Minibieb: book crossing cabinets taking over the country

I had seen some of these small, nicely decorated boxes while driving or biking around.

Lately one appeared in the neighborhood so I had the chance to examine it close by and discovered that it's a book crossing experiment!

The Minibieb is basically a small library where residents can borrow books for free and leave the ones they enjoyed for other people to read.

It could be "managed" by someone living nearby, who decides to paint an old cupboard and stock it up with old books, it can be a group of neighbours with a passion for reading or schoolchildren and their teachers from a nearby school. Anything goes really.

Each cabinet also contains a notebook where people can note down what they borrowed and when, what they liked and what they would like to read.

It's also a great way for cash strapped foreign students or recent immigrants to practice their Dutch in a social an inexpensive way.

More info and how to sign up here:

http://minibieb.nl/

The bombing of The Hague, March 1945

Many people are well aware that Rotterdam suffered a terrible bombing at the beginning of WWII, that left the city almost completely destroyed.

Not so many people are aware that a part of The Hague was also destroyed, this time by Allied Forces' bombs.

On the 3 March 1945, 67.000 kilos of explosive were dropped on the Bezuidenhout, killing more than 500 people and leaving 12.000 people homeless.

The English planes were aiming for German rockets, which according to their intelligence were hidden in the Haagse Bos, but due to miscalculation and possibly adverse meteorological conditions, they hit the (already then) lively neighborhood.

The residents' committee and the City of The Hague have recently inaugurated an historical path complete with explanatory boards that takes walkers through the neighborhood and the woods, with before and after pictures and extra bits of history about the area, from its first developments in the 18th century till becoming the popular area it is nowadays.

More information and a list of related events planned for the month of March, here (in Dutch):

http://bezuidenhout.nl/index.asp

One of the panels with before/after pictures. 

A de-wine accommodation in Friesland

There's an hotel in Stavoren, a town on the "Friesland side" of the Ijsselmeer, that offers its customers a very unusual sleeping accommodation.

Four of their rooms have been "carved" out from giant 14.500-liter capacity Swiss wine casks.

The room comes with two beds, bathroom and small lounge but sadly no wine tasting facilities.

Not recommended for those doing a Dry January... and not just because of the weather.

http://www.hotel-vrouwevanstavoren.nl/engels/indexengels.htm

Copyright: Ocholeguas.com

Molen de Valk: a day in the life of a miller

While lazily driving around on side roads one Saturday afternoon, we ended up in Moontfort, saw a working windmill and decided to give a look.

The Molen De Valk was built in 1753 but fell in disrepair after the Second World War.
It was later transformed into a house (you can see still some remaining plaster where the shower used to be, on the first floor) and was eventually converted back to a proper mill into the Noughties. It's milling flour again since 2009

Before the War there were 27.000 working windmills in the provinces of Utrecht and South-Holland alone, while now there are about just 600 in the whole country.

Once inside, we got a wonderful (plus free and unexpected) guided tour from Hein, one of the volunteer millers.

A cheerful and very knowledgeable fellow, he informed us that although he does love his wife, the true passion of his life is the Windmill.

Pun asides, he also explained all the mechanisms and intricacies of the grinding and milling processes, the different kind of flours and the meaning of the different positions of the sails. When the wind is good, the mill can produce up to 250 kilos of flour per hour!

Lovely ladies tend the quaint shop on the first floor, which sells a vast range of flours, cake and cookie mixes and jams.

All in all a great experience and throughout recommendable, especially since then on Sunday morning we got to make pannekoeken with the freshly milled flour mix.

They are open on Saturdays only and the tours are given in Dutch.

This is the link to the website, with opening times, history, overview on products and info on own to become a "Vriend van de Molen de Valk"

http://www.molendevalk.nl/

A windmill to top them all!

(Ok, there's nothing more stereotypical that suggesting to visit some windmills while in Holland, but these are special, I promise!)

Although Schiedam is well known for its historical connection with the production of jenever, the most striking feature of this small town north of Rotterdam are certainly the windmills, and that's because they are the tallest in the world.

Of the town's 20 original windmills only 6 survive: they are spectacularly tall (up to 40 meters) and are kept in excellent conditions.

One of them was actually built in 2006 and it generates energy for the Nolet distillery, the makers of Ketel One vodka, very popular in the US I am told.

Another one, the Walwisch, hosts a shop selling several kind of flours and other baking products: a good excuse to give a look inside and bring home something lekker!

Blog post with detailed info on the windmills:

http://armchairtravelogue.blogspot.nl/2009/04/worlds-tallest-windmills-schiedam.html

Windmill and flour shop De Walwisch:

http://www.molendewalvisch.nl

Lucifers: the new frontier of the oranje snacks.

