In western Europe, on the Atlantic Ocean and bordering Germany and Belgium, is the Netherlands. Including the three Caribbean island territories Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba it forms a constituent country. Together with the three autonomous Caribbean countries Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten, the Netherlands forms the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Koninkrijk der Nederlanden).
The European part of the Netherlands is divided into twelve provinces. In the province of Zuid-Holland is the most populated and in this province is The Hague, the seat of government. However, the most populous city, the Dutch capital Amsterdam, is located in the province of Noord-Holland.
The name “Netherlands” means “lower countries”. The Netherlands is a very flat country, only 50% of the country is higher than 1 meter above sea level, a quarter is below sea level.
To protect themselves from flooding, dikes, dams and weirs have been increasingly built in the European country since the 1950s. In the province of Zeeland and Zuid-Holland is the world’s largest storm surge barrier, the Delta Works. It consists of a total of 13 buildings and was included on a list of the “Seven Wonders of the Modern World” in 1995.
The variety of vegetables, milk, butter, cheese, meat and the like makes Dutch cuisine. These include the internationally renowned Dutch cheese, such as Gouda (Goudse kaas), which originates in the city of Gouda, and the Edamer, or the Leerdammer and Maasdamer, which are based on the Gouda. Not surprisingly, the Netherlands is one of the world’s largest producers of cheese.
In recent decades, the number of fast food outlets (dutch: Snackbar) has increased sharply. In addition to the classic French fries, these offer a variety of fried meat and cheese dishes, such as korket, frikandel, bamischijf (breaded and fried slices or balls of Bami Goreng or Nasi Goreng) or bitterballen .
The most popular surname of the country is De Jong, which means “the young”. However, if one sums up the different versions of the last names, the first place goes to Jansen/Janssen/Janse.
