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VIDEO INSIDE: Slide at Dutch Amusement Park Closed After Young Boy Almost Flies Off

Samantha Dixon 🇦🇺
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VIDEO INSIDE: Slide at Dutch Amusement Park Closed After Young Boy Almost Flies Off

A video of a young boy almost flying off a slide at the amusement park Billybird Park Hemelrijk in Volkel, North Brabant, has prompted the attraction to be closed down for investigations. 

In the video the boy is seen beginning his descent down, sliding happily over the first bump, and then flying dangerously into the air on the second and final bump. He hovers precariously above the edge of the slide, threatening to fall metres onto the ground below.

Fortunately, gravity deposits him heavily but safely back onto the slide where he completes the whizz to the bottom.

Father’s Reaction

Surrounding visitors and the boy can be heard giggling in the video when it occurred, but the guardian of the boy at the time sent the video to his father, Brett Van de Beurcht.

“At first I had to laugh at the video, but when I had seen it several times I was shocked,” Van de Beurcht explained to Editie NL. “Fortunately, no serious accidents happened. I can’t think about it.”

Van de Beurcht sent the video to the theme park, who decided to immediately close the slide. “We have sent the images to the supplier for further investigation. The slide will remain closed for the time being,” Wilke Arts of Billybird Park Hemelrijk told EditieNL.

“The slide is of course certified but we want to be able to guarantee the safety of all visitors at all times,” continued Arts.

The attraction only opened in April this year. This is the first formal complaint about the slide which has since been closed for investigation.

Been to this theme park or slid down this slide? Know of a theme park attraction gone wrong? Let us know in the comments below!

Feature Image: Screenshot from Looopings on Youtube

It’s Sunny Skies Ahead, Folks! Netherlands Headed for Warm Weather

Samantha Dixon 🇦🇺
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It’s Sunny Skies Ahead, Folks! Netherlands Headed for Warm Weather

If you’re sick of squinting through the rain that’s repeatedly pecking at your eyeballs as the wind forcibly pushes you and your bike in the direction you just came from, well boy, do we have some good news for you!

Them smart ol’ meteorologists over at Buienradar are predicting a transition to sunny and warm weather. We’re not quite sure how they made this prediction, but we think it involved purple turbans, incense, and a spherical glass ball with a mysterious fog inside.

Regardless of their methods, we’re pretty pleased that they settled on sunshine and summer weather because boy, we were worried about our ‘Dutch Summer’ there for a moment. (Since when did Dutch Summer come to meet record-breaking heat on one day to rain and clouds the next?!)

So what’s the forecast?

Let’s get to the good stuff. Over the next few days our metaphorical weather diet will consist of less metaphorical sunshine (yay!). But, we have to do a slow fade to that weather first.

Today we’re looking pretty dang sunny, but may start to get some clouds later in the morning. There will be some moderate southwest wind, and even a chance of local showers. But hold tight, the good stuff is yet to come.

Tomorrow we can all kick back, slap on some sunglasses, and enjoy “wonderful weather” with stacks of sunshine. The mercury will be hitting around 21 degrees in the middle, 23 degrees in the southeast, and 20 degrees in Wadden. In the afternoon there may be some cloud cover.

Over the following days it will be warming up further, and the sun is predicted to hang out with us all day! There will be enough sunshine to douse yourself and stockpile the extra into a little jar to save for winter. Temperatures will be steadily rising each day, heading towards a glorious 25 degrees in the northwest and 30 degrees in the southeast.

How will you be spending these sun-soaked days of summer up ahead? Let us know in the comments below!

Feature Image: Francisca Ungaro on Pexels

Dutch language out of stock: why employers are switching to English speakers

Samantha Dixon 🇦🇺
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Dutch language out of stock: why employers are switching to English speakers

“Staff Wanted,” reads the sign in front me. In English. In the Netherlands. Where they speak Dutch. The signs have popped up more and more over recent months: seemingly in every bar, restaurant and cafe we visit, or clothing store that we pass.

