'High
culture in a low land'
The Netherlands is renowned for being unremittingly flat, with beautiful
images of canals, windmills and tulips complementing its new face
as a modern European nation, so impressively demonstrated when The
Netherlands co-hosted Euro 2000 with Belgium.
Its eclectic past reads like a ‘who’s who’ of
European nations as everyone from the Romans and
the Gauls, through to the Hapsburgs
and the Spanish, influenced its destiny before
the country finally emerged with its current borders during 1830.
It is easy to imagine The Netherlands as just Amsterdam,
the nation’s capital city is one of the most visually stunning
cities in the world. You can also delve through centuries of history
aboard a canal boat or explore the array of excellent museums.
The Netherlands is far more than just its capital, though, with
a string of impressive cities including Arnhem,
The Hague and Rotterdam. Rotterdam
has picked itself up from almost total devastation in World War
II to emerge as Europe’s biggest port and a leader in urban
regeneration.
Out in the countryside, any sense of monotony you may have is
soon broken by stunning medieval towns and include Utrecht
and Delft. Holland’s main natural attraction
is its wide swathe of coastline, much of it peppered with artificial
sea walls and inland seas, as The Netherlands fights its never-ending
battle with the North Sea. | 
