Europe From Above (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 1 - The Netherlands - full transcript
NARRATOR: The Netherlands.
With a unique aerial view
of one of Europe's smallest,
but mostly densely populated nations,
we'll reveal how the Dutch
have battled against the odds
to create land and food
for their growing population,
to cement this tiny country's place
on the world's stage.
In this series, we'll take
an aerial tour across Europe,
seeing its sights
from a brand-new perspective.
Filmed from above,
and over the course of a single year,
as the landscape transforms
through the changing seasons,
we will uncover the culture,
history, and engineering
that built the great European nations
we see today.
The Netherlands
sits in north western Europe.
It's bordered by Belgium to the south,
and Germany to the east.
The country is home
to more than 17 million people,
crammed into a space almost ten
times smaller than their German neighbor.
A large proportion of the Dutch population
live in densely packed cities
on the country's west coast:
Rotterdam, one of
the world's busiest international ports,
The Hague, the seat
of the International Court of Justice,
and Amsterdam, the nation's capital.
Here, historic tall houses
sit alongside canals
that crisscross through the city.
But just outside
this densely packed metropolis,
the landscape is strikingly different.
To the north east of Amsterdam,
surrounded by water,
there's an enormous patch of land
called Noordoostpolder.
Here, historic buildings
and winding canals are replaced
by a patchwork
of ultra-flat fertile fields.
Noordoostpolder's fields are the setting
to one of the world's most colorful
transformations,
as spring arrives in the Netherlands.
For tulip farmers, Rob and Liesbeth Balk,
it's the moment they've been waiting
all year for.
In March, Noordoostpolder
wears a winter coat
of browns and dark greens.
But with the coming of spring,
an incredible metamorphosis takes place,
the scale of which can only be
truly appreciated from above.
Muddy fields burst into life,
with row after row of colorful flowers.
Reds, pinks, even oranges.
Every April, a tulip mega-bloom
engulfs this corner of the Netherlands.
For everyone
who's driving through the fields,
you get a smile on your face
when you see it.
It's one time a year,
so it's only a few weeks.
It's beautiful.
NARRATOR: But, amazingly,
just before the tulip bloom hits its peak,
something extraordinary happens.
Farmers like Rob and Liesbeth
take to their fields,
and go on a flower shredding rampage.
ROB BALK: We are cutting the tulips off
with a lawnmower.
It's a big one.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Today's job
is to slice the heads off
this entire field of beautiful flowers,
leaving just the green stems
and leaves behind.
An aerial view reveals row after row,
systematically slashed.
This may seem like senseless destruction,
but it's a process that's crucial
for the local tulip industry,
because decapitating the plants
makes their bulbs stronger.
And Rob and Liesbeth are bulb farmers.
Tulip bulbs can survive
for a few months before planting.
This means that they can be sold
to buyers all over the world,
boosting the farmer's profits.
And the best way to get healthy bulbs,
is to decapitate the flower
just before it fully blooms.
LIESBETH BALK: If you cut off the flowers,
all the energy goes to the bulb
instead of the seed.
ROB BALK: A good bulb for us,
we try to make it as big as possible.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Bulb farmers
like Rob and Liesbeth,
completely destroy Noordoostpolder's most
colorful attraction in a matter of days.
ROB BALK: For the people
who are driving around, it's a shame.
But for us we are only saying
green is very nice.
NARRATOR: In a few short months,
Liesbeth and Rob's big healthy bulbs
will finally be ready to harvest.
The flat landscape that makes
the Netherlands perfect for growing tulips
is also home
to a very different type of farming,
where giant white machines appear
to sprout from the ground like beanstalks.
The geography of Europe
forces south-westerly winds
to stream across the Netherlands.
Near the west coast of the country,
they hit the small town of Rouveen.
An aerial view reveals
something special about the scenery.
There are no hills or mountains
anywhere to be seen.
With nothing in the landscape
to block the incoming coastal breezes,
this is perfect place
for Patrick Van De Kraats
to harness the power of the wind.
Patrick is a turbine builder,
and today he and his team
are hoping to finish construction
of another of the massive wind machines
that provide electrical power
to this part of the Netherlands.
I'm glad I'm not, uh
sitting at the desk, uh, all day.
Yeah, that doesn't work for me.
This job is better.
NARRATOR: Today, Patrick's job
is to attach turbine blades
to this soaring tower.
To do this, he has the unenviable task
of climbing 85 meters into the air
to install the rotor.
VAN DE KRAATS: We go upstairs,
climbing up to the top.
You must not be afraid of the height.
Otherwise, you can't do this job.
NARRATOR: Once he's safely in place,
Patrick must guide the blades
into position.
A colossal crane lifts the 44-tonne rotor
85 meters into the air.
But fast winds at the top of the tower
make it challenging
for the crane to hoist the blades
without them swinging.
So two giant cables wrap around the rotor
and lead to a team on the ground,
who help steer it into position.
(indistinct conversation)
If one
of the 40-meter long blades
were to strike the steel tower
on the way up,
it could damage
the two-million-euro turbine,
and the team on the ground
are steering blind.
It's Patrick's job
to be their eyes in the sky.
VAN DE KRAATS: Okay.
It's a lot of responsibility.
It's all teamwork.
We connect together with walkie talkies.
Everybody has one, downstairs, upstairs.
NARRATOR: Our exclusive bird's-eye view
reveals a sight
impossible to see from the ground.
Patrick carefully guides the rotor,
as the massive crane inches it forwards,
looking for the perfect fit.
VAN DE KRAATS: Yeah.
The biggest challenge is, if the wind
is blowing, the blades will turn.
You need to stay calm and think,
and talk together with the ground.
(indistinct chatter)
NARRATOR: It takes up to
an hour of precision
to guide the 66 pins
into their adjoining sockets
and lock the rotor onto the tower.
VAN DE KRAATS (off screen): Yeah. Super.
NARRATOR: The team have brought it in
bang on target.
Patrick secures the rotor
and unhooks the crane.
It's a job well done.
This single turbine
will generate enough energy
to power 2,000 homes.
Flat, low-lying land makes the Netherlands
a wind turbine powerhouse.
But with just over a quarter
of the landscape sitting below sea level,
this country
is always at risk of flooding.