A huge gap in workers rears its head every Dutch summer. Shop owners have to scramble to fill it in the best ways they can. One such solution is doing away with the convention of speaking both Dutch and English. Instead, responsibility for breaching the language divide is increasingly belonging to the customer instead of the staff.

Why is this happening?

While exact figures on the number of solely English-speaking are not available, the rise in these employees has not gone unnoticed. Edwin Vlek, from the FNV hospitality trade union, told NOS that it is “extremely difficult” to find good staff in the industry.

“In the hospitality industry, there is relatively low pay. A large part of the staff works at the statutory minimum wage level,” Vlek said, explaining that students and youth are starting to choose different types of work. “In the past, it was a choice to hire English-speaking staff. Now it is necessary.”

Should the Dutch just speak English?

While the Dutch speak some of the best non-native English in the world, it’s understandable that they want to speak their own language in their own country. When they’re forced to speak English to an English-speaking server in the Netherlands it can be a jarring experience.

Here at DutchReview, we’re all for keeping culture intact (a.k.a we all have arts degrees ?‍♀️) so we can see where the Dutchies are coming from. On the other hand, we think everyone should at least attempt to learn a bit of Dutch. And ya know, if a gap exists and English-speakers can fill it, is it really a bad thing?

Do you think it’s acceptable for workers to only be able to speak English? Or is it rude for them to not be able to speak Dutch? Let us know in the comments below!

Feature Image: Pixabay

The World’s Largest Bicycle Parking Lot Just Opened in Utrecht

Kavana Desai
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The World’s Largest Bicycle Parking Lot Just Opened in Utrecht

The Netherlands makes it very easy to commute when you’re on a bike, but that also means that there are a lot of people fighting for parking spots. Well, we have some good news for you: Utrecht just beat out Tokyo for having the largest bicycle parking garage. It has 12,656 parking spaces and it just opened today at Utrecht Central Station, reports Trouw.

With this parking garage, the total number of parking spots around Utrecht Central Station brings it up to 22,000 spaces. ProRail says that we need at least 30,000 but we’re slowly reaching that number!

Image by Juliane Lutz from Pixabay

Being spread across three floors, this garage is the solution for anybody who needs to rush through Utrecht. And I mean anybody! They have made it easy for cyclists with a disability to be able to park right next to the main cycle path.

They also have slow ramps to help out anyone trying to get to the first floor or basement. Additionally, they’ve made sure that it is a very well lit garage, with ample security like cameras installed everywhere to make sure everyone feels safe to use it.

How much will it cost?

So, we have even more good news! It’s free to park there for the first 24 hours, after which it costs only 1.25 euros per day. A lot more space, cheap prices, and a safe garage. What more could you ask for?

Feature Image Source: Juliane Lutz from Pixabay

World’s Largest and Most Powerful Offshore Wind Turbine to be Installed in Rotterdam

Kavana Desai
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World’s Largest and Most Powerful Offshore Wind Turbine to be Installed in Rotterdam

Rotterdam is ready for a test run of the most powerful wind turbine in the world at Maasvlakte (much, much, much larger than the one in the image above). GE Renewable Energy and Future Wind (GE) signed an agreement earlier this year to cover a 5-year testing period and a 15-year full service and maintenance team. 

GE is a joint venture between Pondera Development and SIF Holding Nederland. The wind turbine will be installed at SIF’s building site on the coast for the testing period.

It is definitely going to be much larger than this one. Image by Erich Westendarp from Pixabay

What’s so great about the Haliade-X?

The special thing about the Haliade-X 12 MW is that it is modelled to be installed at sea. This is because the wind blows harder, and more often out at sea, thus having the capacity to generate more energy. It is also designed to run if the winds are not too strong.

According to NOS, GE expect it to “generate 45% more energy than the current most powerful windmill”. With each of the vanes reaching a length of 107m, strong winds will help generate enough energy to power around 16,000 homes. The Halide-X will be 260m high, which is almost as high as the Eiffel Tower!

First step towards more powerful wind turbines

Extensive research will be extensively carried out by TNO to figure out how to make more of these wind turbines a possibility. Larger wind turbines are able to generate more energy at lower costs.

