It’s raining today in some parts of the Netherlands. Not that weird. April showers and all that. But in other parts… it’s SNOWING. Snow in April!?! FFS. Reports are saying “King’s Day itself will be cold, wet and windy, with the possibility of sleet and hail. Although it will be around 8 degrees, it will […]
Koningsdag or King’s Day (27th April) in the Netherlands is such a boring day. Especially if you go to Amsterdam – then it’s particularly awful. I wouldn’t recommend you go, definitely not. You’ll have a rubbish time. Honest. 1. Everyone wears sensible, somber clothing. Mostly black or grey. 2. No one drinks. At all. 3. Especially not […]
I simply love Queen’s Day King’s Day (Dammit! I keep doing that!) aka Europe’s biggest street party! King’s Day (formerly Queen’s Day) is my favourite Dutch holiday and this year I just happen to live here, so it’s double spannend! A little bit of history: King’s Day celebrates the birthday of the King, Willem-Alexander and is to […]
We broke up. My (former) favourite city and I. I didn’t fall out of love, it just became too difficult to maintain a long-distance relationship. Our love affair began in 2001, at University. We grew up together, formed a deep connection, an unbreakable bond… or so I thought. But then it was graduation and time to […]
I used to think that the best way to explore Amsterdam was on foot. In my opinion, it’s definitely not by bike! But since taking two boat trips in Amsterdam last year, my mind has been firmly changed! My first proper boat trip in Amsterdam (excluding the drunken times late on Queen’s / Kingsday when […]
I first wrote this list about a year and a half ago, but things have changed since then! So it’s time for an update. Here’s a local’s guide to the best pubs and bars in Hillywood: 1. Cafe ‘t Tolhuis This is staying at #1 as it’s still my favourite pub in Hilversum. I kinda […]
There’s an updated version of this post for October 2017 (original post May 2015): The 10 best pubs and bars in Hilversum (updated Oct 2017) I’m writing this because apparently no one else has. Seriously, pfffff. I even Googled it in Dutch, but zip. Nada. All I get is a Trip Advisor link SAYING it’s […]
So, this is typical me… my 2 year anniversary of living in the Netherlands was two days ago. My Mum used to tell me “you’d be late for your own funeral” and although it pains me to admit it, she’s right. (How is it that my Mother is ALWAYS right? So unfair!) Anyway, I digress. 2 years! […]
I’ll be the first to admit: I love a good stereotype (especially when it suits me)! But a lot of them (sadly) just aren’t true! From writing this blog I have discovered that most Dutch people can laugh at themselves, in fact, they actively encourage it. From time to time though, the Dutch do get a […]
Yup, I know strictly it should be Nederlandse Dingen (Dutch things) … but it doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, does it? When you’re in Holland, either living here, visiting Dutch friends or on holiday, you are bound to run into things which seem a bit strange or that you don’t have at […]
