Monday - Les vacances de Monseur Tati

Jacques Tati's six films have been digitally restored and are now touring the Dutch cinemas.

From August till December, the works of this great French comical writer, director and actor, will be shown in several cities, on different dates during an itinerant film festival.

Today for instance, apart from the daily Jour de Fete show in the Amsterdam's EYE, there will be a screening of Parade in Maastricht, Mon Oncle in Haarlem and Trafic in Gouda.

http://www.eyefilm.nl/tati-tour

Sunday - Home made market

For people in The Hague and beyond: today in the Zeehelderkartier it's all fun, games, arts and crafts at the Homemade market.

Food, drinks, pretty things, clothes and more, mostly made by local people and craft enthusiasts.

Starts at 10.00 and ends at 17.00.

Pretty flower pot, little maintenance required.

Saturday - Jazz in the Gracht

I realised that I get to talk twice about the canals of The Hague this week but I promise that I do not have any covered interest in their exploitation as a tourist attraction.

I got this tip from a friend of a friend and she was (convincingly) enthusiastic on the event.

On a barge on the Dunne Bierkade (Narrow-Beer-Shore) several bands will alternate all afternoon long up till 23.00 for some jazzy classics and jam sessions.

As a bonus (for some): beer and bitterballen available in the area.

http://www.jazzindegracht.nl/index.html

Friday - New cultural season opens in Amsterdam, with a massive festival

If you want to know what Amsterdam's new cultural season will bring, don't miss this weekend's Uitmarkt: the info market for the culture vultures.

Cinema, theatre, classical music, jazz, pop, library, lectures, classes, workshops, museum...you name it: you can sample a bit of all these around Leidseplein and Museumplein and wet your cultural appetite.

http://www.uitmarkt.nl/english

Thursday - National Restaurant Week

Restaurant week is back. Yay!

Till the 5th September, dozens of restaurants of all sorts, all over the country, will offer a special 3-course lunch (22.50 euro) or dinner (27.50 euro) when you book through the National Restaurant Week website.

Although some of the most prized one are fully booked for dinner, you may still be able to get a table for lunch.

http://www.restaurantweek.nl/lang/en

Wednesday - Boat tour on the Haagse canals

I am always happy to get suggestions from friends and colleagues: today it's Nora's turn to give her tip.

She has her family over and the other day they went for a boat trip along The Hague's canals.

Less famous and celebrated that their Amsterdam and Delft's "cousins", they are nevertheless a fun way to explore the city.

The tour lasts 90 minutes and departs several times a day and if you are really a boat tour fan, the same company also offers boat trips on other canals and rivers of the region.

http://www.rondvaartdenhaag.nl/

Tuesday - Urban Camp Site

Always wanted to sleep in a box hanging from a tree, inside a former polyester silo, in a massive sperm-cell-shaped-pod or in a cupboard?

Well now your dream may come true: the Urban Campsite temporarily hosted at the Vliegenbos in Amsterdam, offers a weird and wonderful selection of bizarre art objects in which you can spend the night.

Prices vary according (presumably) to the comfort level and the site is open till 30 September.

In one of the available art pieces/sleeping devices, the artist will tell you fairy tales so that you sleep better.

http://urbancampsiteamsterdam.com/index_en.html

Good ol' camping days...

Monday - The grapes of Den Hoorn

As amazing as it may seem, it`s actually possible to eat grape locally produced in NL.

In a small, biodynamic greenhouse of Midden-Delfland, a husband and wife team grows several varieties of table grapes.

Although they are behind glasses to protect them from bad weather, the grapes grow according to their natural rhythm, influenced by the weather outside.

I would think that, since this year we are having it so good weather-wise, the harvest will be closer to September then October.

They are open for guided tours for groups from 10 people up, with the chance to savour their juicy products, combined with those of nearby farms.

The shop is open from August till November and there's an open day on the second weekend of September.

http://druivenkwekerij.nl/

Grapes in Samatorca, near Trieste (not NL).

