The Van Gogh Museum is Once Again Open
Orange feathers and puke. Granted, only a small amount of each but it wasn’t quite the scene I was hoping to see when I stepped out onto Museumplein in Amsterdam. To be fair, not only is this area sardine packed with top museums but it was also one of the key places for last week’s (April 30th 2013) Queen’s Day festivities – hence the orange feathers, and probably the puke as well. Behind me the remains of a stage used for the celebrations was being dismantled. Groups buzzed around the controversial bathtub shaped building of the...
read moreMonday Madness: A Landing That Went Wrong
Monday Madness is supposed to be about news that happened in or around the Netherlands but this story was just too good to miss… A paraglider in Australia landed in the area of a heavily guarded prison in Lithgow, not far from Sydney. According to the police, the landing was not about an escape attempt but was indeed an accident. The paraglider landed in a place where the prisoners could not come and was allowed to leave after...
read moreCarnival: Party Like You’re King (or Queen)
Were you in the Netherlands on Queen’s Day? If so you know just how crazy and orange the Dutch can get. But did you also know that there is another time of year when part of the country likes to live it up? “Every year in February, carnival is celebrated in Brabant, Limburg and South Gelderland. There are some celebrations in other parts of the country, like Groningen and Friesland, but the festival is celebrated primarily in the Catholic regions of the southern provinces.” You can read more about carnival in my...
read moreApril 2013 Foodie PenPals Reveal
It is an important day in the Netherlands as today was not only Queen’s Day but also the day the country got a new King. It is also Foodie PenPal reveal day and we couldn’t miss out on that, could we?! This month my parcel came from Eleanor in the UK. And what a parcel it was! Before I mention all the great things that were inside I want to mention one of the best things about the parcel and that was how each item had a little note on it to explain what it was and/or why it had been picked. That was such a nice addition. And what...
read moreMonday Madness: Missing Boy Found Helping Elderly Woman
A 9-year-old boy from Voorburg who had been reported as missing last week on Tuesday was found to have been helping a confused elderly woman search for her house. The mother of the boy rang the alarm when he had not come home for dinner. Before dinner, one of his friends saw him walking around outside. Agents started a search, and found the boy and the 81-year-old woman after about half an hour. After a long walk helping the lady search for her home, the boy treated her to something to eat at McDonald’s. The woman turned out to live in...
read moreTravel Photo of the Week: Ecomare
“Writers are a little below clowns and a little above trained seals.” - John Steinbeck As much as visiting Ecomare on Texel in the Netherlands isn’t just about seeing the seals, they sure did their best to steal the...
read moreMoroccan Food Delights: Mint Tea
What: Moroccan mint tea (also called touareg (or tuareg) tea, mint tea or Maghrebi mint tea) is a combination of green tea (usually gunpowder tea), mint leaves and sugar. It is poured with an extravagant technique – lifting the tea pot high above the glass – to produce a foam on the top of the poured tea. Why: In Morocco, great pride is taken in the tea culture.Green tea has strong antioxidant elements and is high in caffeine. The mint helps to give the tea a refreshing taste. Where: The tradition of...
read moreParking in Leiden Made Simple
In a country where conserving historical city centres trumps large, ample parking spaces (and rightfully so), parking in the Netherlands can sometimes be a challenge. The introduction of Park and Ride (P+R) facilities have been a welcome addition. For example, you can park at the Amsterdam Arena for eight Euros a day and then you even get public transport cards for up to five people that will ensure you get to the city centre with ease. But the best P+R that I have come across so far has got to be the P+R Haagweg in Leiden. It was recommended...
read moreUnusual Places to Visit in Amsterdam
One week from now, the Netherlands will be celebrating the biggest party of the year – Queen’s Day. This year is extra special because not only will it be Queen’s Day (it won’t be called King’s Day until 2014) it will also be the day that Prince Willem-Alexander becomes King. If you will be in Amsterdam for the big feast of orange, then you might like to take a look at my article over on Holland.com about 3 Unusual Places to Visit in Amsterdam’s Canal Ring. Here’s a preview: Most people visiting...
read moreMonday Madness: Naked Man Disrupts Alcohol Control Check
The police have it hard now-a-days. Take Saturday night when all they wanted to do was stop 400-500 car drivers for an alcohol test when out of nowhere comes a naked man to interrupt them. The alcohol control test was taking place in Etten-Leur on Saturday night when it was disturbed by “the naked man” who wandered over, made some obscene movements and then was promptly arrested on charges of indecent exposure. According to the 38-year-old nudist, he was at a nearby party when, in a drunken stupor, he had announced the joke he...
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