Netherlands
Cool land
Windmills, fields of tulips, bicycles. All clichés. And yet the tourist just never gets enough of this surprising country. Freedom of action and open-mindedness go hand-in-hand with sternness and discipline.
Holland is a hospitable country. Museums of international renown and Calvinist churches, but coffee shops and red-light districts, too. The Dutch are welcoming
and they speak excellent English. And French there still connotes ‘chic and a touch of class’.
“And the hotels?” you want to know. The hotel structure is remarkable for quality. The personnel are attentive and show respect for the foreign tourist. Which is not the case in many southern European capitals.
Visit illustrious Amsterdam with its canals. Or the city of Maastricht in the south of the country. Everywhere you go, you have the impression that you are strolling through a history book. Come to the country of Rembrandt and Van Gogh. Come to the country that made its fortune on the oceans of the world. The country that succeeded in conquering the sea. Let yourself be seduced by the ‘coolest’ of all the European countries.
Eating and Drinking
With the exception of Dutch cheese, Dutch specialties are little known. Some traditional dishes are: "bruine bonen met spek" brown beans with bacon, "pannekoek" type of pancake, "bitterballen" a round meat croquette and of course the "maatjes" new herring eaten raw. The dishes are often combined with vegetables and potatoes in particular. Because of Holland’s colonial past, the Chinese and Indonesian kitchens are very well liked throughout the country. There are numerous exotic restaurants. The service is always included but a tip is very much appreciated.
Travelling by Car
The road system is excellent: 1905 km of motorways (non-paying for the most part) where a speed limit of 100 to 120 km/h is enforced, depending on the specific area. In town centres you can’t exceed 50 km/h, outside the town centres the maximum allowed speed is 80 km/h. The police keep a watchful eye and perform a lot of checks. The legal blood alcohol concentration is 0.05%.
