Difference between revisions of "Netherlands"
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<!-- //i'm hitching over from NL to DE every week, and nearly nobody is afraid that i have drugs with me...// | <!-- //i'm hitching over from NL to DE every week, and nearly nobody is afraid that i have drugs with me...// | ||
To get to [[Germany]] can be a bit difficult, because some people are afraid they could get in trouble if you have marijuana (legal in small portions in the Netherlands) or other drugs with you. However, if you're not on a highway you can walk over the border and get another ride behind it.--> | To get to [[Germany]] can be a bit difficult, because some people are afraid they could get in trouble if you have marijuana (legal in small portions in the Netherlands) or other drugs with you. However, if you're not on a highway you can walk over the border and get another ride behind it.--> | ||
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+ | == License plates == | ||
+ | In the Netherlands, license plates do not contain any marking about where the car comes from. (It does indicate the age of the car.) A normal license plate has three blocks of black letters or numbers on a yellow background. Every block consists of two letters or two numbers (so in total six letters and numbers). Taxis' license plates have a blue background. | ||
== Foods == | == Foods == |
Revision as of 23:49, 4 February 2008
Information | |
Language: | Dutch |
Capital: | Amsterdam |
Population: | 16,570,613 |
Currency: | Euro ( € ) |
Hitchability: | (good) (good) |
Meet fellow hitchhikers on Trustroots | |
Hitchhiking in the Netherlands is quite easy, and legal in most places, though not on motorways. The basic idea is that when you're allowed to walk somewhere, you can stand there for hitching too. Standing on a motorway entrance just in front of the highway sign is allowed as well as standing on a petrol station along the motorway.
Since 1991 Dutch students have a card providing them with free public transport (either in weekends or during the week), so hitchhiking is not as popular as it used to be. In some university towns, there are still official liftershaltes, official hitchhiking spots.
Other good places are petrol stations along the motorways and the entrances to the motorway from larger cities (when there is a stopping space such as an emergency lane). On such a place the average waiting time is 5-45 minutes (same as Germany). A major difference with Germany is that many lifts are not longer than 50km.At gas stations you can try to talk to people, which will probably work out fine if you don't dress up like a hippie. Try to speak in Dutch or English. French and German often work too, but not as effectively.
Contents
Useful tips
- Use of Internet PC's in every city library, for a small price.
- When hitching in the Netherlands for a longer period (or when you're living there), it's advisable to buy yourself a 15-strippenkaart for EUR 6,80, or a 45-strippenkaart for EUR 20,40. This is a lot cheaper than buying a 2-, 3- or 8-strippenkaart on the bus or tram.
License plates
In the Netherlands, license plates do not contain any marking about where the car comes from. (It does indicate the age of the car.) A normal license plate has three blocks of black letters or numbers on a yellow background. Every block consists of two letters or two numbers (so in total six letters and numbers). Taxis' license plates have a blue background.
Foods
The Netherlands are one of the rare countries where you can find a cheap pot of 'Peanut Butter' (pindakaas), which is a nutritive item that you can easily carry in your backpack. Also, you can find tube of 'mayonnaise' and 'ketchup' sauce (Zaanse saus) for about 30 cents, which can last long without needing to be refrigerated and are a great supplements to sandwiches or friet (as it avoids having to pay the 50 cents sauce at the snackbar (or sometimes frituur or frietkot, especially in Belgium) when ordering a snack).
Links
- Hitchhiking in the Netherlands, by Frank Verhart.
- Liftershalte, hitchhiking spots in the Netherlands on a map.
> 500.000: Amsterdam • Rotterdam
300.000-500.000: Den Haag • Utrecht
150.000–300.000: Eindhoven • Tilburg • Almere • Nijmegen • Groningen
100.000–150.000: Amersfoort • Apeldoorn • Arnhem • Breda • Dordrecht • Enschede • Haarlem • 's-Hertogenbosch • Leiden • Maastricht • Zoetermeer • Zwolle
If you search cities with less than 100.000 inhabitants, have a look at the seperate Provinces articles. You find them at the bottom of this page.
Drenthe • Flevoland • Friesland • Gelderland • Groningen • Limburg • Noord Brabant • Noord Holland • Overijssel • Utrecht • Zeeland • Zuid Holland