India Festivals Destinations
Check this space for forthcoming Festivals and celebrations in India. View Details
The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland ), is the European part of the Kingdom of
the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles
and Aruba in the Caribbean. The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy,
located in Western Europe. It is bordered by the North Sea to the north and
west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east.
The Netherlands is often called Holland. This is formally incorrect as North
and South Holland in the western Netherlands are only two of the country's
twelve provinces. As a matter of fact, many Dutch people colloquially call
their country Holland, being well aware of the widespread use of this name.
For more on this and other naming issues see terminology of the Netherlands.
The Netherlands is a geographically low-lying and densely populated country.
It is popularly known for its traditional windmills, tulips, cheese, clogs
(wooden shoes), delftware and gouda pottery, for its bicycles, its dikes and
surge barriers, and, on the other hand, traditional values and civil virtues
such as its classic social tolerance. But primarily, the Netherlands is a
modern, advanced and open society. An old parliamentary democracy, the
country is more recently known for its rather liberal policies toward
recreational drugs, prostitution, homosexuality, abortion, and euthanasia.
The Netherlands is also one of the most densely cabled countries in the
world; its internet connection rate is 87.8%, the 2nd highest in the
world.
The Netherlands has an international outlook; among other affiliations the
country is a founding member of the European Union (EU), NATO, the OECD, and
has signed the Kyoto protocol. Along with Belgium and Luxembourg, the
Netherlands is one of three member nations of the Benelux economic union.
The country is host to five international(ised) courts: the Permanent Court
of Arbitration, the International Court of Justice, the International
Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal
Court and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. All of these courts (except the
Special Tribunal for Lebanon), as well as the EU's criminal intelligence
agency (Europol), are situated in The Hague, which has led to the city being
referred to as "the world's legal capital."
A remarkable aspect of the Netherlands is its flatness. Hilly landscapes can
be found only in the south-eastern tip of the country on the foothills of
the Ardennes, the central part and where the glaciers pushed up several
hilly ridges such as the Hondsrug in Drenthe, the stuwwallen (push moraines)
near Arnhem and Nijmegen, Salland, Twente and the Utrechtse Heuvelrug.
Check this space for forthcoming Festivals and celebrations in India. View Details
Check this space for forthcoming Sports Events in India. View Details