Thursday - Cheese market in Gouda

Although I must admit that I am not a massive fan of Dutch cheese (apart from the zeer oud), I find the objects and traditions around it very intriguing.

For instance, before moving to Holland I didn't know that the object called kaasschaaf existed. Nor had I ever thought that millions of people could eat bread and cheese for lunch every single day.

So indeed, very fascinating.

There are therefore some must see places for Dutch cheese's aficionados and I think that the capital of the bright yellow stuff must definitely be Gouda. (although I personally associate Gouda mostly with a former colleague with a passion for fossils and body building, but I'm digressing...)

In summer, the best day to visit is Thursday morning, when the traditional cheese market takes place on the Markt. Cheeses are weighted and then traded with a ritual involving loads of hands moving and shaking.

Free samples and plenty of photo ops are offered to the visitors and there's a market selling traditional crafts too.

Gouda cheese market

Wednesday - One drawing a day

Found this flyer around and was intrigued by the simple (yet intriguing) white and blue graphics. Plus, it follows the "daily" principle which I obviously like.

Astrid Moors is the artist behind this project which focuses on quotes, sayings and facts about water. All of them accompanied by a drawing.

One per day (and one per week in July and August).

http://www.wijswater.nl

Tuesday - Topspots, a mouthwatering app

This new app, created by a Dutch photographer, allows you to get a glimpse of places where you I'd like to go for dinner, but would rather prefer to get a "feeling" of the place first (do I need a tie? are there any patrons over 25 y.o.? Or below 75? is the décor tacky? are the waiters fit? etc...)

Each entry is focussed on the pictures, with a short complementing text in English and the contact details.

Available at the moment are just Amsterdam and Rotterdam, but other Dutch (Den Haag, Utrecht) and international cities (Stockholm, Hong Kong) will be added soon as well.

Some features available on line, but it's actually conceived as an app for Ipad and Android.

http://www.topspotsamsterdam.com/

http://www.topspotsrotterdam.com/

Monday - Amsterdam's 9 Straatjes

When you feel like doing a bit of shopping, have grown tired of all the usual chains populating the Dutch high streets and maybe are looking for something different, take a walk around the "9 straatjes" (= 9 little streets) in Amsterdam.

This cute-ish name defines an area comprising 9 blocks enclosed between the Singel and the Prinsengracht, dotted with small indipendent shops, cafes and vintage (too expensive to be called second-hand, that is) shops.

Even if you don't need (or want) to buy anything, a walk around and maybe a stop for a bite and a drink are still worthy, as the whole area has a nice village feeling to it and is away-from-the maddening-crowds that roam the Dam or the Red Light District.

http://www.de9straatjes.nl/uk/

As seen in a shop in one of the 9 straatjes.

Sunday - City of bikes: a book about a men who loves bikes

Quick post today as I am briefly away from my beloved laptop.

It's a book about someone who goes to Amsterdam to study the city's bike culture and ends up staying, writing a book about the bike culture in the process.

http://www.cityofbikes.com/

Saturday - Kwaku festival in the Bijlmer

This annual Festival in the Bijlmer is a celebration of this Amsterdam neighborhood music and culture and takes place over 4 weeks in the Bijlmerpark.

There are of course performances from several local and international bands and DJs,  but also a football tournament (considering the amount and skills of Dutch national players hailing from here, you're almost certain to see some excellent footie), debates (today for instance about the roles of fathers and mothers in kids' upbringing), literary awards and beauty contests.

The entrance is moderately priced at 2,5 euro and apart from the usual fries and kroket stalls, expect to find loads of delicious food from Suriname (bara being my own personal favourite), the Antilles and the Caribbean.

http://kwakufestival.nl/

Friday - Photocompetition: the men and the sea

You love taking picture and going to the beach but you are also get very annoyed about how people dump their rubbish all over the place?

Time to document the mess and havoc created by pollution on the marine ecosystem and have a chance to win a surfing class + the publication of your photo.

More information available on the website of the association Kust&Zee, a foundation that strives for a sustainable use of the sea and the coast.

http://www.kustenzee.nl/fotowedstrijd/index.htm

Thursday - Open air cinema at the Humanity House

Every Thursday till the end of August, at the Humanity House in Den Haag, open air film screening starting at 21.45.

Tonight: When we were kings, a documentary about the legendary Congo boxing match between Muhammed Ali and George Foreman in 1974.

Next week, Persepolis.

http://www.humanityhouse.org/en/museum-agenda/open-air-cinema-1

Wednesday - They see me rollin', they hatin' ....or nightskating in Rotterdam

Don your skates and join the crowd in Rotterdam for this year's first edition of the Wednesday Night Skate.

Every Wednesday evening until the 28 August, skating enthusiasts will get together and take over the streets of Rotterdam with a race around the city which includes a final jam (skating) session.

Picture me rollin'....

http://www.wednesdaynightskate.nl

Tuesday - Faces of Utrecht

Free exhibition running till the 28 July portraying Utrecht through its inhabitants.

According to the author, it's an anthropological study of the classical Utrecht's sense of humor and outlook on life.

http://www.stedelijkefotografie.nl/opdrachten.php?geheim=&id=32

Monday - FAST and curious

A bit of a follow up to yesterday's post.

The Surfers Village is actually called FAST, or Free Architecture Surf Terrain and it's a (seemingly random) concoction of buildings, containers, caravans, a theatre arena and in general, bits a pieces looking as if they have been washed ashore by the sea.

It's actually part of an architectural project, but the outlook contributes to giving a very pleasant feeling of anarchy and hippiness that you don't get too often in NL.