Today, state-of-the art sea defenses
keep this land dry.
But the Dutch people have been battling
against water for centuries.
In the Netherlands countryside,
day trippers escape the stifling cities
to cycle along the fields of windmills
and dykes that dot the west coast.
Summer is finally here.
These windmills
are a symbol of Dutch pride,
because it's thanks to them
this landscape exists at all.
Over the last 1,000 years,
Dutch engineers
have drained large parts of the sea
to create new land for farming.
South east of bustling Rotterdam,
at the meeting point
of the rivers Lek and Noord,
lies the Kinderdijk.
This green patch of land
marks the genesis of this country's
extraordinary transformation.
A bird's-eye view of the Kinderdijk
reveals a network of low fields
and raised canals.
Along the edge of these canals
sit nineteen
300-year-old traditional windmills.
The tops of their wooden sails
soar almost 30 meters into the air.
Unlike in most countries,
where these machines
are used to grind grain,
here windmills pump water.
Ad Wisse is the guardian
of the Netherlands' most important
national treasures.
Because of the uniqueness,
it's a World Heritage Site.
I always need to inspect
the windmills from bottom to top
to check whether they are in good shape.
NARRATOR: Viewed from above,
the way these windmills
interact with the surrounding waterways,
becomes clear.
As wind turns the huge 15-meter sails,
they power an enormous pump
in the base of the windmill.
This drives water uphill,
through a hidden channel
below the windmill,
draining water
from the low-lying land on the left,
and dumping it
in the raised canal on the right
where it flows away to the sea.
The windmills are arranged in long rows,
which lets them work together as a team
to drain the water-logged grassland,
leaving behind fertile fields for farmers.
WISSE: This is a low area below sea level,
and when people want to live here,
they want to have dry feet,
and so the windmills have
to pump up the water.
NARRATOR: These wooden engineering wonders
helped this tiny nation grow
nearly 20% larger.
And Ad's dedication
to restoring these cultural icons
means they'll exist
for future generations to enjoy.
WISSE: I've been working now
for 18 years at these windmills.
I feel really proud, yes.
NARRATOR: 20 kilometers north west
of the Kinderdijk lies Rotterdam,
the country's second largest city.
In summer, tourists fill the cafes
that line the historic harbor,
but it's Rotterdam's
famous international port
that puts it on the map.
The port of Rotterdam is simply enormous.
With 42 kilometers of waterways stretching
from the old harbor to the North Sea,
it's Europe's largest sea port.
Two decades ago, town planners decided
that this colossal container port
just wasn't big enough.
But in the Netherlands,
if you run out of land to build on,
simply build more land.
This is the Maasvlakte II,
it's the latest edition
to the port of Rotterdam.
Maasvlakte II is a 2,000 hectare
artificial peninsula
created by reclaiming land
from the North Sea.
Dirk Hamer was the engineer
in charge of building it.
We are very proud
of what we built over here.
It was one of the biggest
engineering projects in the country.
NARRATOR: To build Maasvlakte II,
Dirk and his team dug up
around 214 million cubic meters of sand
from the nearby seabed,
and sprayed it next to the existing port
to create an entirely new land mass.
Since finishing construction in 2013,
Maasvlakte II has expanded
the port of Rotterdam by 20%,
and tripled the number of containers
it can handle.
The deep waters
enable the biggest vessels in the world
to enter the port and offload their cargo.
HAMER: The vessels now coming
into Maasvlakte II are impressive.
We talk about container vessels
of 450 meters length,
carrying 18,000 containers.
NARRATOR: As soon as
these monsters moor up,
a legion of robotic cranes set to work
unloading the colorful containers.
Incredibly, there's barely
a human in sight.
That's because
these container ship terminals
are almost entirely
run remotely by computers.
HAMER: The automation is amazing.
It's all about efficiency.
NARRATOR: Around 80% of crane movements
are fully automatic,
and even those cranes that need
a human operator are controlled remotely.
Once the robotic cranes
offload the containers,
driverless vehicles transport them
around the terminal.
A bird's-eye view reveals the incredible
scale of this mechanization.
The containers
are then lifted onto lorries,
and transported onwards
to countries all over the continent.
This one-of-a-kind super port
has turned the Netherlands into
an import hub for the whole of Europe.
HAMER: The Dutch are very proud of what
the Port of Rotterdam has achieved.
NARRATOR: Rotterdam imports
over 300 million tons of goods each year,
but not all its trade is inwards.
This small nation is one
of the world's largest exporters too,
and it's all thanks
to an incredible high-tech industry
that can only
be truly appreciated from above.
The year
is over half way through,
and the days are getting shorter.
The changing weather
returns lush fields to soil,
and strips leaves from the trees
as the Dutch summer
slowly turns to autumn.
Many of the nation's farmers
tend to their land
in preparation for the autumn chill.
But two ingenious lettuce growers
have found a surprising way
to engineer an everlasting spring.
In the west of the Netherlands,
bordered by the cities
of Rotterdam and The Hague,
sits an area of the country that,
from the sky,
appears to be made of 1,000 shiny mirrors.
But looking closer,
a bird's-eye view reveals
it's actually a patchwork
of enormous glass-topped greenhouses,
many of which radiate a soft purple glow.
This is a lettuce farm.
It's run by twin brothers,
Mark and Roy Delissen.
A farmer tending
to a plot of land this size
might expect to produce around
one and a half million lettuce a year.
That sounds a lot,
but it's not economically viable.
So these brothers have had
to get creative with technology
to give themselves an advantage.
MARK DELISSEN: The world is changing,
so we are driven to
find new ways to grow that are innovative.
NARRATOR: The Dutch are world leaders
in agricultural technology.
They use ingenious engineering
to supercharge the growing power
of their small country.
ROY DELISSEN: You need to have
still the green fingers,
but the technical part is much bigger.
NARRATOR: With incredible aerial access,
the engineering secret
to the brothers' success becomes clear.
Roy and Mark Delissen's innovation
isn't the greenhouse itself
but the lights inside it.
Unlike in spring and summer,
the short autumn days
provide less direct sunlight,
so plants can't grow as big.
