Toney's+European+Nation+Profile

= = =__The Netherlands__=

toc The Netherlands is a very, very fascinating country because of their recreation, food, people and more.The recreation in the Netherlands is great, and their sports are phenominal. The food there isn't just common European food, and the people there recieve a good education. Now, let's explore each of these interesting topics!

__Recreation__
The Netherlands is a great sports country. Their main sport is soccer, or "football". They have provided the world with some great soccer players like: Johan Cruyff, Ruud Gullit, Marco Van Basten, Arjen Robben and Wesley Schnieder. In the 2010 World Cup, the Netherlands finished in second place. Another huge sport in the Netherlands is skating. Since there has been warmer temperatures of late, they have been skating in indoor ice rinks. Those are two of the main sports in the Netherlands.

The Netherlands provides many activities for kids. There are eight really nice zoos to choose from. Some zoos have aquariums, some have playgrounds, while others have safari's to see. There are also amusement parks to enjoy. They have their own six flags and many more types of enjoyment. The Nemo sounds very interactive for young children. At the Nemo you can dress up and pretend to be other people, and build cool things like a damn. These are some of the many fun and cool things to do in the Netherlands.



**__Food__**
The people of the Netherlands enjoy common and uncommon foods. They have a typical Northern European breakfast. That includes bread, cheese, and cold meat. They also enjoy Indonesian foods. Some Indonesian foods include, thin pancakes with a lot of toppings and raw herring with onions on the top. The Netherland people also enjoy some alcohol, like beer and gin. Those are a few of the enjoyed foods and drinks in the Netherlands.

There are many different dishes eaten in the Netherlands. The seafood found there is fantastic. They usually have good shrimp, lobster, oyster, eel and mussels. You can find the best seafood in Rotterdam or Amsterdam, which isn't a surprise knowing each of their locations on a country map. In the Netherlands, there are many different types of desserts. The Dutch love pancakes, which are called flensjes or pannekoeken. Some other desserts include waffels, dough balls and 'bacon cake'. Those are some of the dishes eaten in the great country of the Netherlands.

__People__
The people of the Netherlands are very fascinating. In the Netherlands almost all of the people are homeborn. Even though most people are Dutch, the other largest groups are: Indonesian, Morrocan, Surrname and Turkish. The main language in the Netherlands is Dutch. English is spoken by many and so is French and German. The Netherlands has many people living inside of it's borders. The people there are very neat and orderly. Those are some of the reasons why the Dutch are very fascinating.

The Dutch also have a great education program. If you are a child in the Netherlands you would have to go to school between the ages of five and sixteen. If the school you go to meets national educational standards they would receive funds from the government. The high schools in the Netherlands are different from ours. The high schools teach specific things in what you are going to be later in life, kind of like a college major. There arent. There is a total of thirteen regular colleges and the biggest regular college is The University of Amsterdam. That is why the Dutch have a great education program.

__References__
"Netherlands Sports & Recreation, Activities for Children in Netherlands - HotelTravel.com."// HotelTravel.com The World's Leader in Discount Hotel Reservations - Guaranteed Lowest Rates with Hotels up to 75% off -HotelTravel.com //. 15 Feb. 2011. Web. . "NL Planet - Sport in the Netherlands." // NL Planet - Home //. Web. 24 Mar. 2011. . __World Book. __ Chicago: World Book, Inc.