Now the police in the eastern part of the Netherlands will use, from today, unmanned drones in order to make 3D pictures and to get an overview at the scene of an accident. Seventeen drones pilots have been trained, and more are to come. The police chose East Netherlands for this year-long trial because there are no major airports nearby, making it safer to fly drones.
Drones can be used for something more useful than an Amazon delivery. Who would have thought??
On the other hand, the police has also started training eagles in 2016 to fight illegal drones posing a threat to the public or flying too close to airports or sensitive areas. You don’t believe me?? Check for yourself:
Since I live in Groningen, I can’t count how many stereotypes I heard about Friesland; apparently, there is some sort of rivalry between the two northern provinces, often fueled by the occasional Frisian independentism. Hence I had this idea of the average stubborn Frisian man, speaking a weird variation of Dutch and sliding along the canals with his iceskates, claiming that Fryslân boppe en de rest yn’e groppe (kind of “Friesland über alles”).
My first shock encounter with the Frisian language happened in the train to Leeuwarden, where I didn’t realize the name of the stops were pronounced in Frisian first – I just assumed my Dutch was still very bad since I did not recognize the cities from the pronunciation.
Then I started hanging out in Leeuwarden, and I dared to say “Hey, Friesland isn’t bad as they say! And I even get some Frisian words”, but BAM! More distinctions being made between Leeuwarden and the rest of the Friesland, while I was already having a hard time distinguishing the different accents and languages (yes, Frysk is different language) in the North, nevermind one city from another. So what’s the matter with Friesland? And what is there to do in Leeuwarden, Cultural Capital of Europe in 2018?
Friesland – Cultural identity
If you want to understand Friesland and its capital, you gotta get to know its history and identity!
Friesland has historically strived for freedom; while feudal lords ruled over most of Europe in the Middle Ages, no aristocratic structures emerged in Frisia. This ‘freedom’ was represented abroad by redjeven, elected among the wealthier farmers or representatives of the autonomous rural municipalities.
During the late 19th and early 20th century, ‘Frisian freedom’ became the slogan of a regionalist movement in Friesland, demanding equal rights for the Frisian language and culture within the Netherlands. The Fryske Nasjonale Partij (FNP) has become popular over the years in the local government elections; initially the FNP aimed for independence, but in recent years they have stepped away from chasing that dream actively and became more a sort of fighters against the slow decay of the Frisian culture and identity. It calls for greater autonomy of the region, government use, protection and recognition of the Frisian language and Frisian control over its gas reserves.
So do Frisians consider themselves separate from the Dutch? Some more than others considers themselves culturally separate from the Dutch, and in all fairness if you are raised in Friesland there is a strong passionate feeling towards the Frisian history, identity and culture.
Leeuwarden identity
Leeuwarden (or Liwwadden, or Ljouwert, depending on the language/accent – see what the problem is…) is quite an old city, dating back to the 10th century. Since at the time the Middelzee was still present, the city gained an important role in the maritime trade; however, when the river became clogged with silt in the 15th century, the trade dropped off dramatically. The city saw a golden era in the 16th century, when it became the residence of Nassau, governor of the northern provinces.
Since the capital of the province is always some kind of “big city”, with many people from different provinces or even countries, it is a bit hard to find the same strong Frisian cultural identity in Leeuwarden; not as many people talk or understand Frysk, and the “Frisian pride” is not as strongly felt. But there is definitely a Leeuwarden pride, as there is a Leeuwarden accent (Liwwadden is its name in Stadsfries, or City Frisian).
In contrast to university cities such as Groningen, the percentage of students in the city’s population is not so high; you will notice that, walking around the city, you’ll see many more middle-aged/elderly people. This is actually something nice to see, as the identity of the city is much more maintained when all the generations are present.
To see and do in Leeuwarden
Historical city center
The binnenstad (downtown) is definitely nice to see and explore with all its small shops and restaurants. Also worth a look are:
the Stadhouderlijk Hof, former residence of the royal family, and its garden.
The Oldehove, unfinished, tilted church tower; built to compete with the Martinitower in Groningen, it definitely didn’t win the race, although its resemblance to the tilted Pisa tower (and the view from the top!) made it famous.
The Fries museum, with a very good permanent collection and interesting temporary ones – right now, there is an intriguing exhibition about the famous Dutch actress and spy Mata Hari, born in Leeuwarden.
