Saturday - Full Moon Festival

Tonight in Tilburg, with all female DJs line up and the bonus of a good cause.

1 euro of every purchased ticket goes to "Because I am a girl", a charity supporting the financing of the education of underprivileged girls all over the world.

Good music + good cause = nice Saturday afternoon.

Ah yeah, as a bonus, it takes place in a park and  it's not going to rain tonight!

http://www.fullmoonfestivaltilburg.nl

Friday - I like Chopin

Classical concerts in Botanical Gardens, that's what the Hortus Festival is all about.

Tonight, Chopin in the Hortus Botanicus in Amsterdam.

The actual festival starts on the 17 July but these teasers are already quite tasty indeed...

http://www.hortusfestival.nl/

Thursday - Shop it like it's hot

Time to go wild and keep the Dutch economy turning during the Shopping Night in Den Haag, with a mega pimped up koopavaond and shops open untill midnight.

Catwalks on the Grotemarktstraat, goodie bags to be won, free magazines and make up re-touchs in the Haagse Bluf plus entertainment starting with B (don't ask...) on the Grote Markt.

Beware of pickpockets and the occasional Thursday evening street fight.

Wednesday - Little church in da hood

Pauluskerk is a church not far from Central Station in Rotterdam that has been controversial in the past for the very open minded and tolerant approach of its minister, especially towards drug addicts.

Now it may become controversial for its architecture, since this is how it looks like after renovation.

Although there are a lot of Rotterdam haters out there, I personally quite like the building and find it fits very well in the general redevelopment of the station area.

Tuesday - Warm comfort farm

Another cool thing about living in NL is that, even when you live in a city, the countryside is never too far away.

The Terp is a farm in Gelderland whose main activity is the production of organic pumpkins for supermarkets.  Those small round one that you have surely seen at the AH when the season comes.

Not only that: for 50 euro per year (+ admin costs) you can adopt one of their cows, get to see it twice per year chez the farm and get a 4 numbers of the newsletter magazine Koevoet (Cowfoot).

http://www.cvdeterp.nl/NL_home.asp

http://www.adopteereenkoe.nl/

Monday - Leiden open air poetry museum

While walking around Leiden you may chance upon a poem, sometimes written in Dutch, often in another language, painted on the side of a building.

They are part of a project started in 1992 and include a grand total of 101 poems scattered across the town.

Here's a list (in Dutch):

http://www.muurgedichten.nl/wandeling.html

Apparently, several other cities around the world followed Leiden's example and started similar projects too.

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

Sunday - Sail away, Sail away, Sail away

This is not the massive Sail event that takes place in Amsterdam every 5 years, however Den Helder being the HQ of the Dutch navy, one can expect it to be up to standard.

OK, although theoretically it is the second day of summer and sun and warmth would have been preferable when it comes to spending time at sea, it's probably still worth a visit, especially to see the large boat parade this afternoon.

As a British friend once told me: there's no bad weather, just wrong clothes.

http://www.saildenhelder.nl

Saturday - The National Day of Architecture

Great chance to see buildings and other constructions normally banned to public entrance today (and tomorrow too), since it's the National Day of Architecture.

In Utrecht, for instance, you can visit the part of the Central Station still under construction and see how the works are progressing, while in Rotterdam you can take a lift to the largest rooftop allotment in Europe and savour its produce at a pop up cafe' open today only.

The events are too  many to mention and widely spread all over the country and can accommodate the taste of lovers of both classical and contemporary architecture.

http://www.dagvandearchitectuur.nl/

Friday - Too sexy for your t-shirt?

According to the organisers, "it's all things fashion in Arnhem".

The fashion biennale in on in Arnhem, with catwalks, video, shows and a pop-up bazaar.

Then main exhibition explores the topic of fetishism in fashion, quite spot on in these days of Loboutins and Shades of Grey...

http://moba.nu

Thursday - Go! Kart!

There's an amount of indoor things in NL that in other, let's call them less meteorologically challenged, countries would be hosted outside: water parks, skiing slopes and...go kart circuits.

Especially in days like this, when according to weer.nl all hell is about to break loose, it's good to have a few entertainment options indoor.

I personally didn't dare trying ( I don't have a driving license and just the thought of sitting behind a steering wheel make me what to run away screaming and hide in a cupboard) but I have witnessed my friends doing it and they seemed to have an amazing time.

We have been to the karting track in Delft, but there are several others around NL.

In De Uithof, you can even chose between concrete and ice.

As for me, I will still settle for the comfortable seats of the bar and raise my beer to your racing skills...

http://www.raceplanet.com/karting/delft/619

http://www.deuithof.nl/

Wednesday - Ride the surrey with the fringe on top...