While waiting for my patat met on Saturday during Vlaggetjesdag, I spotted these newcomers in Henk's Patat display: "New" the seller told me "with a spicy top. They are called Lucifers".

So I looked them up and, apart from finding out that they are kipcorn, meaning chicken covered in cornflakes and deep fried, with a very spicy head, I also discovered this amazing website, dealing in all things snacks.

http://www.snack-nieuws.nl/

Especially handy at 4.00 AM on Sunday, when you are biking home after a tough night out and trying to make your (fuzzy) mind up between a  ham en kaassouffle and a broodje speklap speciaal.

Jutters Mu-ZEE-um: the museum of the sea shore

In Zaandvoort ann Zee there's a man, Victor Bol, with the passion for collecting stuff that have been washed up on the beach at the popular Dutch sea resort.

Bottle caps, nets, lifelines, plastic dolls, buoys, shoes and even a piece of rocket belonging to NASA, all kind of things can be found in this fascinating collection of human debris.

Open on Wednesdays and in the weekend, they can also teach how to create and successfully launch a message in a bottle...

One man's rubbish is another man museum collection.

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

Not in the collection.

King of my castles: some Dutch castles open to the public

Inspired by a feature on the NS magazine, here's a recap of the Dutch royal palaces and other castles open to the public:

Paleis Het Loo, in Apeldoorn, founded by William III and Mary Stuart, which among many other things were also keen amateur botanists and imported flowers and plants from all over the world.

http://www.paleishetloo.nl/en/

Paleis Soestdijk, where Juliana and her controversial husband Bernhard used to live: it has a formal English garden, Wilhelmina's Childhood playhouse and a cafe inside the former Orangerie.

Also, from the end of April till the end of August, it displays giant painted apples with portraits of the Dutch Royal family. Bizarre surely, but certainly original...

https://www.paleissoestdijk.nl/welkom-.html

The Koninklijk Paleis on the Dam in Amsterdam, currently being used by Willem Alexander to receive guests, offers an audio guided tour with a voice-over provided by the former mayor of Amsterdam, Job Cohen. Apart from that there are also interesting paintings and art pieces...

http://www.paleisamsterdam.nl/en

The ruin of Kasteel Valkenburg looks also pretty impressive, with some romantic spots and a XVIII century chapel. as a bonus it's on the top a hill, always cause of amazement in the flat country.

http://www.de-la-ruine.nl/

All the castles are on the Royal route.

The cult of Yakult

If, like me, you are an aficionado of the look behind the scenes, the factory tour, the "How it's made" show on Discovery Channel, then you are going to love this.

Only for the readers of the AH Magazine (AllerHande - get a copy in one of the 25 AH supermarkets in close proximity of your house), Yakult offers a guided tour of their plant in Almere.

Now, I am not that a particularly big fan of these kind of miracle drinks, however it has to be said that apart from the tour, samples tasting and a goodie bag, you also get a Japanese lunch, so it's totally worth it!

Several dates available in April and May.

With some luck, you might get a lunch like this

Have an hipster Valentine!

We are not big Valentine people Mr Thingstodoinholland and I, so I do not have any suggestion for a conventionally romantic date.

I do have some places in mind that can become ironically romantic, if you visit them with the right person (i.e. anyone with a bit of sense of humor)...anyway, here they come:

- the harbour of Rotterdam. That's where we actually went on our second date.
Blade runner-esque neon lights, fumes and fires, secluded beaches just reclaimed from the sea, wild rabbits and nobody around but eager surfers and fishermen. Bring a takeaway and share it with your beau while looking at the sunset from the car;

- the La Place on the top of the V&D in Utrecht, as mentioned here. Get the dish of the day and a strawberry smootie with 2 straws and gaze dreamingly into each other eyes and over Utrecht's Domtoren and roofs;

- the EYE in Amsterdam, for some quality cinema followed by steamy cappuccino or dinner in the cafe overlooking the hustle and bustle of the Ij. (http://www.eyefilm.nl/)

- in The Hague,  go to the VaVoom on the Grote Markt and toast the night away while sipping Dark&Stormies and Porn Star Martinis (http://www.gmdh.nl/vavoom/)

Whatever you opt for, enjoy your weekend!

Sadly, these teddy bears bouquets are only available in Japan...

Shoes glorious shoes

According to an unspecified British women magazine 81% of the readers prefer buying shoes to sex.

This just proves that women's magazines contain a load of bollocks.

Nevertheless, I do like shoes, own a substantial amount of them and know a lot of people, boys and girls, who also love them.

The Kunsthal in Rotterdam hosts an exhibition about shoes, from the 1900 onwards, with hundreds of them from Victorian boots to contemporary stripper heels.