The cute stadspark Prinsentuin, hosting a variety of festivals over the year.
Also, check out the ceramic tiles on the exterior wall of the Princessehof Ceramics Museum. The design is based on a piece from M.C. Escher (“Regular Division of the Plane With Birds”), commemorating the artist born in Leeuwarden.
Hang out in one of the many cafés to absorb the relaxed attitude of the city (Wikipedia/Michiel1972)
In the surroundings
the Blokhuispoort, an impressive former prison now being renovated to house restaurants, art galleries, shops and startups.
De Groene Ster: located approximately 20 minutes to the east of Leeuwarden, a nature park and recreational area. Constructed in the 1960s, the park covers over 1000 hectares and is hugely popular as a location to enjoy outdoor activities. You can also find the aqua zoo, several campsites and a golf course.
Festivals and nightlife
In the upcoming months several events are happening in the city chosen as Cultural Capital of Europe for 2018 – check the program here.
Leeuwarden also hosts a range of (not only) musical festivals, among which:
Welcome to the Village, a village within the city organized by a large group of young freelancers and more than five hundred volunteers. Food, design, music and innovation are the focus of this event.
Psy-Fi, one of the biggest Psy-Trance festivals in Europe.
CityRock, a music festival that celebrates rock in the broadest sense of the word: from classic rock, to bluesrock and metal.
Another location you might want to check for your nightlife is the Neushoorn, a ‘creative hub’ with two concert halls, a café, rehearsal rooms, audiovisual studios, dance studios, rooms for educational purposes and office spaces. Check their rich program here.
Eat in Leeuwarden
As you can imagine, there’s a huge amount of restaurants in Leeuwarden. Here my top 3:
Sin Jah, a pan-asian restaurant with an elegant atmosphere and the best sushi in Leeuwarden;
Jamuna, an indian restaurant in the heart of the city;
‘t Pannekoekenschip, because as any respectable Dutch city of course there’s a pancake ship!
* AKA stamppot.
Do you have other suggestions for things to see and do in Leeuwarden? Write in the comments section!
For more than a week now the Netherlands is wondering where Anne Faber is. The 25-year-old student is missing since she went for a bike ride in the forests surrounding Utrecht. Her bike, jacket and bag were already found and just now the news broke that the police has apprehended a suspect.
Anne Faber is still missing, the right pic was her last selfie
The suspect: a known sex-offender
In Den Dolder a 27-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the disappearance of Anne Faber. It is a sexual offender who is being treated in a psychiatric clinic. The suspect is also still ‘doing time’ for violent and criminal offenses, as the police reports. He was now occupied with his return to society and it is not yet clear how he is involved with this case.
Although it is not yet clear what he exactly has to do with the case of Anne Faber, these aren’t positive signs. According to the police, the main purpose of the investigation is to find out where Anne is and how the suspect is involved.
It sounds like a game of Monopoly, “Get Out of Jail, Free! (This card may be kept until needed or sold)” but it’s actually a real thing in the Netherlands. Just to be clear, Dutch prisoners can’t quite leave the facility, but they do have a bit more freedom. So what is this then?
Ten-thousands of Law-Abiding Dutch Prisoners (and a Few Incidents)
So, as part of a trial, Dutch authorities – the Judicial Institutions Service (DJI) to be exact – have been running a program involving tens of thousands of prisoners spread out over nineteen prisons. One of the main activities that keep prison guards busy, all day long, is opening and closing individual cell doors – because there’s always someone going to an activity, class or program somewhere. In fact, guards are so busy doing so that it takes away much of their time that could otherwise be spent on more important matters, such as actually keeping the jail facility safe and calm.
Ironically, no orange jumpsuits in Dutch prisons
To accommodate this problem, the DJI has been making keys for individual prisoners to lock their own cell from the outside, meaning once a prisoner leaves his/her cell they can lock the door themselves without further assistance and rest assured that nobody will rummage through what meager possessions they have. Needless to say, the guards have master keys at all times. Which would be necessary, because most certainly these crooks would make abuse. Right?
Believe it or not, the prisoners are more ‘law abiding’ then you might think! They certainly have been as part of this experiment! So far very few incidents have been reported.