....just not in Oklahoma but in Gelderland, which might sound a bit underwhelming, but I am sure it's worth a try!

Fancy a horse cart ride, followed by a picnic and a thriller night show in which the audience becomes part of the play? Or a walk in an ancient forest and a bbq?

Then look no further than the Huifcarcentrum Bergh in Gelderland.

I got tipped on this one thanks to a brochure from Triodos bank, one of the ethical banks available in NL. It seems this is a project they are financing.

The main attraction of the place is clearly the cart riding, however it seems to be a quite family friendly place suitable for a nice day out in the nature and they (as well) are soon going to have a corn maze.

http://www.huifkarcentrum.nl/

And now let's sing along!

Tuesday - I love The Hague photo exhbition

Last opening week of this photo exhibition at The Hague Public Library on the Spui, featuring foreign born photographers taking pictures of their adoptive city.

Runs till 25th June.

In general, The Hague's Library is worth checking as there's always something going on (talks, exhibitions, live music shows) and has an extensive (and rentable), collection of DVDs and books in foreign languages.

http://www.matrixorange.nl/index.php/home/entry/opening-of-the-matrix-orange-photo-exhibition-u201ci-love-the-hagueu201d

Monday - This ain't no donkey business

When I though I have seen it all, I came across this mini camping and recreation area in Prinsenbeek (Brabant) offering, not only a seasonal themed corn maze, but also the chance to play golf on the back of a donkey.

No, really.

http://www.hofvanoverveld.nl/

Sunday - For whom the bell tolled

This bell in S. Joost church in Breda comes from a fire engine that was used in London during the Blitz.

Many of these vehicles were part of the convoys serving the Allied Army during the liberation of the southern part of the NL and after the war they were dumped in a military scrape yard nearby Breda.

A parishioner working there found it and donated it to the church.

Saturday - Rotterdam Unlimited Street Party

Rotterdam is a gigantic open air party venue this week and this weekend is going to be massive.

The programme is packed with parades, carnivals, samba dancers, battle of drums, fantastic food stalls and concerts.

Tonight at 20.30 Manu Chao is playing for free on the Hofdplein, but there are stages scattered all over the city all night long.

http://www.rotterdamunlimited.com

Friday - Come fly with me!

Today and Saturday the Royal Dutch Airforce will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a mega open day birthday bash on the Volkel aviation base.

Two days full of acrobatic flights (Red Arrows, Frecce Tricolori, Patrouille de France), aircraft displays and demonstrations, that would make any military-stuff nerd salivate with lust.

Free entrance and loads of stands to browse in-between the shows.

http://www.defensie.nl/luchtmachtdagen

Thursday - The bronze folks of Vollendaam

When you'll go to Vollendam to have your picture taken in a traditional costume, look out along the seaside's promenade for a series of statues representing local characters, such as this lovely fisherman's wife who must be in a million tourists' pictures.

The material of the statue is appropriate since from a walk around town it seemed to me that Vollendam's young residents have a penchant for the tanning salon (or maybe it's just all those hours spent at sea).

Wednesday - Follow the azalea path

The Clingendael park has several different beautiful natural spots, from manicured gardens to wild wood, but one in particular is worth a visit right now (and I mean it, next week it may already be too late).

Take the entrance on the Laan van Clingendael and you will already seen it on your right, starting from where they installed new bicycles parking racks.

It's a short path but the colours and the sweet perfume are worth going back and forth a couple of times. It's very quiet as well, especially during the week: the only people I met in half an hour were two octogenarians on mobility frames.

Tuesday - The groen light of Rotterdam

We stumbled upon this winkelcentrum-on-the-corner by chance while looking for a pizzeria in the area (about which more soon, btw) and what vgot my eye was the predominantly green color of the signs and the sleek and almost Scandinavian looking interiors.

Turns out it's the Groene Passage, an ethical and organic shopping arcade, with an organic butcher and supermarket, a fair trade shop, a bookshop and a social center organising meetings and courses.

There's a cafe too, serving vegetarian and organic food sold by weight (of the food, not the customer's, thankfully!) to eat on the spot or to take away.

http://www.degroenepassage.nl

Monday - Leiden's cabinet of curiosities

In Leiden, next to the Pilgrims' Museum, there's an antique shop that should actually be a museum in itself.

Unassuming from the outside, once in, you get through room after room after courtyard of the most amazing combination of antiques, bizarre and junk I have seen in a long time.

On the Nieuwstraat, opposite the church, next door to the museum.