We have all come to accept that learning Dutch is tough! In fact it is so tough for us non-native folk that everyone* gives up at some point (*totally made up statistic but totally believable!)
The struggle is real and here at the Dutch Review if we aren’t telling you the best places to eat in the Netherlands we are telling you how hard it is to order your dinner when you do find that sweet little cafe in Leiden or the best street stall in Utrecht. Do not fear, I am happy to inform you that there is now an answer to your language woes.
British research – because nobody other than the Dutch would come up with such a groundbreakingly obvious discovery – found that alcohol is the key to boosting language speaking skills.
DISCLAIMER – Drinking in excess if bad for you, can cause you to dance horrendously in public, put you in a false sense of security and other more serious things. See the excellent guidance from the DrinkAware campaign for more information on the dangers of alcohol or if you think you have a problem.
Dutch Courage: One for the step
What has been found is that a low dose (sad times) of alcohol, as little as half a litre, can boost your pronunciation and ability to communicate in a foreign language. To make this discovery even better the alcohol of choice is none other than beer. Good, honest, wholesome hops. In order for this to work however you do need an understanding of the language. Half a pint of Heineken won’t have you fluent in Dutch or any other language for that matter so some studying is required.
Dutch Courage: Fancy a pint?
With all research like this we like to test the theory so you don’t have to and then rip it apart but lets face it, we don’t need a laboratory or controlled conditions to test this because I can confirm I have already inadvertently challenged the theory (with an unhealthy mix of white wine and gintonics rather than beer but lets not fight over the particulars!). The things I have to do!
How does alcohol help your Dutch? I hear you cry. The actual biological effect has not been tested here and it is worth noting that alcohol in this study had no effect on the individuals perceptions of Dutch speaking ability instead what they discovered was that other peoples perceptions of those who had consumed the alcohol spoke more eloquently and more coherently than those who hadn’t.
So what is really happening here? For me it comes down to confidence and the boost that our confidence gets after a swift half. From personal experience one of the biggest barriers in my ability to speak Dutch is the fear and embarrassment of sounding like an idiot. Ply me with a little ‘inhibition inhibitor’ aka alcohol and not only will I talk more but I am more likely to have a go at the crazy words and attempt those guttural rasping “g’s”.
Did we need research to confirm this? No.
Are we glad research has proven this to be true? Hell YES!
It’s been since the late 19th century that wolves last inhabited the Netherlands, they were hunted to extinction and pushed from their territories by the intense urbanization of the small country. But now a wolf has been spotted in the Veluwe National Park, and experts are ecstatic.
Experts and Previous Sightings: Wolves Exploring Options.
The wolf, as a species, has been spotted several times in recent years – the canine is more and more frequently making trips from Germany, where it is still extant, to venture through border areas in the Netherlands. That the frequency of these visits is increasing is hopeful, eventually a wolf – or multiple – will find a spot suitable and perhaps even breed.
A spokeswoman of the Province of Gelderland, of which Veluwe National Park is part, said the following: “We’re very happy with this, there’s a reason we’re investing in more space for nature to grow. It would be an incredible mile stone if wolves would settle down in the Veluwe, but we’re not there just yet”. For now the province won’t give away any exact locations in the sizable national park, it is of utmost importance the animal is left alone to explore as it pleases.
In recent years wolves have also been spotted in the North-Eastern province of Groningen, neighboring Drenthe and the Eastern-province of Overijssel. Sadly some of the wolves perished in automobile related accidents and a handful of sheep met their demise at the teeth of wolves.
Experts of “Wolves in the Netherlands” and the “Lupus Institut” from Germany have confirmed it is indeed a wolf and forest rangers have been asked to be on the lookout for traces of the animal.
Good News or An American Werewolf in Amsterdam?
Sure, everyone is just a tiny bit unnerved by wolves, they’re intimidating, an apex predator and a bit mysterious. But rest assured, no Canis Lupus howls are going to echo through the streets of Amsterdam any time soon. Wolves require as much space, and rest, as possible. They are a sign of a diverse ecological system and only contribute to it more.