One ‘minor’ recent incident included a prisoner who manipulating his keys in order to open his night lock, and a few locks and keys faced sabotage or disappearence. But so far those have not lead to any successful jail breaks as the systems are easily replaced and reprimand is always near. It appears the inmates are generally quite happy with their newfound “freedom” and would rather hold onto it than waste it on a futile escape attempts.
A cell in the (former) Bijlmerbajes, the notorious “tower prisons” in Amsterdam.
The Outcome
So far the experiment has been a success, guards feel less pressure and are more alert, inmates feel more freedom and responsibility while also being less suspicious of theft amongst themselves. Despite some sabotage attempts, things have turned out well for the rather liberal Dutch prison system.
Altogether the Dutch prison system has seen some significant change in recent years. Including but not limited to a rather massive prisoner decrease which in return lead to empty prisons. But the thrifty Dutch wouldn’t be themselves if they figured out a solution for that, they turned the prisons into asylum centers for refugees to have safe accommodation. And yes, they too have a key to their own ‘room’.
How do you feel about Dutch prisoners getting their own keys? Great idea or are we once again too soft?
Those Dutch elections were in March and it took them 6-7 months of ‘polderen’ but with results. A new Dutch government is slowly but surely releasing details of all kinds of groundbreaking policy rehauls. Let’s have a look at the new Dutch governmental policies on gender issues.
The new government will no longer unnecessarily register if a person is a man or a woman. The four parties that will form the new coalition want all branches of government to work as gender neutral as possible, as the NOS states. The measure is one of the ways in which the new coalition strengthens the rights of LGBTQ-people. The idea is also that Article 1 of the Constitution, everybody being equal and no discrimination, is supported this way.
A ‘Loesje’ text at a gender neutrality rally
Gender registration in practice
The municipalities, provinces and the empire are not meant to ask for the gender anymore if it is not necessary, for example, think about municipal letters about taxes and such. In some cases it is necessary, such as the passport.
D66 and the VVD have signed the Rainbow Voting Poll Agreement with several other parties (but not the two coalition partners!). This agreement is in favour of policy allowing kids with more than two (regular) parents, such as gays or a donor or mother-in-law who would like to be legally older. They also aim to alter Article 1 in a way that it will explicitly prohibit discriminating because of sexual preference or gender.
When it comes to other ‘gay rights’ issues in parliament the CDA and the Christian Union are expected to vote against, but will not force their coalition partners D66 and the VVD to do so too.
A big step for the coalition, as this was one of the principal points dividing the Liberal and Christian parties. What do you make of this new approach to gender registration by the new Dutch government?
This time they have set their aims at the horrible condition only in play in America: Nonsensical Rifle Addiction. Apparently, already 11.000 have died and 24.000 others are ‘injured’ from this NRA thing.
Damn America, let’s hope you’ve got a brilliant leader just to tackle this issue!
Another hit with Nonsensical Rifle Addiction?
Will this once again turn out to be a worldwide viral for Lubach? What did you think of it – was this too much or does this NRA-suffering population have to deal with their terrible sickness?
Ever been to Tilburg? Chances are you haven’t visited this city in Brabant yet. Most people know little about it, but did you know that it’s the 6th biggest city of the Netherlands? Travel and food blogger Anne from annetravelfoodie moved to Tilburg last year so she’s our local expert! She’s sharing her favorites with us in this guide to Tilburg, including several food spots as that’s her specialty!
‘Ever since I moved to Tilburg I feel like I became an ambassador to promote Tilburg. Many people visit Breda or Den Bosch but Tilburg is often overlooked. It’s a shame because it has a lot to offer! You could visit it during one of the many events and festivals that it organizes if you like buzzling activities. The ‘Tilburgse Kermis’ (Tilburg Fair) is the biggest fair in the Netherlands, hiphop festival Woo HaH! and psychedelic rock festival Roadburn attract a crowd from all over the world and every year you can dress up and drink beers during Carnaval. But Tilburg is also worth a visit any other time of the year!
Guide to Tilburg; art and food
Tilburg has 3 museums. The Nature Museum Brabant is a family friendly museum that teaches you everything about plants and animals, often with a link to human beings as well. Modern art museum De Pont exhibits its collection of contemporary art in an atmospheric former wool factory. Speaking of wool; there’s also the Textiel Museum (Textile Museum) that’s totally dedicated to what used to be the main industry in Tilburg.
