Tuesday 17 September 2019

Podcast: Swedish Men Are Better Edition

Podcast: Swedish Men Are Better Edition

The podcast returns from a two-week break to commiserate with Ajax fans over their shock exit from the Champions League, catch up with Forum voor Democratie’s fruitless search for a senate leader and find out why the tourist board has started telling visitors to get out of Amsterdam. We also bring you the latest on the arrest of a suspected serial killer and why organic labelling is less wholesome than it sounds. In our discussion we take a deep dive... More >

Organic food scandal needs addressing

Organic food scandal needs addressing

This week broadcaster RTL found that hundreds of Dutch organic food producers were being allowed to sell their products as organic, even though they did not meet all the rules. Organic expert Hugo Skoppek says the findings are a national scandal. I am simply shocked. Nothing in life is 100%, but the fact that RTL investigators found hundreds of ‘organic’ products on sale that do not fully comply with the regulations for organic food in the Netherlands is indeed scandalous.... More >

Traditional windmills you can visit

Traditional windmills you can visit

What’s the first thing that springs to mind when most people think of the Netherlands? If this were a question on a game show, windmills would probably be the number one answer. If you’ve never experienced the joys of climbing to the top of one of these ubiquitous structures, or merely drinking a biertje beside one, here’s a few that you can visit (and, in some cases, even spend the night in).  Zaanse Schans – Zaandam Okay, let’s get the... More >

Dutch energy prices among highest in EU

Dutch energy prices among highest in EU

You will have noticed the sharp jump in your energy costs at the beginning this year – but even without the tax increase that helped push up bills, the cost of gas and electricity in the Netherlands is far above the EU average. Research by energy provider comparison website Energievergelijk.nl has shown that consumer prices for electricity and gas in the Netherlands are far above the average prices in the EU. The energy site used data from the Household Energy... More >

Blogwatching: Not Cool

Blogwatching: Not Cool

Ana V. Martins is a Portuguese actress turned content creative & social media wizard. Her blog Amsterdive is a project with both a personal accent and a cultural one which, she says, explores her own relationship with Amsterdam, and the Netherlands while focusing on arts and culture, creativity, sustainability and self-development. When, at the first Amsterdive meet-up, I got prompted to write about the downsides of living in Amsterdam, I thought it was an unusual request. My readers know all... More >

Adrienne Cullen's struggle continues

Adrienne Cullen's struggle continues

After fighting the Dutch healthcare system for six years until she died on New Year’s Eve, Adrienne Cullen and her husband Peter Cluskey were totally at one about why so many bad things happen in hospitals in the Netherlands. It’s because, says Peter, the regulation of the hospitals is based on trust. Hospitals need strict regulation not because they are filled with people with malign intent towards patients – though such people do exist – but because they are enormous,... More >

Why I am proud to be stubborn

Why I am proud to be stubborn

This grainy photography of a Dutch farming family is a testament to the stubbornness that led to a small boy being saved from the Nazi death camps. Adrianus van de Berg knocked hard on the table. The village priest in front of him retreated in panic. Van de Berg was stubborn. He had stubbornness that was born out of countless Dutch raining mornings at the farm. ‘The boy stayed here because I said so – and so it will be,’... More >

'Favourite Dutch thing? A museumkaart'

'Favourite Dutch thing? A museumkaart'

 Originally from West Los Angeles, Joe Silber moved to Prague in the early ‘00s. There he met his future wife and later moved with her to the Netherlands where he currently works as a technical writer. He’s partial to an uitsmijter, would like to have met Jan Steen and plans to visit the Aalsmeer flower auction. How did you end up in the Netherlands? When I first moved to Europe, I lived in Prague for about five years. I met... More >

Bubbles to Bauhaus: things to do in May

Bubbles to Bauhaus: things to do in May

The first of the blockbuster Rembrandt shows closes this month, so head for the Rembrandt House in Amsterdam to catch up on his social network while you can. Elsewhere, there are several English language theatre shows to enjoy, as well as some classic design in Rotterdam. Come as you are Tiny waists and (hence) corsets are on show at the Amsterdam Museum where the 18th and 19th century costume collection is given an airing. What are these clothes telling us... More >

