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Tiny nation by the sea: bordered by Belgium, Germany and the North Sea. Windmills, clogs and tulips? That's about it, wouldn't you say?
As with many stereotypes: not entirely true! The Germans walk all day in lederhosen, the French eat snails all day, the British drink tea all day, and Denmark is the capital of Amsterdam... Right? There are many misconceptions about Europe and its many different cultures. Understandable, many Europeans do not know much about the US either. Nevertheless, it couldn't hurt to set a few things straight.
We do still have some windmills left, but most of them are retired or operated by volunteers for posterity. They were very much in use until the early 1900s, then the Industrial Revolution brought us machines to do the same. If you like windmills check this out: www.kinderdijk.nl.
Interesting fact: there is an original Dutch windmill in Golden Gate park in San Francisco with a nice tulip garden surrounding it.
Clogs (wooden shoes) are still worn by some farmers, but they are uncomfortable and cold. Most Dutch wear regular shoes like anyone else. But if you want some anyway you might want to check this out: www.woody2shoes.com/generalinfo.html
Every Dutch house has a garden full of tulips... Yeah, right! First of all, tulips are seasonal and the weather in the Netherlands is not very helpful. Also, a lot of people do not have a garden or even a balcony. The Dutch however do enjoy buying fresh cut flowers that are grown in greenhouses and are reasonably priced. For those of you who have had the chance to shop around on Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, you will probably know about the flower stands. The tulip however is not domestic and made its way to the Netherlands during the Golden Age. If you enjoy flowers, you should certainly visit the famous Keukenhof (unpronounceable in English) in spring (www.keukenhof.com).
Sometimes I jokingly tell people that Holland is a swamp and flat as a pancake. A swamp because it's right by the North Sea and on the Warm Gulfstream that keeps the climate relatively warm and moist: it rains a lot (like in Seattle). Flat as a pancake, because the highest point is a "mountain" in the southern part of the Limburg province close to the city of Maastricht which is a whopping 1000ft high.
60% of the Netherlands is below sea level. Where else did you think the name came from? There are areas that are as much as 20-30ft below sea level. I have lived in a small town near Rotterdam that has two aqueducts and where the ships run higher than some rooftops. It's a funny to look up from your backyard and see a sailboat go by
The big flood disaster of 1953, which inundated big parts of the country, sparked a plan to safeguard against the sea and high water levels. These days you can find many dikes along the coast, rivers and polders to manage the water flow and levels. You can find out more at a special web site to commemorate the 50-year anniversary: www.delta2003.nl. These days however the danger of high water seems to be coming more from the other side: the rivers the Rhine and the Meuse.
Water management and civil engineering is one of the things the Dutch are famous for and this knowledge was (and still is) exported to many countries.
Because of its relative small size (twice the size of New Jersey) the Netherlands has always been very much focused on trade with its neighbors: Germany, France and Great Britain. The Netherlands is considered the gateway to Europe for its geographic location, business climate and good infrastructure.
Many Dutch also speak more than one language. These days English is a very common second language, but you will also find people who can speak German, French, Spanish, Italian and many more languages. By the way: French was a popular second language until the 70s when English started to take over influenced by TV, music, movies and business.
The Netherlands is also one of the most densely populated countries in the world. With over 16 million people the density is about 1000 per square mile (the same as NJ BTW), more than France, Germany or the UK. The country is scrambling for space. This causes to be creative with the little nature that is left.
Interesting fact is, that the new High Speed Train from France (TGV) is being tunneled underground to Amsterdam to minimize the effects on the environment.
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