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 »

For the Soccer World Cup in Germany this month, Dutch grocer Albert Heijn has started an immensely popular ‘wuppie’ campaign; for every €15 spent at the grocery store you get a small red, white, blue or orange wuppie, a small woolly ball with two eyes, feet and antennas. Each wuppie comes with a saving stamp, and with three stamps and an additional €2.49 you can buy a large wuppie. Albert Heijn had 700,000 so-called ‘mega wuppies’ made in China, but most of those have already sold. Now customers are fighting for the last remaining mega wuppies. One wuppie has already sold online for €100 and there have been reports of wuppies being stolen from cars! More »

Unsurprisingly, Disney announced today that it’s free online broadcasts of ABC shows, including Desperate Housewives and Lost, were a big hit. The shows were watched more than 11 million times online in the first month of the test, and an online exit survey showed that 87 percent of respondents could recall the advertisers that sponsored the episodes they watched. A retooled version of the free site, with more shows and features, will be launched in the fall. Unfortunately the free site is only available to Internet users in the United States, but there are easy ways around this.

On June 30^th the Dutch government will decide on a new road connection between Amsterdam, Schiphol airport and Almere. It is Transport Minister Peijs’ preferred option for beating the congestion in the area. Many are against this plan, as the new tunnel and highway will go very close near the oldest nature reserve of the Netherlands, the Naardermeer. More »

Today we had a practice dive in the Oostvoornse Meer, here in the Netherlands. It is the same place where we finished our PADI Open Water course last year. We hadn’t dived since Hurghada in September 2005, except for Nemo 33 in Brussels two weeks ago. More »

Last weekend we drove down to Brittany in France and visited some nice places; we canoed in Brière nature park, saw prehistoric megaliths in Carnac, walked along the coast in Amorique nature park, and visited the medieval town of Guérande. Here is a short report of our road trip, along with some photos. More »

Last weekend we visited NEMO 33, a swimming pool in Brussels with a maximum depth of 33 meters. The pool holds 2,500,000 liters of clear water and is a great place to practice skills or just have a relaxing dive. More »

On our tour of Rajasthan in March we spent a short time in Delhi, the captial of India. We visited the largest mosque of India, the Gandhi Memorial Museum, and the National Museum. More »

A Great White Pelican has been living in the Dutch provice of Friesland, where it was first spotted at the beginning of May. The wild bird probably became lost or disoriented during the spring migration from Africa, possibly due to inexperience. Pelicans winter in East Africa and spend the summers in the Balkans. The birds normally fly via Israel, when they float over thermal streams to conserve energy. While soaring the bird may have been knocked off course and not noticed something was wrong. More »

We spent two days in Kota, Rajasthan while visiting India in March 2006. Kota is a working class town off the tourist trail, but has some nice attractions to offer visitors. While in Kota we stayed at a small, family run haveli, walked through the old city, visited the fort and palace, and took a cruise on the Chambal River. More »