seen as a quick way to eat food, but as a special
night out with friends or family, which can take a couple of hours. Service
fees and taxes are included in the menu prices. Tipping is not mandatory and
seen as a sign of appreciation, not as means to make up a tiny salary. In case
you do want to tip as a rule of thumb rounding up to the next Euro is normal or
10 percent.
Since 1 July 2008, smoking has been
banned in all restaurants, cafes, bars, festival tents and nightclubs. Smoking
is allowed only in separate, enclosed, designated smoking areas in which
employees are not allowed to serve. Staff may enter such smoking rooms only in
emergency situations.
A
mashed potato and mushroom kroket
In town centers, near public
transportation areas or even in more quiet quarters you can find a snackbar, sometimes known as frituur
or cafeteria. These snackbars are pretty much the antithesis of high
cuisine, but their snacks are considered typical for the country, and many
Dutch expats miss them the most when going abroad. The popular Febo [53] chain's outlets are basically giant vending
machines, just slot in a euro or two and take out the snack of your choice.
The most popular snack is French fries,
known as patat in most of the country and as friet in the Southern Netherlands.
The "standard" way is to order them with mayonnaise (patat met),
although the local mayo is not the same as you'd get in France or most of the
rest of the world: it is firmer, sweeter and contains less fat, whilst
remaining just as unhealthy. Other sauces are tomato ketchup, curry ketchup
(unlike regular curry, tastes more like ketchup), Indonesian peanut sauce (satésaus),
cut raw onions (uitjes), special (speciaal, a combination of
mayonnaise, curry ketchup and optionally cut raw onions) and war (oorlog,
a combination of mayonnaise, peanut sauce and optionally with cut raw onions).
The following fried snacks are considered typical for the country as well:
Croquette
('kroket'), a crispy roll filled with ragout. Can be ordered on bread as well.
Frikandel, a
long, skinless and dark-colored sausage, kind of like a minced-meat hot dog.
Can be ordered on bread, or as speciaal (with mayonnaise, curry ketchup
and cut raw onions).
Kaassoufflé,
cheese snack popular with vegetarians, can also be served on bread.
Bear's claw (berenklauw),
often called bear's snack (berenhap)
or bear's dick (berenlul),
is a sliced meatball with fried onion rings on a wooden skewer, often served
with peanut sauce (pindasaus).
Vegetarians should not have any major
trouble. 4.5 percent of the Dutch population is vegetarian and most restaurants
have at least one vegetarian option on their menus or can make you one if you
ask for it. Most supermarkets sell vegetarian products or even have a part of
their supermarket dedicated to vegetarian products. It is advisable to
specifically mention what you do and do not eat (meat, fish, dairy, eggs) as
not everyone has the same definition of vegetarianism. Finding a vegetarian
option in a fast food restaurant might provide more of a challenge. Chip shops
that sell veggie burgers are the exception rather than the rule; chips and kaassoufflés
are often the only options.
Drink
The Netherlands has two drinking ages: 16 years for alcohol under
15% (beer, wine, etc.*), and 18 for stronger alcoholic drinks. Beverages with
an alcohol content lower than 0.5% aren't counted, anybody can buy then, and
they may be called "alcohol free" or in the case of beer "malt
bier".
Although technically illegal beers and
wines with over 15% can be bought in most shops even if you're under 18
Beer
Wieckse Witte, a popular white beer (witbier)
Although the Dutch beer
"Heineken" is one of the world's most famous beers, it is just one of
the many beer brands in the Netherlands, and many Dutchmen consider it to be
only a second-rate pilsener. You can get all kinds of beers from white beer to
dark beer. Popular brands are Heineken, Grolsch, Brand, Bavaria, Amstel etc.
There's a certain regional variety in the beers you'll find; whereas, in the
Netherlands, many pubs serve Heineken or Amstel, pubs in Brabant will generally
serve Bavaria or Dommelsch, in Limburg Brand and in Gelderland Grolsch.
In addition to the usual lagers, try
Dutch white beers (witbier),
which are flavored with a spice mix called gruit and thus taste
different from the better-known German varieties. Fruit-flavored varieties are
also available.
Traditional beers come from monasteries
in the South of the Netherlands (Brabant and Limburg) or Belgium. You can visit
a traditional beer brewer in for instance Berkel-Enschot (just east of Tilburg)
at the 'Trappistenklooster'. It needs to be said that the brewery is now owned
by the big brewer Bavaria, so it's not so traditional any more.
