The Netherlands, tucked into northwestern Europe between Germany and Belgium, is defined by a landscape shaped almost entirely by water: roughly a quarter of the country sits below sea level, kept dry by an ingenious network of dikes, polders, and windmills. The country’s rich seafaring and trading history peaked during the 17th-century Dutch Golden Age, an era whose influence still shows in the architecture of its canal-lined cities. Amsterdam is the country’s capital, while the government and royal court are actually based in nearby The Hague – and beyond the big cities, there’s the picture-perfect water village of Giethoorn and the province of Friesland, with its endless lakes and canals. The official language is Dutch, and the currency is the euro.