If you were thinking of taking a bus or tram to explore the flat lands on Thursday or Friday, we have bad news for you!
TheFNV trade union announced a strike in the Netherlands after failed wage negotiations, so when it comes to public transport, we will have to trust NS trains on those days. 🥲
This mainly concerns bus transport such as Arriva, Keolis, Qbuzz, and Transdev. However, urban transport will still go in the biggest cities, like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and The Hague, according to NU.nl.
No agreement
After a collective bargaining consultation between the employees and the unions, the two sides did not reach an agreement, despite an “above-average wage offer” of 8%, according to VWOV (The Association of Public Transport Employers).
Previously, the unions had warned of a nationwide strike for these days in the regional transport. At the time they said that only if the collective bargaining agreement would fail. And well, here we are!
You guessed it: Inflation
More than 13,000 employees are working for regional transport, and many of them are members of the union.
The union wants to reduce the workload, and adjust the salaries to the rising inflation rate.
NS staff and CNV members won’t join the strike
Groups have different collective labour agreements, therefore CNV members and NS staff won’t join the strike to help reach these goals, though they share similar sentiments.
One of the main reasons is that CNV members must organise a poll before taking action, and it is quite likely that they won’t have time for that.
What are your thoughts on the regional strike? Tell us in the comments!
The OM (Openbaar Ministerie, AKA Public Prosecution Service) has reported the arrest of a 37-year-old Syrian man in Arkel, a small town in South Holland.
In a press release, they state that the man is suspected of having been involved with terrorist organisations Jabhat al-Nursa and the Islamic State.
Security chief turned asylum seeker
The arrested man is said to have been chief of security at the IS between 2015 and 2018. Prior to that, he allegedly held the same position at Jabhat al-Nusra for two years.
From his position at IS, the suspect would have been involved in war crimes committed by the organisation during the Syrian Civil War.
In 2019, the man applied for asylum in the Netherlands, and settled in Arkel in 2020.
After information about his past had come to light, the TIM (International Crimes Team) started investigating. He will now be brought before the examining magistrate in The Hague on January 20.
Not the first time
As the NOS writes, there have been previous cases of Syrians living in the Netherlands being arrested on suspicion of ties with the Islamic State or the Jabhat al-Nursa.
In 2021, a Syrian man was arrested at a centre for asylum seekers in Friesland. He had been involved in terrorist acts by the IS and other groups across Syria and Iraq.
Another case is that of Aziz A., who, in 2021, was sentenced to 15 years and nine months in prison. He had a high-ranking position within Jabhat al-Nursa from 2011 to 2014.
Waar is mijn pakket? Complaints skyrocket as more and more packages go missing after PostNL gets rid of its not-home notes.
The disappearance of the not-home notes has mysteriously coincided with the disappearance of packages too, reports RTL Nieuws.
“Klachtenkompas, […] received 5,049 complaints about PostNL in recent months,” the Consumers’ Association calculates.
Where do they end up?
The non-home note has been replaced by PostNL with a digital message as of 1 July. However, things now regularly go wrong with consumers who send each other a package or packages from abroad.
PostNL made this change because, in 9% of all cases, the delivery driver is confronted by a closed door in their face.
Usually, the packages can be found at a PostNL parcel point or returned to the sender. Heel irritant!
Hey @PostNL! Your driver keeps falsely reporting my package couldn’t be delivered because I wasn’t home. I launched two complaints. Nothing has changed. And now you have one of my packages in a storage facility somewhere! STILL NO ANSWER
The bad news is that you might need to get friendly with your neighbours to accept a package for you because digital messages aren’t always entirely reliable.
Your best bet is probably to choose to have your package delivered to a parcel point to avoid the risk of a missing package.
Have you had packages go missing with PostNL? Tell us in the comments below!
It’s been a hot minute since I left Amsterdam for Brussels (six years already), but something about the Dutch capital keeps pulling me back like a big orange bungee cord.
Whatever else I plan, barely a year goes by when I don’t hop over the border to visit the noorderburen.
