Archive for 'Culture'
Can You Say This Correctly? – 3: Tony’s Chocolonely Melk Passievrucht Yoghurt – C: [s] or [k]? Posted by Sten on May 20, 2016
One of the hardest things about learning Dutch is pronunciation. Whether it is about the ui-klank (the “ui” sound), the G-klank (the “G” sound) or other sounds you might have a hard time with. This series, called “Can You Say This Correctly?”, is about providing a speech example that I recorded. I will give the Dutch text, a translation…
De Trap was opened in Rotterdam Posted by Sten on May 16, 2016
Uitkijkpunt De Trap (Observation point The Stairs) was opened today. It is right next to the Centraal Station Rotterdam (Central Station Rotterdam). Burgemeester (mayor) Ahmed Aboutaleb opened the construction today for the public. It attracted a huge menigte (crowd), and within one and a half hours, already 2000 people had climbed De Trap! Why was it built? This year, it is exactly 75…
Remembrance and Liberation Day 2016 Posted by Karoly Molina on May 4, 2016
May 4th and 5th mark a very important time in Dutch history. May 4th is Dodenherdenking or remembrance of the dead when the thousands who died during World War II and the Nazi invasion in the Netherlands are remembered. Since 1961, the day also commemorates those who died in other military conflicts. There are several ceremonies throughout…
What do you think? The Stiltecoupé Posted by Sten on May 2, 2016
In most Intercity’s (intercity train – high speed trains) of Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) (Dutch Railways – NS, the main railway company), you will find a stiltecoupé (silence train compartment), in which you are not allowed to talk. Intended for people that want to travel in silence, because they read a book, need to focus on some work, want to do a…
Garde Robe: An Amazing Discovery From The Golden Age Posted by Sten on Apr 21, 2016
Last Thursday, a most verbazingwekkend (astonishing) discovery was published: a lading (cargo) of 17th century noble items, most importantly a vorstelijk gewaad (royal gown) were found! In the waters off the island Texel, many scheepswrakken (ship wrecks) from that time, the Gouden Eeuw (Golden Age – see below in the Sideline) were lying out there, waiting for cargo. Because of wind and weather, many of them zonken (sank) and…
On Wednesday, The Dutch Have To Make A Big Decision Posted by Sten on Apr 4, 2016
On April 6, 2016, it is happening. The referendum over de wet tot goedkeuring van de Associatieovereenkomst tussen de Europese Unie en Oekraïne (referendum about the law on approval of the association agreement between the European Union and Ukraine). The referendum is raadgevend (consultative), so the kabinet (government) is not obliged to follow the uitslag (result). It came after the GeenPeil (NoPoll) campaign, organized by news…
Book Review: You Have Me to Love Posted by Karoly Molina on Mar 30, 2016
Continuing the research of Dutch literature, the latest Dutch novel I’ve picked is Birk by Jaap Robben. Robben, born in Ooosterhout in 1984, is a writer, theatre producer and poet. Before 2014, Robben had mostly published children and teen novels and books. Birk is his first adult novel and was received with great praise. It won the 2014 Nederlandse Boekhandels…