At the same time, the Rotterdam's Uitburo launched a call for pictures of your fav shoes through their FB or Instagram pages. The best ones win tickets to see the exhibition.

http://www.kunsthal.nl/en-22-732-SHOES.html

The little church in the praire

If you have ever been by metro from The Hague to Rotterdam, soon after Leidschenveen's stop, you will notice on the left an incongruous little hill surmounted by a white, equally little church.

The other day we finally went there by car to give a closer look and discovered in fact that the church is locked and is a piece of monumental art, built in what is, in fact, a pile of old rubbish.

It's called the Terp van Ledschenveen and to get there, just drive to the end of Vrouw Avenweg.

http://www.architectuurgids.nl/project/list_projects_of_typeofbuilding/typ_id/27/prj_id/3186

Portrait of a King

There has been a call for artists to submit possible official portraits of Willem Alexander, 12 were shortlisted and 3 were eventually chosen. Among them a photo of some other guy who's being a stand in for the King.

People can judge by themselves at the Rijkmuseum, where all the submission are on view till April, together with countless other portraits of Dutch Kings and Queens of the past.

https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/nl/een-nieuwe-koning-een-nieuw-portret

Not one of the submission. Also, copyrighted.

The Lord of the Ring ... hood

Just found this out on "How to Dutch": in North Brabant's Geldrop where the streets of a whole neighborhood are called after characters from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.

It looks like a fairly new development, but I couldn't find anywhere any explanation on why the town administrators decided to call the roads  like this. I just guess that someone at the planning department is a big Tolkien's fan.

So people can live on Gandalf, Frodo, Saruman and of course, Aragorn. 

Personally, I wouldn't mind living on Legolas.

http://tolkien-inspiration.blogspot.nl/2012/03/geldrop-curious-way-of-tribute.html

Writers Unlimited, The Hague

The must-go appointment for literature lovers in the NL, Writers Unlimited starts today in The Hague.

Tickets are still available and although I always think that these events are always a bit too expensive to become really mainstream, some of the writers enlisted are really worth seeing.

There's Ian Buruma, for instance, the Dutch-British journalist and writer, whose area of interest range from the causes and aftermath of the killing of Theo Van Gogh to the history of modern Japan. He just wrote a very interesting book about 1945. See its NYT review here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/books/review/year-zero-by-ian-buruma.html?_r=0

Then there's Amin Maalouf, Lebanese writer and member of the Academie Francaise, who will give a lecture tomorrow evening and will be interviewed on stage on Saturday.

I also like Geert Mak very much, especially his travel book and TV series In Europa. Old episodes can be seens here:

http://www.uitzendinggemist.nl/programmas/3350-in-europa

Indeed a full programme and an ideal indoor activity, also given the sad sad weather.

Link to the festival's website (in English):

http://www.winternachten.nl/winternachten/aeditieopening.php?editie=10094&taal=engels

Happy 2014! - New year, new blog.

And....we're back!

You might have already noticed the slightly different background, which is a collage of the pictures used in last year posts and the slightly different title.

The updates will be regular and plentiful however it's very hard to guarantee daily ones: unfortunately I have a job (meaning that it would be nicer to just win the lottery and go traveling the world, not that I am ungrateful for the fact that I do have a job) and (at times) an hectic life and a daily post proved to be sometimes quite a challenge.

There are nevertheless gazillions of things to do in Holland and I am quite determined to uncover them  for you, lovely readers, and duly report them.

For more updates and tips, keep checking also the Facebook and Pinterest pages.

Season's greetings

This blog goes on holidays and wishes you all a wonderful time during this festive season.

We will be back mid-january with a new format and plenty of new ideas on ... Things to do in Holland.

Tot ziens!

Monday - Winter table parade

You know the Parades in summer, those sort of high brow fun fairs with theatre acts, music and dance performances taking place in circus-like settings?

This is the winter version, only that the artists will performing on the top of a 120-meter long table at which you will be sitting and enjoying a drink.

www.tafelvanidee.nl

Sunday - Fairytales in Den Haar's castle

Den Haag castle is a wonderful fairytale like castle just outside Utrecht.

During the Christmas holidays, it comes alive with its ancient inhabitants and their fabolous fantasy lives.

Sprookjes van Den Haag is open till the 5 January, including  on Christmas and Boxing days: the perfect treat for kids who have it all!

www.kasteeldenhaar.nl

Saturday - Natural beauty in Groningen

Natural beauty is not just the topic of the popular BBC show "Snog, Marry or Avoid".

It's also the main theme of an ongoing exhibition in the Groninger Museum, showcasing the never seen before collection of a German art enthusiast.

Mr Rau managed to collect more than 800 pieces covering 500 years of Western art history: Sisley, Monet and Morandi among the others.

Possibly to be combined with some Christmas shopping in Groningen...

http://www.groningermuseum.nl/en/exhibition/natural-beauty-%E2%80%93-fra-angelico-monet