Guide to Tilburg: Spoorzone
The Spoorzone in Tilburg is the area right behind the central train station that has been useless for years but is now hot and happening! In the last few years all kinds of new restaurants have opened up in the Spoorzone and it’s also an area that’s often used for events. One of my favorites is Festival Mundial, a festival with music from all over the world that is organized every June. Of all the food spots that have opened up in the last few years I have two recommendations. The first one is Stoom013, a coffee bar in an old train compartment. They have delicious coffees (with several kinds of (plant based) milk), multiple fresh teas and every day they serve a different kind of cake. All of them are home made by the way!
For dinner I recommend De Houtloods. It’s the perfect restaurant if you’re looking for a special night out. The interior is different than a regular restaurant. The open kitchen is placed at the center of the restaurant. You can literally watch the chefs as you’re having dinner. I always appreciate my plate so much more when I see how much effort the chefs have put into it! And they really do put a lot of effort in each dish. The combination of flavors and textures is perfectly in tune!
Foodie favorite: Nieuwlandstraat area
Speaking of food; you should check out the Nieuwlandstraat area. The Nieuwlandstraat ends with a little square and from there the main shopping street (Heuvelstraat) starts. The main shopping street has all the big brands and the Nieuwlandstraat has the independent shops and nice coffee places! For a good cup of coffee, you could go to Buutvrij that’s close to the central train station, or further down south to Locals for home roasted coffee. Locals also has a great lunch menu by the way, just like Tien Tilburg that’s just around the corner. Tien is a concept store, so they also sell clothes, jewelry and gifts. They only have a few tables, but it’s worth taking a seat there because they have delicious ‘tosti’s’ (grilled cheese).
Piushaven
The last area that I recommend for exploration is the ‘Piushaven’. Harbor is a big word for this part of the canal, but it is a very lively area. Many bars and restaurants have opened up there and especially when the weather is nice, it’s a great location to have a seat and enjoy the water. If you only have time to visit one restaurant at the Piushaven, you should go to Eethuis Twintig. They have a delicious lunch and dinner menu with great options for everyone (wether you like meat, fish or vegetarian food!). Want to read more about Tilburg? Check out Anne’s page with her favorite food spots here. And feel free to add to this guide to Tilburg by sharing your suggestions in the comments!
The excellent Erik Mouthaan of RTL had an interview with Hillary Clinton, former first lady and the only one able to lose an election against Donny Trump (such poor choices for the US almost a year ago, time flies – well not really).
One of the things that stood out from the half an hour interview was how she also indicated that her loss to Trump and the turn of events since (aka his idiotic regime) made it clear for Dutch voters that a far-right candidate might not entirely be the best way to go.
Here’s the segment, talk about that starting at 0.51:
Anything else? She stated that ‘we knew’ who the Russians backed in the Dutch elections (are there any leads or indications on that matter?) and being the apt politician she is, she never mentions Geert Wilders by his name.
She also mentioned that she might very well move to Amsterdam if things just got too much stateside.
Only 3 weeks ago Mayor Van der Laan took a step back as mayor with a powerful and emotional letter to all ‘Amsterdammers’ and now the sad news has arrived that he has passed away.
According to his spokesman, he died “at home in peace”. Van der Laan had been seriously ill for some time, suffering from lung cancer. On September 18, he informed the inhabitants of his city that he had been treated, this wasn’t working and that he, therefore, resigned his duties. He wanted more time for his family and all his duties were taken over by Mayor Kajsa Ollongren, who had already taken up several of his tasks since his diagnosis in early 2017.
Everybody feels the loss
The municipality of Amsterdam reports that the city council and the employees of the municipality are saddened by the loss of their beloved mayor. The same can be said for its citizens:
When he wrote his goodbye letter 1000’s of people gathered outside his home, to give him a standing ovation and show him support and love. His wife came outside to thank the people, saying that Van der Laan would have loved to stand there himself, but was too ill to come outside. One photographer managed to take a picture of him looking at the crowds:
The King just visited him on his sickbed, a photo of them of a few weeks back with Willem-Alexander gently supporting the sick Van der Laan touched many of our hearts.
The story of Eberhard van der Laan
Van der Laan was born in Leiden and studied law in Amsterdam at the VU – graduating cum laude in 1983. He then went on to work as a lawyer, being the co-founder of the firm Kennedy Van der Laan.
