Samenleving

Above: a copy of the Girl with a Pearl Earring

The Rhine, the Waal, and the Meuse (or Maas) rivers separate the Netherlands effectively into two parts, which, until recently, segregated the Catholics and the Protestants, which remain the two most common religions of the country.

The Dutch are a very welcoming, sharing community. They believe in working to live, not living to work. Extravagance is viewed with contempt. People of the Netherlands have a strong faith in the idea of “samenleving”, or “living together”. This means everyone lives and cares for the society as a whole, undisrupted by personal desires.
This should not be mistaken to mean that the Dutch have no tolerance for diversity. On the contrary, they have a very high tolerance, but merely expect everyone to remain within their own circle and not compel anyone to agree with them.
The Netherlands is well-known for her amazing artists. Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Leyster, Escher, and Vermeer represent a tiny portion of amazing Dutch art. There are several wonderful art museums in Den Haag and Amsterdam, including the Rijksmusuem and the Mauritshuis, which houses the classic “Girl with a Pearl Earring”.
One of the most inexplicable yet enjoyable museums that can be found in The Hague is Madurodam. Madurodam is a miniature replica of the Netherlands, including everything from famous buildings, to a tiny figurine of the queen, to gas stations. For a small fee, one can pass through, admiring “Holland in miniature”.

Source(s): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands#Geography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_Netherlands Netherlands - Culture Smart!: a quick guide to customs and etiquette (Culture Smart!) Sheryl Buckland