There is an old saying in the Netherlands: “God made the world, but the Dutch made the Netherlands.” And while this may sound arrogant, there is actually a great deal of truth to it. For centuries, the Dutch have been reclaiming land from the ocean — so much so, that the Netherlands of today was approximately 60% underwater 1000 years ago.
In this tradition of reclaiming land to make room for an expanding population, the Dutch parliament has approved a plan to construct a tulip-shaped Island off the coast of the country that will be larger than 247,000 acres in size.
Other countries have already instigated such ambitious “land reclaiming” programs, with the most notable example being the island known as “The Palm” off the coast of Dubai. But while The Palm is a playground for the world’s wealthiest jet-setters (the rich of the rich), The Tulip will be used for a much more practical purpose — making room for the Netherlands’ increasing population and expanding agricultural development.
Of course, a project of this size requires the displacement of hundreds of millions of meters of sand and ocean, prompting environmentalist to raise concerns about the long-term ecological effects of tampering with Mother Nature in this way. And in fact, there is no way to be sure that altering the coastline of the Netherlands in this way would not have some sort of detrimental effect on environment.
But the Dutch have a long history of filling in bays and inlets to reclaim land. The country’s famous network of canals and dikes are a magnificent example of natural engineering, and has proven to be (mostly) environmentally friendly, or at least of minimal impact.
But the new Tulip project is on a far greater scale than anything seen before, even in the Netherlands. Experts predict the proposed island project could take the better part of a decade to complete, and while the total cost of the project has not been revealed, it will clearly be in the billions of dollars.
Critics say that creating the island is a colossal waste of money, and that the Netherlands government would be far better off investing in vertical farming and other progressive agricultural methods than reclaiming such a huge amount of land from the sea.
Besides the potential waste of money, ecologists worry that situating the huge tulip shaped island directly off the coast of the Netherlands will have a tremendous, and negative, impact on the native sea life and coral of the region.
Because a land reclamation project of this magnitude has not been attempted before, the best experts can do is make educated guesses about the effects of creating the island. We will likely only know the true impact of the project many years after it is completed.
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The Netherlands or more popularly known as Holland is a low-lying European country which is well-known for its wide variety of cheese, windmills, the earth embankments they call dikes, wooden shoes known as clogs, tulip flowers. The great degree of social tolerance in Netherlands has become the symbol of self-expression, human rights and freedom because of its government’s legalization of drugs, union between homosexuals and prostitution. The most visited city in the Netherlands is its capital, Amsterdam. This city not only offers the visitors a wide access to the privileges and liberties mentioned above but also the opportunity to wonder in awe and enjoy a magnificent city of rich cultural attractions.
Presently the City of Amsterdam is seriously exerting efforts in making it known to the international business community as a leading business, trading and conference center. The city now hosts many international conferences and business and trade fairs and meetings.
Netherlands’ Amsterdam is definitely a mix of the old and new architecture as antiquated residences dating back to the 17th century stand side by side with modern buildings and establishments. The Dam Square is the center of the city of Amsterdam. It boasts of many important historical attractions and sites, and home to numerous beautiful and magnificent old edifices. One of the more popular sites that tourists can find in the Dam Square is the Koninklijk Paleis or the Royal Palace. This royal residence has been in existence since 1648. Another historical attraction that is located at Dam square is the Nieuwe Kirk Tower that dates back to the 1400’s.
Amsterdam has a very rich, glorious and magnificent history to be proud of. The city’s pinnacle of greatness is witnessed in the 17th century with most historical events and attractions happening in this era. It was in this century that the famous channel network of Amsterdam was created. And because of the sheer number of such channels, Amsterdam has become popular and known as the city with most channels. Likewise, Amsterdam presently has more than about 1200 bridges of varied sizes, structure, beauty and style
The city boasts of a number of major historical museums, some of which are popular and are frequently visited by both local and foreign tourists. One of the most popular Amsterdam museums is the Van Gogh Museum, which houses the largest and most extensive collection of art works and paintings by the famous artist Vincent van Gogh. Other museums that are considered a major attraction in the city are the Rijksmuseum and Stedelijk Museum.
Amsterdam has been long known internationally for having a reputation of being one of the world’s drug centers. Most of the drug activities in the city happen in coffee shops. There are quite a number of good coffee shops in Amsterdam. The coffee shops Grasshopper and the Bulldog are just two of the numerous commercial coffee establishments and franchises in the area.
Another thing Amsterdam is well-known for is the city’s Red Light district, which occupies a significant section of the city. Prostitution is legal in the Netherlands and has been afforded a generous tolerance for the longest time. The city is popular with the so-called window ladies. In window prostitution, the ladies display themselves on windows which can be rented out on an 8-hour shift.
Tolerance of prostitution is the reason why the red-light district is allotted a bigger area in the city’s oldest part. Prostitutes are housed usually in the city’s old buildings area usually located alongside the canals. Presently the modern Red Light district area offers more than just the ladies of the night. It now has renovated streets and buildings, better food shops and restaurants. Tourists and first-timers will definitely be safe in this part of the city as government security men and police personnel are stationed there and are employed by the prostitutes themselves for their protection.
Summer in Amsterdam is magnificent. During the warm season, everyone, locals and tourists alike go and enjoy the day in Vondelpark, which is considered as one of the most picturesque parks in the world. Vondelpark is one of Amsterdam’s major parks and gardens where many important events are held all year round. Amsterdam has a wet, cold winter with lots of rains. The winter season in the city however does not dampen the spirit of would-be visitors. Many would flock to Amsterdam’s canals which have become ice-frozen and enjoy long hours of skating.
For an extensive range of guided coach and mini coach sightseeing for Amsterdam, Holland and Belgium, check out Amsterdam Tours & Canal Cruises at AmsterdamCityTours.com, a destination management service provider and tour operator in the Netherlands. Tour destinations include The Hague, Rotterdam, Delft, Volendam, Antwerp, Brussels, Bruges and Ghent.
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