MARK DELISSEN: So then we figured out,
hey, is there a way that we can simulate
springtime a-- all the time,
and that's how we came up
with the idea of using the LED lights.
NARRATOR: The purple LEDs
the brothers use are cooler,
and use far less energy
than normal lights,
but they give the plants
everything they need to grow,
just as they would in spring or summer.
Even the young plants in the nursery,
stacked over many levels
to maximize space,
are bathed in the soft purple glow.
MARK DELISSEN: Our neighbors
are already asking,
"Are you having
a disco in the greenhouse?"
Because of these purple lights.
So, yeah, that's definitely new for them.
NARRATOR: The twins also use automation
to help in their quest for efficiency.
Machines plant seeds into pre-dug furrows
far faster than humans ever could.
And robotic arms do the heavy lifting,
zipping the lettuce
through the vast greenhouse.
There's one part of this process
that's still done the old-fashioned way.
Workers check
and pack each lettuce by hand.
Thanks to innovative technology,
the brothers can produce
an astonishing ten million lettuce a year.
It's a recipe being repeated
in greenhouses across the country.
You might think that the tiny Netherlands
should struggle
to feed its own population,
but against the odds, the farmers
of this forward-thinking nation,
aren't just feeding themselves,
they're feeding the world.
It's November.
The low sun paints the east
of the country in warm sepia tones.
It's the perfect time of year
to explore some of the Netherlands'
most unusual historic sites.
Dotted across
this seemingly tranquil landscape,
aerial cameras reveal a recurring pattern.
Villages built
in beautiful star formations.
But what are they?
A vital clue lies
in the Netherlands' far east,
close to one of the country's
most historically violent areas,
its border with Germany.
This is the perfectly preserved
village of Bourtange.
Historian, Femke Knoop, investigates
this unique part of the country close-up.
Even though Bourtange
looks nothing like a castle,
historians like Femke
believe its design had a military purpose.
KNOOP: When you visit
Fort Bourtange,
I think most people
will think it's a really cute place.
But what is special about this place
is that it was actually built for war.
NARRATOR: If Bourtange is a fort,
where are its high stone battlements?
Historians think the key
to Bourtange's surprising lack of walls,
lies in when it was built,
the 16th century.
This is when the Dutch were battling
for independence from Spain.
It was a period that witnessed
a revolution in warfare,
with the introduction of gunpowder.
KNOOP: With the invention of gunpowder,
stone forts were prone to collapse,
and it was much easier
to damage them with cannons.
NARRATOR: To deal
with the change in warfare,
the Dutch needed
to change the design of their forts.
They swapped tall stone walls
for short earthen banks
to absorb cannon fire.
KNOOP: The walls were made of soil
and were covered with grass.
Unlike brick walls in the Middle Ages,
they would not be damaged
so easily by cannon fire.
NARRATOR: If the grassy mounds
were made to withstand cannon fire,
why build Bourtange
in such an intricate star shape?
From above,
Fort Bourtange's purpose becomes clear.
This star was built to kill.
Its ingenious five-pointed shape
provided the perfect platform
to defend against the advancing enemy.
Cannons filled every corner of the star.
This meant that the defending troops
could give covering fire from every angle.
KNOOP: All corners would be covered
because of the star shape.
And because of where
the cannons were located,
you could attack your enemies
from all sides.
NARRATOR: The Dutch built Bourtange
at the height of its fight
for independence from Spain.
Its purpose was to cut off
a vital Spanish supply route into Germany.
Its unique layout and engineering worked.
Incredibly, Bourtange was never captured,
and the Dutch won their independence.
Fort Bourtange is the only Dutch fort
that has never been taken.
When you're walking on the walls,
you get an idea how hard it was to attack.
NARRATOR: After the war,
Bourtange eventually became a village,
but its memorizing symmetry
serves as a reminder
for the fort's once great impregnability.
KNOOP: It gives a sense
and it can inspire people
to get to know more
about the history of this place.
NARRATOR: Thanks to their ingenious
mastery over land and water,
the Dutch people overcame adversity
to gain their independence.
Today, they're turning to water once again
to solve another problem,
the lack of available land to live on.
In contrast to the largely rural east,
the west of the country is a dense web
of interconnected urban centers.
The biggest of them all is Amsterdam,
the nation's bustling capital.
Its winding, cobbled streets
are lined with tall, narrow houses.
And with a population of over 800,000,
available land to live on is at a premium.
But miraculously,
a bird's-eye view of Amsterdam
does reveal space,
if you look hard enough.
The city is full
of crisscrossing waterways,
and 45 kilometers down the canal,
in the city of Nieuwegein,
forward-thinking architects have come up
with an ingenious solution
to help solve Amsterdam's housing crisis.
By the water's edge, a new estate
of innovative eco-homes
appears to be nearing completion.
But not all is what it seems,
because the foundations of these buildings
aren't fixed to the ground.
They're floating homes,
and they're about to be towed
to a brand-new aquatic neighborhood
in Amsterdam.
Sascha Glasl is one of the architects
working on this project.
Twenty of the nation's
most innovative architecture firms
have collaborated to create
a surprising vision for the future.
They want to fill one
of the city's available waterways,
with a community of homes
that float on water.
GLASL: We worked ten years
on this project
to make the most sustainable floating
neighborhood in Europe.
NARRATOR: This particular house
is extra special.
Sascha has built it
for himself and his family to live in.
And for the last year,
he's been thinking of little else.
When I wake up
and sit with my daughter and my wife,
the reflection of the water on the walls,
it's just... uh, it's just a dream.
NARRATOR: It's taken eight months
to carefully construct
and waterproof the house.
Now Sascha's 200-ton concrete home
is finally complete.
But before boats can tow it
to the heart of Amsterdam,
the construction team need
to drop the house into the canal.
The first moment is, of course,
when they lift the house,
and that very moment you think
hopefully they don't let it fall.
NARRATOR: To lift it into the water,
the house first needs
to squeeze between two huge cranes.
One wrong move and it could crack,
destroying its watertight superstructure.
The cranes have to work in perfect unison,
to keep the building level and balanced
while it pivots 90 degrees
through the gap.
Everybody holds their breath
as the house
inches its way towards the canal.
