...that North Holland and South Holland are two of the fourteen provinces that make up the country of The Netherlands? Holland is located in the central-western region and is a subset of The Netherlands.

Here are some facts about The Netherlands...

  
 

The Netherlands, known as the "Low Countries," is the meaning of the original Dutch title Nederlanden. The Dutch title has now changed to Nederland, the "Low Country."

The Netherlands has three major cities. Amsterdam is the largest and is the official capital. Rotterdam, known as the "Water City" is the second largest and boasts one of the largest sea ports in the world. The Hague, which is often mistaken for the capital, is the home to the Dutch government and the important courts of law.

The name Amsterdam comes from the combination of the River Amstel and the dam that was built on it. Amstel is the name of a beer that was named after the river, because that's where it was brewed.

Amsterdam is sometimes called "the Venice of the North" due to its many beautiful canals. Amsterdam has over 300 coffee shops which can legally sell a certain amount of soft drugs to visitors.

The Netherlands is well known for its beautiful windmills, delicious cheese, wooden shoes they call "clogs" and bicycles.


The name Holland ultimately stems from "holt land" (wooded land). Holland has around a thousand old-fashioned working windmills.

One quarter of Holland is below sea level and the city is almost entirely flat. If global warming causes the sea levels to rise, Amsterdam will be one of the first world cities to get flooded.
Almost every Dutch person has a bicycle and there are twice as many bicycles as there are cars. You can cross the city of Amsterdam in half an hour on foot or bicycle.
The Netherlands is home to The Van Gogh collections in the Van Gogh Museum and the Kröller-Müller Museum, which are two of the largest museums in the world.
Compared to other cities in the Netherlands, Amsterdam has the highest cost of living. Renting a one bedroom apartment starts at 1,000 Euros per month.
Expats in the Netherlands prefer private international schools over Dutch public schools. British expats tend to choose a British School, French-speaking expats send their kids to a French school, Japanese expats tend to choose a Japanese school and so on.
 
 

  To read more about Amsterdam, click here.

  To read about Rotterdam, click here.

    
  <<back to The Global Connection