There are also a lot of excellent small
and micro breweries (Brouwerij 't IJ, Brouwerij de Molen, Brouwerij de Prael
etc.), if you're a beer lover in Amsterdam consider visiting the beer shop
"De Bierkoning" near "De Dam" (central square of
Amsterdam), it was over a thousand beer, about half of it is Dutch and
"Brouwerij 't IJ".
Most breweries nowadays also produce a
non-alcoholic variant of their beers, like Bavaria Malt or Amstel Malt. Which
consist sometimes 0% or less than 0,5 alcohol and is very suitable for people
who would like to drive and don't drink (or sometimes called "de Bob"
as promoted in its campaign).
Also popular in winter are alcoholic bitters. Originally from the province
of Friesland the bitter called Beerenburg is served in the entire country. Most
other regions also produce their local, less famous variants of a bitter.
Orange bitter (Oranjebitter),
this bitter liquor is drunk only on Queen's Day (Koninginnedag)
Dutch drink black tea, and it comes in many different
tastes, from traditional to fruit infusions etc. Luckily, if you're English,
you get the teabag served with a cup of hot (but never boiling) water, so you
can make your own version. Milk in your tea is almost unheard of and given only
to children.
Coffee is almost compulsory when you
are going to visit people. One of the first questions when coming through the
door is often "Koffie?" and it is served in small cups (a half mug)
with cookies.
If you're from the States or Canada,
you can drink one cup of Dutch coffee
in the morning and add water the rest of the day! If you order 'koffie
verkeerd' (which means "coffee the wrong way 'round") you get a cup
of more or less half milk and half coffee, more like the French 'café au lait'
or the Italian 'caffe latte'.
Hot chocolate with
whipped cream is a winter tradition in the Netherlands. It really fills you
after a cold walk. In the summer you can also get it in every decent bar,
however sometimes it's made from powder as opposed to the traditional kind and
doesn't taste that good.
Drugs
The
Netherlands are renowned for their liberal drug policy. While technically still illegal because
international treaties, personal use
of (soft) drugs are regulated by the Ministry of Justice under an official
policy of gedogen; literally this means to accept or tolerate,
legally it is a doctrine of non-prosecution on the basis that action taken
would be so highly irregular as to constitute selective prosecution.
Note that this does not mean the Dutch
are all permanently high. In fact drug usage is much lower in the Netherlands
than it is in countries with more restrictive policies. Much of the clientèle
of the coffeeshops (see below) is in fact tourists. Be sure you are among
like-minded people before lighting up a spliff.
You are allowed to buy and smoke small
doses (5 g or less) of cannabis or hash. You must be 18 or older to buy. For
this you have to visit a coffeeshop,
which are are abundant in most larger towns. Coffeeshops are not allowed to
sell alcohol. Minors (those under 18) are not allowed inside. Coffeeshops are
prohibited from explicit advertising, so many use the Rastafari
red-yellow-green colors to hint at the products available inside, while others
are more discreet and sometimes almost hidden away from plain view. In the
border province of Limburg, it
will be possible to buy cannabis products in a coffeeshop only if you've got a wietpas
("weed pass") from 2010. This measure will be introduced in an effort
to combat drug related crime and nuisance.
Beware that cannabis sold in the
Netherlands is often stronger than varieties outside, so be careful when you
take your first spliff. Be particularly wary of cannabis-laced pastries
("space cakes") as it's easy to eat too much by accident — although
there are also unscrupulous shops that sell space cakes with no weed at all.
Wait at least one hour after eating!
Hallucinogenic ("magic")
mushrooms, once legal, are banned as of December 1st, 2008. However,
"magic truffles", which contain the same active ingredients as magic
mushrooms are still technically legal and are sold in some Amsterdam head
shops.
It is forbidden to drive any motorized
vehicle while impaired, which includes driving under the influence of both
illegal and legal recreational or prescribed drugs (such as cocaine, ecstasy,
cannabis and mushrooms) as well as alcohol, and medication that might affect
your ability to drive.
Buying soft drugs from dealers in the
streets is always illegal and is commonly discouraged. The purchase of other
(hard) drugs such as ecstasy, cocaine, or processed/dried mushrooms is still
dealt with by the law. However, often people who are caught in possession of
small amounts of illegal drugs for personal use are not prosecuted.
The act of consuming any form of drugs
is legal, even if possession is not. If you are seen taking drugs, you may theoretically
be arrested for possession, but not for use. This has one important effect; do
not hesitate to seek medical help if you are suffering from bad effects of drug
use, and inform emergency services as soon as possible of the specific
(illegal) drugs you have taken. Medical services are unconcerned with where you
got the drugs, they will not contact the police, their sole intention is to
take care of you in the best way possible.
