The EU recently decided they’ve had enough of slimy airline prices, so they want to make air passengers’ lives easier — starting with the abolition of carry-on luggage fees.
Who is tired of literally sitting on their suitcase to try and stuff all their belongings into a check-in bag and avoid the hassle of splurging on a carry-on? 🙋♀️
Well, you’re in luck! The European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions recently arrived at a new resolution: to get airlines to stop charging for carry-on luggage, Euronews reports.
What does “travelling light” mean exactly?
Overall, the EU is looking to ‘simplify’ the cost of airplane tickets — which means scrapping those pesky additional carry-on prices. 🧳
The new resolution also calls for clarification when it comes to sizing limits of carry-on baggage. The inconsistency of what a “reasonable” weight and size is different across airlines and often leaves passengers scratching their heads in confusion. 🥴
It also doesn’t help that airlines often demand extra fees at the boarding gate from those who unknowingly overpacked. 😬
Airlines are playing dirty
Airlines have also een accused of manipulating information about the additional costs of seat allocation and flight timing, for instance.
In fact, Spanish MEP Jordi Cañas points out that low-budget airlines stealthily avoid revealing the extra costs of “carrying cabin baggage until the end of the purchase” to convince customers that it’s actually a bargain.
On the whole, the EU is looking to call out airlines for their sly deception of consumers and put a stop to their sneaky antics once and for all. We couldn’t be more on board! ✈️
What do you think of this new resolution made by the European Parliament’s Committee on Petitions? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
The time has finally come. The merger between Thalys and Eurostar, announced back in 2019, is becoming clear to passengers since the official name of these iconic trains changed this weekend.
Starting Saturday, September 30, the Thalys website and app were replaced, and train tickets must now be bought at Eurostar.com, according to the AD. But in a less ceremonious process, the trains won’t change immediately.
The red and silver trains will still be around for a bit because, according to Eurostar spokesperson Nicolas Petteau, repainting everything to be Eurostar colours is too expensive. (Classic.)
Making travel easier
Eurostar and Thalys announced a merger back in 2019, and it’s finally coming into action.
Both companies (well now, the one company, Eurostar) said it’s easier for passengers to travel with one provider, one website, and one ticket system. This will also allegedly make train connections smoother because it’s all done by the same company.
We will see what actually happens because who hasn’t been left stranded in a desolate train station at 4 AM because of a delayed connection? No one? Just us?
If you’re wondering why ‘Eurostar’ was chosen instead of ‘Thalys’, the answer is simple: just because Eurostar is more well-known outside of Europe. Makes sense.
So, what now?
If you’ve bought a train ticket with Thalys and start to panic that the ticket is now worth nothing, don’t worry: Thalys tickets are automatically transferred to the Eurostar website. Phew!
The main thing to be on alert for is what your train looks like. If your train ticket says “Eurostar”, but a red train pulls up, that could still be your train.
Tickets that were purchased with Thalys will specify that your train colour is red to make things easier for you.
I have seen multiple versions, such as ‘London Eurostar’ and ‘Continental Eurostar’.
On October 1, the small village of Putten in Gelderland remembers a painful day from its past. Every year, on October 2, this dark day in Dutch history is brought to the mind of locals.
On the first day of October 1944, almost all the working men from the village (659 of them) were taken and sent to concentration camps by Nazi troops. Only 48 of them returned alive to their home in Putten.
Why did Nazi troops raid the village of Putten?
Nothing can ever be reason enough to do what Nazi officers did in Putten — or anywhere else. Fuelled with hate and cruelty, the Nazis were retaliating against the people of the village because members of the Dutch resistance orchestrated an attack against them.
The attack happened the night of September 30 to October 1, 1944, when a car carrying two Nazi officers (Leutnant Otto Sommer and Oberleutnant Eggart) and two corporals was shot at on the Oldenaller bridge. The corporals got away. Eggart was captured by the resistance fighters but was later let go. Sommer also managed to get away but succumbed to injuries the next day. However, that was only after he’d had a chance to raise the alarm.
Friedrich Christiansen, the Captain-at-Sea, gave the command, and the troops marched to the village. They separated the men from their families, and any man between the ages of 18 and 50 was sent to the concentration camp at Amersfoort. There, they released 59 men from the group who were unfit for work.