Sunday's Special - Guest post: Apenheul Apeldoorn

Ale writes:

Monkeys, apes, orang-utans, chimps, squirrel monkeys, gorillas...you will find all those and even more in Apenheul, a triking primate park for children and grown-ups. A lot of them are roaming free in the park and some aver very curious and will play with visitors :o)

It's nice to watch their behaviours towards food, their facial expressions, reactions to visitors, the interaction among them and finally to realise how close to them we are:....veeeeery much!

A good idea for a nice day trip!

http://www.apenheul.com/

Saturday - Kitesurf school

I saw this ad of a kite surfing school in Scheveningen and I thought I'd share.

I suppose that with all the wind that there's here in Den Haag, the beach must be a real kite surfers paradise.

Nothing for me, but my boyfriend tried once and had a great time, although he could barely move the following day.

http://kitesurfschoolscheveningen.nl/

Friday - Stedelijk Museum Den Bosch

Apart from being the birth cradle of the bossche bollen, Den Bosch is a nice place to visit also because of its Stedelijk Museum.

Contemporary art from the Netherlands and beyond, with some pieces from one of my latest personal pleasant art discoveries, Karel Appel, and the possibility of voting on line for your favourite item in the collection, it also offers loads of practical art experiences and live performances for the coming months.

http://www.sm-s.nl

Thursday - Hear the Call of the Mall, in Utrecht

After Schiphol airport, the first bit of NL I experienced on my first day in Utrecht when I moved here many years ago, has been the Hoog Catharijne shopping mall.

Far from being horrified by it (after all, I do love shopping and ugly concrete buildings) I have developed an affection for the ugly brutalist monster: let's not forget this is where I saw my first ever snack-bar wall.

"Call of the Mall" is an ongoing exhibition of contemporary art pieces, installations and videos disseminated inside and outside the shopping area, including the car park, exploring the relation between men, the consumerism society and its public spaces.

For free and on till the 22 September.

http://www.callofthemall.nl/en/home/

Wednesday - At trip to Texel

A nice colleague of mine is planning to spend the weekend in Texel , so I got inspired and wrote down a couple of things that can be done while on the island.

Well, first thing first, enjoy the boat trip from Den Helder but be careful about eating your lunch on the deck: the sea gulls can be as aggressive and fearless as those on Scheveningen's promenade and snatch your broodje in a matter of seconds, the bastards.

Ditch the car at the hotel or at a parking near one of the villages and get a bike: this way you can get to the best, wildest beaches and enjoy the lovely weather forecasted for the weekend.

Don't forget to bike to (and visit) the famous red lighthouse: 153 steps and an amazing view await you.

Then, one should head for the pub and sample a glass of the local Texel beer: it's also available at the supermarkets (including the AH) and it makes for a nice souvenir.

For actual (but also grown up) kids, one particularly nice attraction is the Ecomare, the marine wildlife park where you can see the seals and sea-lions, two small porpoise and loads of sea life typical of the Wadden islands and North Sea.

To sum up: bring your swimsuit, don your flip flops, smother yourself in sunscreen and enjoy!

http://www.texel.net/en/

http://www.ecomare.nl

http://www.speciaalbier.com/texels-bier.html

http://wikitravel.org/nl/Texel

Tuesday - Towering Toblerone

If you have ever been around what's now called The Hague International Area, you might have noticed, behind the World Forum, a curious building shaped as a massive vertical Toblerone box.

That's the Toren van Oud, from the name of the father and son architect duo who designed it in the 60s. When it was inaugurated in 1969 it was Den Haag's first skyscraper.

Originally thought as an hotel, it then become an offices and apartment building and now it stands sad, empty and surrounded by newly built HQs of international organisations.

