Critizine.com

Hey!

I thought it was fun to create a Travel encyclopaedia. So I'll post an entry about The Netherlands here. Now and then I'll update it. And of course everyone is allowed to edit it and put more info in the message! Of course it's no Wikipedia, and it shouldn't be. International travelling experiences can add up to a nice article about what to visit, and what to pay attention to!

The Netherlands/Holland
Capital: Amsterdam (which is also the largest city of the country)
Official language(s) Dutch and Frisian. Moreover there are several dialects.
Area 41.848 km^2
Currency € (euro)
EU-member yes (since 1957)

Useful hints about the Dutch
The Dutch people are very direct, don't be angry when they seem to be impolite (though, of course, they sometimes just are). Usually they don't even seem to notice. They're loud and don't find it strange to start a conversation with a stranger who's sitting next to them in the train.
If it's night, keep an eye out for dark shades moving pretty fast. Usually those are cyclists not having their lights on! Although it's obligatory, most cyclists don't seem to bother to use them.

Where to go

• Amsterdam: madame Tussaud's, Dam square, the Royal Palace, the red light district is famous amongst tourists and are called 'de wallen' in Dutch. The Anne Frank-house, Rijksmuseum and of course other museums. Take a look at the Iamsterdam-card website: Iamsterdam
• Do a VOC- tour. Visit all old cities connected to the old Dutch trading company.
• Kinderdijk - visit the famous mills (protected by UNESCO)
• Madurodam - visit the country in miniature! Madurodam
• The Aalsmeer Flower Auction - which is close to Amsterdam and the world's largest flower auction! Aalsmeer
• Cheese markets - the best and most famous ones are in Alkmaar and Gouda.
• Visit Delft - watch the famous Delft pottery and visit this nice old city with a great ambiance!
• Utrecht - combine a visit to this old city with a visit to the National Railway Museum!
• Don't miss The Hague - the seat of the Dutch government, spot politicians and check out the expensive shops and nice buildings. Including the residential palace of the Dutch Queen Beatrix!
• Visit the Delta works - one of the seven world engineering wonders! It keeps the Dutch feet dry!

Dutch Cuisine
Although the Dutch cuisine might not be as extended as the French one, there are some things that can be said about it.
Traditionally most Dutch people eat potato's, vegetables and meat on most days. During the winter it's common to eat stamppot. Unfortunately there's no good English translation possible for this word. Basically it's a dish of potato's and vegetables mashed together. For example carrots, onion with potato's or endive with potato's. These dishes have different names like: zuurkool(stamppot) = sauerkraut, andijvie-stamppot (endive) and so on. Dutch people usually eat this once or twice a week.

Transportation
You can cross the country by car, which offers you the possibility to stop where you want. Renting a bike is a good idea if you want to explore a city like Amsterdam (ask for those possibilities in any tourist office and they can give you hints about where to rent bikes). Visiting other places if you are staying in a certain city is easiest if you use the train and buses.

Reading tip: The Undutchables. It's satiric, but beneath that a lot of useful tips about the Dutch are hidden!

@ Silvio: I don't use cannabis either. But just like Remco said: you can only carry a limited amount with you ( 5 gramms) for personal usage.

they serve coffee though... if you like the taste of cannabis along with it

space cake of course

Yeah.. those things are here too, though coffee shops are specialised in cannabis only. Posters to be sold in souvenir shops