In 1976 he became a member of the PvdA and in the 1980s he worked as a political assistant of the Amsterdam Governor Jan Schaefer. Between 1990 and 1998 he sat for the PvdA in the Amsterdam Council. In 2008 he succeeded Ella Vogelaar as Minister for Housing, Neighborhoods and Integration. Since 2010 he was the much-beloved mayor of Amsterdam.
He truly made Amsterdam and the world a better place.
The dreaded letter you never want to see from an airline.
Gambling on Airfares
For once, I had planned ahead in March of this year to book my travel for American Thanksgiving holidays. For those unfamiliar with American travel habits, the day before Thanksgiving is among the busiest travel days of the year in the U.S. So, planning ahead seemed like a smart thing to do in the Spring, since this year’s Thanksgiving will be the first time I travel from overseas for it.
In March, I was only starting to learn about which European airlines operate from which airports, and offer what services and for how much. Fortunately, from the south of The Netherlands, there are numerous options for long-haul international travels:
Brussels-Zaventem is less than 1.5 hours by train or by auto
Düsseldorf is 1.5 hours by auto, 2.5 hours by train
Frankfurt Airport is 2.5 hours by auto, 3.5 hours by train
For comparison: Amsterdam Airport Schipol is 2.5 hours by auto or by train (or 3.5 hours by train/bus, when there was construction ongoing)
Naturally, my early instinct was to jump on cheap flights first, and especially the non-stop ones. So, using my normal go-to booking tool, google.com/flights and its tracking feature, I discovered AirBerlin and its cheap flights, which I ended up booking. But then I learned all too late by May this year — after I had already booked more with AirBerlin, one short-haul European flight and another summertime long-haul flight to New York — that AirBerlin was already in deep water with its finances as of the end of 2016. So all I could do in the summer was hold my breath and wait.
Bye-bye $$$
Plane Crashes of a Different Kind
Once I received the first warning signal from AirBerlin — they started changing my November flight schedule (May), then added a stop (August), culminating in its complete cancellation (October) — I started to seek more information to understand my chances of losing my Thanksgiving itinerary — and money, of course. As it turns out, I made a terrible investment. AirBerlin was already reportedly in a downward spiral from 2014-2016, racking up over 1.2 billion euros in losses, well over its 68 million euro valuation.
Further, AirBerlin wasn’t the only company to file for bankruptcy. Alitalia of Italy filed in the summer also, and Monarch Airlines of the U.K. just filed as well. In fact, both AirBerlin and Alitalia were financially supported by Etihad Airways, based in Abu Dhabi. When Etihad withdrew its investments in both carriers, that’s when Germany’s 2nd largest carrier and Italy’s largest carrier both quickly floundered. The loss of financial backing became the so-called “final nail in the coffin” on these airlines it seems, in the context of already having difficulty competing with numerous other European airlines offering super-low fares.
Three European airlines (AirBerlin, Alitalia, and Monarch) went bankrupt in the last 6 months.
So what now?
Even though AirBerlin claimed to continue their scheduled flights, the letter I received clearly indicates that it’s no longer possible. This is in spite of the possibility that Lufthansa might buy out part or some of AirBerlin.
For victims of Monarch’s abrupt stoppage of operations, there are fortunately some immediate resources available for people who have been left stranded, including some detailed instructions on how to contact the U.K. Government and Civil Aviation Authority, for example. It seems doubtful that this would remedy those in my type of situation, who have booked in advance of the actual travel though. For Monarch and Alitalia, perhaps the same is true as for AirBerlin, i.e. to await the opportunity to apply for reimbursement once legal proceedings move forward.
One other possibility is to make a claim through travel insurance. If you purchased travel insurance, whether you purchased it with your reservation, or externally through another entity (e.g. your bank or other Dutch insurer, credit card company, etc.), now would be a good time to read all that fine print. While the probability is low that there would be a clause for covering financial insolvency or “scheduled airline failure,” it’s still worth a shot to see if you have some independent avenue for getting your money back. I plan to pursue all of my possible options to claim my hundreds of euros spent on tickets for a now non-existent flight.
Take-home messages: Don’t buy airfare from an airline that’s on the brink of bankruptcy, no matter how cheap the flights are. It seems like of all industries, when it comes to air travel, there’s an above average chance that prices are too good to be true.
