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Grab your shades: the Netherlands will see sunny weather this week

Liana Risseeuw 🇱🇰
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Grab your shades: the Netherlands will see sunny weather this week

As wild as it sounds, fair weather for fun in the sun may actually be on the cards for the Netherlands this week! ☀️

According to the KNMI (the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute), we can expect relatively dry and sunny weather over the next few days.

The week starts off sunny, dry, and cool

Both today and tomorrow are expected to have frequent blasts of sunshine between the odd period of cloud cover.

Temperatures will hover around 6 to 7 degrees Celsius during the day, and drop to just below zero during the night.

Even though today promises to remain dry throughout, tomorrow night could bring the eastern part of the country some light rain. 🌧️

Wednesday will be the sunniest day this week

Whilst Wednesday may be known for her dark humour on the Netflix show of the same name, this week’s Wednesday will bring nothing but sun, sun, and more sun.

You’ll definitely want to grab the sunblock, but you may want to layer up as well, as the maximum temperature will only go up to 7 degrees Celsius.

Less sun during the latter half of the week

Thursday and Friday are expected to see less sunshine, with cloudier weather creeping into the picture.

The temperature is set to grudgingly climb to 8 degrees Celsius during the day, but will remain above freezing during the night.

Cloudy weather predicted for Saturday and Sunday

As all good things (unfortunately) have to come to an end, we’ll be waving doei to our lovely, sunny week with a very cloudy weekend. 🌥️

Packing an umbrella or putting on a parka will be on the cards as well, as the forecast also predicts some light rain.

What do you think of this week’s blast of sunny weather? Tell us all about it in the comments below!

Rare phenomenon: Northern Lights visible from parts of the Netherlands this morning

Francesca Burbano
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Rare phenomenon: Northern Lights visible from parts of the Netherlands this morning

Sky-gazers were treated to a unique show of colour in the Netherlands on Sunday night, with the Northern lights, also known as Aurora Borealis, being visible in parts of the country. 

People in Drenthe, Groningen, Gelderland, and Friesland, among others, caught a glimpse of the special aurora, reports the NOS. 

The odds of seeing the northern lights this far south are rare. According to weather woman Harma Boer, this is extraordinary as “the best chance to see the northern lights is mainly at high latitudes, but sometimes you can also observe it in the Netherlands,” she stated to RTV Noord. 

Aurora Borealis: how she comes to be

The Aurora Borealis is a natural and spectacular light display that causes streaks of colours to “dance” in the sky, often in shades of green and purple. 

The phenomenon is caused by atoms and molecules in our atmosphere colliding with particles from the sun at extremely high speeds. The result? The Earth’s magnetic field redirects them to the North and South Pole, creating the wavy patterns of coloured light. 

While usually the Northern Lights are best seen in high-altitude regions closer to the Arctic, such as Scandinavia, they can be seen with the naked eye for a few days each year in the Netherlands. 👀

The best conditions to view the lights are away from any light pollution when the sky is dark and clear of any clouds. 

Taking it to Twitter

Those lucky enough to spot this magical sight in the Netherlands shared videos and photos on Twitter. 

Did you spot the Northern Lights in the Netherlands last night? Tell us in the comments below!

E-bikes made up more than half all bicycle sales in the Netherlands last year

Mihály Droppa
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E-bikes made up more than half all bicycle sales in the Netherlands last year

More and more Dutchies are turning their traditional fiets to an electric one. 

2023 set a new record for e-bike sales in the Netherlands! No less than 57% of the 855,000 newly sold bicycles were electric. However, they accounted for almost 80% of profit made on bike sales.  

More than half of the newly sold bikes had the same sort of electric features back in 2021, but this tendency is about to rise even more, RTL Nieuws reports. 

The Dutchies are at the forefront

 Over the past 10 years, the popularity of E-bikes has been researched by Gfk, commissioned by RAI Vereniging and BOVAG. 

According to them, you’re most likely to find an e-bike in the Netherlands compared to other European countries. However, they are also becoming increasingly popular in other European countries as well. 

READ MORE: Slow down! The municipality of Amsterdam pushes for a bike speed limit

The popularity of e-bikes is causing an increase in the average selling price of bicycles. 

The average cost of a new bicycle among Dutch people last year was € 1,772, up nearly 9% from the previous year. The increased number is also due to the generally increased cost.

Are you thinking of switching to an E-bike, or are you good with your good old fiets? Tell us in the comments!

That can happen!? Dutch train takes a wrong turn

Francesca Burbano
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That can happen!? Dutch train takes a wrong turn

As a train passenger, sometimes things go wrong — but you never expect it to happen to the driver! Turns out things can go wrong for them too. Specifically, the direction of the train. 

