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Amsterdam canals are falling down after decades of negligence

Emily Burger
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Amsterdam canals are falling down after decades of negligence

Yesterday afternoon, the quay wall on the Grimburgwal in Amsterdam partially collapsed due to disrepair. Unfortunately, this was not the only canal to collapse in recent years.

The youtube video below shows the damage after the collapse, presumed to have been caused by a sinkhole. A calamity team is on sight to investigate the collapse, reports RTL Nieuws. In the mean time, the building on the quay has been cleared and sheet piling has been put in place to support the remaining quay.

A growing pattern

In 2017, a huge sinkhole formed at Marnixstraat and in 2018 a quay wall on Nassaukade collapsed. The Amsterdam municipality began mapping the 829 old bridges of its centre last year. Of the 21 that have been fully investigated, 10 were in such bad shape they had to be reinforced immediately, reports NOS.

Not ‘sexy enough’ for funds

Responsible alderman Sharon Dijksma admits that not enough maintenance has been done on the canals in recent years. Since the 1980s, too little money has been allocated to maintenance because it was “not a sexy subject”. Instead, money has been directed to more exciting social projects, and now Amsterdam’s canals are paying the price.

20 years to fix everything

“Last year we started an extensive program to solve all that overdue maintenance in the coming years,” said Dijksma. “But we have about 200 km of quay wall to investigate and more than 800 bridges. We are now going to work eight times faster than before to renovate everything, but it will still take us about 20 years.”

In a report from 2019, the Amsterdam municipality estimates the recovery programme to cost around €3 million. But in the long term, this amount could rise to around €2 billion.

Repair teams will use divers and X-rays to record where there is movement in quay walls down to the millimetre. As soon as a weak spot is discovered, parking spaces and trees are removed, and if necessary bridges are closed.

Dijksma emphasized that they are doing their best but sinkholes can happen at any time. “It is a race against time. It is unpredictable where something goes wrong. Such a sinkhole can occur anywhere.”

Do you feel safe walking the canals in Amsterdam? Let us know in the comments and follow DutchReview on Facebook for more news. 

Feature Image: Jack Winbow/Pexels

5 things to look forward to during the Embassy Festival weekend

DutchReview Crew
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5 things to look forward to during the Embassy Festival weekend

Oh how we’re looking forward to this weekend! There’s a very special online edition of the Embassy Festival for all of us, filled with cultural delights.

We say this weekend, but the fun will already start this Thursday. Who doesn’t love an extra-long weekend, right?

READ MORE | Here’s how to travel the world without leaving the Netherlands: the Embassy Festival!

The Embassy Festival weekend kicks off with a live pub quiz

Test your cultural knowledge during the Embassy Festival Pub Quiz! Our host Irish Questionmark is ready to fire lots of questions from his home studio to our wonderful community during this two-part special on September 3 and 4! Join in and answer lots of trivia questions about the festival, the participating countries and much more!

Are there any prizes? YES! They’ll be giving away Embassy Festival Surprise Boxes, Recipe Booklets and more! The quiz will be a two-part special, with an hour-long show on Thursday, September 3 at 7 pm and at the same time on Friday 4 September.

The best thing is you can join in for free: GO TO PUB QUIZ (pub quiz will be viewable on Thursday from 6.45pm-ish)

P.S. If you browse through the Embassy Festival website, you might gain some knowledge that will help you during the quiz!

Everyone will receive their Embassy Festival Surprise and Wine Box!

The Embassy Festival 2020 is a little different to previous years — to comply with social distancing rules they’ve launched an incredible food and wine box, instead of a physical festival. They wanted to give our community a sense of the International Market they would normally walk along and offer an opportunity to keep on discovering flavours from all over the world.

At the moment, they’re working tirelessly to pack them all up and get them ready for shipping or pick up. But most of all, they’re incredibly curious to find out what you think! So go ahead and share your unboxing videos and photos with them by using #embassyfestival and by tagging Embassy Festival on Instagram and Facebook. Let’s celebrate the Embassy Festival together!

All of the exclusive content will go online!

You might want to sit down for this one. Because this weekend, with the online Embassy Festival you can (amongst other things): Learn Polish, Korean, learn about Georgian wine, how to make Origami, learn Taiji, watch amazing music, learn how to cook dishes from all over the world and even (you’re reading this right) show you how to make Hanji Rubber Shoes. If this isn’t a diverse and cultural way to spend your weekend, we don’t know what is! More than 50 videos will be published from Friday September 4 at 5 pm and we’re so excited to see everything.

