The unforeseen byproduct of living in a country dredged from the ocean floor is that living at (and sometimes below) sea level becomes commonplace. The Climate Change debate exists in the Netherlands but there's not much talk of capitalizing on their water-control know-how - something that, to me, would seem like a natural.
On an aesthetic level, the waterways in the Netherlands are beautiful, even if they were created for utility. Utrecht is called the Venice of The Netherlands because of its many canals running through the city centre. These people live on, around, over and next to water all the time.
In the old(er) part of the city, you can still see the no-longer-used doors that were originally drop-off and pick-up points for goods transported on the canals. I like to imagine Dutch hobbits going out for a morning dip - opening their personal portal onto the water and splashing in.