At some parties, a "drug testing
desk" is offered, where you can have your (synthetic) drugs tested. This
is mainly because many pills contain harmful chemicals in addition to the
claimed ingredients; for example, many pills of "ecstasy" (MDMA) will
also contain speed (amphetamines). Some pills don't even contain any MDMA at all.
The testing desks are not meant to encourage drug use, since venue owners face
stiff fines for allowing drugs in their venues, but they are tolerated or
'gedoogd' since they mitigate the public health risks. Note: the desk won't
return the drugs tested.
Please note that there are significant
risks associated with drug use, even in The Netherlands' liberal climate
Alcohol and weed
Be very careful with alcohol and weed,
don't use any alcohol the first couple of times you smoke weed, drinking one
beer after you've smoked can feel like drinking ten beers. However, alcohol and
weed can be a very nice and trippy experience, especially for people who don't
feel enough from just smoking weed (to some people weed might be a little bit
disappointing, others can space the whole night on 0.5 g). Alcohol and weed
amplify each other, a little bit of alcohol can cause you to intensely feel the
effect of the weed, but a tiny bit too much makes you really sick and can cause
scary/unpleasant hallucinations (most of the time not dangerously, but it will
definitely ruin the evening). If you decide to take some alcohol with your weed,
make sure you're with somebody that isn't totally drunk/stoned so he/she can
tell you what's real and what's hallucinated. You may also feel dizzy or
nauseous from the effects; drowsiness is also a common effect from this
combination. In the end, be careful, pace yourself and know your limits.
There's loads of fun to be had, if you act responsibly.
Sleep
A wide range of accommodation is available, concentrated on the
major tourist destinations. They include regions popular for internal
tourism, such as the Veluwe. In
non-touristed areas, accommodation may be very limited.
Prices are generally high. Budget
accommodation starts at around €20 per person and prices go upwards from there.
Seasonal demand affects availability and can cause prices to rise dramatically,
especially in Amsterdam.
Official Dutch Youth Hostels are called "Stay Okay" [54], but they are not as widespread as in Great
Britain. Also there is no kitchen available for guests, so either you eat
what's on menu or you eat out. Besides the Official Dutch Youth Hostels there
are plenty of other hostels spread around the country. Popular are The Flying
Pig Hostels [55] in
Noordwijk and Amsterdam, which do provide a kitchen for one's own use and they
have a liberal smoking policy.
Another option is staying at a bed & breakfast. There is a wide
choice in the big cities, but there are also plenty to be found in the smaller
towns and villages. Prices are generally €40-100, depending on the number of
occupants and the season. Bed & breakfasts may not offer all the facilities
that bigger hotels do, but the service is generally friendly and personal.
Also, many bed & breakfasts are to be found along popular hiking trails and
cycling paths.
Short-term apartment rental is available in cities, but may not be legal.
While most have a 3 night minimum stay, the process of making reservations and
checking in is generally identical to that of staying in a hotel, the notable
exception being that most require a credit card deposit, and the balance
payment in € on arrival.
Vacation
rental homes are popular in The Netherlands, especially in rural areas.
These small homes come in broad varieties: they can be simple or luxurious,
individual places or part of large parks with lots of identical homes and they
are operated by private owners as well as large chains. Traversia has the
largest collection of vacation rentals in The Netherlands, by Dutch owners [56]. Large chains of vacation rental home parks are Center
Parks and Landal Greenparks. Where privately owned options can sometimes
provide a more authentic, local experience (e.g. located in old, timber-framed
houses in South Limburg), the parks will offer additional
services, restaurants and swimming pools. In most cases, you have to book at
least a weekend. Although generally not very cheap, they have kitchens and
therefore allow for self-catering.
If you are traveling by bicycle or by
foot, there is a list of 3600 addresses where you can stay at private homes
with bed and breakfast for no more than € 18,50 per person per night, although
you must also pay € 9 for membership of this scheme. It is called Vrienden op
de fiets [57].
