For the first time in 39 years there will be no New Year’s dive in Scheveningen on New Year’s Day, here in the Netherlands. A combination of hard wind from the south west and high tide will cause strong currents and high waves that are too dangerous according to the fire department, police, lifeguards, health services and the local government. The event started in 1965 and draws between 7,000 and 10,000 cold-seeking participants every year. More »

Another year has passed. Here is my personal best and worst of 2006 in the categories adventure, discovery, hotel, experience, buy and surprise. More »

I just received two packages through the mail with DVDs that I had ordered from Amazon. I was required to pay the mailman a hefty import tax for receiving these goods, and it was much more than I expected. More »

Here are 10 great things you can do on your holiday in South Florida:

1. Take a bike ride at Everglades NP Shark Valley
2. Canoe down Buttonwood Canal at Flamingo
3. Dive or snorkel the coral reefs off Key Largo
4. Drive down the Overseas Highway
5. Walk around Key West
6. Visit Bahia Honda State Park
7. Look for Key Deer at Long Pine Key
8. Feed the Tarpons (or Pelicans) at Robbie’s on Islamorada
9. Visit Hemingway House on Key West
10. Hike the trails in Everglades NP

More »

Various environmental groups in the Netherlands have called on the Dutch parliament to invest money in bird protection. Last week Natuurmonumenten and the Dutch partner of BirdLife International, together with five other agencies, sent the strong message to the Minister of Landscape, Nature and Food Quality.

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 »

Boar-hunting season in the Netherlands officially began on 15 October. Besides wild boar, hunters in Holland may shoot hares and rabbits, pheasants, wood pigeons and mallard ducks. With this in mind the Dutch animal rights group Dierenbescherming requested statisticians from Blauw Research to survey the population on the subject of hunting. The group surveyed 1278 people. The result: 97% of Dutch residents disapprove of hunting as a sport. More »