Archive for 'News'
The Worst Disaster Since 1953 – The King’s Reaction Posted by Sten on Jul 22, 2014
In 1953, the Netherlands was hit by a terrible flooding, which gave way to great improvement of the Dutch water defense. After the flooding, the sad result were 1836 deaths and tens of thousands of people that lost their home and all their belongings. Families ripped apart, friends lost and colleagues gone forever. Last Thursday…
Word Use: Oranje Voetbal Posted by Karoly Molina on Jun 30, 2014
The best way to learn new vocabulary is to use it. One exercise that has always challenged me and helped me learn word use in other languages is a paragraph where you fill in the words. It seems like something we’ve done since grade school, but it helps use new words. When you work on…
A love letter to the Oranje fans Posted by Karoly Molina on Jun 18, 2014
Dear Oranje fans, The month of June has been filled with your lively color, with lions, with flags and with cheers. The stores have been sure to supply the entire country with all sorts of home articles of your dear color: shirts, socks, pants, wigs, flags, pots, pans, utensils, spatulas and baking ware. Streets and…
The champion defeated! Posted by Sten on Jun 13, 2014
Hup Holland, Hup! Vijf tegen één! The phenomenal victory of the Dutch today over the voetbalwereldkampioen (soccer world champion) Spain. It is the first match that the Dutch elftal (“eleven” – the soccer team) played at the Soccer World Cup in Brazil. And it will not be the last one. For those that have no idea about voetbal, vijf-één is a…
An event even the Rolling Stones are attending – Pinkpop Posted by Sten on Jun 12, 2014
One of the biggest events of the country is held during the Pinksterweekend (Pentecost weekend) in Landgraaf, Limburg, every year since 1970. In fact, it is the longest running annual pop festival in the world! People from all over the world convene, to have a wonderful weekend of people, music and fun. Many different artists perform…
How the Dutch do Charity – Particularly once every Year Posted by Sten on Jun 6, 2014
Giving money to charity is nice. We all know that. Many people donate some amount regularly to a certain cause, but no challenge or strings attached to that. The Dutch got an idea how to tie a challenge to it and actually get people involved. You might have heard of Alpe d’Huez, an infamous French skiing…
Grondwet Festival – 200 years Posted by Sten on Mar 30, 2014
Yesterday, it was the Grondwet Festival (The (Dutch) Constitution Festival), because on March 29, it existed exactly 200 years. In 1814, 474 vooraanstaande Nederlanders (prominent Dutch citizens) were invited for the Vergadering der Notabelen (Congress of Notables) where they were to accept the draft for the Grondwet. After singing the Wilhelmus, the Dutch National Anthem, they voted in favor with an overwhelming majority of…