A workshop (including a guided tour) to discuss the future of the building and its role in the developing "Peace and Justice" neighbourhood, will be held tomorrow, in the garden of the Geemente Museum.

http://www.statenkwartier.net/workshop-mens-omgeving-21-augustus-2013/

http://taak.me/?nk_project=toren-vraagt-aandacht

http://taak.me/?nk_project=tower-jam-sessions

Monday - Fun Forest climbing park

A couple of weeks ago we had an (unexpected - a friend's car broke down - yet very nice) little trip to the Ruhr area in Germany.

Nearby Europe's tallest gasometer, now converted into an art and exhibition space, there was a tree climbing park, with loads of suspended bridges, hanging wooden structures and rope ladders and it looked like amazing fun!

So we looked it up and discovered that you can try the same in NL too, in four different locations (Amsterdam, Almere, Rotterdam and Venlo).

Release your inner Tarzan and Jane (but with all safety requirements in place): giggles and gasps guaranteed!

http://www.funforest.nl/

Sunday - Antique market in The Hague (come rain or shine)

You are a fan of Antique Roadshow and an insatiable collector of weird and wonderful souvenirs? Or a second-hand book connoisseur?  Or just a hoarder with a passion for little trinkets?

Then head to the Lange Voorhout in Den Haag and check the weekly "Antique and second-hand books market".

It runs every Sunday till mid September and will give you chance to check the Russian sculpture exhibition as well.

http://www.denhaag.nl/home/bewoners/to/Antiek-en-boekenmarkt.htm

A print spotted at the Antique market.

Saturday - The Kroller Muller Museum

This museum in the middle of the Hoge Veluwe National Park, never overcrowded, allows visitors to enjoy the paintings without having to elbow their way to the front.

The Van Goghs are plentiful and cover a wide period of the artist's lifetime, so you will have the chance to marvel at the 'Potato eaters' in all their glumness for as long as you wish.

Check out the paintings from other Dutch artists like Jan and Charlie Toorop plus several pieces from international artists, including the modern art equivalent of H&M: Picasso.

The museum would be perfect enough as such, however there's much more to discover in the surrounding Sculpture Garden.

In the midst of a beautiful park, massive sculptures pop up unexpectedly from behind hydrangea bushes and in-between the trees.

For the smaller pieces, mainly bronzes, there are 2 open air pavilions.

My personal favourite: the massive, labyrinthine and accessible Jardin d'email (enamel garden) from Dubuffet.

http://www.kmm.nl/?lang=en

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kr%C3%B6ller-M%C3%BCller_Museum#Sculpture_Park

Friday - Scheveningen Firework Festival

Apart from dogs, passing birds and grumpy people, everyone loves a good firework display... just ask Guy Fawkes!

The International Firework Competitions starts today at 21.45 and will delight onlookers for the next 2 weekends till the 24 August.

If you plan to go by car get there early as it's normally packed, no matter the weather.

http://www.vuurwerkscheveningen.com/

Thursday - Karma Chameleon (in Almere)

Almere is one of the new towns built on the land that has been reclaimed from the Ijmeer after WWII.

Loathed by many for its lack of traditional Old Dutch gezelligheid, it features however several contemporary buildings that are worth visiting (and make good photo material).

One of these is an office complex called La Defense.

The specificity of it is that while the exterior blends in with the other surrounding buildings, the internal courtyard hides a surprise: the walls are made of glass panels covered in light-reflecting foil, changing colours throughout the day according to the sun's position and angle.

The result is an ever-changing, spectacular opalescent façade.

http://www.unstudio.com/projects/la-defense-offices

Wednesday - Guided tours at castle Hoensbroek

I mentioned this castle in a post sometime ago, as they were hosting a mock-tournament, complete with horses and pikes.

During the summer, on Wednesday afternoons, they also offer guided tours through the highlights of the castle, explaining how the life of the castellan and his family and knights (and minions) used to be.

Recommended for medieval history enthusiasts, children and GoT fans


http://kasteelhoensbroek.nl/evenement/kasteel-hoensbroek-binnenstebuiten

Kasteel Hoensbroek.
Ok it's not. It's Winterfell, from Game of Thrones.