About us and our country
| Hello fan friends, We are Ruud and Ineke Elshout - Cornelissen and we live in Den Haag (English: The Hague) in the Netherlands. We have a son and a daughter and two granddaughters. We like to share our admiration for the Dutch violinist André Rieu with you. We also like to tell you something about our small country, which is only a pinprick on the world globe. The photo was taken in Toronto, December 2007, the premiere of the World Stadium Tour Contact: ineke.cornelissen@kpnmail.nl or ruud.elshout@kpnmail.nl |
NEDERLAND
written by Ineke, April 2008.
We live in the Netherlands (English), Nederland/Holland (Dutch), die Niederlande (German),
Pays Bas (French), Paises Bajos (Spanish). All names refer to "low lands". That is correct! Half
of our country is below sea level. Originally it was a swamp, where a couple of big rivers ran
through. They carry mountain water from the Alps of Austria and Switzerland. And drain off the
water into the North Sea.
Gradually people "stole" more and more land from
the water, by making dikes around and pumping out
the water. That newly made low fields are called
"polders". "Beemster" (in the province of North Holland)
is such a "polder". It was reclaimed from a lake in the
17th century. The water was extracted out by several
windmills. Do you now understand why our country has
so many historic windmills? Beemster was inscribed
on the Unesco World Heritage Site List in 1999.
The low grass lands are perfect for dairy farms,
producing milk and cheese. The black and white cows
are a typical Dutch breed.
Our flag is the red, white and blue, in horizontal lanes.
Fight against the sea.
Some parts of the Netherlands are 4 to 8 meters below
sea level. Of course we still have dikes and pumping
engines (which replace the antique wind mills).
The most modern way to protect our country against
the sea is by technical wonders as storm surge barriers.
In case of storm and high tide on the North Sea, we can
close a few big inlets, in the province of Zeeland.
Our most recent flood disaster was here in 1953.
About 2000 people and all the cattle drowned.
After that time our engineers designed and built
a few storm surge barriers. That's how we hope to
keep our feet dry in future! It seems we have a national computer alarm! In case the water rises
three meters, the alarm tells the engineers to close the inlets. That happened in November
2007. I can assure you those were exciting days!!
Want to know more? Look under "How we keep our feet dry" (about the "Maeslantkering",one of
the storm surge barriers).
Size.
The size of our country is 42.000 km ². It is smaller than the state "West Virginia" in the USA.
We live here with almost 17 million people. Can you imagine? Too much people, too many cars,
traffic jams all over!
Without traffic jams, we could drive through our entire country within three hours. With traffic
jams, it'll last a lot longer!
Language.
Our language is Dutch. Our neighbor countries are
Germany and Belgium. Our neighbors speak German
in Germany and Flemish and French in Belgium.
Belgium is a bi-lingual country (even three languages,
there is also a small German part). In history the
northern part of Belgium belonged to the Netherlands
and the southern part to France. That is why Flemish
is related to the Dutch language. And that is why
French is spoken south of Maastricht. You remember
André talking about d'Artagnan, the fourth musketeer,
who died in Maastricht, fighting for his French king?
(After he had breakfast in André's kitchen?) In the
15th century the French wanted to conquer the
Netherlands, but fortunately they did not succeed.
André's castle dates from 1452! That is before
Columbus discovered America, isn't that amazing?
A statue of d'Artagnan is in the Maastricht "Aldenhof Park".
TWELVE PROVINCES
The way the USA is divided into states, the Netherlands is divided into twelve "provinces".
I bet you can mention two: Noord (North)-Brabant and Limburg. Our dear star violinist was born
in Maastricht, which is the capital of Limburg, our most southern province.
The amusement park "the Efteling", where the DVD "André in Wonderland" was recorded, is in
the province of Noord-Brabant.
The highest density of population is in the western part of the country, around the three biggest
cities Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. This area consists of two provinces, called: North
Holland and South Holland. That is why the entire country got the name "Holland". The province
of Zeeland (Sea land) consists of a lot of islands and had the most recent flood disaster (1953).
A couple of big rivers (several branches from the river Rhine) cut the country in two parts.
People say: Serious Protestant people live north of the big rivers and jolly Roman Catholics
(with their carnival parties) live south of the big rivers. There is a difference of mentality indeed.
That's why André once said in an interview: Amsterdam is abroad to me. And that is why people
from the crowded Holland provinces, experience the south of Limburg also as "abroad" in a
very positive and relaxing way.
The southern part of Limburg is the only hilly part of our country. You know: our highest
"mountain" (Mount Vaals) is 322 meters high and we have to share it with our two neighbor
countries. The village of Vaals has a Three Country Point, where Germany, Belgium and the
Netherlands meet. Mount Saint Peter, where André lives on top, is 120 meters high. It is filled
with caves and passages. During World War II (1940-1945) people sheltered inside Mount
Saint Peter.
CAPITAL and MAIN CITIES.
Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands.
The Amsterdam Airport is called Schiphol, which
no foreigner can pronounce! Amsterdam is a very
interesting historic city, started as a dam in the
river Amstel. The city has about a million
inhabitants. Second big city is Rotterdam, also
about a million inhabitants. Very well known for
the big harbor Europoort: the entrance to Europe
by boat!
The Hague is the third big city, situated near the
dunes and the sandy beaches of the North Sea.
The government buildings with the Knight's Hall
and the International Court of Justice are in The Hague.
Isn't it special that Amsterdam is the capital, while the government is in The Hague?? The
picture is the Knight's Hall (13th century).
Did you know that André had almost been born in Amsterdam? (Ineke was born in Amsterdam).
André's parents moved from Amsterdam to Maastricht only ONE WEEK before André's birth!! At
that time the Rieu family already had two daughters, Theresa and Cecilia. André was the first
boy and the third child. After him, two more brothers (Jean-Philippe and Robert) and a sister
(Gabrielle) were born.
MONARCHY
The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy:
Our first king was William the First of Orange
in 1815. For the last hundred years our country
is reigned by women!! Four successive queens
did a wonderful job. At the moment queen
Beatrix (70) is head of state. Our royal family's
name is "Van Oranje Nassau". That's why the
color orange means a lot to us. Queen Beatrix'
oldest son, called Willem-Alexander, will be
our next king. A king again, after a century of
women! Probably he'll adopt the name
"King William IV". The William name is a long
royal tradition. I think "William" is boring.
I would personally prefer "King Alexander
the First", but they never ask me!
Willem-Alexander was born in 1967 (41 by now).
He married a very pretty Argentinean wife
(Máxima) and they have three lovely triple A
daughters: Amalia (5), Alexia (3) and Ariane (1).
So after a king, we'll have another queen (Catharina-Amalia is her full name)! Our royals have
no political power but they play a wonderful part as ambassadors of the Netherlands. Our
government is situated in The Hague and also the queen and the crown prince live in The
Hague. The Hague is a royal city with lots of (also empty historic) palaces. I took the picture of
the queen myself. She opened an open air exhibition in my and her home town: The Hague.
Interested in the history of the Netherlands?? www.wikipedia.com can tell you all about it!
Other links:
. How we keep our feet dry . (storm surge barrier)
. Amsterdam, the weirdest city.
. The Hague (carillon)
. Kinderdijk: Nineteen windmills to see from one place!
. Keukenhof (bulb flower park), only open for six weeks a year, in April/May.
. Breezand (bulb grower of André Rieu tulip)
. Zaanse Schans
. Efteling
. Hoorn (Red Rose Café)
. Maastricht (city walks)
written by Ineke, April 2008.
We live in the Netherlands (English), Nederland/Holland (Dutch), die Niederlande (German),
Pays Bas (French), Paises Bajos (Spanish). All names refer to "low lands". That is correct! Half
of our country is below sea level. Originally it was a swamp, where a couple of big rivers ran
through. They carry mountain water from the Alps of Austria and Switzerland. And drain off the
water into the North Sea.
Gradually people "stole" more and more land from
the water, by making dikes around and pumping out
the water. That newly made low fields are called
"polders". "Beemster" (in the province of North Holland)
is such a "polder". It was reclaimed from a lake in the
17th century. The water was extracted out by several
windmills. Do you now understand why our country has
so many historic windmills? Beemster was inscribed
on the Unesco World Heritage Site List in 1999.
The low grass lands are perfect for dairy farms,
producing milk and cheese. The black and white cows
are a typical Dutch breed.
Our flag is the red, white and blue, in horizontal lanes.
Fight against the sea.
Some parts of the Netherlands are 4 to 8 meters below
sea level. Of course we still have dikes and pumping
engines (which replace the antique wind mills).
The most modern way to protect our country against
the sea is by technical wonders as storm surge barriers.
In case of storm and high tide on the North Sea, we can
close a few big inlets, in the province of Zeeland.
Our most recent flood disaster was here in 1953.
About 2000 people and all the cattle drowned.
After that time our engineers designed and built
a few storm surge barriers. That's how we hope to
keep our feet dry in future! It seems we have a national computer alarm! In case the water rises
three meters, the alarm tells the engineers to close the inlets. That happened in November
2007. I can assure you those were exciting days!!
Want to know more? Look under "How we keep our feet dry" (about the "Maeslantkering",one of
the storm surge barriers).
Size.
The size of our country is 42.000 km ². It is smaller than the state "West Virginia" in the USA.
We live here with almost 17 million people. Can you imagine? Too much people, too many cars,
traffic jams all over!
Without traffic jams, we could drive through our entire country within three hours. With traffic
jams, it'll last a lot longer!
Language.
Our language is Dutch. Our neighbor countries are
Germany and Belgium. Our neighbors speak German
in Germany and Flemish and French in Belgium.
