Holland, the original cool? Slovenia, Diversity to discover.

I’ve seen so many beautiful and really cool promotional destination clips. Why did Holland make such an uncool clip?

NBTC (Nederlands Bureau voor Toerisme & Congressen) receives government funding from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and cooperates intensively with relevant parties within and outside the hospitality sector.

That means that we, Dutch tax payers have funded this movie. It doesn’t look cheap, but I guess my biggest issue is that the guy talks too much… when I think of it, yes, that could be very Dutch (If you think away his unDutch accent).

Does anyone disagree? Who finds this clip cool?

Here’s what I find cool; Slovenia, Diversity to discover.

Dutch lunch

You know I don’t daily enjoy a typical Dutch lunch, but sometimes I’m a typical Dutchie. Today I went to eat out because its still too cold at the new office, so I was craving for a hot cup of soup. Untill I smelled the kroketten and thought… Why not…

Quinoa for lunch

You know I don’t like the typical Dutch lunch; I’m a Dutchie that feels more Mediterranean than Dutch. I try to avoid the peanut butter/ cheese/ bad ham sandwiches as much as I can and therefor I just scored this Quinoa salad. It’s a FUNKY mix with almonds, spinach, cranberries, mushrooms and onions and it’s great!

 

 

 

 The last time I ate quinoa I decided to cook it myself soon, I just remembered. Did you ever make quinoa?

Mlekomat (milkomat)

The Dutch consider themselves a milk-nation (They even drink milk for lunch with their raw herring iiiiiieeeeew).

Then why don’t we have any milkomats here? I love this concept which is spread all over Slovenia.

F.Y.I. : I very much dislike the Dutch milk, I did not consume any untill I was introduced to Slovenian milk about 10 years ago, I love the Slovenian Alp milk. The stuff the Dutch call milk, is for me a flavourless watery substance..

Mlekomat in Ljubljana, Slovenia

Mlekomat in Ljubljana, Slovenia

Mlekomat in Ljubljana, Slovenia

Mlekomat in Ljubljana, Slovenia

 

Leftover tapas for Breakfast y nos vemos…

You know I love them, the Spanish. So yesterday a Croatian dinner with Spanish & Dutch tapas & a touch of Indonesia (I still owe you the recipe for Frikadel jagung!) .

Here are (some of ) the leftovers; BREAKFAST!

One of Ams’  beauties is the fact how many foreigners I meet here.

The downside is; many of them leave Ams again… but I’ve made some friends for live!!!

A y A; MI NENITAS!!!! Os voy a echar de menos!

Nos vemos….

Funky!

You know I like it “funky”…..My food that is.

Thai red rice with Coriander (Cilantro), Surinamese okra with garlic & Indonesian (spicy) Rawit and a Dutch lamb chop.

Is this too funky for you or would you enjoy this as much as I am now??

Jummmmmm

Koninginnedag is coming up!

Koninginnedag or Queen’s Day is a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, celebrated on 30 April. Koninginnedag is Queen Beatrix’s official birthday. Though Queen Beatrix was born on 31 January, the holiday is observed on 30 April as it was the birthday of her mother and predecessor, Juliana.

Koningin Beatrix

The first time Koninginnedag took place, it was celebrated on 31 August 1885 as  Prinsessedag or Princess’s Day, the fifth birthday of Princess Wilhelmina, heiress to the Dutch throne. On her accession, the holiday acquired its present name, Koninginnedag. Following the accession of Wilhelmina’s daughter Queen Juliana in 1948, the holiday was moved to her birthday. Her daughter, Beatrix retained the celebration on 30 April after she took the throne in 1980. Koninginnedag is known for its nationwide vrijmarkt (“free market” or flea market), at which many Dutch sell their secondhand items. Those taking part in Koninginnedag commonly wear orange clothing in honour of the House of Orange-Nassau, which rules over the Netherlands, causing “orange madness” or oranjegekte, for the national colour; everyone becomes patriotic.

When Queen Beatrix succeeded her mother Juliana  on 30 April 1980, the new queen decided to keep the holiday on 30 April as a tribute to her mother. The reason was practical as well—Beatrix’s actual birthday on 31 January is less conducive to the traditional outdoor activities.The birthday of the Queen’s son and heir, Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange is 27 April.

 

 

Willem-Alexander, Maxima & prinsesjes by ANP LEX VAN LIESHOUT

  

Koninginnedag is the one day of the year that the Dutch government permits sales on the street without a permit and without the payment ofvalue added tax. Koninginnedag now sees large-scale celebrations, with many concerts and special events in public spaces, particularly in Amsterdam. The Vondelpark is reserved for children and their activities. The city centre is closed to cars, and no trams ride in the heart of the city; people are urged to avoid Amsterdam Centraal railway station and use other stations if possible from their direction. International trains that normally begin or terminate at Amsterdam Centraal are instead directed to a suburban stop.

