In 2004 I completed my first freelance writing job for Lonely Planet: travelling around the Netherlands, researching, updating and rewriting the Dutch chapters for the Western Europe and Europe On A Shoestring guidebooks. These were published in February and March 2005 respectively. I’m only including excerpts from the introductory material I wrote, rather than accommodation and restaurant reviews or transport information. As the Shoestring book is basically a condensed version of the WE book, I’m only presenting material from the latter (my chapter ran to 23,000 words).

Selected material from the Netherlands chapter published in Western Europe 7, Lonely Planet Publications, February 2005. Author: Simon Sellars.

SHAPING WORLDS (box text)
Many people are surprised to learn that the reality-TV franchise Big Brother is a Dutch invention, when it seems quintessentially American. But if you delve into the undercurrents of the Dutch social order, the concept of peering into the lives of a group of strangers makes sense. At only 41,526 sq km, the Netherlands is Europe’s most densely populated country, and while this adds immeasurably to its vibrancy, it can often seem like your neighbour is looking right over your shoulder. Maybe that’s why many Dutch leave their curtains open at night for all to see: in a nation of 16.2 million inhabitants, with space at a premium, there’s nowhere to hide, really. No doubt, the admirable Dutch trait of tolerance stems from this fact, too: when you’re standing cheek-by-jowl, “love thy neighbour” is a very sensible motto.

Perhaps because their country is so small, and therefore familiar in all its parts, the Dutch find it irresistible to recreate it – Big Brother, with its contestants from different walks of life, can be seen as a miniaturised cross-section of Dutch society. Similarly, the popular theme park, Madurodam is a mini-Netherlands, containing 1:25 scale versions of every recognisable Dutch landmark: Schiphol airport, sundry windmills and bicycles, Amsterdam with its canals. More bizarrely, Amsterdam’s Holland Experience 3D theatre screens a kooky 30-minute film – a tour of the Netherlands – that’s like an interactive Madurodam: when dikes burst onscreen, water sprays the audience. Then there’s Hendrik Willem Mesdag’s massive 360-degree painting of Scheveningen beach (1881). Inside an enclosed dome, real sand dunes and beach furniture are surrounded by this epic vision; with its amazing command of perspective, it’s an eerily realistic experience.

But then again, from a nation that recovered much of its land from the sea, none of this should be surprising: the Dutch were shaping worlds many, many centuries ago.

THE NETHERLANDS (intro)
“God created the world but the Dutch created the Netherlands” – it’s a hoary old chestnut, but it can tell you a lot about this country. It’s a metaphor for the uniqueness of the culture, but it also reads quite literally: the Dutch reclaimed much of their land from the sea, forging one of the most distinctive of all European states.

The Netherlands is small and is served by an efficient rail network, so its attractions are very accessible. While Amsterdam has understandable appeal, the rest of the country more than stacks up. Leiden, Haarlem and Delft are beguiling, well-preserved historical cities. Maastricht is a symbol of pan-European identity, sharing German and Belgian borders and the best qualities of each nation. Rotterdam has a long-standing rivalry with Amsterdam for the title of the Netherland’s “first city”; bombed flat during WWII, it’s rebuilt itself with inimitable architecture and a gutsy vibe.

Groningen swarms with university students and a spirited lifestyle, while refined Den Haag is the royal home and seat of government. In the north, the windswept islands of Noord Holland and the Frisian chain boast an exclusive language and lifestyle.

Amsterdam ranks as one of Europe’s most eccentric cities. With its beautiful, heritage-protected 17-century housing, canals, galleries and museums – and notorious sleaze – it’s known as the ‘Venice of the North’, a spot-on tribute. It’s perfect for travellers, with enough sensory delights to keep the shortest attention spans occupied, while the endless cafés and bars provide welcoming havens from the rampant crowds and perpetual buzz. Amsterdam is compact and user-friendly – walk or ride a bike around the canal grid and bask in the many worlds-within-worlds that make this city so addictive.

Amsterdam has glowed since the Golden Age, when it led the vanguard of European art and trade. Centuries later, in the 1960s, it again led the pack – this time in the principles of tolerance, with broad-minded views on drugs and same-sex relationships taking centre stage. Amsterdam was then known as Europe’s ‘Magic Centre’, the crux of a utopian dream where people believed anything could happen. Although the days of excess have been somewhat neutered, much of that famous swagger is still evident (and in some cases, institutionalised and parodied, like in the Red Light district).

Above all, the people of Amsterdam remain urbane and welcoming. Travellers, fringe-dwellers and the merely curious have flocked like moths to Amsterdam’s flame since the Middle Ages, so chances are you’ll fit in somewhere.

ROTTERDAM (intro)
Rotterdam, the Netherlands’ second-largest city, has a long history as a major shipping hub, stretching back to the 14th century. It’s had dark times, too. In 1940, the invading Germans issued an ultimatum to the Dutch: surrender, or Rotterdam (among other cities) would be destroyed. The government capitulated, but the raid was carried out anyway and the historic centre was razed.

Rotterdam spent the following decades rebuilding the harbour and the centre, and the result is an architectural aesthetic that’s unique in Europe (the city is home to perhaps the best-known contemporary Dutch architect, Rem Koolhaas). Today, Rotterdam has a crackling energy, with superb nightlife, a diverse, multiethnic community and a brace of top-class museums, including the highly regarded Museum Boijmans van Beuningen.

It also has a long-standing rivalry with Amsterdam, reflected in most aspects of culture. When local football team, Feyenoord, meets Ajax of Amsterdam, the fur always flies. When Rotterdam unleashed its extreme form of techno, gabber, on the world in the early ’90s, one of its most enduring targets was Amsterdam: an early gabber single was memorably titled, ‘Amsterdam, Waar Lech Dat Dan?’ (‘Amsterdam, Where the F*** is That?’).

MAASTRICHT (intro)
Maastricht, possibly the Netherlands’ oldest city (Nijmegen is the other contender for the title), is utterly unique. It exists as a kind of ‘interzone’, a hybrid of pan-European influences, hemmed in by Belgium and Germany right near the southernmost point of the Dutch border.

In centuries past, Maastricht was captured at various times by most of Europe’s powers, and this legacy as a crossroads for invaders has also bequeathed it a pan-European flavour. Appropriately, the city hosted a decisive moment in the history of the European Union: in 1992, the 12 members of the then European Community signed the Maastricht Treaty, thereby creating the EU.

Maastricht has an energy belying its size. Spanning both banks of the Maas River, with a brace of pavement cafés and lovely old cobblestone streets, it’s renowned for sparkling nightlife, world-class dining and an elegant atmosphere that is quite exquisitely addictive.