That’s exactly what happened on Wednesday evening when an NS train took a wrong turn from Woerden to Gouda, causing passengers to be considerably confused (and delayed), reports RTL Nieuws. 

An unfamiliar view

The train in question departed as usual from Utrecht towards Gouda. However, near Woerden, it was sent in the wrong direction towards Bodegraven, making passengers look out the window and go ‘hé?’

Klaas-Willem de Jong was one of the passengers on the poor confused train, who noticed that something was wrong. “I thought: hey, the highway stays on our left. That only happens if you drive towards Bodegraven instead of Gouda,” he tells RTL Nieuws. 

Time to back it up

Thankfully, the trip didn’t end in disaster, just a delay (so maybe a disaster for anyone with a tub of ice cream in their bag).

When the error was noticed by the train crew, the train was sent backwards towards Woerden, where passengers could get off and continue their journey. 

This resulted in a delay of at least three-quarters of an hour, whoops! 😬

Translation: Never experienced this before @NS_online, but the train ‘turned off’ wrongly at Woerden, not to Gouda, but to Bodegraven. We are now standing still in the country, not far from Waarder and Nieuwerbrug.

What caused the confusion?

According to ProRail spokesperson, Martijn de Graaf,  it was a series of unfortunate events that led to the incident.

According to de Graaf, it’s still not completely clear how the error occurred. However, shortly before the incident, there was another incident involving animals on the trail. 

“There was a delay in the area due to a hit deer. Due to a combination of circumstances, it became very busy around Utrecht Central Station, which made it very busy for our traffic control. A train was sent in the wrong direction in that crowd,” he reported to RTL Nieuws. 

READ MORE | Wait, what? These Dutch trains now run on vegetable oil 

Another ProRail spokesperson apologises to travellers on behalf of the NS, “the fact is, of course, that this should not have happened. It is annoying for travellers; it causes nuisance and delays.”

Klaas-Willem went on to state that he’s “never experienced anything like it”, but is he spooked at all? Nee. He says he“won’t hesitate for a moment the next time he steps on a train.” 😃

Were you one of the passengers on this train? Tell us in the comments below! 

Time to ditch testing and isolation for coronavirus, Dutch experts claim

Lyna Meyrer 🇱🇺
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Time to ditch testing and isolation for coronavirus, Dutch experts claim

The Dutch Outbreak Management Team (OMT) has spoken: testing and isolating for COVID-19 should be a thing of the past.

While the government has yet to make an official decision, the OMT advice claims that the coronavirus is just a part of life now — like the flu.

Enter: the endemic stage

It’s been almost three years since the World Health Organization, officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020.

Now, according to the OMT, the Netherlands is in the so-called endemic phase of COVID-19. This means that the virus and its multiple subvariants are mostly contained.

While the virus still circulates, it has reached a steady state where it doesn’t cause large, unpredictable outbreaks anymore.

So, according to them, it’s time for the Netherlands to ditch the archaic rituals of testing and isolation.

COVID-19 test? Don’t know her

The latest advice from the OMT is that both test streets and self-tests are no longer necessary.

READ MORE | This test says if you have the flu or COVID-19, so why don’t Dutchies want it?

However, the GGD must be prepared to scale up on test streets again, should it ever become necessary. That would happen, for example, if a new variant emerged and spread rapidly. 🦠

Isolation no more

As of now, the government advises that those who test positive for coronavirus should to go into isolation for five days.

But the days of playing the COVID-19 card to get out of social commitments (or work? 😉) may soon be over: As far as the OMT is concerned, isolation should not be necessary anymore.

READ MORE | Post-pandemic life in the Netherlands: no more coronavirus measures

As the NOS writes, coronavirus may then become subject to the generic advice that applies to other respiratory infections. These include the good ol’ washing of hands, sneezing into the elbow and staying home when sick.

Will the government take the advice?

It’s important to note that this is the OMT’s opinion, not the Dutch government’s.

While the government has yet to make an official decision on the measures and rules around COVID-19, it is expected that they will adopt the advice of the OMT.

What do you think about the end of isolation and testing? Tell us in the comments!

Major Dutch supermarkets are scrapping paper and plastic bags for their fruits and veggies

Lyna Meyrer 🇱🇺
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Major Dutch supermarkets are scrapping paper and plastic bags for their fruits and veggies

Doei disposable bags, and hallo sustainable future! Supermarket chains Lidl, Jumbo, Plus and Aldi will stop using plastic and paper bags for fruits and veggies.

Instead, they will sell reusable bags that customers can wash at home.

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag?

The initiative to stop using disposable bags comes as a joint effort of the supermarkets to reduce plastic waste.

Under the Plastic Pact NL, a collaborative association between the government and companies, the parties are working to move towards a circular economy for plastic products. ♻️

READ MORE | How sustainable are your groceries? Dutch supermarkets flake on sustainability promises

With this measure, the supermarkets expect to save about 126 million plastic bags and 10 million paper bags per year! Wat super. 🥳

We want more!

Besides Plus, Lidl, Aldi, and Jumbo, Albert Heijn had previously eliminated plastic fruit and vegetable bags from its stores in 2022.

While this is a big step in the right direction, Minister of the Environment Viviane Heijnen, and Carlijn Röell, director of Plastic Pact NL, want to see more supermarkets join in.

“Consumers need to get used to it as soon as possible,” Röell told RTL Nieuws, “that’s why it’s important that as many supermarket chains as possible participate.”

The ball is in your court, Dirk. 👀⚽️

What do you think about this sustainable initiative? Tell us in the comments.

This ultra-Dutch sport just got international fame

Liana Risseeuw 🇱🇰
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This ultra-Dutch sport just got international fame

Fans were in for a shock last Monday when The New York Times (a prestigious American-based newspaper) ran a long-read feature on their favourite sport. 🤩

The sport in question? None other than korfball!

What is korfball?

Taking its name from the Dutch word for basket (korf), this is a mixed-gender sport played between two teams of eight players each.

Invented in 1902 by Nico Broekhuysen, a Dutch schoolteacher, the game’s objective is to manage to get a ball through a netless basket that’s mounted three and a half metres off the ground.

READ MORE | 11 Dutch sports that are 100% weird (but wonderful)

Although korfball (or korfbal in Dutch) bears a few similarities to basketball, it’s thought that the game owes its origins to the Swedish sport of ringboll.

Korfball: bridging the gender divide in popular sports

A key point in The New York Times’ article was the unique way in which korfball approached gender dynamics in sport.

Unlike many other sports that were originally designed to be played by members of one gender, korfball is one of the handful of sports that were invented with mixed-gender teammates in mind.

The New York Times lauds this progressive aspect of the game, noting that it helps offset physical characteristics (such as height) that may otherwise leave the playing field unequal.

As gender in sports has become a relatively hot topic in recent years, it’s interesting to see if games like korfball will see an uptick in their popularity.

What do you think of The New York Times reporting on korfball’s progressiveness? Tell us all about it in the comments below!

Image: Korfball/Wikimedia Commons/CC4.0

Ethical or not? The Mauritshuis hangs artwork made by AI in place of loaned Vermeer

Eva Gabriella
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Ethical or not? The Mauritshuis hangs artwork made by AI in place of loaned Vermeer

From February 6 to June 4, an AI version of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring is being displayed at the Mauritshuis in The Hague.

While the real Vermeer painting is away at the once-in-a-lifetime exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Julian Van Dieken’s AI version of the painting has taken its place, reports de Volkskrant.

A Girl with Glowing Earrings

The Mauritishuis didn’t want the original display area to get chilly. 🥶

Therefore, they made a call to artists from near and far to create a new piece inspired by the famous Vermeer painting. 

Before long, curators had to sift through 3,482 art pieces made from photographs, sculptures, and even work composed of vegetables before they landed upon an AI model of the piece to hang in a row with four others.

READ MORE | Girl with a Pearl Earring vandalised by climate protesters

This decision has been scrutinised under the watchful eyes of many art critics, who aren’t happy that the hard labour of artists is being mocked by a bot.

How was it made?

Julian Van Dieken created AI-generated images of the girl using the artificial intelligence programme Midjourney. He went on to fine-tune her beauty digitally with Photoshop. 

READ MORE | Dutch students are using artificial intelligence to complete their homework

Midjourney works with a simple text input. This means Van Dieken might’ve typed in: Create a portrait of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring — with a bit of glow and shine. ✨

Then, the system creates a computer-generated image faster than a Dutchie can say leuk!

Artificial intelligence or artificial ignorance? 

Objections from the art world are also moving quickly as artists campaign against AI entering their space.

One artist, Eva Toorenent, advocates against the ‘unethical technology’ used to create these artworks, with the organisation EGAIR.

“While Midjourney makes a lot of money with its software, the artists and creators whose work is involuntarily included in this dataset see nothing in return,” Toorenent tells de Volkskrant.

READ MORE | Patients in this Dutch hospital will now be treated by…Artificial Intelligence?

“Without the work of human artists, this program could not generate works at all. The higher the quality of art in the dataset, the higher the quality of the AI ​​art.”