Stay
safe
The Netherlands is generally considered a safe country. However,
be alert in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and other large cities that are
plagued by pickpockets and bicycle theft, violent crimes are very rare. In the
larger cities, certain areas are considered unsafe at night. A few are also
unsafe in daylight:
Amsterdam: Kolenkitbuurt, Overtoomse Veld
Den Haag: Morgenstond, Schilderswijk
Deventer: Heechterp/Schieringen, Rivierenwijk
Eindhoven: Woensel WestLeeuwarden: Heechterp/Schieringen
Maastrucht: Noord-Oost
Nijmegen: Hatert
Rotterdam: Bloemhof, Hillesluis, Oude Noorden, Oude Westen,
Pendrecht, Spangen, Tarwewijk, Tussendijken
Utrecht: Kanaleneiland, Ondiep
Zaanstad: Poelenburg
Police, ambulance and fire brigade have one general emergency
number 112. There is one police
force, organized in 25 police regions. Visitors will deal with mostly the
regional police. Some specialized forces, such as the railway police and the
highway police on main roads, are run by a separate national force (highway
police being the KLPD - Korps Landelijke Politie Diensten, and railway
police being the spoorwegpolitie). When calling 112, if you can, advise on what emergency services what you need.
Border controls and port and airport security are handled by a
separate police force, the Marechaussee (or abbreviation 'KMar' - Koninklijke
Marechaussee), a gendarmerie. They are an independent service of the Dutch
armed forces (making them a military service, not a civil one) and have
security tasks among their duties.
In most cities, there are municipal services (stadswacht, Toezichthouder
Openbare Ruimte (abreviation: TOR) or stadstoezicht) with some
police tasks duch as issuing parking and litter fines. They often have
police-style uniforms to confer some authority, but their powers are limited.
For instance, only the police carry a gun.
Prostitution in the Netherlands is legal since 1988 if the
prostitute consents. Pimping or otherwise exploiting women against their will
is a crime, even in the Netherlands. Have sex only in safe locations that have
a license to host prostitutes to engage in sexual activities with their clientele.
Illegal prostitution in hotels can be raided by the police and the
client as well as the prostitute can be fined or be put in jail. Hotel
personnel are obliged by law to notify the police if they suspect these kinds
of illegal activities. Having sex with a minor (18 for prostitues, 16 for other
people) is also illegal. Always ask for an ID from the prostitute to confirm
her age.
Stay healthy
The Netherlands has some of the best
'tap water' in the world. (Near the coast and in Amsterdam*) it is even
considered to be of similar or better quality than natural mineral or spring
water and is distributed to every household and controlled by 'water authorities'.
Food (either bought in a supermarket or eaten at a restaurant) shouldn't pose
any problem either. The health care system is up to par with the rest of Europe
and most cities have hospitals where usually most of the staff speaks English
(at least all medical staff). In general, it's a case of common sense.
In summer, open air recreational
(mainly fresh water) swimming areas might suffer from the notorious blue algae,
a rather smelly cyanobacteria which when it dies, releases toxins into the water.
When these occur, a signpost at the entrance to the area or near the water
should tell you so by stating something like "waarschuwing:
blauwalg". If in doubt, ask someone.
When walking or camping in forests and
dunes be aware of ticks and tick-carrying diseases such as Lyme disease. It is
advisable to wear long sleeves and to put trousers into your socks.
Prositution in the Netherlands has been
legalized to a certain degree but even when endulging into these practices at
brothels or other locations in the Netherlands where sex is sold do always use
a condom since STD's are still a problem in this industry.
Respect
The Dutch are among the most informal and easy-going people in
Europe, and there are not many strict social taboos to speak of. It is unlikely
that Dutch people will be offended simply by your behaviour or appearance. In
fact it is more likely that visitors themselves will be offended by overly direct
conversation. Nevertheless, the standards for overt rudeness and
hostility are similar to those in other western European countries. If you feel
you are deliberately being treated offensively, then you probably are.
The exception to this openness is
personal wealth. It is considered vulgar to for instance reveal the height of
your salary, so asking somebody about this will be considered nosy and will
probably just get you an evasive answer. Likewise, it's not advisable to be
forceful about your own religion or to assume a Dutch person you've met is a
Catholic or a Calvinist, since most people do not adhere to any faith at all.
In urban areas it is not considered rude to ask somebody about this, but you'll
generally be expected to be entirely tolerant of whatever the other person
believes and not attempt to proselytize in any way. Openly religious behaviour
is usually met with bewilderment and ridicule rather than hostility. An
exception is the Dutch Bible Belt which runs from Zeeland into South Holland,
Utrecht and Gelderland, and consists of towns with many strong Dutch Reformed
Christians, who are more likely to be insulted by different religious views.