It seems you can take the man out of Amsterdam, but you can’t take Amsterdam out of the man! Even those who move further away from Amsterdam have a habit of coming back.
You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone! And you don’t think how rare it is to have so much water in the city centre until you move somewhere without canals.
A pedestrianised avenue or a multi-lane motorway might be practical in their own way, but they just don’t have the same charm as the view down the Reguliersgracht.
Does it get more picturesque than this? Image: Depositphotos
Who can forget the sight of those bridges lit up at night, or the autumn leaves reflected on the waters or the pure fun of renting a boat and puttering down the canals with friends on a summer’s day?
With canals like these, you just know you’re in Amsterdam, and you can’t beat them.
2. The small (but delicious) Dutch biertjes
What better way to admire the canals than with a glass or two of Amsterdam’s finest? Whether Amstel, Grolsch or Heineken, nothing beats a vaasje in one of the Dutch capital’s many pubs, bars and bruin cafés.
Crack a cold one with your closest friends. Image: Depositphotos
The one-litre Steins of Munich or the 8% goblets of Belgium are all great in their own way, but in Amsterdam just do as the Dutch do: order a series of small beers and shout proost!
And then there are the Dutch bar snacks: kroketten, bitterballen, kaas… Nothing helps a biertje slip down like a plate of cheese cubes and mustard. Hard to find elsewhere, but available just about everywhere in the Netherlands!
3. Plenty of gezellige cafés
And who could forget the cafés themselves? Amsterdam boasts some of the best spots for a casual after-work borrel, from the chic and spacious Café de Jaren on Nieuwe Doelenstraat, to the chilled and cosy Café Kale on Weteringschans, to one of Amsterdam’s oldest bars, Café Hoppe on Spui.
Hannekes Boom is also great for an after-work drink that lasts long into the evening, or there’s my own personal favourite: Café Van Zuylen on the Singel canal.
Check it out in summer when the terrace stretches out onto the bridge, or sit inside and let time lose all meaning as you sip the foam from your next beer and crunch into your next plate of piping-hot bitterballen.
4. The unique language
After six years in Belgium, your ear attunes pretty well to the soft Flemish ‘g’. But there’s something so satisfying about how the full, gravelly, guttural Dutch ‘GGG’ just clears the throat.
Still, even if you don’t speak a word of Dutch (which I didn’t back in the day), the mere sound of the language is a huge part of the city’s character, and one of the first things that welcome you back.
Call me a language nerd, but the double oo and aa and uu just look cool and exotic. Even now, hearing Dutch is one of those irresistible triggers that has me thinking ‘it’s time I went to Amsterdam again…’
5. The stunning art
Amsterdam boasts some incredible museums and galleries. Even without going inside, the Rijksmuseum is enough to take your breath away. But enter its stately walls, and you’ll be blown away by what’s inside.
Discover who Amsterdam’s streets and squares are named after by gazing at paintings by Albert Cuyp and Jacob van Ruisdael. And of course, who could forget Rembrandt’s Night Watch, which has to be seen to be believed?
The Rijksmuseum is a culturally significant museum in Amsterdam. Image: Depositphotos
If that isn’t enough, check out the Stedelijk Museum for top modern art, or gaze in awe at Van Gogh’s sunflowers at the Van Gogh Museum.
If you prefer history, take a trip to the Museum of the Resistance or the Anne Frank House and spend an afternoon meandering through the ups and downs of Dutch history. In six years, I still haven’t visited them all!
These are five of my reasons for revisiting Amsterdam. But what are yours? In the meantime, I’m off to book my next trip…
What keeps drawing you back to the Dutch capital year after year? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Dutchies over the age of 65 have made “age is just a number” their mantra as more of them take the workforce by storm. 💪
Some of them even feel too young to stop working, according to Chamber of Commerce advisor Angèle Magré.
Passing on experience is a huge motivator
Speaking to NU.nl, Magré said that some of the older generations enjoy sharing their experience and industry connections with younger people in the workforce.
This often leads them to start businesses as coaches or mentors after retirement. Over the past five years, this demographic has seen an increase of 15%.
