The Netherlands

The Netherlands or simply Netherlands (Nederland in Dutch) is 17 million people country in the northwestern part of Europe (sometimes it's refered as Holland, although that name isn't precise). It belongs to the European Union (EU) and it's surrounded by Germany and Belgium. The population has mostly a mixed Protestant and Catholic tradition (even though most of the population currently isn't religious). The official language is Dutch (with West Frisian, Papiamento, Dutch Low Saxon and Limburgish as official languages where they have inhabitants who speak it) and the official currency is the euro (€). The country is considered one of the most powerful economically in whole Europe and with Rotterdam as the busiest seaport outside Asia. Germany is one of the most touristic places in Europe, with 10 sites placed in UNESCO World Heritage list (one of them shared with Germany). The main city, and the capital city, of the Netherlands is Amsterdam, with other important cities like Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht or Eindhoven.

What can I visit in the Netherlands?

Here you have a list of places in the Netherlands that are worth to be seen. Check them out and find out the ones you want to visit:

• Amsterdam
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• Eindhoven
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• Maastricht
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History

The first inhabitants

Unforgettable experiences 

This places and experiences are a must if you want to discover and understand Lithuania

Planning your holidays

These are some possible journeys you may do in Lithuania so visit parts of it or discover it all.

What can I eat and drink in the Netherlands?

Lithuanian food has Polish and Ashkenazi influences and their meals are usually based in barley, potatoes, mushrooms, rye and beets. Cepelinai (potato dumpling stuffed with meat, cheese or mushrooms) is the national dish and is usually used as starter. There are other varieties like kukuliai (similar to gnocchi), koldūnai, virtiniai or auselės. One of the most common dishes in Lithuanian cuisine are soups, with many kinds like cabbage soup, cucumber soup, sauerkraut soup, lapienė (greens in a cramy broth), barščiai (hot beet soup), šaltibarščiai (cold beet soup) and the popular vištienos sultinys (chicken broth). Lithuania is also rich in blynai (mixture between pancakes and crêpes), with some examples like kėdainių blynai, žemaičių blynai and lietiniai. Talking about regional food in Lithuania, the regions with more food personality are Dzūkija and Samogitia. In the former some traditional dishes are juka (blood soup), kugel (potato pudding with an Ashkenazi origin) and buckwheat pancakes. In Samogitia region it's typical the kastinys (sour cream forming a soft spread). Another ethnic minory like the Karaites have their own dishes like kibinai (pastry with mutton and onion). The most common bread is ruginė duona (rye bread).

Some other typical dishes are the Lithuanian šaltnosiukai (dumplings filled with lingonberries), įdaryti kiaušiniai (similar to deviled eggs), įdaryti pomidorai (tomatoes filled with savory stuffing) and Lithuanian curd cheese. Some of the dishes with meat are lašiniai (pork underskin fat with little or no meat), vėdarai (pig large intestine with potato), šiupinys (stew made from variety of ingredients), balandėliai (cabbage leaves stuffed with meat), dešra (typical Lithuanian sausages), skilandis or kindziukas (pig stomach stuffed with meat and garlic and cold-smoked), suktiniai (beef or pork very thin, filled, rolled up and braised), kotletai or frikadėlės (minced meat and/or onion patties) and šaltiena or košeliena (aspic or meat jelly)
In desserts the most popular one are Lithuanian-style cakes (pyragas) but others are žagarėliai (deep-fried pastries with sugar), kūčiukai or šližikai (tradicional Christmas dinner roll), ledai (ice cream), spurgos (Lithuanian donut), šakotis (Lithuanian baumkuchen), tinginys (Kaunas typical dessert), manų putra/košė (semolina wheat pudding) and skruzdėlynas (pastries stacked on top of one another).


Talking about drinking, the most famous Lithuanian drink is the beer (alus) throughout all the country, usually drank with piršteliai prie alaus (puff pastries served with beer), yet not the oldest one, having midus (mead) that honour. As in many other northern countries, there are many other kind of stronger spirits like trauktinė (strong herbal vodka), degtinė (rye, wheat or potato vodka) or krupnikas (honey liqueur). There are other non alcoholic drinks like gira (similar to kvass), arbata (tea) or kava (coffee). 

Learn some Dutch

 Dutch is the official language of Austria and is currently spoken by 95 million people aprox. Austro-Bavarian, a variant of German, is spoken all over Austria (with several existing dialects) although most of the population is able to speak standard German. English is also widely known in Austria, specially in big cities.
These are some basic words in Dutch:

Dutch	English	Dutch	English
Hallo	Hello	Alstublieft	Please
Goededag	Good morning	Dank u	Thanks
How gaat het met jou?	How are you?	Ja	Yes
Vaar wel!	Goodbye!	Neen	No
Goedeavong!	Good evening!	Ik spreek geen Nederlands	I don’t speak Dutch

 

Useful links

 In case you want to look for more information about the Netherlands () or its cities and towns here there's a list with some pages to get it:

• .
• Maastricht (https://www.visitmaastricht.com/).