The others were taken as forced labour to the Neuengamme concentration camp. In transit, 13 men jumped off the train while they were being transported there. After the war ended, only 48 of them returned home to Putten.
Remembering the Putten raid victims
If you visit present-day Putten, you can take a tour of the various sites that commemorate those lost in the raid. Here are the most important monuments and memorial sites which make sure the Netherlands never forgets what this small town went through.
The silent commemoration
Every year, the city takes on a sombre overtone, with shops closing down earlier than usual. Hundreds of people come together in front of the “Het Vrouwtje van Putten” statue and lay down wreaths for their men.
During the silent commemoration, there are no speeches expressing sadness and no words of comfort for the families who lost someone. Instead, they sing Psalm 84, the same psalm the men were singing when they were taken away.
‘Het Vrouwtje van Putten’ statue and memorial garden
Also known as “the Little Woman of Putten”, the statue was built by Mari Andriessen to signify the pain and loss the families felt when all the men were rounded up in the village’s square.
The little woman of Putten, looking towards Oude Kerk. Image: HenkvD/Wikimedia Commons/CC4.0
She is positioned so that she’s looking in the direction of Oude Kerk (Old Church), the place from where they were taken. She wears a traditional dress and holds a handkerchief.
There’s also a memorial garden in front of her. The hedges are grown so that they make 660 memorial graves — one for each of the men who were forcefully taken from the village.
Memorial stone at Oude Kerk
While the men were held separately in the primary school near the village square, the women and children of Putten were held in Oude Kerk.
When they realised that it was getting overcrowded in the school, the women and children were sent home, and some of the men were kept in the church. This is also where the Little Woman of Putten is looking, as it marks the spot from where the men were taken.
A memorial stone was erected in 1947 at the church that reads: “From here they were taken”.
A monument was also erected to remind residents and visitors of the place where the attack occurred on the Oldenaller Bridge. It’s at Waterweg, 3882 RR, Putten, for anyone who wants to come and pay their respects to the people lost to the raid.
The text on the monument reads: “Near this bridge, the attack took place that led to the raid of Putten on the 1st and the 2nd of October, 1944”.
In addition, there’s a memorial centre run by Foundation October ’44 in the centre of the town. Here, you can learn all about the raid, the details of what happened that night, and the aftermath. They also organise a silent commemoration every year.
You can learn the names of the men lost during the raid, and the foundation has done an excellent job of maintaining easily accessible documentation of each of them on its website.
Why is it so important to maintain this information online when archiving? We have easily accessible information about the Nazis who gave the command. We even have some information about the Dutch resistance fighters who carried out the attack.
Overall, 659 men were taken, 59 were let go, 13 escaped, and only 48 returned. The pain and suffering of their deaths cannot possibly be summed up with just those mere numbers.
The memorial centre. Image: FaceMePLS/Wikimedia Commons/CC2.0
What about 25-year-old Drees Alten, who was arrested along with his soon-to-be father-in-law, Marinus Simon, despite trying to hide from Nazi troops in a garden?
Or 41-year-old Willem Frederik Joseph Hendrik Adolfs, who was a painter and made a self-portrait at Camp Amersfoort? Learning their personal stories is an important part of keeping their memory alive.
Did you already know about the raid of Putten? Have you been to any of the memorials? Tell us in the comments below!
It might officially be autumn in the Netherlands, but the warm summer weather hasn’t exactly turned over a new leaf…
Many of us in the lowlands are more than ready to ditch bathing suits and start thinking about Halloween costumes.
But for folks in certain areas of the Netherlands, summer still seems to be blazing, which, considering it’s already October, is unusual, Weerplaza reports. 🤨
Feeling hot, hot hot
This afternoon, hefty temperatures of 26 degrees Celsius are possible in Limburg, as well as east of Limburg in the Ruhr area, which is forecasted at up to 27-28 degrees.
Not only that, but citizens of the Wadden should consider lathering on some SPF; their region will be about 20 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, the centre and east of the Netherlands will crank up to 22 to 24 degrees.
Tomorrow is a new day
As for what tomorrow will bring, a “so-called cold front” is set to blow in from the west tonight.
As this happens, warmer air will glide towards the southwest at a higher altitude — especially for the southeastern part of the country, which will experience no less than 19 degrees on Tuesday morning.
