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'''{{FULLPAGENAMEE}}''' is a city in the [[Netherlands]], located about 15 kilometers kilometres from [[Den Haag]].== Hitching In ==If you're on a ride to Den Haag, ask to be dropped off at highway exit Zoetermeer (just after the huge Siemens windmill). Tell your driver to turn right at the traffic light an then immediately right again. At the upcoming traffic light you can get off. The driver should make 2 left turns to get back on the motorway again.

You're now fairly central: Go trough the tunnel and follow the road: Bleiswijkseweg, Den Hoorn, Schinkelweg, Dorpsstraat and you'll end up in the city centre (<1 km). == Hitching Out Hitchhiking out ==

At The railway station Zoetermeer (not Zoetermeer Oost) (tram stop Driemanspolder) you will find a bridge for motorised vehicles, next to the pedestrian bridge ''Nelson Mandela''. On the north side of this bridge there is a bus stop (walk up the ramp). From here you can Hitch hike to Den Haag, but also Delft and Rotterdam as well as further south should be possible from here.

On At the bus stop Fonteinbos on the road Afrikaweg (about 200 metres from the spot mentioned above) is an official hitchhiking hitch hiking spot will be created. This hitchhiking hitch hiking spot will be is useful to acquire rides towards [[Den Haag]], Delft and Rotterdam as well as further south. To reach this spot from Centrum West bus station, walk over the pedestrian bridge, walk down and turn right at the traffic lights, trough the pedestrian / cyclist tunnel.

=== North towards [[Leiden]], [[Amsterdam]]===In the CenterCentre, next to the AIVD building (big ugly gray building with a lot of security cameras) witch in on Europaweg you will find road N206 (Zwaardsloodseweg). Here is a bus stop, and a small parking spot space, these are ideal for hitchhikinghitch hiking.

Hitchhiking in this direction is best done from Den Haag (If you hitchhike to Den Haag you'll be at the end of the highway at a certain point (traffic lights) here just go back in the opposite direction.) However it is possible to go east directly from Zoetermeer. This spot is illegal to use because it is on the highway, i have never been in trouble though. Be advised that getting at the spot is not very safe since there is no emergency lane or pedestrian area. The spot itself however is not dangerous.Go to railway station Zoetermeer Oost (not Zoetermeer) and walk to the end of the platform, over the bridge and keep following the path next to the railway-track for about 20 minutes. You will get at a big concrete bridge over the railway track and the highway. from under the bridge you can see the highway entry lane on the other side of the railway track. at the beginning of the bridge is a grass ramp, climb this and walk over the bridge over the railway track to the entry lane, after about 20 meters the emergency lane starts here you can hitchhike. Try to get a ride to at least the next petrol station, (just after Gouda) because the villages in between don't produce much traffic.Getting at Zoetermeer Oost is done by bus 71,72,74,170,204 74 will even take you further to the spot, it drives under the bridge then get off and walk back a bit. bus 74 however doesn't run that often. On At the bus stop Pruimengaarde on the road Australieweg is an official hitchhiking hitch hiking spot will be created. This hitchhiking hitch hiking spot will be is useful to acquire rides towards [[Gouda]] and [[Utrecht]]. In [[Gouda]] it is very easy to obtain a ride to [[Utrecht]].To reach this spot from tram stop Palenstein, walk under the viaduct, turn right on the small bicycle road Kangaroepad, after a while turn right trough the tunnel and then up to the bus stop.

Zoetermeer has two tram lines and various bus lines to most area's areas of the city. The tram goes to Den Haag. Be aware that though most of the two tram routes are the same, both lines start and finish differentdifferently. paying works like everywhere in the Netherlands. the The city has two zones Oosterheem and everything else. In the trams there are ticket vending machineswitch accept coins only. the The driver does not doesn't sell tickets neither , sometimes controllers do the controllers. These machines however are often broken, in witch case you You don't have to paywhen the machine is broken. After 9:00 a cheap trip to Den Haag and back can be made using a "Dalurenretour Den Haag Plus" (off-peak return for The Hague metropolitan area), EUR 4.

Zoetermeer has two railway stations on the Den Haag - Utrecht Gouda line, only slow so called ''sprinter'' trains stop at Zoetermeer and Zoetermeer Oost railway stations.

In weekends On the night between Saturday and Sunday Zoetermeer in is connected to the night railway network by bus B17 to Rotterdam central station and bus N5 to Den Haag centre (Buitenhof) and the central station (about 10 minuts walk from the Nighttrain stops at Den Haag central stationHollands spoor, take bus N1 to Buitenhof and transfer, same ticket). night Night bus tickets are cost about ¤4,- EUR 4.00 and can be bought at the driver.

Zoetermeer is not to exitingtoo exciting, but a nice centrally located city from where you can pay visits to the historical cities around it. Zoetermeer has an old centre consisting of only one street and some parks is witch for you can to have a relaxing walk. Zoetermeers architecture is very interesting as the city is build almost entirely in compliance with the VINEX spatial Spatial Planning bill (even the street names are in alphabetical order).

Zoetermeer is pretty safe, crime rates are lower then in the average big cities of in the Netherlands.The major mayor of Zoetermeer has declared alcohol prohibitation prohibition zones in the city centre and in some parks and squares. == Nomadwiki & Trashwiki ==