Natuurmonumenten (“Monuments of Nature”) put out a statement in regard of the animal’s return: “If the wolf returns, it’s a clear sign that even in our busy nation there’s still spots for an apex predator like the wolf: large, robust wild areas where there is space for natural processes. The wolf is making Dutch nature more diverse and more exciting”.
Frankly, we couldn’t agree more, the wolf is welcome – even though we’ll secretly dread hearing its howl when vacationing near the forests. But then again, we’ll finally be able to tell each other creepy stories about monsters and wild animals under a full moon and have the background effects for free.
The new government is in place only since a few days, but many decisions are already being taken. Among these, there is an agreement on the new Dutch tax system, likely to be employed in 2020.
Will the rich get richer and the poor get poorer with the new Dutch tax system? Read and find out…
We’re here to help you.
The old Dutch tax system
The income tax (inkomstenbelasting) divides the working citizens by their income into 3 bands:
BAND
TAXABLE INCOME
RATE
1
up to 19,982 euros
36.55%
2
from 19,983 to 67,072 euros
40.8%
3
more than 67,072 euros
52%
The new Dutch tax system
The government wants to reduce the income taxes being paid by the middle class, but this is achieved at the expenses of 2.1 millions of workers from the lowest class, that see a slight increase from 36.55 to 36.93%:
BAND
TAXABLE INCOME
RATE
1
up to 68,600
36.93%
2
from 68,600
49.5%
Once this new Dutch tax system will be up and running, it is estimated that the 5.4 millions in the previous 2nd and 3rd bands will pay less (e.g., people with incomes of 40k will save about 1.200 euros per year). Many experts, like prof. Dirk Bezemer from the University of Groningen, point out that this seems like a redistribution of money from the lowest income to middle and higher income. “It is clear which group is the priority of the new cabinet”, says prof. Bezemer, warning that things have taken a sharp turn to the right.
However, the tax income numbers do not say much about the taxpayers’ purchasing power: to figure this out, other factors, such as the VAT increase or mortgage interest deduction, have to be taken into account.
New Dutch tax system: increase in the VAT rate
The reduction of the income tax for the majority of the workers will be paid by the 50% increase in the low VAT rate (value added tax, or btw, belasting over de toegevoegde waarde), which will go from 6 to 9 percent. As a result, daily groceries, but also train tickets and books, will become more expensive. The high VAT rate of 21 percent will remain the same. It is estimated that, annually, this will result in an increase of 250€ in families’ expenses.
This also seems a measure that will hit harder for people with low incomes.
New Dutch tax system: mortgage interest deduction reduced
A home mortgage interest deduction allows taxpayers who own their homes to reduce their taxable income by the amount of interest paid on the loan. For decades, the deduction (in fact a subsidy on housing ownership) was unacceptable in politics: only few parties dared to include the ‘h-word’ in their program. Many reasons for its abolishment have been identified, e.g. creating house price inflation, limiting government earnings in times of economic downturn, and benefiting high-income individuals (over 68,ooo€) more disproportionally.
The mortgage interest deduction has been reduced by 0.5% since January 2014. As a consequence, the maximum deduction has fallen from 52 to 50%. This decline is now accelerated: instead of the year 2042, the target rate (37%) will be reached almost twenty years earlier.
This measure can be seen as beneficial to the low-income individuals, as combined with the ‘villa tax’ (for houses worth more than 1 million euros) it removes some of the benefits only wealthy homeowners got.
What do all these numbers mean?
Well, such a broad question doesn’t have an easy answers; in general, it means that the Rutte III is trying to boost the purchasing power of the middle class, and it is doing so by not curbing too many of the high-income taxpayers and reducing corporate taxes for multinational companies, at the small price of 1.4 billions to the Rijk.
What’s your opinion on the new Dutch tax system? Let us know in the comments!
Looking for classy dinner, drinks and sports? Panenka is a sportsbar in Rotterdam that ticks all those three boxes.
Whenever you’re away in a different country there’s nothing that brings you more in touch with those homey-feelings then watching your fav sports team from back home. Sadly, many bars and cafés that air any sports usually only show those Dutch matches and aren’t the nicest places to hang around in the first place. Panenka in Rotterdam turns this all upside and around and does it in a winning way.
