More features:

• Dutch crooners

  
  Hang out in local Amsterdam pubs long enough, as we have, and you’ll come across a deep, dark Dutch secret....

• Red Light streets

  
  Don’t be one of those tourists fresh off the train that asks the nearest local where the Red Light District is located....

• Shhhh! The Dutch are listening!

  
  Last year 26,000 ‘suspicious phone calls’ were monitored by the police in the Netherlands....

• A Clockwork Orange

  
  In the hot summer of 2010 the Dutch national football team played a World Cup Final for the third time in history....

• Pilots as wingmen

  On our late night wanderings searching for the perfect Amsterdam pub, we quite literally stumbled across some American pilots from a major international airline who, upon hearing of our exalted task, took it upon themselves to help us on our quest....

• Royal fortunes

  
  The international recession has left its mark everywhere and the Dutch are no exception. More than 50% of Dutch people have chosen to limit their supermarket budgets because of the credit crunch....

• Orphaned bikes

  
  The Netherlands is the only country in the world where there are more bikes (18 million) than inhabitants (16....

• Ajax Experience

  
  Although Ajax is no longer the great international power it once was, Amsterdam’s football club is at the top of the table in the Dutch league and is still extremely popular with football tourists....

• Act like a local (1)

  
  Here are some helpful hints and guidelines about local habits and behaviour. Get used to them. In lesson 1 we give you advice about the second most important thing in life: ordering a beer like the locals do....

• Waste not, want not

  
  On average, Dutch consumers throw away 20% of the food they buy in supermarkets and shops. Thankfully, a website has been launched that strives to tackle this problem: www....

• Sticks and stones

  
  In other countries, the mere mumbling of swearwords like 'klootzakken', 'kankerlijers', 'losers' and 'sukkels' (which are all impossible to translate) to a police officer would be sufficient for at least a night in jail....

• Bitter… balls?

  
  The name bitterballen, or bitter balls, conjures up all kinds of images and not entirely wholesome ideas from sour edibles hardly fit for consumption to a sex toy you might find in the Red Light district....

• Beetle

  
  The Volkswagen Beetle is the most popular 'old timer' in the Netherlands. This German-produced car's popularity is probably due to the fact that for many Dutch it was their first private vehicle....

• Enemy of the state

  
  The Netherlands and water have always been intricately and permanently linked. Because large parts of the country are below sea level, its inhabitants have been fighting floodwaters for as long as anyone can remember and this has resulted in an ingenious hydrological system....