After much careful maneuvering,
the house is ready for the next
even more nerve-shredding phase
of its delivery.
GLASL: The second moment of excitement
is when they put it in the water,
and you hope, "Please, let it not sink."
NARRATOR: The house is three stories high,
and sits within a 20-centimeter thick
waterproof concrete base.
This concrete base
acts like the hull of a boat,
and allows it to float in the water.
But any unseen cracks
or damage to the concrete
could cause the house to sink.
♪ ♪
It's the moment of truth.
The house touches the water
for the first time,
and slowly finds equilibrium.
It's floating just as it should,
a huge relief for the construction team,
and of course, Sascha.
GLASL: The moment it goes in the water,
it's just an excitement
that you cannot define.
NARRATOR: Viewed from above,
it's an astonishing sight.
A full-sized family home
navigating its way up the canal.
Finally, after five hours, Sascha's house
arrives in Amsterdam to join others,
ready to form their new neighborhood
in the water.
Once again, this small country
has used innovative engineering
to solve its limitations.
Sascha hopes that floating communities
of homes like this
can lead the way
for the rest of the world too.
GLASL: I think for the Netherlands,
it's very common, a common way of living.
I think the formula of what we did here
can be reproduced all over the world.
NARRATOR: As autumn fades,
plummeting temperatures blanket
the low country white with winter snow.
This transformation is the signal
for two communities in the nation's west
to create one of the world's
most spectacular celebrations of winter.
On the Netherlands western coast,
in The Hague's bustling outskirts,
a bird's-eye view
reveals two thin strips of sand,
Scheveningen and Duindorp.
On Duindorp beach,
Daniel Verbaan is hard at work.
His task is simple:
to build the biggest bonfire
the world has ever seen.
Every year the communities
that live along the two beaches
engage in this bizarre rivalry
and have been doing so for a decade.
VERBAAN: We're building
two of the biggest bonfires
basically in the world.
If you think of it,
it's actually childish,
but it's just there,
it's just a tradition and it's fun.
NARRATOR: The rival teams have
just five days to build their bonfires
so they can be set ablaze at midnight
on New Year's Eve.
And seen from above,
the scale of the operation is clear.
An army of volunteers stack the pallets
from the ground up.
It's literally with hands,
constantly doing that.
It's not rocket science.
The way I see it, it's bricklaying.
NARRATOR: Half a kilometer away
in Scheveningen,
Daniel's rival, Michael Van Der Plas,
is also gunning for victory.
VAN DER PLAS: It's in our veins.
First memory was back in '97,
I was a little boy,
putting little sticks on the fire,
and walking here with my parents.
NARRATOR: Local gangs started
this unique tradition in the '50s.
Back then, they burnt
Christmas trees in the streets.
Over time, the bonfires grew and grew.
In the last ten years,
it's become an industrial scale operation,
with each town going to great lengths
to outdo the other.
VAN DER PLAS: Yeah,
between 100, 250-ish lorries,
between 100,000 and 130,000 pallets.
What then happens
is one big circus of madness.
It's a great thing.
NARRATOR: From above,
the stacks appear precariously tall,
and there's still two days left to go.
It's neck and neck, but only one team
can be crowned champion.
At 4:00 p.m. on December 31st,
organizers call time on the two builds.
Which timber tower is bigger?
The results are in.
Duindorp have snuck victory.
It's time to celebrate.
VERBAAN: They said they were 4780,
and we have 4866.
So, yeah, we-- we-- we basically won
by 86 centimeters.
So that's absolutely brilliant.
And they will not--
they will not be happy.
NARRATOR: There's only thing left to do,
as one year turns to the next...
(people cheering)
...the bonfires are set ablaze.
♪ ♪
VAN DER PLAS: When it's all lit,
it's just a wall of fire,
it's-- it's so massive,
I think
it's the most beautiful thing to see.
VERBAAN: It's very hot.
You literally have to stand
about 200 meters away from it.
It's like a fire monster.
NARRATOR: It's a proud moment
for all the bonfire builders.
But tonight's celebrations
could be the last.
Local regulations limit the height
of the bonfires to just 35 meters.
But both teams broke the rules
in their desire to outdo each other.
In Scheveningen, sparks from
the over-sized bonfire reached the town,
damaging cars and homes.
No one is injured,
but the incident makes global news.
It could spell the end for one
of the world's most spectacular rivalries.
The next morning,
the sun rises on a new year.
But the celebrations aren't done yet.
This coastline plays host
to another spectacular tradition,
one of the world's
biggest New Year's Day swims.
For more than 50 years,
thousands of brave people
have gathered on the sand
each New Year's morning.
At midday, they'll run as one
into the freezing North Sea.
A small swimming club
started this tradition in the 1960s.
Now an institution,
it has grown into a huge event.
People travel from all over Europe
to cleanse their souls in the icy water.
Amongst them are Nanda Van Paassen
and her two children.
I came today for the, uh,
Dutch New Year swim,
um, and I came with my kids
because they challenged me to go.
Last year, they went here
with their daddy,
and today they wanted to go
with me as well.
So, uh, that's really fun.
NARRATOR: The atmosphere on the beach
is a mixture of excitement and trepidation
for the ice cold water that awaits.
10,000 tickets
have been sold for the event,
despite the air temperature
only being a chilly six degrees Celsius.
NARRATOR: It might be close to freezing,
but the masses strip down to swim suits,
topped off with an orange Santa hat.
And at the stroke of midday,
they're off.
(people cheering}
(people screaming)
Viewed from above,
it's a tidal wave of orange.
(screaming continues)
Thousands of hardy souls
wash away the previous year,
and begin the new one
with the freshest of starts.
And while most people
come out of the water shivering,
the pain seems worth it.
I think the best and the worst way
to start the year, yeah, it's awesome.
I was a little nervous,
but you just jump around to stay warm.
It feels like adrenalin is
coming up to your knees, to your elbows,
to everything what you can feel.
MALE: You have to do it!
If you don't and you die,
then you forgot something in life.
NARRATOR: The Netherlands may be small,
but the limitations the Dutch have faced
have made the nation stronger.
Thanks to engineering innovation
and community spirit,
this country has battled for independence,
and forged its place on the world stage
against the odds,
to become the great European nation
we see today.
