|
The Netherlands is a country partly reclaimed from the waters of the North Sea, and around half of it lies at or below sea level. Land reclamation has been the dominant motif of its history, the result a country of resonant and unique images - flat, fertile landscapes punctured by windmills and church spires; ornately gabled terraces flanking peaceful canals; and mile upon mile of grassy dunes, backing onto stretches of pristine sandy beach. Most people travel only to the uniquely atmospheric capital, Amsterdam : the rest of the country, despite its accessibility, is comparatively untouched by tourism. The west of the country is the most populated and most historically interesting region - unrelentingly flat territory, much of it reclaimed, that is home to a grouping of towns known collectively as the Randstad (literally "rim town"). It's a good idea to forsake Amsterdam for a day or two and investigate places like Haarlem , Leiden and Delft with their old canal-girded centres, the gritty port city of Rotterdam , or The Hague , stately home of the government and the Dutch royals. Outside the Randstad, life moves more slowly. The province of Zeeland , in the southwest, is the country at its most remote, its inhabitants a sturdy, distant people, busy with farming and fishing and hardly connected to the mainland. In the north, Groningen is a busy cultural centre, lent verve by its large resident student population. To the south, around the town of Arnhem , the landscape undulates into heathy moorland, best experienced in the Hoge Veluwe national park. Further south still lies the compelling city of Maastricht , squeezed between the German and Belgian borders.
|
