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

Thursday - Schoonhoven's witch

Today, to do something suitably creepy, one can visit Schoonhoven, where the last alleged Dutch 'witch' was burned 1597..

Apart from this detailed, it's a quaint little town, known for it's gold- and silversmiths (there's a museum about it) and a very ornate water-tower from the beginning of the 20th century.

Happy Halloween to all!


http://nieko.home.xs4all.nl/english.htm

Pumpkin, anyone?

Wednesday - Leiden's hotspot

Although the official Leidse Hutspot Day (Leidse Ontzet) is on the 3rd October, given the season and the weather, it's worth mentioning this dish cherished by the Dutch with pride.

The legend tells that when the Spanish were eventually defeated and fled Leiden, they left behind the ingredients that make up the aforementioned hutspot: carrots, potatoes and onions, plus a little bit of meat.

Basically, the cornerstones of Dutch cuisine...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hutspot

Tuesday - The apple of my eye

To follow up on yesterday's post, here's a couple of links for places where you can pick your apples and eat them.

http://www.olmenhorst.nl/activiteiten/zelfpluk.html

http://missnatural.nl/pluk-je-eigen-fruit-in-een-zelfpluktuin/

Monday - Honesty boxes and farm products

OK, maybe today the weather is not at its best (understatement) but if you have a chance another day, take a drive around the polders and discover the many products that local farmers put on sale outside their farms: potatoes, apples, pumpkins, flowers, bulbs and more.

And don't forget to leave the money in the box, as the whole scheme is based on the honesty of the purchaser.

Sunday - Beer ads museum in Breda

Beer ads come in a multitude of sizes and shapes: posters, beer mats, trays, gadgets and TV commercials.

This museum in Breda, open only on Sundays, has a seemingly never-ending collection of all things beer, including the drink itself, sometimes accompanied by live music.

http://www.bierreclamemuseum.nl/en/informatie/museum