Wednesday - Rijksmuseum Library's Reading Room

I haven't had the chance to visit the renovated Rijksmuseum yet, however I was browsing Pinterest yesterday evening and found out that it also has a vaste research library with a splendid reading room.

Like with all the libraries the only problem could be that the more you read, the more you would like to read...

http://library.rijksmuseum.nl/rrl/search.pl?lang=nl

Copyrighted as mentioned on the picture.

Tuesday - Finding NEMO: Science Museum at Schiphol



The latest addition to the many things you can do while you wait for your flight in Schiphol: visit a sample of NEMO science museum in the green waiting area at the beginning of Terminal B.

 

Amusing experiments, interesting attractions and optical illusions that kids and grown-ups (see below) will love.

 

http://www.e-nemo.nl/en/?id=1&s=1121&PHPSESSID=1916adaf98cfa0b3e655b1e022054d04

Monday - Shell's rope walker

If you pass by the Shell HQ in The Hague you may notice this very peculiar statue going back and forth on a rope.

It's called De Draailoper and it is a creation of an artist called Henk Visch.

Sunday - Shakespeare festival

A brand new creation from those amazing people of STET: the first The Hague's Shakespeare Festival, with performers from the UK, USA an NL presenting their version of the Bard's well known classics but also lesser known pieces.

It starts today and lasts approximately 2 weeks. Several venues.

http://thsf.nl/

Saturday - He is coming! He is coming!

When I moved to Holland many years ago, I was extremely pleased to discover that the Dutch have as well, like in my hometown of Trieste, S.Nicolo, or, as they call him, Sinterklaas.

The difference is that, while back home he comes just once, in the night between the 5 and 6 December, here he arrives today with his boat, horse and controversial helpers.

Like your neighbours do the rest of the year, in the next three weeks he will be checking if you are behaving properly.

He arrives today in several cities, although the official televised one is this year, Groningen.

More info and locations at the link below.

http://www.intochtsinterklaas2013.nl/

Friday - Dancing on the edge

This festival brings together artists from the Middle East and North Africa in a contamination of theater, multi-media, films and lots more. The focus of course is the dance as working platform for creative exchanges.

The Hague's leg of this dance event starts today, but the festival is itinerant and will then move to Utrecht, Rotterdam, Enschede and Groningen.

http://dancingontheedge.nl/

Thursday - Iceberg!... or the Titanic exhibition.

Just heard about it on the news and I though I'd share: a travelling exhibition diplaying a lot of objects recovered from the wreck at the bottom of the sea, re-constructions of the impact and mementos of the passengers.

Quite pricey at 16€ but with loads of interactive features and object from the actual ship, maybe it's worth the money.

http://www.amsterdamexpo.nl/en/expositions/titanic-the-artifact-exhibition/

Wednesday - Klik!

Another interesting ongoing event, this time at the EYE in Amsterdam Noord: Klik! Amsterdam Animation Festival.

Among the highlights: the screening of The Congress, sequel of Waltzer with Bashir, a documentary about the bronies,  male fans of My Little Ponies (I am not making this up) and a retrospective on the Fabolous Fifties.

http://www.klikamsterdam.nl/

Fiction or reality (Brighton)

Tuesday - Eindhoven glows in the dark

Appropriately for the city that used to be synonym with Philips, Eindhoven is hosting an artificial illumination open air festival, with installation and performances based on the use and design of light.

GLOW runs till the 16 November.

In brief: ...let there be light!

http://www.gloweindhoven.nl/website/glow/glow.php?gshow=order&eventId=13&Curr=1&action=home&lId=2

Monday - The IKEA's design birthday bash

Raise your hand if you do not have anything in your house originating from IKEA, not even a lamp, a candle or a piece of frozen salmon.

As I thought: no-one.

The Swedish furniture colossus is celebrating its 35th year in The Netherlands with an exhibition at his store in Amsterdam, taking a journey through the design's development of it's most famous pieces.

It started Saturday 9 and will end on the 17 November.

http://www.ikea.com/nl/nl/35jaar/35jaar_ikea_tentoonstelling.html?icid=nl|iba|20131104|178

My very own EXPEDIT.

PS: today it's Saint Martin, so you might have kiddies ringing your bell and singing you a little song, in exchange for some sweets.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Martin's_Day

Sunday - The expat databases

I was goggling around looking for my next attempt at craft (proximity to Christmas makes you do that):  was it going to be glass moulding? or medieval tapestry? or haberdashery?, when I came across this useful overview on resources for expats, so you can browse at your heart's content during this lazy Sunday.

http://www.denhaag.nl/en/residents/to/Links-and-resources-for-expats-1.htm

Saturday - Rotterdam Pop Week

Sometimes it really looks like the party never ends in this country.

