Great “social distancing” day trips for autumn in the Netherlands
Vacation is over, summer is just about over, school’s back in session. Yes, autumn is upon us! Though the general call to avoid crowded…
Tips & Reviews
New cookbook Restaurant De Kas – Plant to Plate
Amsterdam-based restaurant De Kas has one mission: to serve the absolute best plant-based dishes featuring home-grown ingredients. Each of the dishes in its cookbook…
‘So said grandma’: timeless wisdom from African sayings
New book introduces young readers to timeless wisdom from selection of 41 African sayings Dr. Mollynn Mugisha-Otim’s desire is to pass wisdom from African…
Picnic in one of the most beautiful gardens in Europe
Kasteel Wijlre estate has one of Europe’s most beautiful gardens. It received the prestigious European Garden Award in 2014. Its three hectares offer many…
Peter Wohlleben, The hidden life of trees. What they feel, how they communicate: Discoveries from a Secret World
You don’t have to be a tree-hugger to wonder about the experience of trees, especially not when you are Peter Wohlleben. In his bestselling…
Restaurant Felix opens in cultural centre Felix Meritis
Restaurant Felix is being opened the 31st of January, seeking to not only become the cultural- but also the gastronomical hotspot of Amsterdam. An…
Queen and Slim
The American dream suddenly and frighteningly turns into a nightmare within the first fifteen minutes of this Bonnie and Clyde-style drama. The opening moments…
The masters of capturing emotions
Edition 31 January, by Benjamin Roberts Today, gazing at Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’s Narcissus (ca. 1600) feels a little bit like being a peeping…
Eethuys-Café Graaf Floris V (restaurant)
Edition 31 October 2019, by Paola Westbeek With its historic centre and pretty Dutch houses lining cobbled streets, the quaint town of Muiden has…
Joker (movie)
Edition 31 October 2019, by Cathy Leung Technically Joker is an origins movie, related to the well-established stories from DC Comics, with the Joker…
David Brooks, The Second Mountain(book)
Edition 31 October 2019, by Benjamin B. Roberts The Quest for a Moral Life (New York: Random House, 2019) David Brooks’ latest book, The…
Ode to Amsterdam
Edition 28 June 2019, by Benjamin Roberts A Millennium of Amsterdam. Spatial History of a Marvelous City (2019) is not like any other history…
Rembrandt and Leiden’s school of fine painters of the Dutch Golden Age
Edition 28 June 2019, by Benjamin Roberts On 4 October 1669, Holland’s most famous painter, Rembrandt van Rijn, died an impoverished man, and was…
The Professor and the Madman
Edition 28 June 2019, by James Luxford Mel Gibson’s passion project comes to cinemas under a cloud of controversy. Producer/star Gibson, along with director…
De Vuursche Boer
Edition 28 June 2018, by Paola Westbeek Situated in Lage Vuursche, a charming village nestled in the province of Utrecht (and home to Drakensteyn…
A Little Life (Theatre)
Edition 19 April 2019, by Benjamin Roberts Jude’s friends are faced with a dilemma. In excruciating pain, they witness him mutilate his body. They…
Vox Lux (movie)
Edition 19 April 2019, by James Luxford What makes a megastar? That’s the question director Brady Corbet asks in this abrasive drama about two…
De Zeemeeuw (restaurant)
Edition 19 April 2019, by Paola Westbeek When sunny weather has you craving a beachside rendez-vous, head to De Zeemeeuw, a coastline gem situated…
The Scary Bikers: A Brexit comedy or tragedy?
Edition 8 March 2019, by Benjamin B. Roberts In early January, the conservative British speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, was called…
The Mule (movie)
Edition 8 March 2019, by By James Luxford Even at 88 years old, Clint Eastwood remains a vital and interesting film maker, occasionally going…
“The Euro” by Joseph Stiglitz (book)
Edition 8 March 2019, by Jeroen Spangenberg Joseph Stiglitz wrote a book which was published in 2017 called “The Euro’’. The Euro describes the…
Carstens (restaurant)
Edition 8 March 2019, Paola Westbeek Carstens takes diners on a delectable culinary journey featuring a fine selection of Holland’s gourmet treasures: from the…
Islamic Art Exhibition at The Hague Municipal Museum
Edition 1 February 2019, by Pejman Akbarzadeh The Hague Municipal Museum holds one of the largest collections of Persian ceramics and glasses, which forms…
Your Coffee, Hilversum (Restaurant)
Edition 1 February 2019, by Paola Westbeek Situated on Kerkstraat in Hilversum’s bustling city centre, is Your Coffee, a cosy and laid-back eatery where…
Beautiful Boy (movie)
Edition 1 February 2019, by Benjamin Roberts In 2017, more than 72,000 deaths in the US were caused by a drug overdoses. One of…
Tabú, Leiden (restaurant)
Edition 28 December 2018, by Paola Westbeek The vibrant culture of Central and South America is refl ected in an exceptional array of ingredients…
The Favourite (movie)
Edition 28 December 2019, by James Luxford Since his startling breakthrough nearly a decade ago with Dogtooth, director Yorgos Lanthimos has built a reputation…
