There are some things you just can’t avoid to really understand the Dutch and speed skating is one of them. Robin Pascoe went to see Sven (Kramer) and Ireen (Wüst) in action at the world allround championships. Many years ago, when my children were small, we did the obligatory skating lessons at the Jaap Edenbaan ice rink in Amsterdam. This usually involved spending all day of the one-week autumn holiday at the rink, watching small boys and girls strap skates to their boots, don waterproofs and set off round the ice at breakneck speed. After a year of watching little Svens and Ireens, I decided it was time to bite the bullet and sign up for the adult class which took place at the same time. I bought a pair of ‘hoge noren’ speed skates and signed up for lessons. Eventually my years of Saturday mornings at the Silver Blades ice rink in Bradford attempting to learn how to do a half lutz were converted into something vaguely resembling the Dutch long glide – if you put...  More >

The Dutch are a pragmatic people about many things, not least of all about death. For many of them, that means planning ahead - and taking out insurance to pay for the cost of their funeral. Not surprisingly, a funeral insurance (in Dutch: uitvaartverzekering) is one of the most common types of insurance policies in the Netherlands. About 60% of the Dutch population have taken out insurance to cover the costs of their funeral. According to Dutch family spending institute Nibud, the Dutch spend an average of €7,500 on a funeral. Nevertheless, a large part of the population does not know what the true cost of a funeral is and around half of the policies they take out do not fully cover the ceremony and funeral costs. So, how essential is funeral planning? And do we really need an insurance that covers those expenses? Planning a funeral To put it bluntly, when you die, your family will suddenly have to find the money to pay for the funeral. This will almost certainly add...  More >

So, you’ve lived in the Netherlands long enough to know that you plan to stay. Now it is time to get out of that rental apartment and buy a place of your own and really become a local. But how much do you really know about the process? Take our quiz and find out. You’ve decided to take the plunge and become a home owner. It should be pretty simple, right? Here’s 12 key questions to help you find out everything you don’t know about how to buy a house. 1 You’ve got a great job which pays you €60,000 a year but you’ve only got a one-year contract and your partner is a freelancer. Can you still get a mortgage? 2 You want to buy a neat little apartment which is priced at €350,000 and you’ve got around €20,000 in savings. Can you borrow enough to buy the property, pay all the bills and put in a new bathroom? 3 You’ve been to look at a great place but you are not sure about the sloping floor in the bedroom. Does the selling agent have to tell you what the problem...  More >

Empty drinks bottles, plastic packaging, microscopic plastic particles in the food chain: this once oh so useful invention is fast becoming an environmental catastrophe. Deborah Nicholls-Lee has been checking out some Dutch projects which are seeking solutions. The Great Bubble Barrier   Founded in Haarlem in 2015, The Great Bubble Barrier comprises an all-woman team of experienced sailors, who were tired of the plastic in the water spoiling their favourite sport. Based on a concept already used in the oil industry, in locks and in dredging, air is pumped through a perforated tube, creating bubbles which push the plastic to the surface and off to one side, where it can then be removed by a conveyor belt. Recent tests in the river IJssel showed that pieces as small as 3mm long can be trapped using this system. 'The Great Bubble Barrier can block plastics across the entire width and depth of the river and does not hinder ships and fish and it doesn’t require major infrastructural...  More >

The freezing temperatures may not make it feel like spring is on its way, but the Netherlands is gearing up for the start of the tulip season as the Keukenhof opens later this month. Here's a selection of great things to do in March. Look at the beautiful people The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is celebrating the return of Rembrandt's wedding portrait of Marten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit after its restauration by tapping into the celebrity culture of centuries gone by. On show will be a collection of 35 full length portraits of such distinguished figures as femme fatale Luisa Casati and the rather dreamy playboy and gynaecologist (!) Dr Pozzi. High Society is on from March 8 to June 3. Website Look at the hoi polloi More Rembrandt at the Rembrandthuis, where a collection of etchings show the artist's powers of observation. Ordinary folk, children at play, beggars and tinkers are all depicted with the same attention to detail he lavished on the great and the good. From March 3. Website Say...  More >

Hunted to near-extinction by the 1920s, European Bison clung to survival in a handful of zoos. Thanks to continent-wide conservation programmes, Europe’s largest megafauna now roams wild in one of its most densely populated regions: the Randstad. Joshua James Parfitt has been bison spotting. I stand gazing out over the dune slacks, as the sun sets orange behind apartment blocks in the distance. Within earshot, a motorbike noisily chases fame or fun at the Zandvoort race track. Distant cars zoom by in their monotonous growl; it seems that nowhere in the Netherlands is safe from the sights and sounds of civilisation. But, behind me, a blond-haired child steps cautiously between tufts of grass as if stalking something. I turn to the child and open my mouth to ask... 'Shhh!' the retort comes rapidly. He hides behind a clump of marram grass. 'The bison are here!' he proclaims, wide-eyed. The boy had good reason to be afraid. As Europe’s largest land mammal, a full-grown bull...  More >

If you can’t find the product you need, you might like to create it yourself. We visited Local Makers, the product design team who are serving a growing market for self-made solutions. Amsterdam product development company Local Makers have had some odd commissions. These include a home enema kit, a hand-painted 3D-printed model of a clitoris for a science programme, and the VU University Medical Center once got in touch regarding a special holder for an anal probe. All of these items were duly discussed, designed and brought to life. Whatever product people want to create, the answer is almost always ‘yes’. Many of Local Makers’ products are made of plastic or metal, but they also work with apps and other digital products. The team can insert circuit boards and motors or add robotic features. They offer 3D FDM printing, where the plastic is melted in fine layers at between 200 and 300 degrees, and SLA printing where liquids are set by UV light. With all these tools,...  More >