The age of Social Media is here and most of the time we are all too busy playing with our phones. If this sounds all too familiar to you then congratulations! You are one of us!
Whether you are on your way to school or work, sitting in the train; or maybe cursing at NS waiting for your train to arrive after a regular delay or simply just have some time to kill, then why not grab that phone (if you haven’t been just doing that already) and find us on Instagram?
You can see some pretty awesome photos of the Netherlands taken by some pretty cool accounts and if you are keen on photography too, you can appear on our page as well! Liked it so far? Then behold for some of the stuff we’ve posted on our account:
It is hard not to be taken by this iconic photo of Haarlem!
Do You Have Photos of the Netherlands that You Would Like to Share With Us?
Then don’t forget to tag us with @Dutchreview so that we can take a look! Maybe you’ll see it on our Instagram page or better, here on the website! Isn’t it time you become the next Instagram sensation anyway?
You might not have noticed, but we’ve been lacking a government for the past 200ish days. The economy only grew faster however as the Dutch keep things running smoothly even without leadership. Today, however, the new government officially presented their plan for running the country for the next four years, and with it came quite a bit of criminal justice reform. So for all our criminal expats here’s a short summary of what will be changing in the coming year by the New Dutch Government.
Strengthening the justice system
While the previous government mostly applied spending cuts to the police, the DA and the judiciary, this government will begin investing again and focus specifically on Terrorism, human trade and combating illegal pimps. They’ll also invest about 95 million in cybersecurity, as those Nigerian princes trying to get your bank details are apparently quite a large problem.
You might not know this but the Dutch have quite the problem with organized crime, and thus the next cabinet will refocus efforts to deal with criminal biker gangs such as Satudarah. Whether this will prove to be effective remains to be seen, but I suppose stopping biker gangs is a worthwhile effort.
Experimenting with government-grown weed
If you know anything about the Dutch system for governing coffeeshops, you know it’s ridiculous. Currently it is legal to buy marijuana and grow up to five plants, but it is illegal for the coffeeshops to actually purchase the project they’re selling. Now the government will experiment in 10 municipalities with government-grown weed intended to regulate the backdoor through which most of the pot arrives. This is a good thing as right now there’s no telling what the growers use in terms of pesticides to protect their crop. And while there’s no definitive research that states smoking pot laced with pesticides is a bad thing, common sense says smoking things that kill bugs is never a good idea
Extremism and freedom of speech
The new government also has some initiatives that are supposed to combat extremism in all its forms. For instance, the penalty for insulting and spreading hate will be doubled from one year to two. This is relevant to one of our most extreme politicians in particular, Geert Wilders, who was convicted under the article which is now being expanded. This will probably prove to be one of the more controversial new policies but it is a welcome one regardless.
Finally, those who return from an area under control of terrorists will be held in arrest, and staying in one of these areas voluntarily will be punishable. How this will work out for humanitarian aid workers is yet a mystery, although it likely won’t affect them as it is aimed at those leaving to join Islamic State.
What do you think about these new initiatives? Leave a comment!
As we wrote yesterday, with scarce detail, a suspect had been arrested with a history of sexual violence – today more details are flooding in who the suspect is as well as the direction the investigation is going.
The details that emerged tell us of a man with a violent (sexual) history – including the rape of two teenage girls (ages 16 and 17) in 2010 on Queen’s Day, as well as several robberies. Michael P. (27), who originates from the town of Zeewolde, refused any cooperation for psychiatric testing during his trial and as such was not committed to “psychiatric imprisonment” but instead sentenced to regular criminal incarceration for a duration of twelve years.
Dutch Law & The Search
Under Dutch law a criminal serving at least a majority of their sentence may enter a “reintegration and rehabilitation program”, aiming to return an inmate successfully to society, unless there is of extreme risk of danger this is normally a right.
As a result Michael P. had recently begun such a “reintegration-trajectory” which allowed him some freedoms, including being able to leave the institution facility at Den Dolder as part of re-socialization and being among “normal people”.
Anne Faber, who disappeared approximately a week and a half ago, went on a long cycling tour during extreme weather – why she made this questionable decision remains uncertain at this time. Her tour appears to have taken her along many small towns, including Den Dolder, where it seems she may have sheltered from the extreme weather conditions – including heavy rainfall.
A plausible scenario is that she sought refuge just outside the institution where Michael P. was staying.
A Google Maps overview of the institution grounds where Michael P. resided.
What gruesome scenario may have happened then is left to the imagination, but the original search grounds were Huis ter Heide, a small town near Den Dolder – where Anne’s bike and some clothing were found. A current theory is that the suspect took her bike and clothing, cycled towards Huis ter Heide and dumped her belongings, while her remains may still be at or near Den Dolder.
As such the search has shifted towards Den Dolder, including institution grounds, and even the suspect’s room is being searched for potential evidence. Not only the police is involved, but the Ministry of Defense has also dispatched troops and advisers to help search for Anne.
The suspect was already under watch as police hoped to somehow gather clues from his activity, when this remained absent he was arrested for further investigation.
Take a Chance or Throw Away the Key?
As we stated before, the Dutch justice system is committed to reintegration of prisoners into society, only the utmost dangerous are permanently institutionalized, and in many cases these trajectories turn out well. Some with moderate success, others with great.
Of course there is always the chance that things will go horribly wrong, as is the likely scenario for Anne Faber, but should that mean no prisoners deserve another chance? Or should we accept that there is a certain in hopes of successful societal integration? The Dutch population, as well as the political field, are heavily divided – what are your thoughts?
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!