Belgium is a bi-lingual country (even three languages,
there is also a small German part). In history the
northern part of Belgium belonged to the Netherlands
and the southern part to France. That is why Flemish
is related to the Dutch language. And that is why
French is spoken south of Maastricht. You remember
André talking about d'Artagnan, the fourth musketeer,
who died in Maastricht, fighting for his French king?
(After he had breakfast in André's kitchen?) In the
15th century the French wanted to conquer the
Netherlands, but fortunately they did not succeed.
André's castle dates from 1452! That is before
Columbus discovered America, isn't that amazing?
A statue of d'Artagnan is in the Maastricht "Aldenhof Park".
TWELVE PROVINCES
The way the USA is divided into states, the Netherlands is divided into twelve "provinces".
I bet you can mention two: Noord (North)-Brabant and Limburg. Our dear star violinist was born
in Maastricht, which is the capital of Limburg, our most southern province.
The amusement park "the Efteling", where the DVD "André in Wonderland" was recorded, is in
the province of Noord-Brabant.
The highest density of population is in the western part of the country, around the three biggest
cities Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. This area consists of two provinces, called: North
Holland and South Holland. That is why the entire country got the name "Holland". The province
of Zeeland (Sea land) consists of a lot of islands and had the most recent flood disaster (1953).
A couple of big rivers (several branches from the river Rhine) cut the country in two parts.
People say: Serious Protestant people live north of the big rivers and jolly Roman Catholics
(with their carnival parties) live south of the big rivers. There is a difference of mentality indeed.
That's why André once said in an interview: Amsterdam is abroad to me. And that is why people
from the crowded Holland provinces, experience the south of Limburg also as "abroad" in a
very positive and relaxing way.
The southern part of Limburg is the only hilly part of our country. You know: our highest
"mountain" (Mount Vaals) is 322 meters high and we have to share it with our two neighbor
countries. The village of Vaals has a Three Country Point, where Germany, Belgium and the
Netherlands meet. Mount Saint Peter, where André lives on top, is 120 meters high. It is filled
with caves and passages. During World War II (1940-1945) people sheltered inside Mount
Saint Peter.
CAPITAL and MAIN CITIES.
Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands.
The Amsterdam Airport is called Schiphol, which
no foreigner can pronounce! Amsterdam is a very
interesting historic city, started as a dam in the
river Amstel. The city has about a million
inhabitants. Second big city is Rotterdam, also
about a million inhabitants. Very well known for
the big harbor Europoort: the entrance to Europe
by boat!
The Hague is the third big city, situated near the
dunes and the sandy beaches of the North Sea.
The government buildings with the Knight's Hall
and the International Court of Justice are in The Hague.
Isn't it special that Amsterdam is the capital, while the government is in The Hague?? The
picture is the Knight's Hall (13th century).
Did you know that André had almost been born in Amsterdam? (Ineke was born in Amsterdam).
André's parents moved from Amsterdam to Maastricht only ONE WEEK before André's birth!! At
that time the Rieu family already had two daughters, Theresa and Cecilia. André was the first
boy and the third child. After him, two more brothers (Jean-Philippe and Robert) and a sister
(Gabrielle) were born.
MONARCHY
The Netherlands is a constitutional monarchy:
Our first king was William the First of Orange
in 1815. For the last hundred years our country
is reigned by women!! Four successive queens
did a wonderful job. At the moment queen
Beatrix (70) is head of state. Our royal family's
name is "Van Oranje Nassau". That's why the
color orange means a lot to us. Queen Beatrix'
oldest son, called Willem-Alexander, will be
our next king. A king again, after a century of
women! Probably he'll adopt the name
"King William IV". The William name is a long
royal tradition. I think "William" is boring.
I would personally prefer "King Alexander
the First", but they never ask me!
Willem-Alexander was born in 1967 (41 by now).
He married a very pretty Argentinean wife
(Máxima) and they have three lovely triple A
daughters: Amalia (5), Alexia (3) and Ariane (1).
So after a king, we'll have another queen (Catharina-Amalia is her full name)! Our royals have
no political power but they play a wonderful part as ambassadors of the Netherlands. Our
government is situated in The Hague and also the queen and the crown prince live in The
Hague. The Hague is a royal city with lots of (also empty historic) palaces. I took the picture of
the queen myself. She opened an open air exhibition in my and her home town: The Hague.
Interested in the history of the Netherlands?? www.wikipedia.com can tell you all about it!
Other links:
. How we keep our feet dry . (storm surge barrier)
. Amsterdam, the weirdest city.
. The Hague (carillon)
. Kinderdijk: Nineteen windmills to see from one place!
. Keukenhof (bulb flower park), only open for six weeks a year, in April/May.
. Breezand (bulb grower of André Rieu tulip)
. Zaanse Schans
. Efteling
. Hoorn (Red Rose Café)
. Maastricht (city walks)
