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Welcome to my home country:The Netherlands |
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The
music playing is the Dutch anthem: Het Wilhelmus
Click on Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, The Hague, Eindhoven, Delfzijl or Groningen to know more about those cities.
I was born and grew up in the Netherlands, also often (not quite right, as it just refers to 2 of the 12 provinces) called Holland. This page is a tribute to a wonderful country, that I called home until I was 23 years old.
It is my desire to show the beauty and originality of the Netherlands, by providing pictures, history, geography, recipes and links that give a taste of Dutch hospitality.
Please refer to the map above for places mentioned.
It would be impossible to tell all, for that you will have to buy an airplane ticket and savor the salty sea air, the abundance of water, whether on the ground or from the sky, the herring and eel and much, much more, yourself!
Click here for pictures of our April 2000 trip to the Netherlands.
Windmill near Kinderdijk
Some interesting facts
The Royals
Why the orange
lettering, you'll ask. Well, the Netherlands is a monarchy and has been since
1815.
The ruling house is the House of Orange. Since April 30th 1980, Beatrix
is queen of the Netherlands.
Willem Alexander, her oldest son, is the crown prince. On February 2nd, 2002 he got married to Maxima Zorreguieta from Argentina. They had a baby girl Catharina-Amalia, the future queen, on December 7th, 2003.
The orange is the symbol for the Dutch Royal House. On official holidays and royal birthdays, flags are joined by an orange sash.
Land of water
The Netherlands have always been known for its way of creating land out of water, called "polders". Just a little over 18 years ago, on the first of January, 1986, the twelfth province of the Netherlands, Flevoland, was created. The link will tell you all about this province that was completely reclaimed from the water. The Dutch ways with water, as apparent in the Delta Works and numerous dikes, have been an example to the world for centuries. Water has been an ally of the Dutch, a great seafaring nation, as well as an enemy, for example during the big floods of 1953.
Bulbs, wooden shoes and windmills
Talk to any foreigner about the
Netherlands and the above 3 items will be mentioned. Bulb fields bloom in late
April, early May, creating kilometers of colorful carpet. The Keukenhof in Lisse is the most popular
place to view the bulbs.
The wooden shoe is a well known symbol of
Dutch culture. Dutch children are depicted wearing them and wooden shoes are put in
front of the fireplace in December for Sinterklaas. Click
on the shoe above to read about the history of wooden shoes.
The famous Dutch windmills can be seen
mostly in the west of the country. One of the greatest concentrations of still
working windmills can be found at Kinderdijk. Click on the windmill picture to see
some spectacular scenery.
The "Muiderslot" near Muiden (click to get a virtual tour)
~Some Dutch Recipes~
These are a few recipes I make for my family sometimes. Dutch "cuisine" is very down to earth. Good tasting food is made from very simple ingredients. The cooking reflects the farming background of the country.
Hutspot (Hotchpotch) with smoked sausage
one (or two, if big meat
eaters) smoked sausage
2/3 lb onions
4 lb potatoes
2 lb carrots
milk
4 tbsp. fat, butter or margarine
salt
pepper
Scrub and slice carrots. Peel, wash and slice onions, peel potatoes and add all three to a large pan with some salt and boil about 20 minutes till soft. Pour out water and mash all vegetables to a puree. Add fat, butter or margarine and pepper. If too thick add some milk (but a spoon must stand up in it). Prepare the sausage according to package instructions and serve on top of the hotchpotch. This is a main dish and serves about 4.
Wentelteefjes (type of French Toast)
8 slices stale white
bread
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cup milk
pinch of salt
butter or margarine to fry
Take the crusts off the bread. Stir cinnamon and sugar together. Add the beaten egg and milk, also the salt. Soak the slices in this mixture. Fry them slowly in butter on both sides and sprinkle with sugar before serving.
Some great links about the Netherlands!
General links:
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Netherlands Board of Tourism - All about visiting the Netherlands! |
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The history of some Dutch traditions, including the Eleven Cities tour and Carnival. |
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Dutch-English online dictionary |
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A fun page: The Undutchables |
Tourist destinations:
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Madurodam, take a virtual tour |
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The Efteling, my favorite amusement park, where you can also see many well-known fairy tales in the style of Dutch artist Anton Pieck |
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The official website of the Anne Frank house |
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Ouwehands zoo, in Rhenen |
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Burgers Zoo in Arnhem |
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Dolfinarium in Harderwijk |
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Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam |
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De Zaanse Schans, unique old buildings and windmills |
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Specific places:
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Nice pictures and information about Hindeloopen art |
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The village of Volendam on the Web |
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Information about the province of Friesland |
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A page on Frysian clocks in Joure (we bought ours there) |
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Site of the province of Limburg |
Dutch recipes:
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Dutch products online:
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Dutch heritage links:
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The Netherlands Embassy in Washington DC homepage |
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The Dutch heritage site, they have wonderful recipes too! |
My kids in Volendam traditional costume
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