Stieg Larsson’s Legacy (book)
Edition 28 December 2018, by Jeroen Spangenberg – Prime Minister Olof Palme from Sweden assassinated in 1986 , – Jan Stocklassa researched the archive…
Par Hasard, Almere (Restaurant)
Edition 29 November 2018, by Paola Westbeek Smack in the middle of the country, Almere boasts impressive architecture and a city centre replete with…
Stan & Ollie (movie)
Edition 29 November, by James Luxford While the story of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy’s latter days as a duo are worth exploring, Stan…
Climate Change in the seventeenth century (book)
Edition 29 November 2018, by Benjamin Roberts When climate change is mentioned, we often believe it is a modern phenomenon. However, during the late…
Den Haag Cook Book
After the success of their first venture into international foodie territory with The Amsterdam Cook Book Meze Publishing brings their latest ode to the…
Generation Wealth (exposition)
Edition 30 September 2018 What are you really like? And what do gold handbags, gleaming sports cars, glittering jewellery, luxury villas and ‘killer bodies’…
Cielo
Edition 30 September, by Jeroen Spangenberg The film Cielo, produced by filmmaker Alison McAlpine, is about the astonishing Chilean sky that is visible from…
Bel Ami (Restaurant)
Edition 30 September 2018, by Paola Westbeek Entering Bel Ami, situated in Bussum and just half an hour away from Amsterdam, always feels like meeting…
Path to the Present (exhibition)
Edition 30 October 2018, by Benjamin Roberts Today in the Netherlands, one of the most secular countries in Europe, there are more than 2…
SpanishJamon company (food)
SpanishJamon.company is the importer for the Netherlands of Spanish products like Oliveoil and the best Alioli. The company has his own stock in Zandvoort,…
Life itself (movie)
Edition 30 October 2018, by James Luxford Dan Fogelman, creator of TV hit This Is Us, is once again focusing on families in this…
McQueen (movie)
Edition 30 August 2018, by James Luxford There are few stories in the fashion world as fascinating as that of Alexander McQueen, the infant…
Van Gogh and the Seasons (book)
Edition 28 August, by Paola Westbeek Whether you’re a fan of snow-covered landscapes or prefer balmy summer evenings, each season has its own charm…
Hokkai Kitchen (restaurant)
Edition 30 August 2018 Hokkai Kitchen – Perhaps the tastiest sushi of the Netherlands is eaten on a small business park in IJmuiden at…
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich – Alexandr Solzhenitsyn (book)
Edition 29 May 2018, by Hendrik Ike On the 7th of May Vladimir Putin was inaugurated for the fourth time as President of Russia….
Bernd, Hilla and the Others: Photography from Düsseldorf (exhibition)
Edition 29 May 2018, by Phoebe Potter Bernd, Hilla and the Others: Photography from Düsseldorf The decision by the Huis Marseille to dedicate their…
Bar Fisk (restaurant)
Bar Fisk brings the ever-lively, no-strings attached hospitality of Tel Aviv to Amsterdam Located in “De Pijp” next to Albert cuyp market, Bar Fisk…
Brasserie Ambassade (restaurant)
Edition 26 April 2018, by Paola Westbeek Situated on Herengracht, in Amsterdam’s monumental Canal Belt, is Brasserie Ambassade. The fusion of French cuisine, fine…
Forever Young? (exhibition)
Edition 26 April 2018, by Michelle Havard For those unacquainted with modern and contemporary forms of art, the status of photography as a vital…
Unsane (movie)
Edition 26 April 2018, by James Luxford Ever since his arrival on the film scene in the late 1980’s, Steven Soderbergh has never been…
Learn to Cycle in Amsterdam by King Chen (book)
Edition 26 April 2018, by When I moved to Amsterdam in 2014, one of the very first things that I did was to buy…
Exhibition Restless Matter in Cobra Museum (exhibition)
Edition 28 June 2018 Do stones have feelings? Do tree branches have an inner world? Can paint think? The subject of Restless Matter, and…
Choral music from Persia
Edition 28 June 2018 Rare Persian Choral album released in the Netherlands In autumn 1978 the Farah Choir went to Austria to record its…
Adrift (movie)
Edition 28 June 2018, by James Luxford After a strong start to her career, Shailene Woodley has struggled to live up to her promise…
A Whole Life by Robert Seethaler (book)
Edition 28 June 2018, by Hendrik Ike The release of ‘A Whole Life’ by Robert Seethaler in 2014 created a critical eruption of biblical…
Vibrant West African Cuisine (book)
Edition 22 March 2018 Food Entrepreneur Ebere Akadiri publishes cookbook to fight against human trafficking in Nigeria Vibrant West African Cuisine is more than…
High Society in the Rijksmuseum (exhibition)
Edition 22 March, by Benjamin Roberts Back in the olden days, long, long before ‘selfies’ the only people that had portraits made of themselves…
Lady Bird (movie)
Edition 22 March 2018, by Juan Alvarez Lady Bird feels like she is a flower in the wrong pot, in an unnurturing, neglected one….
