Archive for 'News'
Big Surprises In The Dutch Provinciale Statenverkiezingen Posted by Sten on Mar 25, 2019
Last Wednesday, thousands of stemgerechtigden (voters) flocked to the hundreds of stemlokalen (polling stations) all over the country to cast their stem (vote). Or, perhaps, the plural stemmen is more apt, as the Dutch actually had two verkiezingen (elections)! One vote for the waterschapsverkiezingen (water board elections) and the other for the Provinciale Statenverkiezingen (Provincial States elections). Today, the official results will…
Real Madrid vs. Ajax Amsterdam: 1-4 – how did they do it? Posted by Sten on Mar 9, 2019
A voetbalwedstrijd (soccer match) unlike any wedstrijd ever before. It happened last Tuesday on March 5. Ajax, a strong club in the Netherlands, but not the most prestigious in international circles, beat the world-class team of Real Madrid. And not by a little bit: 1 to 4! Wat een Wedstrijd! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPCZqh51VHg In the Champions League, there is…
What does Brexit mean for the Netherlands? Posted by Karoly Molina on Mar 6, 2019
March is here and there is only one thing in the EU’s mind: Brexit! March 29th is the official day for the UK to leave the EU and everything in the news indicates that it will be a hard Brexit. The EU and the UK recently came up with an exit deal, but the British…
Words of Shock and Surprise in Dutch! Posted by Karoly Molina on Feb 27, 2019
English speakers tend to express shock and surprise with phrases such as Oh my God! or WOW! And while it is perfectly okay to use these in Dutch (because the trend with native Dutch speakers is to add some English words here and there), there are perfectly good words and phrases in Dutch you can…
What are the Dutch Waterschappen? Posted by Sten on Feb 18, 2019
De Waterschappen. If you live in the Netherlands, you have undoubtedly heard of these institutions. But what exactly are they? What are their responsibilities? And why do the Dutch get to vote for their waterschappen in an election alongside the provincial elections? De taak van een waterschap So, first of all – what is a waterschap? A waterschap (literally “watership”…
Holleeder Family- The Dutch Godfather? Posted by Karoly Molina on Feb 6, 2019
I just finished reading the book “Judas” about a notorious Dutch criminal and it left me speechless! It covered the infamous Heineken ontvoering or kidnapping, the “underworld” of criminals in the Netherlands, and one family’s life in the middle of it all. Who are the Holleeders? The Holleder family is known first and foremost by the oldest…
Dutch President Rutte Is In Trouble Again Posted by Sten on Jan 14, 2019
Like with the discussion about zwarte pieten (Black Petes), the Dutch have a discussion about the need and safety of vuurwerk (fireworks) at the end of every year. A problem that most people agree on, however, is that hulpverleners (aid workers) should be left in peace to do their work during the dangerous night that carries us into the new year…