Just like that penalty:
Your classy sportsbar in Rotterdam
Watching sports at Panenka is watching it in true gentleman-fashion. The owners Sven and Wim had that exactly in their minds when they conceived the idea, also because they just couldn’t find a decent place in Rotterdam. Panenka worked out way better than decent – it’s got tons of style, delicious food, a skybox and an actual wooden stand to watch a game unfold on the biggest screen I’ve seen in Rotterdam.
Panenka’s decor really sets it apart and also makes it a solid choice for a drink in town. There’s the beautiful high ceiling, the chesterfields, the blues and jazz tunes in the background, the woodwork and lightning are in a class apart – but what I enjoyed the most were the old-timey pictures of the legends of yesterday.
Bep van Klaveren. Local hero and my favorite portait at Panenka
How’s dinner at Panenka?
Also completely different than your local sports bar is the excellent menu they have at Panenka. A broad variety of snacks, manly meals and drinks are on the menu. When it comes to dinner there’s not too much poo-haa going on – more some tasty classics that fit right into the atmosphere. We went for the Beercan-chicken, the burger and the steak. All were well done and served with some sides, the portions were bigger than average and it’s always a treat to devour a whole chicken by yourself.
All 3 meaty items were huge – but next to each other they look normal again in this pic
What especially stood out, fitting right into the theme, were the snacks at Panenka. The pork belly board was amazing and their meat-board was just the thing we needed pre-game – so much of the good stuff there.
Ah yes, we also had bitterballen – so should you (always, everywhere)
Oh and as dessert, go for the selection of cheese! Trust me on that one – the only reason why we could finish that massive board was because that cheese was so yummy.
Watching any sportsgame at Panenka
So dinner and atmosphere are all done more than right at Panenka, they’ve also got some special music nights going on there and I even saw a Gin-Tonic night (sign me up for that one any night). What makes it especially worth your while is Panenka’s airing schedule (hit ‘Agenda’) and international clientele – making it the perfect sportsbar in Rotterdam for those who love their English or German football games or sports like F1 or Rugby.
That Anne’s murder didn’t leave Holland indifferent was already clear, but now it looks like the people are actually demanding immediate action. A petition that was opened just a week ago, by a mother of three, demands not only that those responsible in government take responsibility and explain themselves, but also a further inquiry into the psychiatric clinic “Altrecht Aventurijn” in Den Dolder and daily operations and policies.
The current number of petitioners stands at 400,000 and counting – plans are to deliver the petitions to the Hague, the country’s political center, next week to Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
The Dutch are spelling out quite clearly how they feel.
Dutch Minister of Justice opens Multiple Investigations
The Minister of Security & Justice, Stef Blok, has opened at least two inquiries by both the inspection services of the Ministry of Justice as well as that of the Health Department. They will be investigating the clinic where suspect Michael P. resided for the rape of two girls, aged sixteen and seventeen, five years prior.
At the time of the murder Michael P. was going through a rehab program to re-enter into society. This was allowed because Michael P. was not given “TBS”, a Dutch sentence that allows for permanent ‘psychiatric availability’ meaning that after the sentence the perpetrator can indefinitely be kept institutionalized if necessary.
The reason Michael P. was not given TBS was because he refused any kind of psychiatric evaluation, causing him to enter regular detention rather than psychiatric.
Minister Stef Blok has announced that he wishes to look into a change of laws that will allow for psychiatric evaluation and TBS whether or not the suspect agrees cooperation. A proposal for such a law was already in the works and the Dutch senate has scheduled a vote on it for early 2018.
Why the Historical Museum of The Hague should be on your The-Hague-bucketlist
One of the things the Dutch are well known for, besides our liberal attitudes and fondness for cheese, is art. The Netherlands and it’s beautiful flat landscape has spawned many masters over the years, such as Vermeer and van Gogh. But in our opinion art is only truly worth the paper it is painted on if it also sheds new light on our society, making us learn about facets that we would have otherwise never known about.
If you feel the same you’re in luck, because the Historical Museum of The Hague has just opened a new exhibition on the history surrounding the life of two black boys at a Dutch court around the 1760’s and onward: and believe us when we say it’s definitely a captivating experience.
