More features:
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Liquorice and cheese
When Dutch people travel abroad they are great promoters of traditional Dutch products. More than 50% ...
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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....
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A farewell to pints
Unless you’re at an Irish pub or sports bar where you can get a proper pint or half liter mug, beer glasses in the Netherlands tend to come in dainty sizes more suitable for children or ladies who lunch....
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Miraculous Amsterdam
Amsterdam first put its name on the map of Europe not with its trading prowess, its port or with prostitution, but with a supposed miracle that’s still celebrated today on March 12....
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Dutch crooners
Hang out in local Amsterdam pubs long enough, as we have, and you’ll come across a deep, dark Dutch secret....
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Empty farms, crowded cities
The Dutch countryside is depopulating rapidly. Despite the fact that Holland's general population continues to grow each year and that 16....
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Oldest national anthem
The Dutch Wilhelmus is the oldest national anthem in the world. The first stanza is the part that is usually sung or played at official events....
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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....
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Ajax: the most loved and loathed club in Holland
Amsterdam's legendary football club is a household name throughout the world, yet despite, or perhaps owing to, its success the Dutch either love or hate Ajax and there doesn’t seem to be any middle ground....
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Striking out in the Red Light District
We thought that interviewing a local prostitute would be a rather simple task, but not everything is as it seems in Amsterdam’s infamous Red Light district also known as De Wallen....
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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....
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Caffeine nation
The Dutch love their coffee. On average they slurp three cups of Java per person per day. This, by the way, is only an average....
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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....
Orphaned bikes

The Netherlands is the only country in the world where there are more bikes (18 million) than inhabitants (16.5 million). At the busiest train station in the Netherlands, Utrecht Central Station, it'll take you at least 15 minutes to find a place to park your bike and this despite the fact that the local council has recently created 14,500 parking spots for bicycles. One of the biggest causes of this chaos is the fact that the Dutch leave their bikes at the station en masse, and often never pick them up again. One in five bicycles at any random Dutch train station is an orphan. Some people dump their bicycles consciously, while others often don’t remember where they parked it after a boozy night out. But these so-called orphans actually take up very pricey real estate, because each spot at a station costs between €400 - 600 euro to create. Underground parking is even more expensive: €2,500 per spot! That seems (and is) steep, but bear in mind that a parking spot for a car costs at least ten times as much! But not everyone loses their bike because they're irresponsible. During an average year in the Netherlands, between 800,000 and one million bikes are stolen.