Photos of Netherlands

The Netherlands, is on the coast of the North Sea. The Netherlands is 360 by 257 km and is low and flat except in Limburg in the southeast, where the hills rise up to 322 m. Roughly half the country's area is below sea level, making the famous Dutch dikes a prerequisite for the use of much of the land. Reclamation of land from the sea through dikes has continued through up until today. All drainage reaches the North Sea, and the principal rivers—Rhine, Maas (Meuse), and Schelde—have their sources outside the country.
Keukenhof, is the world’s largest flower garden is located between the towns of Hillegom and Lisse. This garden attracts 800.000 people, and only opens for eight weeks each year. Not surprisingly it is one of the most photographed sights in the world. Each season more than 7 million bulbs are planted making the flower season something very special to look forward to.

The Netherlands are world re-nound for its windmills, we travelled to a place called Kinderdijk (just north of Roterdam) where they have one of the biggest concentrations of windmills in the Netherlands. Its an incredible sight to see 19 windmills in perfect condition along side a canal. The windmills where used to drain the water from the plains either side of the cannel that are below sea level.

A good source of local information can be found on this website site.
http://www.kinderdijk.nl/

The easiest and most effective way to explore the city of Amsterdam and the rest of the country is to hire a bike and ride. It's a very small country, but full of enjoyable surprises.







The port of Rotterdam is the largest in Europe and was the worlds busiest port from 1962 to 2004. After this it was overtaken by Shanghi. Rotterdam is situated on the banks of the river Meuse River. The port at Rotterdam is an incredible sight and worth taking the time to see the port, it appeals to the little kid in all of us.

The Dutch East India Company was established in 1602, and by the end of the 17th century Holland was one of the great sea and colonial powers of Europe.













Dont forget to see some of the incredible art work that is also avalible in the country, this includes works from the likes of Rembrant, van Gogh, Frans Hals, and Vermeer.