They are not interested in only making huge wind turbines but also on “developing expertise on wind farms and on ways of integrating them into our rapidly changing energy system”. By 2030, they want to have the capacity to install at least 11.5 GW at sea, and they believe wind turbines like the Haliade-X will make this vision a reality.

We hope they can indeed accomplish this goal! Learning and watching people make great steps towards a more sustainable future is very satisfying to witness as more governments are taking the initiative. This project is a great step towards that and is even more exciting to watch it happen in Rotterdam. 

Feature Image: Erich Westendarp from Pixabay

PM Rutte at Lowlands; Festival a Success Despite Bad Weather

Kavana Desai
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PM Rutte at Lowlands; Festival a Success Despite Bad Weather

Lowlands was all set to become wetlands this last weekend, but it looks like people still had a blast! The weather forecast predicted that festival-goers would have to go well-equipped with their rain gear and splash around in puddles. However, Eric van Eerdenburg, the director, said that it was still a massive success.

Even Prime Minister Rutte was there at Villa Lowlands! This is the first time that a politician of the highest office has attended a festival.

When the bad weather first came on the radar, a lot of people sold their tickets to avoid a disappointing experience. But Eerdenburg told RTLNieuws that only a total of 7500 tickets were sold through Ticketswap. Last year, 1500 less tickets were resold.

He said that there was some rain, but there were “no major problems”. The festival-goers seemed not to have minded because twitter is abuzz with how amazing it still turned out to be. The sun did make an appearance sporadically, so it was not a total loss.

Were you one of the festival-goers? Did you spot the prime minister around in his typical Rutte fashion? Or did you sell your ticket for half its price? We hope no-one is experiencing FOMO right now! What else did you get up to this weekend? Let us know in the comments below!

Feature Image: Pixabay by Asam801

Great News! More Trains are Coming (But so are More Passengers!)

Samantha Dixon 🇦🇺
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0
Great News! More Trains are Coming (But so are More Passengers!)

Hallelulujah! A brand-spanking new train timetable is on its way just in time for Christmas! Come December, there will be more intercity and sprinter trains sitting festively wrapped under your tree. 

Not only will there be more trains, but ProRail are doubling down on their planning techniques to get the maximum result. Instead of scheduling to the minute, they will begin scheduling in ten second slots after a successful trial at Utrecht Centraal. That means instead of a train departing at 10:15pm it will leave at 10:15:20.

What new trains will run?

ProRail laboured over the new timetable for months and released the details today ready to take effect in December, according to NOS. Those heading between Amersfoort and Utrecht will rejoice to discover an extra two intercity trains per hour gracing their timetable, bringing the total up to six per hour. Eindhoven and Dordrecht have a similar situation.

Over summer the train between Haarlem and Zandvoort will also up the ante, while those travelling on sprinters between Amersfoort and Harderwijk will also benefit from an increase.

Why are they increasing the number of trains?

Dutch Railways (NS) is popular. So popular that they more than doubled their maximum expected growth of passenger kilometres on railways, growing by 4.6 percent instead of 1.9 percent.

Original data showed the railway tracks could be completely full by 2030, but NS and ProRail now fear that we’ll reach this by 2027 instead.

What else are they doing to fix it?

Coming in 2020 will also be extra-long freight trains of over 740 meters, over the average 650 meters. In comparison, the longest passenger trains are around 390 meters. This will allow more transport of goods by rail. (Goods?! We love goods!)

What do you think of the rail changes? Will you benefit from them? Let us know in the comments below!

Feature Image: NS

Too Many Travellers on Dutch Trains and it Might Only Get Busier

Kavana Desai
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0
Too Many Travellers on Dutch Trains and it Might Only Get Busier

Even though all of us complain about how much trouble we have with the Dutch railways, there’s no way we could avoid taking them because we have places to be and things to do. This is reflected in the growth of the number of travellers using them, which is faster than ProRail expected.

The latest figures show us that the number of passengers has grown by 4.6%. With growth rate increasing fast, the officials are saying that it will not be possible to extend the timetables and trains from 2027, reports NOS.

