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Rotterdam is getting a rooftop ice-skating rink and we are JEALOUS

Heather Slevin
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Rotterdam is getting a rooftop ice-skating rink and we are JEALOUS

Skating enthusiasts will have the time of their lives this winter when a Rotterdam department store offers a unique ice-skating experience.

De Bijenkorf is converting its rooftop area into an ice-skating rink just in time for Christmas, and we couldn’t be more excited! 🎄

The track will open for visitors on December 15 at 5 PM in an opening ceremony hosted by Ronald Luyben, the store manager at de Bijenkorf.

Those who are de Bijenkorf members will get the chance to be the very first to skate under the stars, with the views of Rotterdam spreading beneath them.

Headed for the ice? Just remember that the use of your own skates is not allowed, but, for just €10, you’ll get access to the rink and a pair of skates.

The rink will be open from 12.30 PM until the store closes every day from December 16 to January 12.

Planning permit? No issue

De Bijenkorf was waiting to hear back from the municipality about planning permission to construct the rink. And, the good news is in: rooftop ice-skating is on! 🥳

READ MORE | Wintertime on ice: 7 spectacular ice rinks in the Netherlands

The theme of the rink is Swiss-inspired, due to their sponsors, Switzerland Tourism Benelux.

And, if ice skating is likely to make you a bit peckish (and in want of some bubbly! 🥂), there will also be a covered terrace next to the rink where food and drink will be sold.

Successful summer festival to winter wonderland

The rink’s opening comes after the success of a festival held on the rooftop at the Bijenkorf last summer. The Bijenkorf opened up its roof for the Rooftop Walk during the Rotterdamse Dakendagen, and it was so popular that the event stayed open for two extra days.

So, pack those winter coats and get tickets, folks; we’re on for a bit of rooftop skating! ❄

Will you be headed to Rotterdam for a rooftop skate? Tell us in a comment below! 👇

This Dutch region will get SNOW today (and the rest of the country: rain)

Liana Risseeuw 🇱🇰
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This Dutch region will get SNOW today (and the rest of the country: rain)

Dying to build a snowman? Looks like you’ll need to head to Limburg! ☃️

The first icy sprinklings of winter fell in the early hours of this morning in South Limburg, reports RTL Nieuws.

Snow kidding, it’s cold in Limburg!

Limburg’s freezing temperatures created the perfect environment for snow to form, with last night’s initial rain shower developing into a gentle snowfall. The snowfall wasn’t particularly heavy, but it did snow for a long time, say Buiennrader meteorologists.

As the temperatures are still hovering around freezing in Limburg, Sinterklaas and Piet will likely experience a snowy Pakjesavond tonight.

What about the rest of us?

Buienrader meteorologist Philippe Schaumbergen hinted that Zuidoost-Brabant could likely expect some wet snow.

He also mentioned the possibility that the eastern parts of Overijssel and Gelderland could see some sprinklings of snow in the afternoon.

As for the rest of us in the Netherlands…we get Dutch rain. (Oh joy! 😭)

Temperatures are (briefly) getting warmer

Not only will some regions not see snow — temperatures for both Tuesday and Wednesday are expected to hover around 7 degrees Celsius.

However, temperatures will then start getting colder again from Thursday.

Are you dreaming of a snowy Pakjesavond? Tell us all about it in the comments below!

20% of young Dutch people still think Zwarte Piet is A-OK

Eva Gabriella
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20% of young Dutch people still think Zwarte Piet is A-OK

Results are in! A year has been and gone but Zwarte Piet is still here. A recent survey has revealed that 20% of young Dutch people continue to support Zwarte Piet and we are just as fed up as you are. 

It’s the year 2022 and here comes that dreaded time of year again when many of us debate the age-old Dutch tradition of Sinterklaas’ little blackface ‘helpers’, Zwarte Pieten.

READ MORE| Zwarte Piet: the full guide to the Netherland’s most controversial tradition

The latest survey by I&O Research investigates how many Dutchies won’t back down from the view that the tradition of non-black people smearing black paint and red lipstick across their faces is just A-OK.