The Historical Museum of The Hague
The museum itself is gorgeously situated in the middle of the Hague and is well worth the visit even without the new exhibition! It’s close to many of the Hagues’ most famous sites such as the parliament building and the Mauritshuis, which makes it an ideal stop if you’re planning a cultural tour of the city. It’s also smack dab in the center of the Hague and closely situated near its many squares and bars.
And yes, some of the best of the Dutch masters have their work hanging here
Discover the intriguing history of The Hague
As the name suggests the main focus of the museum is on the history of The Hague. One of its exhibitions shows the old civil militia which protected the city from threats both within and without. They called themselves De Schutterij and were effectively the early Dutch version of a police force. They worked closely with the magistrate, portraits of whom can also be found throughout the museum.
Other highlights of the permanent collection include for instance an entire room dedicated to the Hague in the 2nd World War. From bunkers to pictures of the Hague’s streets after bombardments, the exhibition makes for quite the interesting viewing. Of course there is also a vast collection of paintings from the 16th to the 20th Century to view and admire, and there are even some sections dedicated to modern The Hague history, so if you’re living in The Hague this one is a must-see.
Practically obligated by law in the Netherlands, the Museum also has a small bar area where one can rest their weary feet after a long day of walking past pretty canals and prettier paintings. The cafe is cozy and is situated in the cellar of the building, and they serve good coffee and pastries. And while the Historical Museum of The Hague is well worth the visit by its own merit, the new exhibition ‘African Servants at The Hague court’ is quite the historical sight to behold.
African servants and the origins of Black Pete?
Those who know the Netherlands know that for some time now, there has been an intense discussion raging throughout the country every year, starting around this time in the fall. It is centered around the racially stereotypical character of Black Pete, a singular name for the group of servants to the Sinterklaas, a rich white man riding a horse.
Although the exhibition ‘African servants at The Hague court’ does not deal directly with Black Pete, there is a link. There are some art historians who claim that the origins of the figure of Black Pete, for the first time seen in the 19th century, can be traced back to the African servants who were brought here by slavery in the 17th and 18th centuries and were also regularly portrayed on paintings.
Two of these servants, Willem Frederik Cupido and Juan Anthony Sideron, are the central figures for this new exhibition in Historical Museum of The Hague.
The exhibition ‘African servants at The Hague court’ in the Historical Museum of The Hague deals with two children who were the likely origins of this character; Cupido and Sideron.
The two boys arrived in the Netherlands as slaves, likely selected based on their good looks and intelligence. While the exact origins of the boys are unknown, it is believed Cupido was taken from the coast of West Africa and both were brought to the low countries to serve at the court of the House of Orange, as having black servants was then seen as a way of enhancing status. The boys would be trained in both French and Dutch, serving the royal family as chamber attendants, one of the highest positions within the court staff for non-noble people.
The exhibition is guest-curated by Esther Schreuder, she became interested in this topic through her earlier work on an exhibition on the depiction of African servants in Western art. When she learned about Cupido and Sideron, about whom very little was known, it stirred her curiosity and she began to research the two boys extensively, diving into Royal archives and trying to retrace the lineage into the future, eventually finding some living descendants!
A descendant of one of the boys
The exhibition tries to shed light on the lives of the two boys, including everything from letters they themselves wrote and paintings they appeared in. During the run of the exhibition there will also be talks and presentations which will link the past to the present, shedding a historical light on modern day societal issues surrounding race. This makes the exhibition well worth visiting for those who want to learn more about contemporary and historical race relations within the Netherlands!
How to get to the Historical Museum of The Hague
If you’re interested it may well be worth the 30 minute train ride from Amsterdam to the Hague to get there.
For those of you who don’t trust technology, or who have an iPhone and can’t use the good map app, here’s how to get to the Museum: the starting point is The Hague Central station, follow the signs to the ‘Binnenhof’ and you should arrive at the ‘Plein’. Now before the entrance to the Binnenhof and the Mauritshuis go right and walk some 50 meters next to the hofvijver and then you’ll find the Historical Museum of The Hague!
Of course, that whole area is a joy to check out, so if you’re there for sightseeing don’t rush to it immediately.
The exhibition will run until the 28th of January 2018, and believe us when we say you should visit!