There is also a practical aspect to delaying retirement, as some of the older generations have trouble finding worthy successors for their established businesses.
As such, they have difficulty letting go of the corporations they’ve built.
Retirement? Nah, time to flex those entrepreneurial skills
The Chamber of Commerce registered a stellar 40% increase in the number of entrepreneurs over the age of 65.
Meanwhile, in the over-75 cohort, the number of entrepreneurs is rising even more sharply than the number of Tikkies after an after-work borrel.
Think that was shocking? Nee, those in the 65 to 79 group saw an even heftier 108% increase in those taking to entrepreneurship over the past five years.
What do you think of those past retirement age rocking entrepreneurship? Tell us about it in the comments below!
The University Rebellion student activists were determined to get their message across about climate change.
Dozens of students entered the Binnengasthuis of the University of Amsterdam, protesting for the institution to cut ties with oil giant Shell and other companies in the fossil fuel industry, reports the NOS.
From peaceful protests to many arrests
The students from the University of Amsterdam started their protests peacefully, marching from the Roeterseiland campus to the Amsterdam Academische Club, near Oudemanhuispoort.
However, their protests took a turn when the students decided to occupy the Binnengasthuis and blocked police trucks from entering the property.
Earlier in the day, the university stated that it does not promote the use of fossil fuels. Ten Dam, president of the Executive Board, tells the NOS that he was not against the protesting, “but don’t occupy.”
The arrests
At around 8:30 PM, the evacuation of the building started by order of the Police Prosecution Service.
De politie heeft vanavond een pand aan het Turfdraagsterpad in Amsterdam ontruimd op last van het Openbaar Ministerie. Hierbij zijn 30 personen aangehouden. Het pand, het Binnengasthuis, is overgedragen aan de eigenaar. pic.twitter.com/QKEiFEQzb6
The process was repeated until all students were removed from the building, some walking peacefully and smiling, while others took a more aggressive way by yelling and kicking, refusing to walk.
The police arrested thirty people by the end of the night. And, the university has since then filed a report.
What do you think about this situation? Tell us in the comments below!
First-year students of the University of Maastricht are getting a new compulsory course added to their timetable: MeToo lessons.
From this upcoming September, students will not be allowed to skip or drop out of this essential course — making the University of Maastricht the first Dutch institution to introduce mandatory attendance for a whole year group.
Lessons will cover information about sexual boundaries, sexual assault, and transgressive behaviour, reports Trouw.
The reason behind it
The decision to add this course to first years’ rosters was reached by the Executive Board of the university, which worked in collaboration with the student group, Feminists of Maastricht (FoM).
After FoM expressed strong criticism of the university for having no response to a sexual harassment complaint, the university acted. Speaking to Trouw, spokesman for Maastricht University, Koen Augustijn says, “we now think it’s time for the next step.”
Indeed. In 2021 alone, it was revealed that almost half (46.9%) of Maastricht University students have been either sexually harassed, raped, or assaulted.
Ssh! Class is starting
While it remains unknown how the lessons will be organised, the lessons will have two clear themes: how to recognise inappropriate behaviour and how to prevent it.
The lessons will revolve around the theme of social safety, concerning issues such as sexual misconduct, sexual violence, and sexual boundaries.
🟡FEM | Social Safety Team
🗣Get to know the new UM Social Safety team! Esther Goethart, Claire Essers, Marloes Rikhof and Katinka Bastin will discuss the topic of Social Safety, (un)desirable behaviour and how to act on it.
Sometimes you look at Dutch meals and think, “this is a crime.” Well, it seems one Dutchie agrees. A child took measures into his own hands and reported the unthinkable to the police… bad cooking.
Police officers in Culemborg received an interesting phone call when a child reported he was a victim of domestic violence.
What sort of suffering had this child faced? None. It turns out he simply just didn’t like his mother’s dinner, RTL Nieuws reports.
The scene of the crime
The request for help was short and to the point. After a few questions, the responding police had doubts about the boy’s report but did not want to take any risks and drove to his location.
