Often called as Holland, the Netherlands is a small country renowned for its canals, tulip fields, fantastic cycling routes, cheese markets, windmills, and wooden shoes.
The name of the country means “low-lying country.”
The country is filled with world-famous icons and masterpieces of old masters like Van Gogh and Anne Frank.
Its capital city, Amsterdam, along with other bustling cities like Rotterdam and Utrecht and the Hague, is world-famous for its amazing art, architecture, and booming nightlife and entertainment scene.
Another fantastic thing about the Netherlands is that the government has let the use of cannabis for personal and recreational consumption. However, it is not legal. Nevertheless, you can find cannabis and cannabis-infused food items in coffee shops in the country.
Plus, the Netherlands is also a safe nation to travel as a tourist. There is an overall low risk of being a victim of violent crime or being infected with a disease.
However, this doesn’t mean that you can let your guard down.
You should be aware at all times while exploring the larger cities like Amsterdam, the Hague, and Rotterdam as petty criminals like pickpockets and bag snatchers may be waiting to loot your belongings. Therefore, always keep your belongings close and only carry what you need.
Geography
The North Sea borders the Netherlands to the north and west whereas, Germany bounds the country to the east and Belgium to the south.
The country lies only about three feet above sea level, so there is a high risk of getting overflown by sea waters. More than one-fourth of the country’s area lies below sea level. Thankfully, some dunes and dikes protect the area.
The country’s lower areas have polders and are flat in appearance, due to which the buildings are on rafts in such areas.
Higher areas in the eastern region have layers of sand and gravel. These are pushed upwards and sideways, forming elongated ridges that elevate to more than 330 feet in some places.
These are the principal features of the Hoge Park Veluwe National Park.
The country’s highest elevation point is at the Vaalserberg (1,053 feet), located in the extreme southeastern corner.
Climate
The Netherlands has a temperate climate with gentle winters and cool summers. It has rainfall in every season.
The sea helps to moderate the climate through the effect of the Gulf Stream and its onshore winds.
The country gets an average precipitation level of about 790 mm and has only 25 clear days annually. Summer and autumn seasons have the highest average rainfall, while springtime has the lowest.
The Netherlands sure is a beautiful place to visit, but it always has a heavily clouded sky.
Nature and Wildlife
The country’s wild plant species are of the Atlantic District. In addition, you can see lakes, marshes, woods, heaths, peatlands, and agricultural areas within the country’s vicinity.
Oak, pine, elm, beech, and linde are commonly found in the Netherlands.
It is renowned worldwide for its flowers, especially the Dutch tulip. You will undoubtedly have a mesmerizing time while strolling the gardens of daisies, purple heather, and buttercups.
In terms of animal life, you can find large mammals like red deer, foxes, roe deer, and badgers in nature reserves. In addition, boars, fallow deer, mouflons, muskrats, and beavers have also been reintroduced.
There are lots of seabirds and marine animals in the Netherlands. However, several reptiles, amphibians, river fishes, and lobsters have become scarce and are thus, endangered.
