Difference between revisions of "Netherlands"

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* Also make sure to check out some bigger supermarkets like Jumbo, Albert Heijn, Super de Boer. Those are the places to get free coffee and tea from the coffee machine located somewhere in the store!
 
* Also make sure to check out some bigger supermarkets like Jumbo, Albert Heijn, Super de Boer. Those are the places to get free coffee and tea from the coffee machine located somewhere in the store!
 
* Employees in the very common BP gas stations (and Shell, and a few random other ones) tend to tell you not to hitch in front of the station, where the pumps are. Finding a ride at the parking lot, or thumbing where the back of the station starts is typically not a problem (but can be). It's best not to frustrate the staff, as the more often conflicts occur, the more likely they are to have an aggresive policy towards hitchhikers. Some staff are super nice to hitchhikers, though, and sometimes you can get free maps or coffee.
 
* Employees in the very common BP gas stations (and Shell, and a few random other ones) tend to tell you not to hitch in front of the station, where the pumps are. Finding a ride at the parking lot, or thumbing where the back of the station starts is typically not a problem (but can be). It's best not to frustrate the staff, as the more often conflicts occur, the more likely they are to have an aggresive policy towards hitchhikers. Some staff are super nice to hitchhikers, though, and sometimes you can get free maps or coffee.
 +
* When using trains in [[The Netherlands]], you can always travel at a discount rate (-40%). This works as following: Everyone carrying an OV-Card (public transport card)can bring two people with them at a discount rate. Just get into the train and ask the first young person if you can ride 'with them'. They usually won't mind and will be interested to hear your stories.
  
 
<!-- //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...//

Revision as of 11:10, 15 August 2011

Flag of Netherlands Netherlands
Information
Language: Dutch
Capital: Amsterdam
Population: 16,570,613
Currency: Euro (€)
Hitchability: <rating country='nl' />
Meet fellow hitchhikers on Trustroots
<map lat='52.2' lng='5.2' zoom='6' view='0' country='Netherlands'/>

The Netherlands are a member state of the European Union as well as the Schengen Agreement. 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 motorway sign is allowed as well as standing on a petrol station along the motorway. Asking the Dutch people at a service station is faster than waiting while using the thumb for hitchhiking.

There are many creeks in the Netherlands and they can make it hard to get to petrol stations on the motorway

Since 1991 Dutch students have a card providing them with free public transport (either on 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 50 km. At petrol 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. Most likely the Dutch people will avoid you while speaking in German.

Useful tips

  • Use of Internet PCs in every city library, for a small price, Also you can find lots of public wi-fi networks that you can connect your laptop with for using the internet.
  • 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 7,60, or a 45-strippenkaart for EUR 22,50 in advance in a shop. This is a lot cheaper than buying a 2-, 3- or 8-strippenkaart on the bus or tram. (In the Netherlands any tram/bus route is divided into zones/stripes ‒ for example, if you go from the centre of The Hague to the beach in Scheveningen, it costs you 3 stripes, Delft to The Hague is about 8 stripes. So even if you are hitching all around the Netherlands, you can get yourself a strippenkaart (valid for around one year) for getting into/out of city centres ‒ it will be valid all over the country.)
    • The Strippenkaart won't be available anymore in many municipalities from 1st of April 2011. Current tickets are most likely be valid until May 2011 (differs within regions), from then on the new called Gemakskaart will be in use, which is way more expensive than the old ones.
  • The banks here often do free coffee and sometimes even cookies.
  • 'Lefier' (or local job-centres) do free coffee and sometimes have jars of free chocolates and mints.
  • Also make sure to check out some bigger supermarkets like Jumbo, Albert Heijn, Super de Boer. Those are the places to get free coffee and tea from the coffee machine located somewhere in the store!
  • Employees in the very common BP gas stations (and Shell, and a few random other ones) tend to tell you not to hitch in front of the station, where the pumps are. Finding a ride at the parking lot, or thumbing where the back of the station starts is typically not a problem (but can be). It's best not to frustrate the staff, as the more often conflicts occur, the more likely they are to have an aggresive policy towards hitchhikers. Some staff are super nice to hitchhikers, though, and sometimes you can get free maps or coffee.
  • When using trains in The Netherlands, you can always travel at a discount rate (-40%). This works as following: Everyone carrying an OV-Card (public transport card)can bring two people with them at a discount rate. Just get into the train and ask the first young person if you can ride 'with them'. They usually won't mind and will be interested to hear your stories.


License plates

In the Netherlands, license plates do not contain any marking about where the car comes from, but it does indicate the age of the car (although not in a straightforward way). Often though, the name and the city of the garage where the car was bought is indicated just under the license plate on the backside of the car. On busy petrol stations this may be useful information to look out for, as it may indicate where people are driving to. 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). Since 2007 a new series of license plates is in use for the newest vehicles existing of a combination of three letters in the middle. Taxis' license plates have a blue background. The license plate of old timers is very dark blue with white letters. The number of cars with such license plate or yet another kind is very limited.

Food

Mdsmendes hitching in the Netherlands

The Netherlands are one of the rare countries where you can find a cheap pot of 'Peanut Butter' (pindakaas), which is a nutritious item that you can easily carry in your backpack. Also, you can find a tube of 'mayonnaise' and 'ketchup' sauce (Zaanse saus) for about 30 cents, which last long without needing to be refrigerated and are 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).

See trashwiki for info on dumpster diving for free food in the Netherlands.

Links


Dutch motorways

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Dutch cities with more than 100.000 inhabitants

> 500.000: AmsterdamRotterdam

300.000-500.000: Den HaagUtrecht

150.000–300.000: EindhovenTilburgAlmereNijmegenGroningen

100.000–150.000: AmersfoortApeldoornArnhemBredaDordrechtEnschedeHaarlem's-HertogenboschLeidenMaastrichtZoetermeerZwolle

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.



trash:Netherlands