With a unique aerial view
of one of Europe's smallest,
but mostly densely populated nations,
we'll reveal how the Dutch
have battled against the odds
to create land and food
for their growing population,
to cement this tiny country's place
on the world's stage.
In this series, we'll take
an aerial tour across Europe,
seeing its sights
from a brand-new perspective.
Filmed from above,
and over the course of a single year,
as the landscape transforms
through the changing seasons,
we will uncover the culture,
history, and engineering
that built the great European nations
we see today.
The Netherlands
sits in north western Europe.
It's bordered by Belgium to the south,
and Germany to the east.
The country is home
to more than 17 million people,
crammed into a space almost ten
times smaller than their German neighbor.
A large proportion of the Dutch population
live in densely packed cities
on the country's west coast:
Rotterdam, one of
the world's busiest international ports,
The Hague, the seat
of the International Court of Justice,
and Amsterdam, the nation's capital.
Here, historic tall houses
sit alongside canals
that crisscross through the city.
But just outside
this densely packed metropolis,
the landscape is strikingly different.
To the north east of Amsterdam,
surrounded by water,
there's an enormous patch of land
called Noordoostpolder.
Here, historic buildings
and winding canals are replaced
by a patchwork
of ultra-flat fertile fields.
Noordoostpolder's fields are the setting
to one of the world's most colorful
transformations,
as spring arrives in the Netherlands.
For tulip farmers, Rob and Liesbeth Balk,
it's the moment they've been waiting
all year for.
In March, Noordoostpolder
wears a winter coat
of browns and dark greens.
But with the coming of spring,
an incredible metamorphosis takes place,
the scale of which can only be
truly appreciated from above.
Muddy fields burst into life,
with row after row of colorful flowers.
Reds, pinks, even oranges.
Every April, a tulip mega-bloom
engulfs this corner of the Netherlands.
For everyone
who's driving through the fields,
you get a smile on your face
when you see it.
It's one time a year,
so it's only a few weeks.
It's beautiful.
NARRATOR: But, amazingly,
just before the tulip bloom hits its peak,
something extraordinary happens.
Farmers like Rob and Liesbeth
take to their fields,
and go on a flower shredding rampage.
ROB BALK: We are cutting the tulips off
with a lawnmower.
It's a big one.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Today's job
is to slice the heads off
this entire field of beautiful flowers,
leaving just the green stems
and leaves behind.
An aerial view reveals row after row,
systematically slashed.
This may seem like senseless destruction,
but it's a process that's crucial
for the local tulip industry,
because decapitating the plants
makes their bulbs stronger.
And Rob and Liesbeth are bulb farmers.
Tulip bulbs can survive
for a few months before planting.
This means that they can be sold
to buyers all over the world,
boosting the farmer's profits.
And the best way to get healthy bulbs,
is to decapitate the flower
just before it fully blooms.
LIESBETH BALK: If you cut off the flowers,
all the energy goes to the bulb
instead of the seed.
ROB BALK: A good bulb for us,
we try to make it as big as possible.
♪ ♪
NARRATOR: Bulb farmers
like Rob and Liesbeth,
completely destroy Noordoostpolder's most
colorful attraction in a matter of days.
ROB BALK: For the people
who are driving around, it's a shame.
But for us we are only saying
green is very nice.
NARRATOR: In a few short months,
Liesbeth and Rob's big healthy bulbs
will finally be ready to harvest.
The flat landscape that makes
the Netherlands perfect for growing tulips
is also home
to a very different type of farming,
where giant white machines appear
to sprout from the ground like beanstalks.
The geography of Europe
forces south-westerly winds
to stream across the Netherlands.
Near the west coast of the country,
they hit the small town of Rouveen.
An aerial view reveals
something special about the scenery.
There are no hills or mountains
anywhere to be seen.
With nothing in the landscape
to block the incoming coastal breezes,
this is perfect place
for Patrick Van De Kraats
to harness the power of the wind.
Patrick is a turbine builder,
and today he and his team
are hoping to finish construction
of another of the massive wind machines
that provide electrical power
to this part of the Netherlands.
I'm glad I'm not, uh
sitting at the desk, uh, all day.
Yeah, that doesn't work for me.
This job is better.
NARRATOR: Today, Patrick's job
is to attach turbine blades
to this soaring tower.
To do this, he has the unenviable task
of climbing 85 meters into the air
to install the rotor.
VAN DE KRAATS: We go upstairs,
climbing up to the top.
You must not be afraid of the height.
Otherwise, you can't do this job.
NARRATOR: Once he's safely in place,
Patrick must guide the blades
into position.
A colossal crane lifts the 44-tonne rotor
85 meters into the air.
But fast winds at the top of the tower
make it challenging
for the crane to hoist the blades
without them swinging.
So two giant cables wrap around the rotor
and lead to a team on the ground,
who help steer it into position.
(indistinct conversation)
If one
of the 40-meter long blades
were to strike the steel tower
on the way up,
it could damage
the two-million-euro turbine,
and the team on the ground
are steering blind.
It's Patrick's job
to be their eyes in the sky.
VAN DE KRAATS: Okay.
It's a lot of responsibility.
It's all teamwork.
We connect together with walkie talkies.
Everybody has one, downstairs, upstairs.
NARRATOR: Our exclusive bird's-eye view
reveals a sight
impossible to see from the ground.
Patrick carefully guides the rotor,
as the massive crane inches it forwards,
looking for the perfect fit.
VAN DE KRAATS: Yeah.
The biggest challenge is, if the wind
is blowing, the blades will turn.
You need to stay calm and think,
and talk together with the ground.
(indistinct chatter)
NARRATOR: It takes up to
an hour of precision
to guide the 66 pins
into their adjoining sockets
and lock the rotor onto the tower.
VAN DE KRAATS (off screen): Yeah. Super.
NARRATOR: The team have brought it in
bang on target.
Patrick secures the rotor
and unhooks the crane.
It's a job well done.
This single turbine
will generate enough energy
to power 2,000 homes.
Flat, low-lying land makes the Netherlands
a wind turbine powerhouse.
But with just over a quarter
of the landscape sitting below sea level,
this country
is always at risk of flooding.