Openly nationalist sentiments are likewise viewed with some suspicion among the
general public, though there are a number of nationalistic celebrations like
Queen's Day (Koninginnedag, April 30th) and during football
championships. Mostly though, these nationalistic celebrations are mostly used
as an excuse to party together rather than being true "nationalistic"
events.
Social etiquette
In the Netherlands, cheek-kissing is a common way of greeting
among women and between women and men. Two men will generally shake hands.
Kissing is particularly suitable for informal occasions, and is also common
practice when congratulating someone. Hand shaking is more appropriate for
formal occasions. Trying to shake hands when offered a kiss or refusing a kiss
altogether could be considered odd or rude.
Dutch people will kiss three times
alternating right and left cheeks. This could lead to awkward situations for
British people, being used to just two kisses. Also, always kiss on the cheeks
instead of giving air-kisses.
As mentioned above, the Netherlands is
quite liberal when it comes to homosexuality
and by far is considered to be one of
the gay-friendliest countries in the world. The Netherlands has a
reputation of being the first country to recognise same-sex marriage, and
openly displaying your orientation wouldn't cause much upset in the
Netherlands. However, even a gay friendly country like the Netherlands has room
for some criticisms of homosexuality, but this varies depending on where one
travels. Regardless, with violence and discrimination against gays being rare
as well as the legal status of same-sex marriage in the Netherlands, this
country may be considered a gay utopia
and should be safe for gays and lesbians (except sometimes in Muslim
neighbourhoods in the major Dutch cities, after big football matches or in
demonstrations if there is a violent attitude in general).
Contact
The international calling code for the Netherlands is 31. The outbound international prefix
is 00, so to call the US,
substitute 001 for +1 and for the UK 00 44 for +44.
The cellular phone network in the Netherlands is GSM 900/1800. The
cell phone networks are operated by KPN, Vodafone and T-Mobile; other operators
use one of these 3 networks. The networks are high quality and cover every
corner of the Netherlands. With the exception of some low-end service
providers, all mobile operators support GPRS. KPN, Vodafone and T-Mobile offer
UMTS (and HSDPA) service in almost all parts of the country.
There are few public phone booths left in the Netherlands. They
are mostly found at train stations. Telfort booths accept coins, whereas most
KPN booths accept only prepaid cards or credit cards. Some new public phones
have been installed which accept coins again. Be aware of public phones in a
more public area as well as the same types in a more public-private area, where
tarrifs (per unit or amount of calling time) can differ.
(National) Directory Inquiries can be reached -since 2007- on 1888, 1850 and various other 'Inquiry-operators'. Rates differ by
operator, but are usually rather high, more than €1 per call, as well as
per-second charges.
International Directory Inquiries can be reached on 0900 8418
(Mon-Fri 8AM-8PM, €0.90 per minute).
Phone numbers can also be found on the Internet, free of charge,
on Telefoonboek.nl [59], De Telefoongids.nl [60] or Nationale
Telefoongids.nl [61].
0800 numbers are toll-free and for 09xx numbers are charged at
premium rates. Mobile phones have numbers in the 06 range, and calls to cell
phones are also priced at higher rates.
If you're bringing your own (GSM) cell phone, using your existing
plan to call (or receive calls) whilst in The Netherlands can be very expensive
due to "roaming" charges. Receiving phone calls on a cell phone using
a Dutch SIM card is free in most cases; charges apply if you're using a foreign
SIM card, as the call is theoretically routed through your country of origin.
It's cheaper to buy a pay-as-you-go SIM card to insert into your GSM phone, or
even to buy a very cheap pay-as-you-go card+phone bundle. For example: lyca [62], lebara [63] and ortel [64] are providers that specialize in cheap rates to
foreign countries. [65] targets those
traveling through multiple countries.
To enjoy cheap
international calls from the Netherlands you can use low-cost
dial-around services such as Qazza [66],
BelBazaar [67], pennyphone [68], SlimCall [69], telegoedkoop [70], beldewereld [71], teleknaller [72]or
Wereldwijdbellen [73]. Dial-around services are directly available from
any landline in the Netherlands. No contract, no registration is required. Most
dial-around services offer USA, Canada, Western Europe and many other countries
at the price of a local call so you can save on your phone expenses easily.
They also work from public payphones.
Internet cafés can be found in most cities, usually they also
provide international calling booths. Many public libraries provide Internet
access. Wireless Internet access using Wi-Fi is becoming increasingly popular
and is available in many hotels, pubs, stations and on Schiphol, either for
free, or at extortionate prices through one of the national "networks"
of hotspots
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder