A train is great for Rotterdam-Hague-Amsterdam, not so good for visiting the Bosch museum in 's-Hertogenbosch.
Holland has a great road system and parking everywhere. The perfect place for a car owner.
Huh? There's a bike rental place on practically every other corner in most Dutch cities, and most of their profit is from tourists. You only need to show some ID and leave a deposit. Dutch people usually have a cheap old bike, or use the public OV bikes, for which you do need to register and get a card, but even that is possible as a foreigner, it just takes some days to process.
> visiting the lovely villages and other places Holland is full of is a time consuming exercise in futility unless one has a car.
I'm not sure where you're getting this from either. Intercity transport by train works great, and there are many organized bus tours that take you to smaller villages. You can easily see most of the country without owning a car, though it's a personal preference whether you enjoy using public transport or not.
I know you can get anywhere by public transport, much better than where I live. But going though tram-train-train (+even bus or a 3rd train) to visit some village that is less than an hour away by car, will multiply the transport time.
But just about every Dutch person we worked with had a car. They would meet us on weekends in villages, and most drove. Public transport is great in Holland, but cars have their place too. And unlike some countries close by, Holland has a well maintain and well designed road system. Its great for car travel.
Part of the reason the Netherlands is the perfect place for a car owner is that so many people are able to go by bike instead, freeing up space on the roads.
Why not? Where are you trying to rent? There's bike rentals specifically aimed at tourists, and most people speak English reasonably well.
> A train is great for Rotterdam-Hague-Amsterdam, not so good for visiting the Bosch museum in 's-Hertogenbosch.
I just checked, and from Amsterdam, the train to that museum is actually slightly faster than a car. Though you do have a 15 minute walk at the end. Perhaps Den Bosch should run a bus line there.
That said, I would love to know why 's-Hertogenbosch is spelled that way. I asked a few locals, and none knew.
The first simply means "the forest", in slightly archaic spelling. The second is short for "des hertogenbosch", which is archaic for "the duke's forest". "Des" is archaic genitive that's barely used any more in Dutch except in a few phrases and place names.
's ochtends => des ochtends => of the morning
's avonds => des avonds => of the evening
's Hertogenbosch => the duke's forest
's Gravenhave => des graven hage => the count's hedge (also known as Den Haag / The Hague)
Disagree about parking, at least what I've seen in Amsterdam city area. You have to use an app and pay for parking. There are patrol cars that will dish out fines if you are caught. There are blue zones in suburbs which are free but it's mainly for visitors/residents.