Good or bad news? 

The results? Hurray! Only 1 in 5 Dutch youths support blackface. 

Or should we say: Booo! 1 in 5 young Dutch people still support blackface.

READ MORE| Dutch Quirk #50: Disagree all the time about Zwarte Piet 

While 20% is far better than the whopping 65% that this figure stood at just six years ago, we are scratching our heads at this sizable percentage.

Even so, at least we can see that the number of supporters of the controversial character are dropping (slowly). Phew! 

Old traditions die hard

If this is true for the youngins, then it’s no surprise that 39% of Dutch people aged between 50 to 65 still support the Zwarte Piet. 

After all, you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

A christmas miracle

Dear Sinterklaas,

All we want for Christmas is to abolish the Zwarte Piet tradition.

READ MORE: Support for Zwarte Piet drops significantly, new survey finds

We can only hope. Zwarte Piet has long since been an integral part of the Dutch Sinterklaas celebration which year after year shows a habit which is hard to kick.

What do you think of the survey’s findings? Let us know in the comments below.

The cannibal who ate a Dutch student (and then starred in adult films) just died

Lyna Meyrer 🇱🇺
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The cannibal who ate a Dutch student (and then starred in adult films) just died

Issei Sagawa, a Japanese man who murdered and partially ate 24-year-old Dutch student Renée Hartevelt from Heemstede in 1981, has died in Tokyo at the age of 73.

Hartevelt and Sagawa met while studying at Sorbonne University in Paris, where, after inviting Hartevelt into his home, Sagawa killed her with a gunshot to the neck. 

Sagawa then went on to abuse his victim’s dead body and eat parts of her remains for a total of three days.

We’ll spare you the gory details (seriously, it’s haunting) but let’s just say it was tragic. 

Walking free

After Sagawa was caught trying to dump Hartevelt’s remains into a pond in the Bois de Boulogne, he was arrested by French police.

Here’s where it gets hectic: despite the arrest, a psychiatric evaluation in France deemed Sagawa unfit for prosecution — so justice was never served for Renée Hartevelt’s murder. 

Even worse, after spending some time in a psychiatric institution, Sagawa was deported back to Japan where Sagawa was declared mentally sane. (Excuse us?) 

READ MORE | 7 notorious Dutch criminals that will leave you shaking in your clogs

In the meantime, France had dropped charges against Sagawa. As a result, he was released in 1986 and walked free until the end of his life.

The ‘Kobe Cannibal’ in pop culture

Issei Sagawa was later on nicknamed the ‘Kobe Cannibal,’ after his place of birth in Kobe, Japan – because all good murderers need a catchy nickname, right?

When he returned to Japan, he didn’t make a secret of his crime but instead became a well-known pop-culture figure.

Not only did he appear on talk shows, but he even collaborated on a book and a documentary film detailing the murder and his obsession with cannibalism.

But things get even worse: according to the New York Post, Sagawa went as far as translating his fame to soft-core porn films, where he would “bite” his co-stars. Now, we’re not here to fetish shame — but we’ve gotta shake a disapproving digital finger at that. 

In addition, Sagawa’s gruesome deed was also the inspiration behind The Stranglers ‘La Folie’ and The Rolling Stones’ ‘Too much blood.’

Even after suffering a stroke that permanently damaged his nervous system in 2013, Sagawa continued to exploit and profit from his murder of Renée Hartevelt by giving various interviews reflecting on his actions.

Understandably, Renée Hartevelt’s family was not happy about the upsetting developments around the case and the attention that Sagawa received.

Dead at last

On November 24, 73-year–old Sagawa died of complications from pneumonia, his brother announced. His funeral was already held and attended only by his family. 

Shocked? Surprised? Tell us your thoughts on this cannibal adult movie star in the comments below.