In the past few weeks, a few have already been shared, including Irish Dancing at the Hofvijver, an exclusive performance from Lachy Doley all the way from Australia, a cooking tutorial showing you how to make Palestinian Makloubeh and more. This weekend, get ready for some binge-watching, cooking, dancing and singing. We’ve got some blasts from the past in our ‘Memory Lane’ section, which includes brand-new and exclusive videos from artists that have played at the festival before.

We’ve already mentioned Lachy Doley, but it doesn’t stop there. Con Brio, Paul Beaubrun and Oslo Fat String Quartet have also joined in and created videos for you. Then there are all the cooking videos for you to dive into (some of those will be a great match with your Recipe Booklet) Want to get creative? There’s lots of that too! In fact, there’s more than we can mention in just a short summary, so head on over to the programme page and set your alarm for Friday at 5 pm!

Read exclusive interviews with ambassadors

In the past few weeks, Embassy Festival has had the delightful opportunity to speak to ambassadors from all over the world and they’ve told so many interesting stories, fun facts and insights about their heritage, culture, traditions and their experiences in the Netherlands. Did you know that there’s an underground wine cellar-heaven in Moldova with a Chardonnay street and Pinot street, for example? Or did you know that there are more saunas than cars in Finland?

We also loved hearing their views and insights about living in the Netherlands. “I was positively surprised to see that the Dutch people cycle even when it’s raining and snowing hard, even with children in the front and back!”, the Ambassador of Azerbaijan said.

You can read the interviews with the ambassadors of Palestina, Republic of Chile, Azerbaijan, South Africa, Republic of Moldova, Costa Rica and Finland on the website.

Taste the world with the Recipe Booklet

We love the Embassy Festival’s many dishes published in their Recipe Booklet — it’s crammed full of flavours we never thought possible. Surprise your family, friends and yourself by making a dish you hadn’t heard of or tried before. A few examples, you ask? Pupusas from El Salvador, Samaki Choma from Tanzania, Irish Stew and Sernik from Poland are all featured. And the rest? If you haven’t already, you can still order your Recipe Booklet here. Share any dishes you’ll be making by using #embassyfestival!

Are you indulging in a good bath of culture this weekend at the Embassy Festival? Tell us in the comments below!

Feature Image: Alina Krasieva

The V-shaped airplane: A step towards more sustainable flight

Sarah O'Leary 🇮🇪
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The V-shaped airplane: A step towards more sustainable flight

Researchers at TU Delft have been left satisfied after a five minute test run of the V-shaped plane. 

The flying V has been a project of the Aerospace Engineering department at TU Delft since 2017. Seeing the success of the test flight brings hope to both the researchers and investors such as KLM.

The plane is designed in such a way that the passengers will be seated within the V-shaped wings of the aircraft. This is where most of the action will be happening as the fuel tanks and cargo decks will also be located within the wings.

A movement towards more sustainable flight

The new aircraft design is a step towards a more sustainable future for air travel. The key to its sustainability is found in the odd shape.

The flying-V has the same wing span as other airbuses, which means that it could use the already existing infrastructure of present airports. The flying-V could also hold about the same amount of passengers and cargo as a traditional plane. However, the difference is found in the flying-V is less wasted surface area.

Project leader at TU Delft, Dr. Roelof Vos, has explained on TU Delft’s website how this leads to more sustainable flight “The Flying-V is smaller than the A350 and has less inflow surface area compared to the available amount of volume. The result is less resistance. That means the Flying-V needs less fuel for the same distance.”

To put it simply, by decreasing the surface area of the plane, less fuel is needed to propel the flight through the air and to its destination. The researchers believe this could lead to 20% less fuel used during flight.

Flying in style

The flight experience within the wings of the plane is not compromised by the cabin’s new location. Designers at the university have said the wings could be fit with traditional cabins, or, they could offer a more oval shaped cabin space in which passengers could choose between different seating layouts such as lounge chairs, group seating, individual seating and collapsible beds.

The test flight

Researchers used a scaled-down version of the V-shaped plane for the test flight in July. The test model had a wingspan of three meters, so there weren’t any passengers on board, but the maiden voyage proved to be promising for researchers.

The flight proved that the aircraft would perform more sustainably, and whilst there was a rough landing, the researchers now know that landing gear needs to be adjusted on the nose to increase stability.

The test flight of the flying-V has proven that the design can be more than just a concept on paper. More importantly, it proves that there are ways to make air travel more sustainable, the V-shape may be the next evolutionary step in the creation of planes.

What would you do if you saw a flying-V in the sky? Would you fly in this plane? Let us know in the comments below! 

