The Netherlands: Natural Rolling Hills and Rivers

Located on Northwestern Europe, the Netherlands is a country bordered by the North Sea, Belgium, and Germany. Here, its population of nearly 16,500,000, enjoy a relatively quiet and natural setting for their lives with the surroundings of traditional windmills, bicycles, tulips, cheese, and wooden clogs. The Netherlands, commonly though incorrectly referred to as Holland, is home to a large group of Dutch people as well as very small minorities of Indonesian, German, and Turkish among others.

The Netherlands is a beautiful country with natural, rolling hills and rivers. One especially known river, the Rhine, helps divide the country in two, creating literal cultural divides between the different halves. Many local lakes, woods, and dunes can be found in the twenty national parks and nature reserves. Agriculture is very important in the Netherlands, with their worldwide importance being found in flowers and bulbs, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers.

Over the past few centuries, this country has undergone many historical changes going from the Union of Utrecht to the Dutch Republic to the modern day structure. The country has been through several wars as well as influence from different European countries such as France and Germany. In 1815, the Kingdom of the Netherlands was begun and has since formed the present government and country. The seat of government, known as the Hague, is found in the country's capital of Amsterdam.

The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy as well as a parliamentary democracy, though at one time it was also a republic, a kingdom, and part of the country of France. The government and politics of this nation work to maintain unified consensus among both the political groups and the entire society, with their hopes to achieve a very tolerant country. The Netherlands is served by a monarch (the head of state), the executive power, ministers, the Prime Minister, and the bicameral Parliament.

The Dutch culture is well known for its painters, such as Rembrandt and van Gogh, and philosophers. Writers and other artists have come out of this country, sharing the nation's special heritage and culture with the entire world. The Netherlands is a very unique European country, making advances in the world but not rushing ahead like many other nations. These people seem to want to take their time, enjoying every stop of the process.