Amsterdam wants a ban on smoking weed in the streets and residents have THOUGHTS

Liana Risseeuw 🇱🇰
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Amsterdam wants a ban on smoking weed in the streets and residents have THOUGHTS

In the wake of Amsterdam announcing its plan to ban smoking in the city centre and cull rowdy stag parties, people had…a lot of opinions.

To curb the mass influx of tourism to Amsterdam’s city centre, the municipality is proposing ANTI-FUN RULES (our words, not theirs). Some of these include:

  • banning selling weed after 4 PM
  • banning smoking weed in parts of the city centre
  • a curtain call for the Red Light District’s sex workers after 3 AM

Alright, the rules might be anti-fun, but as we all know tourism in the Dutch capital is more crowded than an Albert Heijn when there’s a 2-for-1 sale on white bread rolls.

However, plans to halt Amsterdam’s epidemic of smoking in public and the influx of tourists have been met with quite strong opposition in the past.

Amsterdammers didn’t hesitate to share their thoughts

Het Parool did a deep dive into public opinion of the municipality’s plan. Here’s what Amsterdammers thought:

A wrong priority?

One reader was quick to point out that Amsterdam’s methods of curbing tourism did precious little to make a dent in the raging housing crisis or the ridiculous rents charged by wealthy investors.

He also added that Amsterdam’s planned smoking ban does nothing to stop the sale and use of hard drugs, which is arguably the far greater issue.

Too many tourists? Time to charge them for access to the city centre

In true thrifty Dutch style, another responder claimed that the best solution would be to pull a Donald Trump and BUILD A WALL and charge non-Amsterdammers for access. No, we’re not kidding.

Yes, the issue is so bad that even the tourists are complaining about tourists. 👀

Rubbish dumpers, rats, and wild pissers are the real problem

If you’ve been taking to the streets of Amsterdam for a public wee, this reader has a bone to pick with you.

According to her, between public urination, dumping rubbish on the streets, and people smoking in spite of the ban, both real tourists and residents are being driven away. Maybe encouraging public urination is then the solution?

Ban tourists on bikes next!

Cheering at the ban, which would mean they’d no longer get a noseful of weed smoke from partying tourists, one reader even called for harsher terms.

The reader energetically pointed out the danger of hordes of “clumsy tourists” on heavy electric bicycles, adding that he’d sign up for enforcement entirely for free if his suggested ban were to go through.

How about a slow Sunday?

Although they were happy to be living in the centre, another reader noted that there hadn’t been a low season for years.

Their suggestion was introducing a “slow Sunday”, where all shops are closed on a Sunday and the entire city experiences a lull in activity.

Dubbing the proposal “beautifully boring”, the responder said it would open the door to creativity and a different form of tourism.

What are your thoughts on Amsterdam’s proposed smoking ban? Tell us all about them in the comments below!

The Dutch are wearing orange at the World Cup and people are confused

Mihály Droppa
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The Dutch are wearing orange at the World Cup and people are confused

In the past weeks it was a joy to watch the confused Americans tweeting about the Dutch team in their orange jersey. 

The Dutchies have a very charming image on an international level, but still, they like to boost that with some colour-coded outfits. 

They like to do it as publicly as possible, to show their love for their beautiful flat country. 

The only problem is that no one has a clue as to why they like to dress up as a carrot on occasion. 🥕

While watching the World Cup, there is another new group of people, who are desperately googling why the Dutch team wears orange colours. 

But after all, it’s a more than legitimate question! The Dutch flag doesn’t even have orange in it (anymore) so many people wonder why they are not dressing up in red, white or blue.

Why do Dutch fans wear orange?

Around any international events where the Dutchies are competing with other countries, everyone dresses up in orange, all the stores start to sell orange accessories, and their excitement is more than visible. 

For some reason, when it comes to representing themselves at any world-renowned international events, like at the World Cup, they all jump into their closets for their carrot costumes. 

If you ever see this orange sea of people, you have two options: join or run! 