Feature Image: Edwin Wallet/ TU Delft press release

Ten-minute trains will be running on busy routes by 2022

Ailish Lalor
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Ten-minute trains will be running on busy routes by 2022

In 2022, the NS plans to have trains running every ten minutes on the lines between Nijmegen, Arhem, Utrecht and Schiphol and between Schiphol, Leiden, The Hague and Rotterdam.

Currently, four trains per hour travel on these routes. When ten-minute trains are implemented, that will rise to six trains per hour. A ten-minute train already runs between Amsterdam and Eindhoven.

The plan is to make travelling by train an even more attractive alternative than going by car. Before coronavirus, hundreds of thousands of people would travel on these routes, says State Secretary van Veldhoven. These new trains will reduce overcrowding on the routes.

Van Veldhoven says that despite coronavirus, work on reinforcing the tracks in preparation for these extra trains should continue. “The train is and remains a basic facility for many people to get to work, to family or to school.”

The Dutch government is well aware of the increasing popularity of train travel. Apart from these ten-minute-trains, more frequent and faster international train travel is a priority. The Eurostar from Amsterdam to London will begin running this autumn, after delays from the coronavirus crisis. A night train to Munich and Vienna is also in the works this year, and the Netherlands is also working on speeding up travel times to Brussels and Berlin.

Which train routes would you like to see more frequent trains on? Let us know in the comments below.

Feature Image: Abuzer van Leeuwen/Supplied

Tonight’s press conference: “We have come a long way since March,” says Rutte

Ailish Lalor
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Tonight’s press conference: “We have come a long way since March,” says Rutte

Tonight’s press conference marks six months since the coronavirus crisis truly began in the Netherlands. Prime Minister Rutte took the time to remind Dutchies how far we’ve come since then.

There were no major new measures announced this evening. Clubs and discos will remain closed until further notice, as expected. “Although that is certainly bad news for those industries, the risk of infection is just too great,” Rutte explained.

The Prime Minister also was clear on the fact that everyone is free to question and criticise the measures the cabinet takes. He emphasised that the cabinet is not only listening to the OMT, but also to industry representatives and ordinary people. He and the Minister for Health, Hugo de Jonge, will be holding an online session where people can ask questions and freely criticise the measures in place.

Overall, though, the tone of the press conference was cautiously optimistic. Rutte complimented Dutch people on the good job they had done in (so far) avoiding a second wave. For the first time in a while, the reproduction number of the virus is below one, meaning that each person who is infected infects less than one other person, on average. The number of infections has stayed pretty stable for the last few weeks, after a sharp increase in early August.

Rutte remarked that in comparison to other countries around the world, everyday life has resumed quite quickly in the Netherlands. “Now, after a week of working or studying, you can– with a few extra rules– go for a beer on a terrace, or have dinner with friends, or go to the cinema in the weekends,” he said. “Focus on what is possible here, because it is quite a lot. But we need to stay alert.”

Minister de Jonge then took over, and gave a run down of the more technical aspects of the last few weeks. He noted that the GGDs and testing laboratories are under pressure because of the high demand for tests. “Only get tested if you have symptoms,” he emphasised. He said that extra pressure is expected on testing facilities over the coming months, as more people have cold symptoms during winter. Labs are being expanded, and the Netherlands has also signed contracts with two German laboratories to alleviate the pressure.

You can follow DutchReview on Facebook for more updates on coronavirus in the Netherlands. 

Feature Image: Press Conference/DutchReview

Dutch train stations to become completely smoke-free

Sarah O'Leary 🇮🇪
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Dutch train stations to become completely smoke-free

It has been announced that both ProRail and NS train stations will be getting rid of smoking areas on train platforms. 

As of October 1, smoking will be banned on train platforms throughout the Netherlands. This means that train stations will be completely smoke-free as the platform was the last area within stations that passengers were allowed to smoke.

Throughout the month of September, smoking polls and grids will be removed from the 100 train stations in which they had remained.

From April, cigarettes could no longer be bought from kiosks at the stations.

A healthier Netherlands

This follows an announcement by the NS and ProRail back in January, in which they claimed that they wanted to abide by the National Prevention Agreement of 2018. The Agreement looked at initiatives to make the Netherlands healthier. One of these initiatives was to see train journeys become completely smoke-free. This is meant to help the Netherlands become a smoke-free society by the year 2040.

Director of the NS, Anneke de Vries told NOS that “we would like to offer our travellers a smoke-free journey. The public opinion about this is really changing. The time is now.”

De Vries believes measures will help those who want to quit. “By no longer selling cigarettes, NS can make things a lot easier for them.”

The director of ProRail, Ans Reitstra, was in agreement with De Vries, claiming that smoking is more of a nuisance for travellers than a luxury. “When you smoke, you are always a burden to others. People are walking around it, people are waiting on busy platforms. People suffer from that.”

