Not only is the Netherlands as flat as a pancake, but most of its land lies below sea level. In reality, this means the threat of floods is omnipresent, but luckily we have a ton of dams, dykes, dunes and ditches to keep our feet dry!
I had never really regarded the Dutch landscape as extraordinarily special, but when a few foreign friends reminded me of its uniqueness, I realised our flat, green fields and abundance of waterways are indeed pretty rare. As a famous saying goes, 'God created the earth, but the Dutch created the Netherlands'!
I decided to embark on a little journey and cycle around the rural suburbs of Rotterdam to snap a few pictures of our man-made country. Just for your information: most of the sites you'll see below lie 6 metres (20ft) below sea level. The cows don't really seem to mind. :)
What do you think? Would you dare live in a country that is prone to flooding?
© All photos taken by Maaike, The Backpack Blues.
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