🌡 Maandag wordt in het zuiden één van de warmste oktoberdagen sinds jaren! Limburg kan lokaal aan 27° komen en net over de grens is zelfs 28° mogelijk. Ook de nacht naar dinsdag is daar opvallend warm met lokaal minima rond 20 graden. Daarna volgt een koufront met afkoeling 🌦 pic.twitter.com/58Kb2mQLTL
Translation: “🌡 Monday will be one of the warmest October days in years in the south! Limburg can reach 27° locally, and just across the border, even 28° is possible. The night leading up to Tuesday is also remarkably warm there, with local lows around 20 degrees. This is followed by a cold front with cooling. 🌦”
While the cold front might feature some local thunderstorms, the “heat advection” means things are heating up in the middle of the night, and Limburg will likely wake up to 20-22 degrees tomorrow. Not exactly a Nuclear autumn.
Still, on Tuesday during the day, mercury is predicted to settle at a more reasonable range of 17 to 19 degrees Celsius.
Sun-day could be 25 degrees ☀️
What does the future of the week have in store for us? Apparently, the bout of Indian summer will remain sturdy and return later this week.
On Wednesday and Thursday, temperatures will hover at 17 degrees in the north and 20 degrees in the Netherlands’ southern provinces.
Friday, on the other hand, will creep up to between 18 and 22 degrees Celsius before getting upstaged by Sunday, where regionally, there is a chance of 25-degree weather.
Guess we’ll have to save our autumn activities for a rainy day. ☔️
Are you excited or annoyed that autumn is experiencing a delay this year? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
After yesterday’s shooting spree in Rotterdam killed three people, the question on everyone’s minds is simple: why did it happen? It turns out the suspect has a history of previous convictions and “psychotic behaviour.”
The suspect is a 32-year-old university student at Erasmus University Rotterdam called Fouad L. He appears to have acted alone, police report.
He is also decidedly not connected to any “rival drug gangs” that are often behind similar attacks in Rotterdam, NOS reports.
“Psychotic behaviour”
It is reported that the Public Prosecution Service had sent an email to the Erasmus Medical Centre prior to the shooting, warning them of Fouad L.’s “psychotic behaviour.”
This included cases of the assailant laughing “half naked in the garden on a pile of leaves” and a previous conviction for animal abuse.
Further investigation after the shooting spree reveals that Fouad L. had kept photos of stabbing victims on his phone.
The suspect is not new to having a criminal record; back in 2021, he abused and mauled a rabbit to the point that it needed to be put down by a veterinarian. He was consequently sentenced to 40 hours of community service.
Another allegation of animal cruelty arose when he reportedly shot a pigeon with a crossbow — however, he couldn’t be convicted due to insufficient evidence.
Connection to the victims
In terms of his connections to yesterday’s victims, the 39-year-old woman who was shot to death in her home (which Fouad L. himself lived within reach of) had allegedly reported the suspect for animal abuse on multiple occasions in the past.
As for his motives behind shooting a 43-year-old male general practitioner and teacher at Erasmus Medical Centre, some sources speculate that this could be due to getting rejected for a training position there.
Worrying 4Chan posts
Historically, Fuoad L. has used 4Chan as an outlet to complain about his education “sabotag[eing]” him, claiming that teachers secretly hoped he would fail his exams.
Records of the forum show that L. was angry about his neighbour filming his mistreatment of the rabbit, which he seems to dismiss as a “drunken” mistake.
The rant is concluded with a reference to his “brothers with Asperger’s” as well as the statement: “The whole world hates us. Death to normies.”
The police are still in the process of investigating the full explanation behind his motives.
Voor iedereen die getuige of betrokken was bij een van de schietincidenten in #Rotterdam staat #slachtofferhulp klaar. Bel 0900-0101 of laat een bericht achter op de website van Slachtofferhulp https://t.co/re1TU5BLp5
A helpline has been set up for anyone who witnessed or was affected by the shooting.
Translation: #slachtofferhulp is available for anyone who witnessed or was involved in one of the shooting incidents in #Rotterdam . Call 0900-0101 or leave a message on the Victim Support website
Stay up to date with the latest news and updates on DutchReview.
Yesterday, three people were killed during a shooting spree in Rotterdam. Among the victims were a 39-year-old woman, a 14-year-old girl, and a 43-year-old man.