The Rotterdam's Pop Weeke started yesterday and will run till next Sunday with Snoop Dogg ( aka, Snoop Lion, Snoopzilla or - this week - Snoopadelic) making his appearance late on Monday at the VIP Club.

Ain't no party like a Rotterdam's party, cause the Rotterdam's party don't stop.

http://rotterdamsepopweek.popunie.nl/

Friday - Rewire festival

The Hague's Rewire festival starts today in several venues and interesting line-up.

By looking to their Instagram feed (something that any self-respecting hipster festival should have) the venues and set up look pretty cool and the SoundCloud links links give you a good overview on the kind of music they are going to play.

http://www.rewirefestival.nl/

Thursday - Zuiderzee Museum in Einkhuizen

In the 1930s, with the construction of the Ijsselmeer Dam, what used to be the Zuideerzee became divided in  basically two large lakes, without direct access to the wide open sea.

The consequences, losses and ways of living before and after that momentous event are explored in the Zuideerzee Museum in Einkhuizen.

The outdoor museum is closed due to the season, however there is plenty to explore in the indoor part, including some temporary exhibitions.

The English website is very well done:

http://www.zuiderzeemuseum.nl/en/10/home/

Wednesday - A school for the best wining and dining

No matter how much your Dutch friends are praising the virtues of the bitterballen, stamppot and olijebollen, anyone would be hard-pressed to state that The Netherlands are famous for their cuisine.

There are of course many exceptions and with a bit of luck you can manage and find a "pool" of nice eateries where you can enjoy a nice dinner or lunch.

One such well kept secrets are the restaurants of Cooking and Hotel Management schools. Here in The Hague there are several and I am pretty sure that there are more around the country.

We have been there many times and never have been disappointed: great flavours, nice arrangements, good wine pairings and surprisingly professional service. It makes you wonder if all the students move abroad at the end of their education...

Right now they are taking reservations for the Christmas dinners: they will be serving amazing seven courses affairs and I can attest that you will come out happy about the fact that you have to bike home afterwards...

Ow, did I mention the fact that the final price is seldom higher than 20 euro, wine included?

http://www.rocmondriaan.nl/restaurants-roc-mondriaan

Tuesday - Oldies but goldies: short movies of yore

Perfect for a rainy day (and to practice your Dutch) here's a selection of old short films to discover popular and less known places in The Netherlands.

Below this one about Delfshaven, you can find the link to several others.

http://www.avro.tv/video/753/discover-the-netherlands-delfshaven

Monday - Open air photo festival in Leiden

There is still time today and tomorrow to visit the Leiden Open Air Photo Festival.

The photos are displayed on (hopefully waterproof) panels in several locations around the city and are the results of the work of Dutch and international contemporary photographers.

http://talentvollefotografen.com/foto-festival-leiden-2013/

Not one of the entries.

Sunday - Chateau Maestricht

Chateau Maestricht: a celebration of the cuisine and wine makers of Limburg which includes cooking workshops, wine tasting, exhibition and talks...and above all, free samplings.

http://vvvmaastricht.nl/chateaumaestricht.html

And in Dutch, with more info:

http://www.vvv-maastricht.eu/chateau_maestricht.html

Saturday - Amsterdam's Museum Night

Following a scheme applied to similar events around the country, tonight Amsterdam's museums will be open till 02.00.

Although the tickets are sold out, there's often a variety of free side events that everyone can join and it's nice to be out and about with the buzzing artsy crowd, at least to have a chance to point and laugh at the hipsters...

http://museumnachtamsterdam.nl/

Friday - Meet the Huygens'



The third Dutch celeb* I have ever been aware of, when I was still back at home and studying physics at college, must almost certainly be Christiaan Huygens,  the polymath scientist, well know for his studies on optics, lenses and astronomy. A pal of Spinoza, he was in correspondence with several other great men of the time.

 

Also, it turns out he stems from a family of well respected cultural icons of the Golden Age, with his father Constantijn Senior, being a poet, composer and secretary to two Princes of Orange and his brother, Christiaan, a scientist too.

 

The Huigens' House, Hofwijk, in Voorburg, currently hosts an exhibition about this influential family and it's anyway worth a visit since it's a very striking, elegant building with formal gardens and a full program of Christmas activities.

 

* the other two being Van Gogh and Ruud Gullit

 

http://www.hofwijck.nl/

 



Constantijn's marble bust in the Scheveningse Bos