Dutch Feast – Emily Wight (book)
Edition 22 March 2018. by Paola Westbeek Though the Netherlands is not really known for its cuisine – in fact, the Dutch diet has…
Prinz Wolf is coming for you! (restaurant)
Edition 28 December 2017 Prinz Wolf is the first TARTAR-IA in the Netherlands located at the Canals of Amsterdam. Here you can just walk-in…
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (movie)
Edition 28 December 2017, by James Luxford Every year a front-runner emerges in the race for Oscar glory, and 2018 may just be the…
Visages Villages (Faces and Places) (documentary)
Edition 28 December 2017, by Benjamin Roberts Despite the almost 60-year age difference between the two directors of Visages Villages (2017), they are a…
The Year of Living Danishly (book)
Edition 28 December 2017, by Phoebbe Dodds The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country (by Helen Russell) When…
The Post (movie)
Edition 26 January, by James Luxford Three of Hollywood’s most legendary talents align for this fascinating true story, about the courage it takes to…
Go Gallery (exhibition)
Edition 26 January 2018, by Benjamin B. Roberts From the underground to the Art Gallery: Amsterdam Street Art Festival It’s hard to imagine that…
The proven power of being kind to yourself – Self compassion (book)
Edition 26 January 2018, by Anastasiia Myronenko By Kristin Neff, Ph.D. The start of a new year is often the time when many of…
Indonesian restaurant Bogor Roemah Makan (restaurant)
Edition 26 January 2018, by Marc G. Baker Indonesian delight: sunshine on a cloudy day The first few months of the year can be…
The Venetian Kitchen in Holland ! (Restaurant)
Edition 30 November 2017 Recently The Hague was surprised with a new excellent ristorante Veneziano. Very nicely located, opposite the fabulous delicious sweetness shop…
‘Ernest Hemingway: A Biography’ by Mary (book)
Edition 30 November 2017, by Hendrik Ike In the most recent addition to the Hemingway annals, Mary V. Dearborn lays bare the rise and…
Sex Jokes: Humor in Art in the Dutch Golden Age (museum)
Edition 28 September 2017, by Benjamin Roberts When Elmer Kolfin, the professor at the University of Amsterdam started researching humor in the seventeenth century,…
Bohemian delight (restaurant)
Edition 28 September 2017, by Marc G. baker This isn’t a crime scene. Or, in a sense: it is. Exactly 90 years ago, the…
Teenagers and youngsters in the Dutch Golden Age (book)
Edition 28 September 2017 According to Benjamin B. Roberts’ recently published book Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll in the Dutch Golden Age, the…
Mother! (movie)
Edition 28 September 2017 We start and end in flames, with an image of a fiery face giving way to a mysterious crystal, which…
The Killing of A Sacred Deer (movie)
Edition 26 October, by James Luxford A hit at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, this unusual story of revenge is director Yorgos Lanthimos’ follow up…
Renato’s Pizzeria (restaurant)
Edition 5 September, by Paola Westbeek Authentic pizzas in a convivial atmosphere A proper pizza – one with a perfect crust and just the right…
Emanuel de Witte (1617-1692): The Master of Light (exhibition)
Edition 5 September 2017, by Benjamin Roberts During the Dutch Golden Age, the architect painter Emanuel de Witte (1617-1692) was just as widely known as…
The Beguiled (movie)
Edition 5 September 2017, by James Luxford In an unexpected turn, Oscar winner Sofi a Coppola directs a remake of a reasonably obscure 1971 fi…
Hieronymus Bosch: Garden of Earthly Delights (book)
Edition 5 September 2017, by Paola Westbeek Medieval artist Jheronimus (sometimes spelled as ‘Hieronymus’) Bosch (1450-1516) is widely known for his richly imaginative and bizarre…
The Promise (movie)
Edition 18 May 2017, by James Luxford Often a film’s release is preceeded with a degree of controversy that is difficult for the final…
Dignita Vondelpark (restaurant)
Edition 18 May 2017, by Cathy Leung (tweets @cathycentral) For a while, I had seen various good reports about Dignita in Oud Zuid, Amsterdam,…
The Netherlands in 26 iconic objects (book)
Edition 18 May 2017 An intimate portrait of The Netherlands through the objects that surround us in everyday life What do objects such as…
Saravana Bhavan (restaurant)
Edition 20 June 2017, by Sagar Harinarayan South India boasts of uniquely flavoursome food. No wonder Mr. P Rajagopal decided to create a…
Costume & Fashion by Bianca du Mortier (book)
Edition 20 June 2017, by Paoloa Westbeek When one thinks of high fashion, countries such as France and Italy usually come to mind. The…
The Wall (movie)
Edition 20 June 2017, by James Luxford This Iraq war-set thriller sees its director and stars taking a much more considered, low-fi approach than…
Mr. Sipp – Knock A Hole In It
Edition 20 June 2017 Mr.Sipp is the alter ego of gospel guitarist Castro Coleman. At an early age, it became clear that Castro Coleman…