READ MORE: Challenge ahead: The Dutch to meet the U.S. in World Cup round of 16

If you don’t mind some oranje paint on your face, and you can learn the basic chant like, “Hup Holland hup!”

Why is there no orange in the Dutch flag?

Thanks for asking! Their flag does not include orange (and let’s be honest it might not be the most flattering colour to wear). 

But did you know that it used to be part of the flag? The flag was once orange, white and blue but the orange band was changed to red. Historians have a few theories as to why.

One of the most popular theories is that the dye used to stain the flag orange was prone to changing to a red colour over time. So to avoid confusion, the flag was officially changed to red.

So why is it orange? 🍊

The first blue orange blood member of the family was king William of Orange. He is known as the father of the Netherlands, bringing unity to the region for the first time. 

READ MORE: Why does the Netherlands love orange?

Since then, the name of the Dutch Royal family is Orange-Nassau. Don’t worry, it won’t be weirder than this. 

While the excitement and the so-called “orange fever” is less this year because of Qatar’s controversial human rights and corruption criticism, it is still quite visible. 

Do you have any orange clothes that you use to celebrate with the Dutchies? Tell us in the comments! 

Too many internationals: Dutch gov’t considers stopping student recruitment

Francesca Burbano
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Too many internationals: Dutch gov’t considers stopping student recruitment

The Dutch government is begging universities to quit advertising to foreigners to stem the flow of international students. 

While we know it’s great to study in the Netherlands (cycling and bitterballen anyone?), the housing crisis and ridiculously full lecture halls have got the Dutch government saying “nee.”

The House of Representatives and Minister for Education Robbert Dijkgraaf want to take action and stop actively recruiting international students.

The rise of internationals at Dutch universities

With more and more foreign students enrolling at Dutch colleges and universities every year, the number of international students has increased faster than the number of Dutch students.

In fact, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports that 40% of first-year students are from outside the Netherlands. 

Yet, this tiny country isn’t built for such huge numbers, leaving international students scrambling for rooms, paying huge amounts for hostels or hotels, or even having to sleep in tents for months at a time. 

Lecture halls at universities are also becoming overcrowded (and who likes to sit on the floor with their laptop awkwardly on their laps?)

Calling for action

In July, several universities already warned international students not to come to the Netherlands if they have not yet found a room. Now the government is stepping in. 

The government is asking universities to stop actively recruiting international students, for example, by not attending education fairs where students are encouraged to come. 

READ MORE | 7 things the Dutch government is doing to tackle the Dutch housing crisis

This way, students who plan to come to the Netherlands to study in the spring are already discouraged. 💔 Minister Dijkgraaf wants to release a plan in February that will attempt to contain the situation. 

Are internationals being given the same chance as Dutch students? Or is it simply the Dutch housing crisis at fault? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

Dutch zoo customers unknowingly eat vegan krokets for three years

Eva Gabriella
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Dutch zoo customers unknowingly eat vegan krokets for three years

For the past three years, Rotterdam Zoo has been secretly taking a stand against animal-cruelty by selling vegetarian krokets to hungry meat-eaters — and zoo-goers had absolutely no idea.

The unidentifiably veggie kroket left visitors of the zoo in disbelief when told that the otherwise meaty deep-fried snack was, in fact, meat-free. 

Meaty gossip

The zoo says that the decision was entirely on purpose. 

READ MORE: 3 weird Dutch food ‘things’ that will make you cry/laugh

“We want to encourage visitors to make healthier and more animal-friendly choices. A zoo is a perfect place for that,” a spokesperson tells EditieNL, RTL Nieuws reports.

You’re one to talk

While we’re in favour of anything that saves the animals, we can’t help raising an eyebrow — is a zoo where animals are locked up for human enjoyment really the best place to argue for vegetarianism?

READ MORE | The Dutch food dream: 13 unmissable dishes in the Netherlands

Although, we’ll give them this: the zoo’s krokets probably taste far better compared with the ones that fester in the vending machines at FEBO. 😉

Will you be heading to Diergaarde Blijdorp for your Meatless Mondays? Let us know in the comments below.