For reasons that are still not known, the suspect, Fouad L., who is a student at Erasmus University, walked into a residence at around 3 PM on Heiman Dullaertplein yesterday and shot a 39-year-old woman to death — after which he set fire to the building.
The woman’s 14-year-old daughter was severely wounded in the process and has since succumbed to her injuries in the hospital, the NOS reports.
After the initial shooting at the home, the 32-year-old suspect walked into a classroom at the Erasmus Medical Centre wearing a bulletproof vest and armed with the same gun.
He then used the gun to shoot a 43-year-old general practitioner. The victim has since passed away.
The suspect acted alone
As for Fouad L.’s current status, the police managed to get him in custody by cornering him under the hospital’s helicopter deck yesterday.
The police have also concluded that Fuoad L. was not collaborating with anyone else. They are currently not searching for another suspect.
We zijn diep geschokt door de gebeurtenissen vandaag bij Erasmus MC waar een docent om het leven is gekomen en waar een student van de EUR bij betrokken is. Onze gedachten gaan uit naar de slachtoffers, nabestaanden en iedereen die deze ingrijpende gebeurtenis heeft meegemaakt. pic.twitter.com/zoiyyMIOnt
Translation: “We are deeply shocked by the events today at Erasmus MC where a teacher was killed and an EUR student was involved. Our thoughts go out to the victims, surviving relatives and everyone who experienced this traumatic event.”
For now, police chief Fred Westerbeke is concentrating on uncovering what the man’s motives could have been.
The entire community is in a state of shock and grief over this tragic incident.
Stay up to date with the latest news and updates on DutchReview.
Update 4:30 PM: A suspected perpetrator has been arrested by the police.
On Thursday afternoon, shots were fired in a classroom at the Erasmus Medical Centre in Rotterdam. Another shooting incident occurred not far away, at a house on Heiman Dullaertplein in Rotterdam West, writes AD.nl.
Three people have been left injured: one at Erasmus MC and two at a house on Heiman Dullaertplein.
One of the victims may be a university teacher. At the moment, not much is known about the severity of the victims’ injuries.
Police at the scene
According to Rijnmond, several teams of police officers have entered the Erasmus MC.
The entrance to the building is currently closed, and students have been evacuated — some of them without their shoes, crying.
Students from the nearby University of Applied Sciences are currently not allowed to leave.
Perpetrator fled in combat clothing
As the local police have announced on X (formerly known as Twitter), the perpetrator is believed to have fled the scene in combat clothing, possibly on a motorcycle.
The suspect is said to be tall, in his mid-20s, and has black hair. He also might be wearing a backpack and headphones.
Anyone who sees him is strongly urged to call 112.
The Van Gogh Museum is turning 50 years old this year, and what better way to celebrate than with a Pokémon partnership?
You can catch the exhibition from September 28, 2023, until January 7, 2024, including the art itself and some fun activities for the whole family.
The goal of this collection is to introduce new audiences and budding artists to the works of Van Gogh in a fun, new context.
Van Gogh would have loved it
Van Gogh himself was a big fan of Japanese art. Writing to his brother in a letter in 1888 that studying Japanese art makes life “happier and more cheerful, and it makes us return to nature”, writes the Van Gogh Museum in a press release.
He was very inspired by the culture and artwork. It introduced him to flat planes and strong colours in his pieces, presenting the world in a new way to him.
The collection will introduce visitors to the artist’s life in a refreshing and irresistibly adorable way. Let’s be real: few things are cuter than Snorlax sawing logs in 1888’s The Bedroom or Pikachu himself in his own rendition of Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat.
Who wore it best? Image: Van Gogh Museum
Nothing but the best
These Pokémon renditions were painted by artists at The Pokémon Company — some dating back to the ancient times of the 1980s and even 1960s.
We had a special guest during the @pokemon launch event yesterday…Pikachu! Come visit our museum to discover the Pokémon themed artworks and participate in the art hunt until 7 January 2024! For more information or to book your tickets visit: https://t.co/zA1zfFnTKZpic.twitter.com/nTfeEFl7Ot
And it doesn’t stop at just the artwork. There are activities for the whole family, such as the Pokémon Adventure leaflet, which guides you through the paintings, telling you the stories behind them.
You can even learn about Van Gogh’s connection with Japan and how one inspired the other through their online platform, Van Gogh at School.
