Following our record-breaking heat in July and the record rainfall of August we are now experiencing the warmest September in 300 years, according to the Dutch weather agency (KNMI). More »

This Sunday, 17 September, the center of Leiden will be closed to all car traffic. The city is closing the streets for an autovrije dag, or car-free day. Each year across Europe and the rest of the world such car-free days are organized; this year marks the first time Leiden will be closed to car traffic since the 1970’s. More »

The average supermarket in the Netherlands is the smallest in Europe, and the selection of food and drink here at grocery stores is also very limited compared to stores in Germany, France, UK, USA and even Belgium. Here is a list of several food products that I like to bring back when shopping abroad — stuff that they really should sell here in Holland. More »

We’re having another extreme weather record-breaking month here in the Netherlands. After the extreme heat of July, we are now having one of the wettest Augusts ever. As of last Friday, we have had thirteen ‘heavy rain’ days this month. Over 50mm of precipitation in one day is considered a ‘heavy rain.’ More »

The Dutch national weather agency (KNMI) has already announced that July 2006 will go down in the record books as the hottest month ever. It has been so hot that the announcement was made more than a week before the end of the month. More »

This Saturday 15 July marks the 400th birthday of Leiden native son and master painter Rembrandt van Rijn. The Leiden city museum, the Lakenhal (cloth guild hall), is inviting all residents of Leiden to celebrate the birthday with coffee and cake. More »

The Almere-Buiten branch of the Dutch supermarket “Plus” has introduced special shopping baskets for single customers. Shoppers who use a purple shopping basket are indicating to other shoppers that they are available. More »

One of the headlines in today’s paper read “Exodus na WK-Verlies” (Exodus after World Cup Loss). Since Holland’s loss to Portugal Sunday night, Dutch soccer fans (almost everyone) can forget about following the World Cup and finally move on to more important things: VACATION! More »

In the last months we have been having a lot of fun going to bird hides and nature reserves here in the Netherlands. It turns out that this country is great for bird watching, and we have suddenly turned into serious birders! It’s incredible how many easy-to-spot birds there are that I had never even noticed before; just this morning we saw four spoonbill from the car along the A4 highway! More »

Dog poop is a big problem in the Netherlands — there are heaps all over the place. You always have to watch your step and walking on any grass in this country is like walking a minefield. Here in Leiden they have started a billboard campaign with posters that are quite explicit: one of them shows a child running after a ball that is about to roll into a fresh pile, and another shows an old lady with a steamy heap in the foreground. More »