Today, state-of-the art sea defenses
keep this land dry.
But the Dutch people have been battling
against water for centuries.
In the Netherlands countryside,
day trippers escape the stifling cities
to cycle along the fields of windmills
and dykes that dot the west coast.
Summer is finally here.
These windmills
are a symbol of Dutch pride,
because it's thanks to them
this landscape exists at all.
Over the last 1,000 years,
Dutch engineers
have drained large parts of the sea
to create new land for farming.
South east of bustling Rotterdam,
at the meeting point
of the rivers Lek and Noord,
lies the Kinderdijk.
This green patch of land
marks the genesis of this country's
extraordinary transformation.
A bird's-eye view of the Kinderdijk
reveals a network of low fields
and raised canals.
Along the edge of these canals
sit nineteen
300-year-old traditional windmills.
The tops of their wooden sails
soar almost 30 meters into the air.
Unlike in most countries,
where these machines
are used to grind grain,
here windmills pump water.
Ad Wisse is the guardian
of the Netherlands' most important
national treasures.
Because of the uniqueness,
it's a World Heritage Site.
I always need to inspect
the windmills from bottom to top
to check whether they are in good shape.
NARRATOR: Viewed from above,
the way these windmills
interact with the surrounding waterways,
becomes clear.
As wind turns the huge 15-meter sails,
they power an enormous pump
in the base of the windmill.
This drives water uphill,
through a hidden channel
below the windmill,
draining water
from the low-lying land on the left,
and dumping it
in the raised canal on the right
where it flows away to the sea.
The windmills are arranged in long rows,
which lets them work together as a team
to drain the water-logged grassland,
leaving behind fertile fields for farmers.
WISSE: This is a low area below sea level,
and when people want to live here,
they want to have dry feet,
and so the windmills have
to pump up the water.
NARRATOR: These wooden engineering wonders
helped this tiny nation grow
nearly 20% larger.
And Ad's dedication
to restoring these cultural icons
means they'll exist
for future generations to enjoy.
WISSE: I've been working now
for 18 years at these windmills.
I feel really proud, yes.
NARRATOR: 20 kilometers north west
of the Kinderdijk lies Rotterdam,
the country's second largest city.
In summer, tourists fill the cafes
that line the historic harbor,
but it's Rotterdam's
famous international port
that puts it on the map.
The port of Rotterdam is simply enormous.
With 42 kilometers of waterways stretching
from the old harbor to the North Sea,
it's Europe's largest sea port.
Two decades ago, town planners decided
that this colossal container port
just wasn't big enough.
But in the Netherlands,
if you run out of land to build on,
simply build more land.
This is the Maasvlakte II,
it's the latest edition
to the port of Rotterdam.
Maasvlakte II is a 2,000 hectare
artificial peninsula
created by reclaiming land
from the North Sea.
Dirk Hamer was the engineer
in charge of building it.
We are very proud
of what we built over here.
It was one of the biggest
engineering projects in the country.
NARRATOR: To build Maasvlakte II,
Dirk and his team dug up
around 214 million cubic meters of sand
from the nearby seabed,
and sprayed it next to the existing port
to create an entirely new land mass.
Since finishing construction in 2013,
Maasvlakte II has expanded
the port of Rotterdam by 20%,
and tripled the number of containers
it can handle.
The deep waters
enable the biggest vessels in the world
to enter the port and offload their cargo.
HAMER: The vessels now coming
into Maasvlakte II are impressive.
We talk about container vessels
of 450 meters length,
carrying 18,000 containers.
NARRATOR: As soon as
these monsters moor up,
a legion of robotic cranes set to work
unloading the colorful containers.
Incredibly, there's barely
a human in sight.
That's because
these container ship terminals
are almost entirely
run remotely by computers.
HAMER: The automation is amazing.
It's all about efficiency.
NARRATOR: Around 80% of crane movements
are fully automatic,
and even those cranes that need
a human operator are controlled remotely.
Once the robotic cranes
offload the containers,
driverless vehicles transport them
around the terminal.
A bird's-eye view reveals the incredible
scale of this mechanization.
The containers
are then lifted onto lorries,
and transported onwards
to countries all over the continent.
This one-of-a-kind super port
has turned the Netherlands into
an import hub for the whole of Europe.
HAMER: The Dutch are very proud of what
the Port of Rotterdam has achieved.
NARRATOR: Rotterdam imports
over 300 million tons of goods each year,
but not all its trade is inwards.
This small nation is one
of the world's largest exporters too,
and it's all thanks
to an incredible high-tech industry
that can only
be truly appreciated from above.
The year
is over half way through,
and the days are getting shorter.
The changing weather
returns lush fields to soil,
and strips leaves from the trees
as the Dutch summer
slowly turns to autumn.
Many of the nation's farmers
tend to their land
in preparation for the autumn chill.
But two ingenious lettuce growers
have found a surprising way
to engineer an everlasting spring.
In the west of the Netherlands,
bordered by the cities
of Rotterdam and The Hague,
sits an area of the country that,
from the sky,
appears to be made of 1,000 shiny mirrors.
But looking closer,
a bird's-eye view reveals
it's actually a patchwork
of enormous glass-topped greenhouses,
many of which radiate a soft purple glow.
This is a lettuce farm.
It's run by twin brothers,
Mark and Roy Delissen.
A farmer tending
to a plot of land this size
might expect to produce around
one and a half million lettuce a year.
That sounds a lot,
but it's not economically viable.
So these brothers have had
to get creative with technology
to give themselves an advantage.
MARK DELISSEN: The world is changing,
so we are driven to
find new ways to grow that are innovative.
NARRATOR: The Dutch are world leaders
in agricultural technology.
They use ingenious engineering
to supercharge the growing power
of their small country.
ROY DELISSEN: You need to have
still the green fingers,
but the technical part is much bigger.
NARRATOR: With incredible aerial access,
the engineering secret
to the brothers' success becomes clear.
Roy and Mark Delissen's innovation
isn't the greenhouse itself
but the lights inside it.
Unlike in spring and summer,
the short autumn days
provide less direct sunlight,
so plants can't grow as big.