For those of you who do have an actually useful phone, the Address:
Co-working spaces in Amsterdam: why you need them, want to be there and which ones are the best
If you are a freelancer you know what I’m talking about. Your home is your work place. Your relax space is your productive space. You work where you live and you live where you work. This can sometimes be counterproductive, especially if (and this probably rings true to many freelancers in Amsterdam) you live in a place that is the size of a shoebox and too claustrophobic to get inspired in any way.
The life of a freelancer – always looking for a good working space
In that case you need to get out of the house to find yourself some sort of space where you can post up and get things done. While there are lots of cafés in Amsterdam, there are few where you can actually find some peace and quiet to do your work. What’s the alternative, you say? Co-working spaces. This sounds very professional and can therefore be intimidating to some freelancers. Can I afford this? The answer is usually yes.
Networking, socializing and working at the same time
Co-working spaces, in Amsterdam and other cities, are affordable alternatives to renting your own office space. As a one-man business you probably don’t need a huge office for yourself. A desk and a chair will do while you get to take advantage of office necessities like an Internet connection, printers, common areas like a cafeteria and meeting rooms of a shared space. In addition, you get to network and socialize with other entrepreneurs and potentially find new business partners or clients.
A sense of community can boost your motivation
Are we more productive if we work in a room with people instead of alone? I’m not sure. I know that I definitely get motivated by a professional vibe around me. Deskmag writes that according to the Global Coworking Survey “nearly 1.2 million people worldwide will have worked in a coworking space by the end of the year. Coworking spaces anticipate more members (86%), higher income (81%), more events (71%), and a greater sense of community (84%) in 2017”.
Co-working spaces in Amsterdam: A sense of community to boost motivation
A sense of community is certainly a driving factor for many freelancers, digital nomads, independent contractors and small business owners to rent co-working spaces in Amsterdam. Isolation can be a motivation killer. Sometimes it just needs the sound of someone busily typing away on a keyboard next to you to get your creative juices flowing. You also have different options when it comes to renting a co-working space – from a few hours per month to full access around the clock. Now it just comes down to choosing one of the co-working spaces in Amsterdam to your personal liking. Next to Spaces and WeWork, which are multinational co-working companies, there is a variety of other offers out there to cater to individual needs.
There is a variety of options for co-working spaces in Amsterdam
Bovendebalie – This shared office space welcomes start-ups, entrepreneurs, freelancers and creatives. It’s located in the centre of Amsterdam above Café de Balie on Leidseplein and houses about 40 entrepreneurs and freelancers at the moment.
A Lab – “Amsterdam’s ultimate living lab” – A creative, innovative community that organises lots of events and offers everything from single desks to boardrooms.
TQ – “A curated tech hub in the heart of Amsterdam” – Next to offering a co-working space in Amsterdam, TQ regularly hosts events with top-notch speakers and makes networking a priority.
WorkSpace6 – “WorkSpace6 is 280 m2 of flexible space for the creative and the adventurous to bring their ideas to life. And play pong.” One of the centrally located co-working spaces in Amsterdam, not far from Central Station, is open 24/7 and they have a ping-pong table.
StartDock – “The heart of co-working Amsterdam, based on five core values: collaboration, community, openness, coziness and accessibility” – StartDock offers office spaces, events and a big sense of community.
B. Amsterdam – “We bring entrepreneurship within everyone’s reach by providing the right spaces, toolset and social environment.“ You can rent everything from a desk to an entire office and can take advantage of a gym, cinema and even a rooftop restaurant.
Bouncespace – A creative and community-based workspace that offers desks as well as a silent booth that can be used as a meeting room. You’ll also find a hairdresser and an espresso bar in the same building.
The Thinking Hut – They offer a range of memberships to suit various needs as well as very accommodating cancellation terms. In addition to a desk, chair and locker you also get one hour/month of consultancy with one of their experts.
The Startup Orgy – They claim to be “not your ordinary office space”. This is an open environment created and designed for the urban worker who wants a balance of work and play. They offer part-time and full-time memberships.
Rokin 75 – This co-working space is located in the centre of Amsterdam and it houses around 35 businesses and creative entrepreneurs at the moment.