Picking the perfect internet tv package

Picking the perfect internet tv package

With a choice of at least 10 different internet tv providers in the Netherlands, how do you know where to start and which is the best tv package for you? The television market has transformed in the Netherlands in recent years and today a wide variety of tv providers offer a bewildering number of tv packages. Digital television services have revolutionised our viewing behaviour. It is hard to believe, but 30 years ago, commercial television was still in its infancy.... More >

Universal suffrage is not so universal

Universal suffrage is not so universal

Not all taxpayers in the Netherlands are created equal and much needs to be done to ensure everyone has the right to vote, say Sally Wyatt and Hans Radder. With the provincial elections just behind us and the European elections around the corner, analyses and articles abound. But there is one issue that hardly ever makes the news: that of suffrage. The right to vote, and to be voted for, is an essential part of democracy. Universal suffrage is the... More >

Podcast: The Infected Tulips Edition

Podcast: The Infected Tulips Edition

This week on the podcast we try to piece together the debris after an explosive week for Forum voor Democratie, find out why so many MPs claim to live in Limburg and catch up with the campaign to ban a homophobic American Holocaust denier from Amsterdam. There’s also news of the neck-and-neck Eredivisie title race and some mysterious vandalism on Texel. In our discussion we give you the lowdown on this year’s King’s Day festivities in Amersfoort. Ophef of the... More >

An essential guide to surviving King's Day

An essential guide to surviving King's Day

If you are in the Netherlands at the moment, you cannot fail to have noticed it. Yes, King’s Day 2019 is about to hit and the orange tat is everywhere. Here at DutchNews.nl opinion about King’s Day is divided. Some of us have been collecting our clutter to sell for months, some of us have a 24-hour feest ahead of us and some of us are even leaving the country to get away from it all. All you need is... More >

Wynia's Week: the creaking party cartel

Wynia's Week: the creaking party cartel

Thierry Baudet’s frequent mention of ‘the party cartel’ has finally wiped the smile of the said cartel. If the three ‘people’s parties (VVD, CDA, PvdA and perhaps D66) can be considered ‘the cartel’ then it is losing power fast. The traditional parties still have a finger in every pie but as their support declines, that is bound to change. The fact that these parties are falling out of favour was never more obvious than in the last provincial elections. The... More >

The tax return deadline is getting closer

The tax return deadline is getting closer

You may be putting it off, but time is running out. You’ve got until April 30 to hand in your annual tax return – or get someone else to do it for you. Here’s round up of things to think about. 1. Do you need help? You can file your taxes on the Belastingdienst website using your personal DigiD number, and it is relatively straightforward if your financial situation is super simple. If you’ve switched jobs, bought a house or... More >

Going Dutch in Amsterdam

Going Dutch in Amsterdam

In February DutchNews.nl editor Robin Pascoe became Dutch. Not because she wanted to or because she felt that the time was right. She became Dutch because of Brexit. I am, immigration department figures show, one of hundreds of British nationals who are taking Dutch nationality in response to Britain’s crazed decision to leave the EU. For me it was a straightforward process. My husband is Dutch and we have been married for 30 years, so I can use the optieregeling... More >

Podcast: The Long Live King Trouby Edition

Photomontage for DutchNews podcast April 19 2019 featuring King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima with a bunch of flowers and a very large sheep.

Podcast: The Long Live King Trouby Edition

As the country gears up for the Easter weekend, the podcast team checks on the progress of the fledgling provincial governments and asks if fears that the housing market is overheating are well grounded. We also look at Ajax’s rejuvenation in Europe, what sank Amsterdam’s last floating flower business and how one of the country’s most decorated soldiers poured home-made fertiliser all over his reputation. And with a week to go to King’s Day, we ask why young people are... More >

US citizens have obligations in NL

US citizens have obligations in NL

Friday, April 19, is Dutch-American Friendship Day, the day on which the Netherlands and the US celebrate 227 years of diplomatic relations. But not all is easy for the US nationals who have made their home in the Low Countries – especially when it comes to taxes and a mysterious thing called FATCA. As friendly as relations are between the two countries, American citizens living in the Netherlands still have the unfriendly obligation of paying US taxes – which they... More >

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