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In some ways, the Netherlands is like the spider in the web
of Europe. Rotterdam, being the largest seaport in the
world, is the place where millions of goods enter and leave
Europe; the International Court of Justice is in The Hague;
Amsterdam is one of the diamond capitals of the world; |
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there are excellent international universities in the
various cities of the Netherlands; world- renowned museums
can be found here; unique exhibitions are arranged here; and
cultural events lure tens of thousands visitors to the
country every year. A lot of international business is
negotiated in this little country, facilitated by the fact
that English is almost universally the second language here.
For this reason, millions of people enter and travel around
the country, either on business, on vacation or to represent
their business on a more permanent basis setting up home
here.
It goes without saying that this cannot be achieved without
an excellent infrastructure: Schiphol is the fourth largest
airport in Europe, the Thalys-train takes you from Amsterdam
to Paris in a mere four hours, the Betuwe train-line is
being set up to transport goods to the east (particularly
Germany) and the roads easily entice you to break the
speed-limit without having to cross the sound barrier.
Shopping hours in the Netherlands for a long time were based
on the idea that people who work in shops should be able to
live according to much the same pattern as other people.
Nearly all shops were therefore closed on Sundays and in the
evening. This started to change during the 9os and in 1996
the government extended the number of hours shops are
allowed to stay open. The pattern has therefore become much
more variable.
In general, shops in the Netherlands are open Monday through
Saturday from g A.M. to 6 P.M. But there are a growing
number of exceptions to this rule. The following are the
most common exceptions:
most shops are closed on Monday mornings to enable shop
keepers to stock the shelves and do their administration
small shops often close an hour or two early on Saturdays
one evening each week, all shops in an area will either
stay open until 9 P.M., or open again from 7 9 P.M. This
is called koopavond, and whether it is Thursday or Friday
depends on the town
small shops might close at other times at lunch-time, or
on Wednesday afternoon, for example, when children are free
from school
the bigger supermarkets stay open a few hours longer in
the evening to give people time to shop after work
all stores in an area may decide to open their doors on
certain Sundays
in the big cities you might be able to find a small
grocery shop that specializes in being open late in the
evenings and on Sun days. This is called an avondwinkel, and
its prices will be higher than prices elsewhere
mini-markets carrying a small selection of goods can be
found at some gas stations, larger train stations and at
Schiphol airpot.
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International schools (11)
International Clubs (5)
Womens Clubs (12)
International Churches
(20)
Other religions (Buddhism,
Hinduism, Islam, Bahais Faith)
Other ideologies
(Humanist, Sufi, Theosophical and others)
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