Hackers & Founders – A co-working space for technology startups and developers. You’ll be part of the biggest community of this kind in the Netherlands.
We went to Exitgame Rotterdam and played the Heist – and robbed them blind!
Here’s a little bit of a confession, I never did do one of those escape room things – even though they are everywhere nowadays. I don’t know why exactly, never gotten around to it and even besides many enthusiastic stories by others I couldn’t quite get my head into it. So when there was the opportunity to get into ExitGame in Rotterdam we jumped on it, and let me tell ya – my heart is still pounding from that the thrill-train called The Heist.
First off, what is ExitGame?
ExitGame is located in the up-and-coming Hoogstraat in Rotterdam (yes, next to KUA), that used to be a dreary street with nothing to do – but the last year its one of those places in Rotterdam that is just packed with trendy fun places. ExitGame is actually the first real escape room of Rotterdam with their ‘Classic’ adventure already going great for 3 years now. But with The Heist they turned things around and opened up a real rollercoaster.
Would we succeed in cracking this safe?
Second, The Heist
So I don’t want to spoil too much, but The Heist is not your classic escape room, this in the sense that you have to break in, instead of out, and that you’ll definitely get your money’s worth since you get an hour to rob the bank (yes, bankrobbing!). Here’s the backgroundstory:
It’s a Friday, January the 22nd of 2016. A robber is about to break into the PortLand Bank for one of his clients, but just when he’s about to make his move he spots you walking down the street. You know this incalculable character from a previous job and you’re still heavily in debt to him. He’s going to happily leave this badly planned-and-prepared heist to you. And then it’s on and you get one hour to steal two rare pink diamonds and plunder a big old bank account at the Portland Bank.
Once the tense music starts playing and you’re left in there with an hour on the clock you’re completely immersed and feel like watching all that Prison Break and Ocean’s 11/12/13 finally comes in handy.
How I felt after 5 minutes into The Heist
I can’t go into details, but the whole set-up was intricate, really immersive, done with loads of humor, there was a corrupt cop and sometimes really really tense (in a good way) and really diverse. The moments when you’re slipping through the laser maze (yes, admit it, this has been on your to-do list since you saw it as a kid) to when you’re cracking a secret code: it’s all awesome!
Us in reality
The guys at ExitGame put loads of work into this one and it pays off as well, there’s loads of high-tech stuff going on and the whole setup is brand new. Oh yeah, and as for us – we cracked that safe and got the diamonds! Scored 77 points of a 100, so beat that.
Robbed it blind!
Third, the details and how its best played
So it takes an hour, you knew that. The Heist (or The Classic for that matter) is best played with 4 people at the same time. Yes, you can play it with 2 people – or even with 6. But breaking into a bank isn’t a job you want to get a large crew into and the amount of cracking that needs to be done requires more than 2 people. It’s a thing to goes with time slots, so reserving in advance is advisable (any more questions, here’s their English F.A.Q.)
Afraid of getting hurt? No worries, there’s nothing extremely physical about The Heist – and unless you’re an 80-year-old grandmother (in that case, welcome to DutchReview, awesome!) you won’t be frightened.
Well, not all grandma’s
It’s also not for small children (the official age-limit is 16, but if there are adults present they can allow 14-year-olds in) and YES, THE WHOLE GAME IS ALSO JUST AS DOABLE IF YOU DON’T SPEAK ANY DUTCH.
Also, it helps if you’ve got a brain to begin with and yes; watching a Heist movie on the night before will help you out.
Fourth, Getting to ExitGame in the Hoogstraat
Exitgame is located right in the center of Rotterdam, only a few minutes walking from the Markthal, library or Blaak station. Basically, when you exit the Markthal and go past the library you’re already in the Hoogstraat.
Need some other things to do in the neighborhood? (besides the Martkhal which you probably saw before). Well for dinner – the KUA taco bar is right next door. The cube houses are also nearby, and the ‘Oude haven’ (old harbor) is a great place to go for a drink.
There’s all sorts of things you can do in Amsterdam, drugs is one of them. But you can also go out for dinner – on drugs, catch a movie – on drugs, visit the museum – on drugs, walk along the canals – on drugs and then there is another popular option: Visiting the hospital on drugs.
