Map of the Netherlands - the different provinces
I was born in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. When I was a few weeks old I was adopted by a family from the Netherlands. Since then I've lived here in this small country in Europe wich is a great place to live! When you're planning a trip to Europe make sure you don't skip my country! Especially our capital Amsterdam should not be missed!
Basic Info The Netherlands got it's name because of the location below sea-level! The Netherlands is a very flat and small country. The Dutch are known for their skills of managing water and building bridges. The Netherlands is also known for the harbour of Rotterdam, its windmills, tulips and wooden shoes. The Dutch are very open minded and free of spirit. The country is divided in 12 different regions (provinces) where you will find differences in lifestyle; Different accents, traditions and habits.
Madorudam
Groningen, Friesland, Drenthe, Overijssel, Utrecht, North-Holland, South-Holland, Zeeland, North-Brabant (I live here) and Limburg.
Inhabitants: a little over 16 million
Language: Dutch
Currency: Euro
Amsterdam is our capital. Amsterdam is a great city to visit. The atmosphere is very nice, everybody is relaxed and anything is possible in Amsterdam. Amsterdam is a real melting-pot of cultures, influences, free spirits, art, music, and a great night-life. The heart of Amsterdam is the dam, where you will find the famous monument on the dam. The canals are very populair with tourists. There are boatrides trough the canals wich allow you to see the city from the water. The city has great museums, bars and restaurants. Things you shouldn't miss are Madame Tussaud's where you can find a collection famous persons in the form of life-like dolls made out of wax.
Entrance Efteling
Also very impressive is
The house of Anne Frank. Where the girl Anne Frank lived during the war. Anne Frank's diary is known worldwide. In Amsterdam you will also find the
Van Gogh museum wich owns the largest collection of paintings by Van Gogh. There are also works of other artists being displayed at the museum. At the
Rijksmuseum you will find paintings by Vermeer, Rembrandt and Frans Hals. The famous paintint
"De Nachtwacht" can be seen here. Nice events are constantly being held in the city wich are great to visit. To keep track of that you can check out
www.Iamsterdam.com
Other cities that are worth paying a visit:
Rotterdam is very famous for the international harbour wich is located here.
Sprookjesbos Efteling (Fairytale Forest)
Next to that the city has a lot of other interesting things to offer for tourists. You will find one of the largest zoo's of the country in Rotterdam;
Diergaarde Blijdorp. You can also pay a visit to the
Euromast wich is the highest lookout tower in the Netherlands.The high-speed elevators take you up to the platforms where you can take the Space Cabin to experience the feeling of a rocket launch! In Rotterdam you will also find the
Museum of Ancient Art and the
Museum of Modern Art.
The Hague is the political capital of our country. The government is seated in this city. You can visit the Binnenhof and the Ridderzaal. The Binnenhof is free accessible, but to see the Ridderzaal you will need to go with a guided tour wich are being held from monday trough saturday.
Vogel Rok Efteling
In The Hague you will also find
Madurodam wich should really not be missed. Madurodam is a themepark where you can find the miniature version of every sight/building/attraction in the Netherlands that is worth mentioning. It's been copied exactly up and to the last detail with even sailing ships and little trains that run over the miniature traintracks. Everything has been built on a scale of 1:25. Things you will find here are Schiphol airport, the famous cheesemarket of Alkmaar and the canals of Amsterdam. The miniature city has its own council wich is composed of students from schools in and around The Hague. There are 22 students in the council. There is one mayor who is always a 16 or 17 year old student. The first mayor of Madurodam was Princess Beatrix who is now our Queen.
Other nice cities: Breda, Nijmegen (oldest city)
Sights Some sights/attractions in my country you should visit: (there are a million but I've choosen some main ones)
De Efteling is the most populair themepark of our country.
Efteling Hotel
The themepark has a lot of different rides wich are all based on/connected to fairytales and old legends. (Like the stories by Hans Christiaan Andersen for example or the story of the Flying Dutchman.). The Efteling is located in Kaatsheuvel and it also has a Golfpark and the very nice and luxurious
Efteling hotel. Information about the park can be seen at
www.efteling.com
De Keukenhof When you visit our country in spring you should stop by the Keukenhof in Lisse. There you will find beautifull gardens filled with every colour of tulips imaginable. Its openend from March 'till May because that's the time when the bulbs bloom.
Deltawerken Neeltje Jans In Vrouwenpolder you will find the Deltaworks. Our country is below sea-level wich became a treath to the country.
This one is for my TB Spencer!! ..Shmoke and a Pancake.. ?!
After the flood of 1953 (nearly 2000 people died and more than 150.000 hectares of land were flooded) the Dutch decided that something had to be done to protect the country from the water. That is why the Dutch are known for their skills in watermanagement. The plans for the Deltaworks were born. Some of them can be visited. Here u can see all kinds of dams and different types of sluices. The Deltaworks have improved the safety for the inhabitants, have improved the mobility between different parts of the country, have had a positive influence on tourism and recreation in the area so the Deltaworks are very important.
The Zaanse Schans is a small town on the banks of the river Zaan with characteristic green wooden houses, charming gardens, small hump-backed bridges, tradesmen's workshops, historic windmills and little shops.
Ben & Jerry's Amsterdam (It's Chunky Monkey)
This little town gives an excellent impression of how a typical Zaanse village must have looked like in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Apart from the cluster of windmills and houses there are also several museums, restaurants and a visitors' centre to be found as well as the possibility of taking a boat trip on the river. The Zaanse Schans has become one of the top tourist destinations in the Netherlands.
More tips about nice places to go to and to see in my country (Like attractions, sights and restaurants etc) can be found in my reviews!
See you in the Netherlands! Greeeetzzz Devi
