Yesterday we found an unusually large selection of American grocery products at a regular supermarket in the Hague, here in the Netherlands. The store is Coop Van Dijk on Ursulaland 80-82 (see on Google map). There used to be an American school nearby, which is now gone, but the owner still likes to keep importing the American products, which fill an entire aisle in the store. More »

Until today, European law dictated television channels across Europe to have no more than twelve minutes of advertisements per hour, and in no more than three separate commercial breaks per hour. Today, EU countries decided to let go of this rule and allow commercials to be spread in more, smaller breaks, but still with a maximum of twelve minutes per hour. The change still needs approval from the European Parlement. More »

On Saturday we drove to IJmuiden (25 km west of Amsterdam) and walked down the South Pier, which stretches 3 km into the North Sea. It was very windy and cold, but the pier was filled with dozens of fishers and birders, and we saw some new birds ourselves. More »

Rescue workers near the Frisian town of Marrum (145 kilometers northeast of Amsterdam) struggled yesterday to save a herd of one hundred horses stranded for days on a tiny island after a storm earlier this week turned their pasture into sea. Eighteen horses have already drowned, and the rest have spent two nights huddled together in knee-deep water. More »