Upon arrival, the police officers saw no signs of domestic violence happening in the household. The only violence the boy faced was towards his taste buds.
It appeared that the boy had a case of minor autism and thought his mother’s cooking was echt niet lekker, so he decided to call the police about it — fair enough if you ask us! 🙂
it’s bugging me that the netherlands is here because we are known for having bland bad food https://t.co/2T6JVhzvzM
Making an intentionally false call to 112 can be a serious crime, resulting in a large fine or even a prison sentence. However, in this case, the officers left it with a ‘good conversation’ between the boy and his parents.
Can you think of a more romantic place to meet the love of your life than in an IKEA showroom? No, right?
Well lucky you! IKEA’s Utrecht store is planning (or should we say assembling) some well-organised and neatly packed speed dating for you!
On Saturday, February 4, IKEA will host a ‘Date for the planet’ speed dating event.
The store will keep its doors open after the usual closing time, and its showrooms will turn into intimate date locations. Hopeful lovebirds can congregate at 7 PM, and the speed dating session starts at 8 PM.
I’m ready for love!
IKEA promises all the essentials for a perfect night! Dinner with candlelights, and in typical IKEA style, a starter pack — a big bag filled with conversation starter cards, to avoid awkward silences.
The rules are simple: a buzzer goes off every five minutes, and you switch partners — so you will have just enough time to know if you met the love of your life or not.
The speed dating lasts until 9:30 PM, but the restaurant will remain open, so you can stay there to chat with your brand-new lover!
Meet you by the Ektorp sofa
If you feel like the candlelights, meatballs, and snazzy interiors have done the job, and you have the perfect chemistry with your partner, you can hold each other’s hand and explore the rest of the showroom.
So you are a pro at IKEA bed assembling, hé? Image: Depositphotos
There will be a bed waiting for you, where you can make the necessary steps… you can play with your conversation starter cards! 🔥
Date for the planet
IKEA Utrecht is organising this unique event to draw attention to the energy crisis in our homes. The message is even more simple than the falling in love part: being together saves energy.
If you feel like you want to be one of the thousand singles (no cheating) who want to search for love in an IKEA showroom, you can register until February 4. The only requirement is that you are at least 18 years old!
Would you be brave enough to show up in the showroom? Tell us in the comments!
The Dutch and their beloved Tikkie are entwined in a love affair that now has the Netherlands breaking records with a whopping 130 million Tikkies sent in 2022! 💸
Oh, and if that wasn’t crazy enough, the sum total of these Tikkies added up to — wait for it — €5.5 billion!
Tikkies can’t stop, won’t stop
We’re really counting every penny this year. Last year’s figures completely pulverise previous records for 2020 and 2021, according to ABN Amro.
In fact, the sum total of Tikkies sent this year eclipses last year’s high of 4.2 billion by 1.3 billion.
In Dutch we don't say 'you are a really good friend' but 'Ik stuur je wel een tikkie voor die stroopwafel die we gedeeld hebben' and I think that's really beautiful
Translation: In Dutch we don’t say ‘you are a really good friend’ but ‘I’ll send you a Tikkie for the stroopwafel we shared’ and I think that’s really beautiful
The value of the average Tikkie has also risen by €3 to €41.84, as customers seem to have more faith in making larger transactions through the app.
Match time? Nah, Tikkie time, hoor
When payday meets game day… you get 530,000 Tikkies! ⚽️
Friday, November 25 was the day the Netherlands played Ecuador in the World Cup, sending Tikkie numbers through the roof with many charging for ‘World Cup’, ‘football’, and ‘beer’.
To put that number into perspective, a usual day sees around 350,000 Tikkies exchanged on average. This means that game day had Dutchies sending around 180,000 more Tikkies than usual.
The Dutch are prompt AF
On average, 89% of Tikkies were paid within a day in 2022.
Of those Tikkies, about 63% were paid during the hour and 36% within five minutes. This shows that the Dutch certainly respect the call of the mighty Tikkie — and you know what, so do we.