Not only that, but at the museum restaurant, you can learn to draw Pikachu from an expert. What more could you want?
Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’ll be buying tickets for us and all our friends to see the exhibition.
Are you planning on catching the collaboration? Tell us in the comments!
When you think of the Netherlands, what’s the first thing that springs to mind? Is it windmills, cheese, or tulips? Or maybe it’s the infamous Tikkie — an online payment system where you can send people requests for absurdly small amounts of money.
There’s no official rule book for using Tikkie — but there really should be one. With their reputation for being both direct and stingy, Dutch people seem to have no problems navigating the unspoken rules of the payment platform.
For internationals who come from less direct cultures, though, the art (or extreme sport, if you’re Dutch) of Tikkie-ing can be quite the minefield.
What’s an appropriate amount to request a Tikkie for?
Anyone who’s lived in the Netherlands for a while has probably realised that the idea of reciprocity, or doing rounds, doesn’t really exist here. Don’t get us wrong, this can have its advantages… But not that many. 😂
Instead of living by the rules of reciprocity, Dutchies prefer to settle the bill (no matter how big or small) as soon as possible to make sure no person is indebted to another.
Make sure to count every little cent! Image: Freepik
In other words, if you’ve ever interacted with Dutch people, you’ve probably received a Tikkie for €0.80 or an equally negligible amount.
You should not be surprised if you’ve received a Tikkie from a guy you went on a date with who wants to be reimbursed for the €0.50 contribution he made so you could use the public toilet 🚽.
Or from a friend who covered the €1.50 you needed for a morning coffee. ☕
While having an easy way to request your money is great, we’d suggest holding off on those Tikkies for less than €4 at the cost of looking heel stingy. 💸
When is it socially acceptable to send a Tikkie?
We asked the DutchReview readers for their opinions, and the general consensus is that the sooner you send that Tikkie, the better.
Maybe don’t send it while you’re still seated at the restaurant, having just put your forks down — that might come off as a little desperate. But if you send it when you get home or the next morning, you’re generally good to go.
With Tikkies, timing is everything. Image: Depositphotos
When is it appropriate to send a Tikkie follow-up request?
If a week or more has passed and your money’s still conspicuously absent from your bank account, go ahead and send a follow-up request.
But not the next day — people are busy, and sometimes international bank transfers take a bit of time.
What if you forget to send the Tikkie — how long do you have?
The amount of time permissible for a Tikkie request kind of depends on the amount of money that you’re asking for. There’s nothing less charming than bamboozling someone with a €2 Tikkie for a party you went to two months ago. Don’t do that. People won’t like you for it. 🙄
But say you’re going through your bank account, and remember that you paid €30 for a friend two months ago. Then you’re well within your rights to send a Tikkie, and everyone will respect you for it.
The jury is still out on sums between €10-€20 — but we think a safe rule of thumb is that if you haven’t sent that Tikkie within a month, you should see that round of drinks as being on you. 🍻
Where do you stand on the highly-debated subject of Tikkies? Tell us in the comments below!
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in October 2021 and was fully updated in September 2023 for your reading pleasure.
Staff and students at TU Delft will be pleased to hear that the Dutch University has improved by leaps and bounds — so much so that it is now decidedly the best university in the country. 👑
For the first time since 2016, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) has ranked among the top 50 universities worldwide, the NOS reports.
Not only that, but the school has catapulted from 70th place to 48th place according to the World University Rankings 2024, provided by the UK’s Times Higher Education.
Fall from grace
Meanwhile, Wageningen University, which has dominated the Dutch uni charts for the last four years, are left scratching their heads after plummeting from 59th place to 64th place.
Also, for the first time since 2011, Utrecht University has fallen short of being ranked within the top 100. What is happening to the world? 🙀
Coming in second place in terms of top Dutch universities is none other than the University of Amsterdam, which snagged the 61st spot.
The Netherlands claims several spots in the top 100
Leiden University came in 77th place, the University of Groningen ranked 79th, and Erasmus University Rotterdam just managed to weasel their way into the top 100 by stealing the 99th spot.
Times Higher Education determined the ranking based on the universities’ quality of education, research, “knowledge transfer”, and “internal positioning”. Sounds fair and square to us. 👀
Did these results come as a surprise to you? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