According to Roger van Boxtel, the NS chief executive, the Dutch need more trains, and they need them quick! “Now that the rail ceiling is approaching early, we urgently need more capacity to be able to run more trains,” he explained. “NS is, therefore, arguing, together with other transport companies, that the budget for ProRail should be made available sooner to resolve bottlenecks in the infrastructure for 2027.”

Where is the maximum growth seen?

Well, it’s hardly a surprise to see that the highest growth rate is in the Randstad. Major stations like Rotterdam Centraal, Schiphol Airport, and Leiden Centraal are seeing a higher growth rate than the national average. It’s getting so busy that it’s getting harder to find a seat during rush hour, so you may have to be prepared to fight the crowd for a place to sit.

Do you use the Dutch railways often to commute for work or otherwise? Have you noticed this increase in crowds on the tracks? Let us know in the comments below!

The Dutch are Living Longer – But Only if They’re Educated

Samantha Dixon 🇦🇺
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0
The Dutch are Living Longer – But Only if They’re Educated

New figures from Statistics Netherlands show that those living in the land of the tall people are starting to stretch their lifespans too. But (and this is a big but) only if they are educated. Those living in the lowlands that didn’t go to university can expect a shorter lifespan to their higher-educated counterparts. Sorry, we don’t make the rules ?‍♀️

Statistics Netherlands drew the conclusion after comparing the life expectancy of Dutch people in the past four years with the prior 2011-2015 period.

The agency found that the lifespan of those without a university education has remained stagnant over recent years, while those that spent some years studying increased.

The girls have it

We have good news for our female sisters who typically live longer than men regardless of education (girl power!). According to the study, educated females will live about four years longer than their less-educated female counterparts. Highly educated women who are currently 65 years old still have an average of almost 25 years to live. Lower educated women of 65 have ‘only’ 20 years left to live.

For the men, those currently aged 65 that are highly educated can expect to keep banging on for another 22 years, but males with less education will only go for another 17.

Both males and females have added about one year to the gap between lower and higher educated on previous studies.

Why such a difference?

Statistics Netherlands said they did not study the reasons for the difference in lifespans, but said it could be due to lifestyle factors.

“We do know that a number of factors play a role in life expectancy, especially the way people live. A healthy lifestyle can determine life expectancy,” said a spokesperson to RTL Nieuws.

“People with a higher educational level lead a healthier lifestyle than those with a lower educational level. When you think of things like smoking and being overweight, we see that more often among lower educated people.”

What do you think of the reasoning for the gap in lifespans? Let us know in the comments below!

Feature Image: Matthias Zomer on Pexels.

Dutch Royal Family in Mourning as Princess Christina Passes Away

Samantha Dixon 🇦🇺
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0
Dutch Royal Family in Mourning as Princess Christina Passes Away

Sad news from the Dutch royal family today as they announce the passing of 72-year-old Princess Christina. The Princess had suffered from bone cancer for several years and passed away in the Noordeinde Palace complex in The Hague earlier this morning. 

A private ceremony will be conducted at Noordeinde Palace in the Fagel’s Garden Pavilion, allowing close family and friends to pay their last respects. Her remains will then be cremated in private.

Who Was Princess Christina?

Princess Christina is the fourth daughter of Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard and the younger sister of Princess Beatrix. She dedicated her life to teaching vocal therapy in Italy and New York.

While her first name was Marijke, she began to use her second name Christina in 1963. She was married to Jorge Guillermo in 1975 and had three children: Bernardo, Nicolas, and Juliana.

Her mother, Princess Juliana, was infected with rubella during her pregnancy, causing Princess Christina to suffer from poor eyesight for her lifetime.

How will she be remembered?

A condolence register has been opened by the family. King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima said they were saddened by the her death.

“Christina was a striking personality with a warm heart,” they wrote via the Koninklijk Huis Twitter. “With her musical drive and talent she managed to touch many. We cherish the many beautiful memories of her.”

Feature Image: Harry Pot / Anefo [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

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