Dutch Drugs: Poppin’ Pills and Smokin’ Nether-Kush.
Who would’ve guessed that drugs can get you ill? Nobody, right? Of course you do – everyone does but for some reason a lot of people become ill and refuse to seek medical aid because they’re scared of the consequences. First of all, if you feel sick – always, ALWAYS, seek medical help. It’s not worth the outcome if things really take a turn for the worst.
As we’ve said before here on DutchReview, we’re not ‘against’ drugs – but we certainly hope you’ll stay on the safe side of things. And that is exactly what the City of Amsterdam together with the Jellinek Rehab Clinics and the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) are aiming for too with a new campaign.
Amsterdam, pragmatic as it is, has come to the realization that you can’t completely prevent people from buying – and using – drugs. Instead the city is now trying to prevent serious incidents through a two-step method: Test drugs for harmful, dangerous ingredients and more direct checking for drugs at event locations.
Jellinek is opening an extra location to get your drugs tested, yes really, at 38 “Eerste Constantijn Huygensstraat” – in other words you can make sure your pills are not spiked with something nasty. It won’t make all the dangers of using drugs go away but at least you won’t be inhaling carcinogenics from recycled rubber tires directly.
Amsterdam is Known for Effective, Sensible Policies.
Bouncer at the Door – Water and Medical Aid Inside.
So does that mean you can take your drugs to the Amsterdam Dance Event and go wild? Well no, of course drugs are still ‘technically forbidden’ in the country and city and they’re not giving out a free pass, they’re just trying to prevent awful situations.
This means that security and staff at the various locations will be checking extra hard for controlled and illegal substances – if you’re caught your Mitsubishi-brand pills will be taken away and you will be either sent off at the door or escorted off the location grounds. That is, if you have a small amount of drugs for personal use, if you’ve got any serious amount – meet the Amsterdam police force.
But just to be sure, each location also features a First Aid Post, free water and a random searches may be conducted to make sure everyone and everything goes smooth. At least, if the city and ADE can help it.
Bottom line – enjoy the party, enjoy the drugs, enjoy the city – but don’t take it too far. If not just for yourself.
ADE starts tomorrow until the 22nd of October at almost all major clubs around the city
Undoubtedly you’re familiar with Murphy’s Law: “Everything that can go wrong will go wrong”. This is a given of life but there are certain aspects we expect to go right no matter what and one of them, surely, is our security measures of an institution meant for the Rehabilitation of the Criminally Insane. Certainly after they just had ‘an incident’ with a deadly outcome, one that kept the entire country busy – the disappearance and murder of Anne Faber.
Too much Freedom of Movement in Dutch Psychiatric Clinics?
Den Dolder: Likely Patient Harasses Woman, Local Man Intervenes.
Just last Thursday the same “Den Dolder” Forensic Psychiatric Clinic, where Anne was likely attacked and murdered, suffered from a similar incident, just without violent escalation. A woman, who happened to be a passer-by, found herself suddenly harassed by what appears to be one of the clinic’s “inhabitants” roughly at the same ward where Michael P., Anne’s murderer, also resided.
Another local passer-by, who happened to rent a place on the same grounds as the clinic, intervened stopping the man from further harassing the woman. After the incident the woman contacted the “Den Dolder Interest Group” (Belangenvereniging Den Dolder) with her story. The interest group has been fighting for years to get the clinic to close, the group also believes that Anne’s dramatic attack is not simply an incident but the end-result of persistent problems.
Security Measures Up – But is it Enough?
The latest incident is further heating up the debate and discomfort among the Dutch, and especially the locals, about this clinic in particular but also such programs and the logistics behind it in nationwide Current Minister of Justice, Stef Blok, has already opened an inquiry into the Den Dolder Clinic as serious questions have risen about the freedom of movement and living situation of Michael P. and the facility he inhabited.
The latest incident has prompted police to ramp up patrols of the area and the clinic has instituted 24/7 security measures which, surprisingly, they did not have. The same institute is known locally for drug problems – as many drug dealers have found willing customers in patients. The clinic’s relatively secluded location in a forested area also doesn’t necessarily make things safer.