MARK DELISSEN: So then we figured out,
hey, is there a way that we can simulate
springtime a-- all the time,
and that's how we came up
with the idea of using the LED lights.
NARRATOR: The purple LEDs
the brothers use are cooler,
and use far less energy
than normal lights,
but they give the plants
everything they need to grow,
just as they would in spring or summer.
Even the young plants in the nursery,
stacked over many levels
to maximize space,
are bathed in the soft purple glow.
MARK DELISSEN: Our neighbors
are already asking,
"Are you having
a disco in the greenhouse?"
Because of these purple lights.
So, yeah, that's definitely new for them.
NARRATOR: The twins also use automation
to help in their quest for efficiency.
Machines plant seeds into pre-dug furrows
far faster than humans ever could.
And robotic arms do the heavy lifting,
zipping the lettuce
through the vast greenhouse.
There's one part of this process
that's still done the old-fashioned way.
Workers check
and pack each lettuce by hand.
Thanks to innovative technology,
the brothers can produce
an astonishing ten million lettuce a year.
It's a recipe being repeated
in greenhouses across the country.
You might think that the tiny Netherlands
should struggle
to feed its own population,
but against the odds, the farmers
of this forward-thinking nation,
aren't just feeding themselves,
they're feeding the world.
It's November.
The low sun paints the east
of the country in warm sepia tones.
It's the perfect time of year
to explore some of the Netherlands'
most unusual historic sites.
Dotted across
this seemingly tranquil landscape,
aerial cameras reveal a recurring pattern.
Villages built
in beautiful star formations.
But what are they?
A vital clue lies
in the Netherlands' far east,
close to one of the country's
most historically violent areas,
its border with Germany.
This is the perfectly preserved
village of Bourtange.
Historian, Femke Knoop, investigates
this unique part of the country close-up.
Even though Bourtange
looks nothing like a castle,
historians like Femke
believe its design had a military purpose.
KNOOP: When you visit
Fort Bourtange,
I think most people
will think it's a really cute place.
But what is special about this place
is that it was actually built for war.
NARRATOR: If Bourtange is a fort,
where are its high stone battlements?
Historians think the key
to Bourtange's surprising lack of walls,
lies in when it was built,
the 16th century.
This is when the Dutch were battling
for independence from Spain.
It was a period that witnessed
a revolution in warfare,
with the introduction of gunpowder.
KNOOP: With the invention of gunpowder,
stone forts were prone to collapse,
and it was much easier
to damage them with cannons.
NARRATOR: To deal
with the change in warfare,
the Dutch needed
to change the design of their forts.
They swapped tall stone walls
for short earthen banks
to absorb cannon fire.
KNOOP: The walls were made of soil
and were covered with grass.
Unlike brick walls in the Middle Ages,
they would not be damaged
so easily by cannon fire.
NARRATOR: If the grassy mounds
were made to withstand cannon fire,
why build Bourtange
in such an intricate star shape?
From above,
Fort Bourtange's purpose becomes clear.
This star was built to kill.
Its ingenious five-pointed shape
provided the perfect platform
to defend against the advancing enemy.
Cannons filled every corner of the star.
This meant that the defending troops
could give covering fire from every angle.
KNOOP: All corners would be covered
because of the star shape.
And because of where
the cannons were located,
you could attack your enemies
from all sides.
NARRATOR: The Dutch built Bourtange
at the height of its fight
for independence from Spain.
Its purpose was to cut off
a vital Spanish supply route into Germany.
Its unique layout and engineering worked.
Incredibly, Bourtange was never captured,
and the Dutch won their independence.
Fort Bourtange is the only Dutch fort
that has never been taken.
When you're walking on the walls,
you get an idea how hard it was to attack.
NARRATOR: After the war,
Bourtange eventually became a village,
but its memorizing symmetry
serves as a reminder
for the fort's once great impregnability.
KNOOP: It gives a sense
and it can inspire people
to get to know more
about the history of this place.
NARRATOR: Thanks to their ingenious
mastery over land and water,
the Dutch people overcame adversity
to gain their independence.
Today, they're turning to water once again
to solve another problem,
the lack of available land to live on.
In contrast to the largely rural east,
the west of the country is a dense web
of interconnected urban centers.
The biggest of them all is Amsterdam,
the nation's bustling capital.
Its winding, cobbled streets
are lined with tall, narrow houses.
And with a population of over 800,000,
available land to live on is at a premium.
But miraculously,
a bird's-eye view of Amsterdam
does reveal space,
if you look hard enough.
The city is full
of crisscrossing waterways,
and 45 kilometers down the canal,
in the city of Nieuwegein,
forward-thinking architects have come up
with an ingenious solution
to help solve Amsterdam's housing crisis.
By the water's edge, a new estate
of innovative eco-homes
appears to be nearing completion.
But not all is what it seems,
because the foundations of these buildings
aren't fixed to the ground.
They're floating homes,
and they're about to be towed
to a brand-new aquatic neighborhood
in Amsterdam.
Sascha Glasl is one of the architects
working on this project.
Twenty of the nation's
most innovative architecture firms
have collaborated to create
a surprising vision for the future.
They want to fill one
of the city's available waterways,
with a community of homes
that float on water.
GLASL: We worked ten years
on this project
to make the most sustainable floating
neighborhood in Europe.
NARRATOR: This particular house
is extra special.
Sascha has built it
for himself and his family to live in.
And for the last year,
he's been thinking of little else.
When I wake up
and sit with my daughter and my wife,
the reflection of the water on the walls,
it's just... uh, it's just a dream.
NARRATOR: It's taken eight months
to carefully construct
and waterproof the house.
Now Sascha's 200-ton concrete home
is finally complete.
But before boats can tow it
to the heart of Amsterdam,
the construction team need
to drop the house into the canal.
The first moment is, of course,
when they lift the house,
and that very moment you think
hopefully they don't let it fall.
NARRATOR: To lift it into the water,
the house first needs
to squeeze between two huge cranes.
One wrong move and it could crack,
destroying its watertight superstructure.
The cranes have to work in perfect unison,
to keep the building level and balanced
while it pivots 90 degrees
through the gap.
Everybody holds their breath
as the house
inches its way towards the canal.
After much careful maneuvering,
the house is ready for the next
even more nerve-shredding phase
of its delivery.