‘Sinterklaas isn’t the only one who’s coming’ says raunchy Dutch pharmacy ad

Lyna Meyrer 🇱🇺
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‘Sinterklaas isn’t the only one who’s coming’ says raunchy Dutch pharmacy ad

Christmas ‘came’ early to this Dutch drugstore in Leiden! The Leiden-branch of Kruidvat has come out with a heel spicy ad for the Christmas season… but not everyone is a fan. 👀

To promote the sale of the Satisfyer Pro 2, a highly popular sex toy, the staff at the store came up with a creative (to say the least) slogan: “Sinterklaas isn’t the only one who’s coming this year” and in smaller letters “(Santa Claus too).”

And its potential buyers, of course. 😏

“Sinterklaas isn’t the only one who’s coming”

A photo of the display, shared by an unexpecting shopper, went viral on Twitter, where reactions differed — let’s just say not everyone was satisfied.🙅‍♀️ 

Translation: Sinterklaas isn’t the only one who’s coming this year (Santa Claus too)

Difficult to explain

While many people responded positively to the initiative, others got a little hot and bothered by the raunchy ad. 

Dutch parents in particular, took to Twitter, writing that an ad of this type was “difficult for parents who have to explain [it] to their children.” 

Going, not coming 

While the display is certainly a conversation starter, Kruidvat has put a stop to it. 

In a statement to RTL Nieuws, Kruidvat explained that the cheeky display was a local initiative that the store staff came up with. The spokesperson added that Kruidvat wants to be a shop for the whole family, and although they “like a bit of humour … this is not [their] style.” 

As a result, the story ended (or should we say climaxed?😉) with the removal of the billboard, after Kruidvat urged the Leiden branch to remove the sign ASAP. 

Don’t worry though gals, the promotion still stands. So run (don’t walk) to Kruidvat if you want 50% off the Satisfyer 2 Pro. 🏃‍♀️

What do you think of this local Kruidvat’s bold initiative? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Here’s what the Dutch listened to on Spotify in 2022

Liana Risseeuw 🇱🇰
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Here’s what the Dutch listened to on Spotify in 2022

Are you wondering what liedjes (songs) the Netherlands was dancing to this year? Wonder no more — Spotify Wrapped just dropped! 🪩

Wrapped, a viral marketing campaign by music streaming service Spotify shows users what songs they’ve been binging throughout the year as well as the total number of hours they’ve spent on the app.

Hoera, Netherlands for the win!

Dutch artists dominated the local charts this year, with eleven of the top twenty songs by singers from the Netherlands. 🇳🇱

Nabbing the title of the most listened artist on the Dutch charts was Antoon, whose hits ‘Hallo’ and ‘Olivia’ clearly struck a chord with listeners on Spotify.

He beat foreign heavyweights Ed Sheeran and The Weeknd, who came in second and third place, respectively.

It’d be careless of us not to mention all the fantabulous memes and clips made.

Rapper Drake and DJ David Guetta also swiftly followed in fourth and fifth place, respectively, summing up the top five most listened-to artists in the Netherlands.

Loads of hits…and a blast from the past

‘Vluchtstrook’ by Kriss Kross Amsterdam, featuring Antoon and Sigourney K, was the most streamed hit in the Netherlands this year.

Hot on its heels was Harry Styles’ ‘As It Was’ in second place and MEAU’s ‘Dat Heb Jij Gedaan’.

In fourth and fifth place were James Hype’s ‘Ferrari’ and Cristian D’s ‘Amsterdam’.

Meanwhile, Kate Bush’s 1985 bop ‘Running Up That Hill’ reappeared in the top ten — at number 10. 💃🏻

It was likely propelled there after being featured in the wildly successful (and dare we say wildly addictive? 👀) Netflix TV series Stranger Things.

What songs were in your Spotify Wrapped playlist? Tell us all about it in the comments below!

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