Whilst artificial intelligence may be useful for some professions, Toorenent believes that within the art profession, AI should be a no-go.

What do you think of the AI Vermeer painting? Tell us in the comments below!

One third of Ukrainian refugees in the Netherlands want to stay

Lyna Meyrer 🇱🇺
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One third of Ukrainian refugees in the Netherlands want to stay

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, more than eight million Ukrainians fled their country. Today, around 90,000 of them are registered in the Netherlands.

A year after the outbreak of Putin’s war, the NOS has conducted an investigation into the future plans of Ukrainian refugees in the Netherlands. Out of the respondents, a third would like to stay.

Note: For this investigation, the NOS surveyed 247 Ukrainian refugees. The results are not representative of the entire Ukrainian refugee population in the Netherlands. They merely offer an insight into the struggles that those affected face.

Divided over future plans

The opinions of Ukrainian refugees in the Netherlands are neatly divided. While a third of them claim they would like to stay here, a bit more than a third want to return to their home country. A final third is unsure.

READ MORE | Dutch Foreign Minister pledges continuous support for Ukraine in meeting with Zelensky

Those not wanting to return to Ukraine are generally from hard-hit cities, such as Kharkiv, or have children attending a Dutch primary school.

destroyed-city-russian-s-war-ukraine
Many Ukrainian refugees don’t have a home in Ukraine anymore. Image: Freepik

For those that are unsure of whether they want to stay in the Netherlands, several factors play a role.

Their concerns include the lack of safety in Ukraine, the slim possibilities for work in the Netherlands, and the expensive housing market.

Navigating the job market

Due to unfulfilled language requirements, or unrecognized degrees and diplomas, most Ukrainian refugees in the Netherlands work in temporary employment — many of them in the service industry.

According to Statistics Netherlands, 58% of Ukrainians in the Netherlands work less than 25 hours a week — 13% work full time.

READ MOORE | No more work permit requirement for Ukrainian refugees

Often, this is not a voluntary decision, as becomes clear in the NOS report. Anna Synenko (38), who was a pharmaceutical researcher in Ukraine, now works three to four days a week for a catering company.

She told the reporters that, although she has 15 years of work experience in her field, it’s simply not possible for her to get a job in medicine in the Netherlands.

READ MORE | Here’s how you can help Ukraine from the Netherlands [UPDATED]

Minister of Social Affairs, Van Gennip acknowledges that many Ukrainians run into the language problem: “They often speak a little English, but not Dutch, and you need that as a basis for a lot of jobs.”

Impossible to rent in the free sector

Many highly educated Ukrainian refugees, like Synenko, claim they do not make enough money to rent a home in the free sector.

Irina Sureieva, who currently works at a bakery and in a supermarket, says it’s impossible for her and her husband to earn enough for their own home.

“Most Ukrainians earn no more than minimum wage, because they have no work experience in the Netherlands. So it is impossible to rent a private home because, in the private sector, your income must be three to four times higher than the rent,” she told the NOS.

Unfortunately, Ukrainians around the world are facing similar situations in their host countries.

What do you think about the situation of Ukrainian refugees in the Netherlands? Tell us in the comments.

Winter’s still here: March will start with frosty weather in the Netherlands

Lyna Meyrer 🇱🇺
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Winter’s still here: March will start with frosty weather in the Netherlands

If March is just around the corner, spring is too — right? Well, not this year: due to high altitude disturbances above the North Pole, experts from the Royal Dutch Weather Institute (KNMI) expect a frosty month. 🥶

But hey, as NU.nl reports, at least the frost will be accompanied by lots of sunshine!

Polar air coming our way

Okay, strap in for a quick meteorology crash course.

The frosty weather that we’re headed towards is a “sudden stratospheric warming”, according to Michiel van Weele from the KNMI. What does that mean? Good question.

READ MORE | 11 must-have closet items to survive the Dutch weather

It’s a natural phenomenon during which thin air above the North Pole warms up rapidly. While this occurs at high latitudes, it affects the lower parts of the atmosphere — where we are located.

This sudden warming causes cold air to push further south (to the Netherlands, for example), instead of being locked above the polar region. 🌬️

Booo, no ice skating

Whether we will get real winter weather or just some frosty nights is unclear. It depends on how long the high-pressure area stays in place.

But before you get your hopes up: Van Weele doesn’t think we’ll see any more ice skating opportunities this year.

Daffodils and crocuses

While we prepare for cold nights (and high energy bills), we can at least look forward to seeing more of the sun as well. Hoera!

While early spring flowers like daffodils and crocuses are already blooming, the sun will be a welcomed regular visitor in March. ☀️

How will you prepare for the incoming March weather? Tell us in the comments!

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