In recent years parties and concerts have been held the evening before Koninginnedag; Koninginnenacht(Queen’s Night). Many young people celebrate in the streets and squares (and in Amsterdam, the canals as well) throughout the night, and after all-night partying join the crowds at the vrijmarkt. Street parties on Koninginnenacht are this year permitted from 19.00 untill 23.00, after which party people generally move inside to clubs and bars.

 

Queensday Museumplein 2011

 

In The Netherlands, unfortunately we work on May 1. I have already asked permission to sleep a bit longer before going to work that day.

Koninginnedag is for me the best party of the year! Have you ever heard of it? Are you in The Netherlands these days? What are your plans? P.S.: I was looking for my own old QDay pics, can’t find them. I’ll make new ones this year,ok?

 

 

(With a bit of help from Wikipedia.)

De Huiselijkheid – unique and sustainable furniture & more

Do you remember I explained you the meaning of the Dutch word Gezelligheid? (HERE my explanatory post if you just “tuned in”)

I came across a really cool webshop with a beautiful philosophy; De Huiselijkheid. Huiselijkheid can (almost) be translated as “homey-ness”. The word looks like gezelligheid and can also not exactly be translated. It refers to a “gezellige domestic situation”.

De Huiselijkheid is a webshop with original and unique furniture and other eye catchers for in and around your home. Monique, Dick and Irma of De Huiselijkheid search, find and fix furniture that deserve a second life. All items they sell are besides old and beautiful, functional too and everything is restored with ecologically sustainable paint. From barok and chic to industrial and sturdy – they’ve got it all. Are you looking for something particular and you can’t find it on the market? Do you need to rent furniture for e.g. photo- or movie-productions? Do you want something designed especially for you? Do you need help restoring old furnitures? Redesigning your interior? Are you interested in doing a workshop regarding (fixing) furnitures? Contact de Huiselijkheid.

You can order directly from the webshop (if you live in The Netherlands), and against a delivery fee (Contact de Huiselijkheid for prices and possibilities), your ordered items can even be delivered to your house. 

The 3 previously mentioned founders of De Huiselijkheid feel privileged to be entrepreneurial, here for they reserve time and means to to take their responsibility to society; this year they support the Reumafonds (Rheuma foundation) in The Netherlands, a foundation that aims to help people to have a better life with rheuma, because they know what the effect of this disease can be.

De Huiselijkheid

The showroom of De Huiselijkheid is located in  Vijfhuizen in the county of Haarlemmermeer, about 20 kilometers of Amsterdam.

http://www.dehuiselijkheid.nl , contact@dehuiselijkheid.nl

http://www.reumafonds.nl

xxx in Amsterdam

Are you one of those people that think the XXX in Amsterdam stand for porn? HA YOU’RE WRONG! When written under a letter, email or sms, the 3 x’es stand for 3 kisses. The Dutch give 3 kisses. For hello, for bye and to EVERYONE. First day at work in the new year? 3 kisses for every colleague! 40 people sitting in a circle on a family birthday? 3 kisses for everyone!

So what’s up with the XXX?

The coat of arms of Amsterdam is the official symbol of the city of Amsterdam. It consists of a red shield and a black pale with three silver Saint Andrew’s Crosses, the Imperial Crown of Austria, two golden lions, and the motto of Amsterdam.  The crosses and the crown can be found as decorations on different locations in the city.

Some people say the three saltires represent the three dangers of ancient Amsterdam: fire, floods, and the Black Death. That theory however has no historical basis. The crosses might have their origin in the shield of the noble family Persijn. The knight Jan Persijn was ‘lord’ of Amstelledamme (Amsterdam) from 1280 to 1282. In the escutcheons of Dordrecht and Delft, two other cities inHolland, the pale refers to water. In analogy with this, the black pale in the escutcheon of Amsterdam would refer to the river Amstel. Both the colours and the crosses are also found in the escutcheons of two towns near Amsterdam: the village of Ouder-Amstel on the banks of the river Amstel to the southeast, and Nieuwer-Amstel (now the suburb Amstelveen) to the southwest. Both villages were also the property of the Persijn family.

During the 1941 February strike in Amsterdam, for the first time in Europe non-Jewish people protested against the persecution of Jews by the Nazi regime. Queen Wilhelmina of The Netherlands wanted to remember the role of the citizens of Amsterdam during World War II and created a motto consisting of the Dutch words “Heldhaftig, Vastberaden, Barmhartig”, meaning “Valiant, Steadfast, Compassionate”. On March 29, 1947, Wilhelmina presented the motto as part of the coat of arms of Amsterdam to the city government.

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Thx Wikipedia for text & pics.