GLASL: The second moment of excitement
is when they put it in the water,
and you hope, "Please, let it not sink."
NARRATOR: The house is three stories high,
and sits within a 20-centimeter thick
waterproof concrete base.
This concrete base
acts like the hull of a boat,
and allows it to float in the water.
But any unseen cracks
or damage to the concrete
could cause the house to sink.
♪ ♪
It's the moment of truth.
The house touches the water
for the first time,
and slowly finds equilibrium.
It's floating just as it should,
a huge relief for the construction team,
and of course, Sascha.
GLASL: The moment it goes in the water,
it's just an excitement
that you cannot define.
NARRATOR: Viewed from above,
it's an astonishing sight.
A full-sized family home
navigating its way up the canal.
Finally, after five hours, Sascha's house
arrives in Amsterdam to join others,
ready to form their new neighborhood
in the water.
Once again, this small country
has used innovative engineering
to solve its limitations.
Sascha hopes that floating communities
of homes like this
can lead the way
for the rest of the world too.
GLASL: I think for the Netherlands,
it's very common, a common way of living.
I think the formula of what we did here
can be reproduced all over the world.
NARRATOR: As autumn fades,
plummeting temperatures blanket
the low country white with winter snow.
This transformation is the signal
for two communities in the nation's west
to create one of the world's
most spectacular celebrations of winter.
On the Netherlands western coast,
in The Hague's bustling outskirts,
a bird's-eye view
reveals two thin strips of sand,
Scheveningen and Duindorp.
On Duindorp beach,
Daniel Verbaan is hard at work.
His task is simple:
to build the biggest bonfire
the world has ever seen.
Every year the communities
that live along the two beaches
engage in this bizarre rivalry
and have been doing so for a decade.
VERBAAN: We're building
two of the biggest bonfires
basically in the world.
If you think of it,
it's actually childish,
but it's just there,
it's just a tradition and it's fun.
NARRATOR: The rival teams have
just five days to build their bonfires
so they can be set ablaze at midnight
on New Year's Eve.
And seen from above,
the scale of the operation is clear.
An army of volunteers stack the pallets
from the ground up.
It's literally with hands,
constantly doing that.
It's not rocket science.
The way I see it, it's bricklaying.
NARRATOR: Half a kilometer away
in Scheveningen,
Daniel's rival, Michael Van Der Plas,
is also gunning for victory.
VAN DER PLAS: It's in our veins.
First memory was back in '97,
I was a little boy,
putting little sticks on the fire,
and walking here with my parents.
NARRATOR: Local gangs started
this unique tradition in the '50s.
Back then, they burnt
Christmas trees in the streets.
Over time, the bonfires grew and grew.
In the last ten years,
it's become an industrial scale operation,
with each town going to great lengths
to outdo the other.
VAN DER PLAS: Yeah,
between 100, 250-ish lorries,
between 100,000 and 130,000 pallets.
What then happens
is one big circus of madness.
It's a great thing.
NARRATOR: From above,
the stacks appear precariously tall,
and there's still two days left to go.
It's neck and neck, but only one team
can be crowned champion.
At 4:00 p.m. on December 31st,
organizers call time on the two builds.
Which timber tower is bigger?
The results are in.
Duindorp have snuck victory.
It's time to celebrate.
VERBAAN: They said they were 4780,
and we have 4866.
So, yeah, we-- we-- we basically won
by 86 centimeters.
So that's absolutely brilliant.
And they will not--
they will not be happy.
NARRATOR: There's only thing left to do,
as one year turns to the next...
(people cheering)
...the bonfires are set ablaze.
♪ ♪
VAN DER PLAS: When it's all lit,
it's just a wall of fire,
it's-- it's so massive,
I think
it's the most beautiful thing to see.
VERBAAN: It's very hot.
You literally have to stand
about 200 meters away from it.
It's like a fire monster.
NARRATOR: It's a proud moment
for all the bonfire builders.
But tonight's celebrations
could be the last.
Local regulations limit the height
of the bonfires to just 35 meters.
But both teams broke the rules
in their desire to outdo each other.
In Scheveningen, sparks from
the over-sized bonfire reached the town,
damaging cars and homes.
No one is injured,
but the incident makes global news.
It could spell the end for one
of the world's most spectacular rivalries.
The next morning,
the sun rises on a new year.
But the celebrations aren't done yet.
This coastline plays host
to another spectacular tradition,
one of the world's
biggest New Year's Day swims.
For more than 50 years,
thousands of brave people
have gathered on the sand
each New Year's morning.
At midday, they'll run as one
into the freezing North Sea.
A small swimming club
started this tradition in the 1960s.
Now an institution,
it has grown into a huge event.
People travel from all over Europe
to cleanse their souls in the icy water.
Amongst them are Nanda Van Paassen
and her two children.
I came today for the, uh,
Dutch New Year swim,
um, and I came with my kids
because they challenged me to go.
Last year, they went here
with their daddy,
and today they wanted to go
with me as well.
So, uh, that's really fun.
NARRATOR: The atmosphere on the beach
is a mixture of excitement and trepidation
for the ice cold water that awaits.
10,000 tickets
have been sold for the event,
despite the air temperature
only being a chilly six degrees Celsius.
NARRATOR: It might be close to freezing,
but the masses strip down to swim suits,
topped off with an orange Santa hat.
And at the stroke of midday,
they're off.
(people cheering}
(people screaming)
Viewed from above,
it's a tidal wave of orange.
(screaming continues)
Thousands of hardy souls
wash away the previous year,
and begin the new one
with the freshest of starts.
And while most people
come out of the water shivering,
the pain seems worth it.
I think the best and the worst way
to start the year, yeah, it's awesome.
I was a little nervous,
but you just jump around to stay warm.
It feels like adrenalin is
coming up to your knees, to your elbows,
to everything what you can feel.
MALE: You have to do it!
If you don't and you die,
then you forgot something in life.
NARRATOR: The Netherlands may be small,
but the limitations the Dutch have faced
have made the nation stronger.
Thanks to engineering innovation
and community spirit,
this country has battled for independence,
and forged its place on the world stage
against the odds,
to become the great European nation
we see today.