Reitstra believes that if people can do a smoke-free train, they can survive a smoke-free station. “I think everyone is ultimately happy with smoke-free platforms.”

How do you feel about smoke-free train stations? Let us know in the comments below.

Feature Image: Donny Jiang/ Unsplash 

Coronavirus update: 3,597 new infections as Rutte prepares to front the press

Brin Andrews
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Coronavirus update: 3,597 new infections as Rutte prepares to front the press

This week’s coronavirus figures have been released by the RIVM. The number of infections is nearly the same as last week, with only a slight increase.

The number of positive cases has increased slightly to 3,597. This is up just nine new cases from last week’s 3,588.

More people have been tested, with 163,000 tests this week. That’s 23,000 more than last week. This resulted in a smaller percentage of positive results, at 2.2%, compared to last week’s 2.5%. The rate of reproduction is around 1.

The majority of the cases have been found in Amsterdam, with Rotterdam and Montfoort also seeing high numbers.

Image: RIVM

Fewer hospital admissions and deaths

The number of hospitalisations decreased this week. There were 57 new hospital admissions, 27 fewer than last week.

The number of corona-related deaths has also fallen. This week there were 24, which is down by eight since last week.

The RIVM also reports that four new cases of reinfection have been found in the Netherlands so far. Each of the four patients was over sixty, with several months between infections. Virologist Marion Koopmans says these cases are likely exceptions.

Overall, this week offers an optimistic view of the coronavirus trajectory in the Netherlands. The greater levels of testing and lower levels of hospitalizations and deaths show that the virus is being well-managed.

READ MORE | Coronavirus in the Netherlands: all you need to know [UPDATED]

Recent happenings

While the current state of coronavirus is hopeful, people are still asked to follow coronavirus safety measures. Young people have been continuing to gather in groups, despite current corona restrictions. The police are asking citizens to report illegal large gatherings.

Widespread public use of the new CoronaMelder app has been delayed. The virus-tracking app was set to be available September 1 but is now pushed back for an undetermined amount of time. It must wait for legal approval for data and privacy protection.

While the figures are looking better, coronavirus is anticipated to be around for a long time to come. The government is working on a new support package, to be effective October 1.

Tonight’s press conference

Tonight at 7 PM, Prime Minister Rutee and Minister De Jong will be holding a press conference to address the current state of the coronavirus in the Netherlands.

It’s been nearly six months since the corona crisis began. September 1 was said to be an important milestone in the country’s relaxation of restrictions.

While most of these restrictions have already been loosened (for example, regarding coffee shops and sex workers), waiting in the most anticipation have been nightclubs and discotheques. Reopening does not seem likely with the still high number of corona cases, though more will be certain tonight.

You can follow DutchReview on Facebook for more updates on coronavirus in the Netherlands.

Feature Image: DutchReview/Canva

All hail Mohammed: the bicycle beer king

Sarah O'Leary 🇮🇪
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All hail Mohammed: the bicycle beer king

Mohammed blessed the streets of The Haag yesterday as he cycled the outskirts of the city with a beer on his head. 

The encounter was fleeting, but brilliant. A writer for Geen Stijl managed to catch a few tidbits of information from this mystical individual as he balanced a beer on his head without so much as a wobble.

I’m sure many a bystander would have considered the fleeting figure of Mohammed cycling to be an apparition or fever dream. But he was very much real.

Hailing from Nigeria, Mohammed has been living in Germany for the past 6 years. However, he decided to make a day trip to The Haag and it feels like Sinterklaas came early.

He didn’t have much planned so he decided to go for a leisurely cycle. And a beer.

Mohammed remained humble about his undeniable skills, when told he was a man of many talents, he replied “No. I have no talents” as he hopped from the curb to the cycle path without so much as a drop of beer spilt.

When asked about his opinion of the Netherlands Mohammed gave the thumbs up and said the country was “cool.” This means so much more given how cool Mohammed is himself. There is a certain power in a thumbs up given by a man cycling with a beer on his head.

We hope Mohammed had a great visit to the Netherlands and thank him for blessing the streets with such skill. Can you cycle with a beer on your head? 

Feature Image: Screenshot/GeenStijl 

Hundreds volunteer to test Leiden coronavirus vaccine (for €4700)

Ailish Lalor
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Hundreds volunteer to test Leiden coronavirus vaccine (for €4700)

Hundreds of people have volunteered to be part of the next trial phase of a potential coronavirus vaccine.

