Travel to The Netherlands

Author: jancsina
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The Netherlands (it is often called "Holland", though this is not really correct) is famous for its flowers, windmills and wooden shoes. Flowers can be found in the Keukenhof, where you can see lots of different tulips, but there are several flower markets, too.

The two most visited windmills are Zaanse Schans and Kinderdijk. Both are still working. You can enjoy the scenic land of windmills and tulips in the countryside and numerous medieval towns and beaches can be found on the coastline.

The Netherlands is well known for its stable democracy and tolerance, too. Its laws allow soft drug - in small quantities and only for personal - use, prostitution, abortion, euthanasia and gay marriage. Interestingly you can buy marijuana legally in coffee shops. But it doesn't mean that the whole country has liberal attitude. There has always been a contrast between conservativeness and liberalism, particularly because a strong Protestant Calvinist tradition exists.

It is a curiosity that a huge part of the country lies below sea level, that's why the Dutch always struggle against flooding.

The capital city, Amsterdam is known as one of the most romantic cities in Europe and is one of Europe's great destinations. It is a good idea to try carpooling, which is a practical way of traveling not only for students but everyone who consider traveling on budget. The city is full of canals and bridges, canal boat tour is one of the most fascinating highlights.

As for the climate, winters are cold and summers are mild. The best period is from April to October. It is recommended to travel in the spring because of the beautiful tulips.

If you don't want to spend too much, try to avoid nightlife in Amsterdam, because that is pretty expensive, and try to stay in budget hotels. You can easily find many of them throughout the city. For example Atlanta Hotel is right in the center of Amsterdam, Hotel My Home is a nice family run budget hotel also in the heart of the city, or Borgmann Villa Hotel is few minutes from the Van Gogh Museum, the Rijksmuseum, and the Concertgebouw.

Amsterdam has a lot of great art museums and vivid cultural life. Actually, there were some great Dutch masters. Rijksmuseum, the Stedelijk Museum, Rembrandt House Museum, Anne Frank House and The Van Gogh Museum with the greatest collection of Van Gogh's paintings and drawings are the most important museums.

The most popular way of transport here is cycling. It is because the country is absolutely flat and sometimes it is faster than any other means of transport: car, bus or tram. There is a complete net of cycle paths and cycle lanes and you can rent a bike in almost each city or town.

You may visit one of the festivals in the country, too. Dancevalley is a three-day long summer dance festival, one of the biggest European music festivals. The Lowlands festival focuses on alternative music, but also offers many cultural programs with visual arts, literature, film and theater events. It is situated close to an artificial island in the middle of Holland called Flevoland.