Editing Netherlands (section)

== Tips ==
Advise from couchsurfers for everyone who wants to leave the ´beaten track´:

==== Active Couchsurfing-comunities ====

The cities below are cities that don't recive a lot of tourists but have an active Cs-community, so it's always easy to have a good time in there.
* [[Utrecht]]

* [[Groningen]]

* [[Leiden]]

* [[Maastricht]]

* [[Rotterdam]]

* [[Amersfoort]]

* [[Tilburg]]

==== Beautiful spots ====

All the big cities in the west together form a horseshoe, therefore the name 'Randstad'. In between this horseshoe there is a quiet [[:category:rural|rural]] part called the green hart, perfect to bike around in and to cool down from the busy citylife.

Plenty of pretty small historic cities can be found in these regions:

* Rivierenland: near the big rivers (Between [[Rotterdam]], [[Utrecht]], [[Nijmegen]] and [['s Hertogenbosch]]). The first cityrights were granted in this region to cities like [[Dordrecht]], [[Gorinchem]], [[Wijk bij Duurstede]], [[Tiel]], [[Zutphen]] & [[Deventer]].

* [[Zeeland]]: the Islands in the southwest. A lot of Germans go to the beaches in here in the summer, but the Island around Zeeland also have a lot of nice old cities that look like cities in Flandres ([[Middelburg]], [[Sluis]], [[Brielle]], [[Domburg]]).

* [[Friesland]]: the northern province with it's own culture, language, flag and national sport and nice historic cities like [[Leeuwarden]], [[Franeker]], [[Hindeloopen]], [[Sneek]], [[Harlingen]], [[Sloten]], etc)

* kop van Noord-Holland: Holland north of [[Amsterdam]], also known as west-Friesland. In the Dutch golden age this area was very rich, you can still see traces of this in cities like [[Enkhuizen]], [[Hoorn]], [[Alkmaar]] and [[Edam]]). There are also a lot of old and interesting polders in this area. 

* the South of [[Limburg]]: because of the hilly landscapes and distinct, bourgondic culture this region feels like a foreign country to a lot of Dutch people. 

* The Islands in the North (Waddeneilanden): Texel, Vlieland, Terschelling, Ameland and Schiermonnikoog

==== Exotic couches and people who would like to get more guests ====
If you would like to get more guests or tell about a beautifull (exotic) couch you know, you can put your profile name in here.

* [http://couchsurfing.com/GERALD_ROTTERDAM Gerard Bosman] lives in a small town near Rotterdam, on a central spot in the Randstad. He loves to show the people, also young backpackers, around and explain them about how the Dutch manage to live so far below the sealevel.

* If you're into WWOOFing or would like to find out about squatted farms, check out [http://couchsurfing.com/spruit Spruit]'s profile. He lives in a beautiful place in the middle of the Randstad.