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The Heiligdomsvaart of Maastricht Posted by Sten on May 31, 2018
Processions through the streets of Maastricht, people coming into the city from all over, and it all has a very religious feel. What’s going on in this city? Well, it is actually a quite special, long-standing tradition! De Heiligdomsvaart The Heiligdomsvaart is an event that currently runs in Maastricht for 10 days in honor of the stadsheilige (“city…
What are these mailbox stickers? Posted by Sten on May 29, 2018
If you go to the Netherlands and you walk through any residential area, you cannot really escape them: The super-obvious NEE-NEE-sticker or the NEE-JA-sticker on people’s brievenbussen (mailboxes). What are these for? Let’s dive in. Folders, folders, folders… As we have discussed before, many places in the Netherlands distribute a load of folders (ad brochures) from supermarkets and local stores every single day…
The Oostvaardersplassen – What went wrong? Posted by Sten on May 22, 2018
You might remember our post on Flevoland, a Dutch province that was created from scratch – literally. The land did not exist before. Part of that creation of land was also the the creation of a natuurgebied (nature reserve), called the Oostvaardersplassen. With a size of 5600 hectares (about 14,000 acres), it is an important natuurgebied not just for the Netherlands…
Staking! Posted by Sten on Apr 30, 2018
Er rijdt geen streekvervoer! (There is no regional transport!) These were headlines today for the fact that streekbussen (regional/local buses) and regionale treinen (regional/local trains) are not driving today. So reizigers (travelers) have to find a way around that – super vervelend (annoying)! Why does this happen? Staking! The reason why the regiovervoer (regional transport) is halted is because the vakbonden (labor unions) FNV and CNV demand better pay, less…
3 Reasons To Like The Dutch Monarchy Posted by Sten on Apr 27, 2018
Yesterday, we looked at three reasons to dislike the Dutch monarchy. It is expensive, not transparent, useless… So pragmatic! What do proponents think? Today, on the verjaardag van de koning (the King’s birthday), we will look at 3 reasons to like the Dutch monarchy! 1. Verbindt mensen! Having a koning (king) makes people feel connected, as he is the…
3 Reasons To Dislike The Dutch Monarchy Posted by Sten on Apr 26, 2018
Tomorrow, Koning Willem-Alexander can blow out 51 kaarsjes (candles)! And the whole country is going to celebrate it along with him. Right? No. There are some people opposed to the king. And just this week, negative voices have raised again. Why? Here are three, non-exhaustive, reasons why having a koningshuis (royal house) may not be such a wonderful idea, according to tegenstanders (opponents)…
Top 3 Dutch April Fool’s Jokes 2018! Posted by Sten on Apr 2, 2018
1 april, kikker in je bil! (April 1, frog in your butt!) Every year, on April 1, people play pranks on each other – and 2018 is no different! And it is not just your brother, dad or neighbor that jokes with you, but also companies and news sources! In my opinion, the Dutch have a pretty great…