Spring is in the Netherlands! Posted by Karoly Molina on Apr 24, 2015
Here in the Netherlands, we have enjoyed about two weeks of pretty sunny days. The change in weather has brought about the beautiful and cheerful spring to the Netherlands! Trees are blooming, terraces are filled, and the Dutch are out on their gardens. Now that we have a garden, we have also been spending lots…
Paasvuren – Easter Fires Posted by Sten on Apr 23, 2015
A very, very old tradition that ignites the east of the Netherlands and other parts of Europe, notably Germany, every Easter – paasvuren! Throughout the year, a small group collects snoeihout – branches, twigs, and other bits of wood – and creates a pile. When the night falls during Easter, the fire is set on fire. This fire is…
Finding Muscles You Never Knew You Had! Posted by Karoly Molina on Apr 22, 2015
After a couple of months of hardly any exercise, I finally went back to the gym. I decided to try the “Body Combat” class, and oh my! What an experience! I had heard this class was hard, but no one prepared me for the agony my body would go through afterwards. Although I am having…
Buying a House: The finishing touches! Posted by Karoly Molina on Apr 15, 2015
Continuing the Buying a House series (house-hunting, financing and renovating), this post deals with the finishing touches while renovating a house. Like I mentioned in the renovating post, Riccardo and I had to do a lot of research and ask ourselves several questions in order to make the best choices for our home in the…
Is it time for Rokjesdag? Posted by Sten on Apr 10, 2015
It is April! Some of you might think of spring coming up (although April sometimes bodes for some strange weather), others might think of April Fools’ Day. And again others might think of Rokjesdag (Skirt Day). This April 10 is a beautiful day for Rokjesdag, it appears… Sunny, not too windy… but it is a Friday! Huh? What?…
The Dutch kind of Humanitarian Aid – Bikes for Refugees! Posted by Sten on Mar 30, 2015
What could be more Dutch to give than… fietsen? The Dutch Minister voor Ontwikkelingssamenwerking (Minister for Development Cooperation) Ploumen visited a refugee camp in Jordan, the Al Za’Atari camp, to be precise. Most of these are refugees from Syria, and the camp has been there for 3 years now. People start living there, rather than just searching refuge…
Dutch Afkortingen (Abbreviations)! Posted by Sten on Mar 25, 2015
Every language has many afkortingen (abbreviations) to make… well, everything shorter! But what means what? Below some valuable abbreviations of Dutch words and expressions! Alstublieft – a.u.b. (also s.v.p.) – please Afbeelding – afb. – picture Aanstaande – a.s. – upcoming Bijvoorbeeld – bijv. – for example Circa – ca. – approximately Door middel van – d.m.v. – by means of Dat wil zeggen – d.w.z. – … which means En andere –…