The vaccine was developed in Leiden by Janssen Vaccines. It will be tested in Groningen, Utrecht and Leiden. This phase of the trial will test the vaccine on 135 volunteers. In Groningen, the tests will be done by a company called PRA Health Sciences, who have been inundated with far more volunteers than they need.

Each volunteer will be compensated with €4,700, a fee which is calculated based on the number of actions the volunteer has to take, and the length of the trial period. It is approved by the Central Committee on Human Research (CCMO).

PRA’s 45 volunteers will be based in Groningen, but there are already hundreds of applicants. “It is already clear that many people want to contribute to the development of a vaccine. There are now many hundreds of registrations,” says Ronald Koning, Vice-President of PRA.

The Leiden vaccine has already passed through two testing phases: once on monkeys, and this summer, in the previous phase of the trial, it was tested on more than a thousand Americans and Belgians.

Would you volunteer to test the coronavirus vaccine? Let us know in the comments below.

Feature Image: DutchReview/Canva

Moving to Amsterdam: an Expat Saga (2020)

Madalina Buzdugan
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Moving to Amsterdam: an Expat Saga (2020)

So, you’re taking the leap and moving to Amsterdam — great! This city is expat heaven for many, but it sure comes with its own challenges and bumps along the way too. Luckily, I’ve been through it all so feel free to learn from some of my mistakes 😉

I came the Netherlands 3 years ago and instead of moving to Amsterdam, I initially chose the quaint city of Eindhoven. But the call of Amsterdam was too strong for me to resist, so I started a new job and hoped on the train up north. If you too are moving to Amsterdam soon, here’s a few pointers to help you in your first few months here:

Do not underestimate the housing situation

canal houses in Amsterdam
Moving to Amsterdam: a challenging task. Image: DutchReview/Supplied

Facebook groups, friends of friends or housing agencies — start looking for a place in advance. Check out which are the best neighbourhoods to live in, learn from other people’s mistakes and be patient. Understand that Amsterdam outgrew itself too fast for its own good and it’s still settling in with its new-ish “cool capital” title.

It’s a small capital, but it’s big enough to make you commute

I was SO used to biking everywhere that I didn’t even think about getting a monthly subscription for public transportation. I mean, this is a capital that doesn’t even have 1 million inhabitants, right?

Fast forward to my first week here, I learned that I’m not only bad at mornings but I’m particularly bad at biking 10 km to work in the winter. Long gone are the days when I could wake up at 9 am and be in the office by 9:30 because my commute now take 45 times. It involves a metro and a tram change and a tiny bit of walking. Next month it will take me an hour, yay me!

The biking is aggressive

via GIPHY

I bike like a granny and I’m proud of it. I enjoy the ride and I don’t like being in a rush. Yeah, that’s not really a thing in Amsterdam. God forbid you didn’t take off the second before the light turned green, they will bike-honk from the back of the line. I laughed the first time it happened. I hurried up the next time. Or if you really want to integrate, why wait for the green light? It’s still surprising to me how many people jail-bike (is that a thing?).

It’s an expat wonderland but it’s driving people crazy

From the housing crisis to its bustling business environment, people are not as relaxed as I’m told they used to be. Competition for jobs and internships is fierce, people are in a rush and it’s changing my outlook on Dutch lifestyle. I’m holding tight to my daily dose of gezzeligheid and I’m finding it harder to nurture new friendships. Yet again, they say it’s not as easy to make friends when you get older. Ahem, experienced, not old.

The city center is a forbidden area

Listen to me, Amsterdam receives 5+ million tourists every year. The city center where all the pretty canals are is only so big. When you move here, go there several times in a short amount of time and get it out of your system. It’s a bit like walking in a Disney park, a lot of sparkles and glitter, tons of noise and people bumping into each other. I think it’s pretty cool the municipality is finally starting to direct the way tourism develops.

It’s expensive AF

I don’t even know where my money is going to be honest. Ask me again in a couple of months, I just finished paying a deposit, contract fee and rent for the first month so I basically know nothing. But if you want to cry, take a look at the how much more expensive Amsterdam is compared to Eindhoven. 65% more expensive rent? Ah, the joys of living the dream. I know, I shouldn’t be comparing, apples and pears, I need a second to adapt here.

Go for it

via GIPHY

You moved here, you did. Go on, live a little. Go to the awesome events you find all over the city, network, try all the local drinks, visit the museums, do some of the touristy things, eat all bitterballen. You’re here, enjoy!

What are your biggest concerns or things you look forward to about moving to Amsterdam? Let us know in the comments below and be sure to follow DutchReview on Facebook.

Feature Image: Ethan Hu/Unsplash
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in January 2018, and was fully updated in September 2020 for your reading pleasure.

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