In summer especially, they have a programme packed with open air events: cinema, theatre, weekly parties, plus unplanned performances from passing and resident artists and DJs.

Bonfire and cold beer included. And yeah, if you cannot make it home on your legs, there's an hostel on the premises.

http://www.fastthehague.com/content.php?lng=2

Sunday - Waslijn: for swappers, not for swingers (and some beach football)

Today, in Scheveningen's Surfers Village (at the very end of the Northern beach, opposite the pier that marks the harbour's entrance and the Beach Stadium), starting at 14.00 join a very original Summer party offering you clothes swapping, poffertjes, BBQ and live music.

The clothes swap  is organised by the dynamic duo behind Waslijn and it roughly works like this: you rent a 5 euro "clothes hanging line", you bring your used-but-in excellent-condition clothes that for whatever reason you don't want to keep anymore and swap them with someone else's pre-loved ones that suits your current tastes (or size) better.

All the left over garments will be donated to a charity.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Waslijn/120896548079528?fref=ts

PS:  those not too keen on clothes who want to join the party a bit later, can check out the qualifications to the European Beach Soccer Championship in the Beach Stadium just across the road from the Surfers Village.

http://www.beachstadion.com/

https://www.facebook.com/KNVBBeachSoccer

Map of the area here:

http://goo.gl/maps/702ZX

Saturday - Plein Open free festival (The Hague)

The party never ends in the Dutch Summer and although this morning it doesn't look so promising, it should improve during the day and the evening.

In Den Haag's city center, from 13.00 to 23.00, today there's the Plein Open free open air festival, with a couple of podiums and loads of local bands scattered around the Spui, and indoor entertainment in several venues as well.

All  kind of music to cater to all kind of tastes and a bouncing castle to keep the kids entertained.

http://www.haagspopcentrum.nl/plein-open/

Not the Plein Open festival

Friday - Shadowplay (in the Mastbos in Brabant)

For those out there who dare complaining about these days' "heat" (it's called Summer to the rest of us) here's and idea.

Not far from Breda, easily reachable by bike from the station, there's a nice and leafy green spot called Mastbos, among the oldest of NL.

During the golden era of the Dutch naval superpower, the forest was used to harvest tall masts for military and commercial ships, hence the name which translates as "Mast Forest".

Today it has a purely recreational function, with walking and biking paths criss crossing varied landscapes, restaurants and loads of stuff to do for the kids, including a "follow the gnome" path and several wild playgrounds guaranteeing, already on the webpage, to get you all muddy and dirty.

Mastbos Breda

Thursday - The OV made me do it

I spotted this ad yesterday on my way back from Rotterdam airport.

Basically, by browsing the link mentioned on the poster, you get directed to a webpage packed with suggestions of place that can be explored and reached by public transport.

My pick of the crop? The XXXL painting exhibition currently hosted at the Submarine Wharf in Rotterdam.

http://www.hetovbrengtje.nl/

Wednesday - Spot the sculpture in Leiden

There's a lot of public art scattered around Dutch cities and Leiden is no exception.

Along the Nieuwe Rijn (the canal in the city center), where the market takes place on Saturdays, there's a bunch of statues representing different trades.

My favourite one is just across Leiden's equivalent of Ponte Vecchio, towards the City Hall: this obsequious gentlemen offering you some pretty fabric.

Tuesday - Virtually yours

If you have been to Den Haag recently you might have noticed, when you exit the station from the front, that the building at your right has been massivly renovated with the addition of a couple of high towers of offices and apartments.

On the ground floor there used to be a quite dated shopping center which has been redone too and soon will be hosting some new shops and concept stores.

However, if you cannot keep yourself and wait for the grand opening, you can already walk around it and make some virtual purchases.

On the shop fronts in fact, as a teaser of things to come, there are posters with special offers, products and arrangements that will be offered  when the shops open in September.

Just scan the barcode with your smart phone and the item you are coveting is practically already yours.

Virtual shopping wall

Monday - The water app

Keeping up with the theme of water.

On the page of this water utility, you can download an app with directions and live commentary for several walks in natural areas where drinking water is collected and preserved.

http://www.vitens.nl/overvitens/water/Paginas/Waterwandelingen.aspx

Sunday's Special - Guest post: Wadlopen in Friesland

Today: a guest post from my friend Ale who went wild and dirty up in Friesland.


A good idea for taking maximum advantage from those fantastic summer days it`s to enjoy a unique Dutch experience: wadlopen..... or more simply to get dirty while walking in the swamp trying to reach one of the Frisland islands. 

Of course, hope to get to your destination before the high tide catches you!

If you do not have any issues with getting mud on your legs and maybe higher, being wet for a few hours, losing your shoes in the swamp, crossing or swimming in the North sea and of course walking for more than 10 km, this experience is for you.

I did it last year from Holwerd to Ameland, 12 km and I can only recommend it: remarkable experience not only for Dutch people :o)

There are plenty of associations organizing those type of walk, all over the summer.

Below some useful links:

http://www.wadlopen.net/
http://www.wadloop-dijkstra.nl/
http://www.wadgids.nl/
http://wadlopen-pieterburen.nl/

Saturday - Tea time, me time

When I first read that in Boskop you can pluck and drink your own tea, I was a bit puzzled and slightly worried about the speed at which climate change is happening.

However it turned out that we are in fact talking about herbal teas and infusions.

Imagine a pretty botanical garden on a small green island, boats that get you to shadowy picnic spots under willows and an high tea in the green house (if it rains).

In brief, a perfectly reasonable to way to spend an afternoon...

http://www.pluktea.nl