The Netherlands | Moments on Journey

The Netherlands

Netherlands is one of the Benelux countries. Once was a colonial empire, possessing areas like the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia today), Sri Lanka, Suriname, Taiwan, Guyana, lands in South Africa and today's Manhattan.

The name itself means 'the low lands' which is true, as almost a third of its area is below sea level, making the Netherlands Europe's lowest laying country.

Even though its a constitutional monarchy with the Orange-Nassau royal dynasty, The country is considered to be one of the most democratic and liberal countries, due to its liberal drug policy, legal prostitution and the support of LGBTQ communities. Amsterdam is especially popular among tourist who swarm into the 'coffee shops' and red-light districts.

LANDSCAPE

The landscape of the Netherlands is low and flat, mostly consists of coastal lowland and polders (land reclaimed from the sea), though there are some hills in the southeast regions. However, this doesn't mean that the Netherlands is boring. On the contrary, it's home to incredible national parks, of which the sand dunes of Texel National Park and the Hoge Veluwe National Park are the most famous. The latter is known for its wildlife-rich forests and the Kröller Möller outdoor Museum. The Dutch country also has many islands, sandy beaches and charming canals.

WEATHER

The Netherlands has an oceanic or moderate maritime climate with mild winters (average 3-4 °C) and cooler summers (around 17 °C). Generally the southern provinces enjoy the warmest temperatures, while the coastal regions have both the most sunlight and the heavies rainfall during the autumn. The weather is quite windy and unpredictable with a lot of rainfalls, so it's good to have a sweater and some rainwear with you all the time.

The best time to travel to the Netherlands is between mid-May to mid-September when the temperature is the most pleasant. However, if you want to visit during the Tulip Season (from April until mid-May), be prepared for a bit colder weather.

TOP DESTINATIONS

Amsterdam

Rotterdam

Zaanse Schans

CULTURE

Windmills, clogs, tulips, lace caps or blue and white pottery are some of the Dutch cultural symbols but there's so much more to it! The Netherlands is home to 7 UNESCO cultural World Heritage sites and plenty of world-class art and history museums and impressive fine art collections, like the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Mauritshuis or the Anne Frank House. The Dutch architecture is known for its landscape architecture and the distinct narrow canal brick houses with Dutch windows and decorative gable roofs tilting and leaning forward. Comic strips are another part of the Dutch culture with series like Agent 327, Storm, Eric the Noorman or Miffy.

There are renowned Dutch artists such as the painters Rembrandt van Rijn, Vincent van Gogh and Jan van Eyck or the Renaissance humanist Erasmus, just to mention a few. From the modern age it's worth mentioning film director Paul Verhoeven, actors Famke Janssen, Carice van Houten and Rutger Hauter and guitarist Eddie van Halen, DJs Tiësto, Martin Garrix and Armin van Buuren from the musical side. Other famous Dutch people include the notorius spy Mata Hari and explorer Abel Tasman who discovered New Zealand and Tasmania.

The Netherlands has plenty of events and all kinds of festivals all year round, from international art festivals, through vibrant music festivals in the summer to crazy Carnivals and the beautiful Amsterdam Light Festival in winter. Don't miss the end of April, when the entire country dresses in orange and celebrate the King's Birthday with free events, music and street markets or one of the popular fair, such as the biggest fair of the Benelux in Tilburg in July.

Dutch people love football and their team is quite successful with 3 FIFA World Cup final appearances and 3 bronze medals in the Olympics. The other famous sport is cycling where they have two Dutch Tour de France winners and 7 World Champions! Another beloved activities are speed skating, tennis, field hockey and F1 is also getting more popular with racecar driver Max Verstappen.

The Dutch society is independent, modern and believe in equality. The people here are known to be extremely direct and straightforward which might seem rude to some, but it's not their intention. They are also very punctual and live by a strict schedule.

GASTRONOMY

Traditionally, the Dutch cuisine consists of sea food, many vegetables, cheese, bread and little meat. Later it was influenced by Surinamese and Indonesian cuisine, as a result of the colonization and the spice trade. Typical Dutch delicacies are the herring (salted raw fish with chopped onion), kroket, bitterballen (deep fried beef ball) with beer, Filet Americain, fries with mayo or mayo and peanut sauce (patatje oorlog). The Dutch cheese is world famous - taste a Goude or Edam cheese at a cheese shop or a cheese market. The famous sweets are the poffertjes (puffy pancakes), papernoten (ginger cookies), oliebollen (raisin donut snack), crusty apple pie or drop (salty black Dutch liquorice). The local beverages are beer (Heineken is probably the most known) and jenever, but they love mint tea as well.

Oh, and if you want to drink coffee, go to a café - the coffee shops are for weed.

GOOD TO KNOW

Language: The official language is Dutch, but they speak English very good too. Learn a few expressions to break the ice - Dankjewel (thank you), Goedemorgen (good morning)

Money: Euro. ATMs are widely accessible and most of them accept international bank cards, but always have some cash with you, many smaller businesses take only cash.

Plugs: Type C and Type F

Tap water: water is high quality and clear, safe to drink

Safety: The Netherlands is very safe, though you can be careful of you belongings in large crowds.

Visa and Passport: As part of the Schengen Area, some nationalities are required visa even for tourism purposes. Over 65 nationalities can travel without visa and the citizens of the Schengen Area countries can travel with an ID Card, while the around 150 other countries are required to apply for a Schengen visa. From 2022, these travelers from outside the Schengen Area will need to apply for an ETIAS visa. Check the conditions here.

Transportation: The OV-ChipKaart is the public transport ticket system in the Netherlands, and can be used on all forms of public transport. You can buy a disposable card if you plan on only using it once, or an anonymous card if you plan on traveling via public transport more often. Simply check in and out of your journey using the card readers, and top up when necessary. Train is a fast and good option for travelling between cities, though there can be delays and cancellations. If you opt for the most Dutch way of transport and hire a bike, lock it twice - there are a lot of theft in the region.

Driving: On the right side. Note that Dutch drivers can be impatient and rude on the road.

Tipping: Tipping is expected for exceptional restaurant service, around 5-10% of the bill. However, if the service was average, you can round-up the bill or leave the change. Give your tip to the service person directly.