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Tourism

Moshi Moshi Fair 2018

Posted on June 23, 2018

Saturdays are usually a time for us to be lazy but we made an exception for Moshi Moshi Fair 2018. Inspired by the traditional Japanese matsuri, Moshi Moshi Fair came with the promise to allow visitors to experience Japanese Culture at its best. This year it was located in Amstel Park. Japanese Festivities There were a few traditional Japanese games like fishing for prizes or using a small gun to hit a target. However, food was probably the main stage here. Delicious…

Lifestyle Tourism

Anime Con 2018

Posted on June 18, 2018

The Netherlands is small on many accounts but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have niche events. One of these is the largely anticipated Anime Con. People from all across Europe make the journey to Den Haag to celebrate their love of Anime and Manga. Sander and I made it last year to Anime Con and we went again this year. As always, it’s an intimate convention hosted at the World Forum. It’s a yearly event that seems gather a lot of…

Tourism

Maastricht Natural History Museum

Posted on June 11, 2018

I have a fascination with death. It’s not a creepy unhealthy one (at least I think not). It’s one that drives me to visit as many natural history museums as I can. I think it was fueled by my father and his interest in the sciences. Weekend outings were filled with trips to local science centers, museums, and art galleries. We would watch documentaries if we couldn’t go out. I don’t want to paint my childhood as one where I…

Tourism

How the Dutch keep history alive

Posted on June 6, 2018

The past is easily forgotten. The world changes in the blink of an eye and sometimes we forget to stop moving forward. Our future is as important as our history. The Belgians seem to have a good grasp on history. Located in Limburg, this tribute to history is the Bokrijk. It’s a sprawling open air museum that honors the past in the way only the Europeans can. Rows of brick houses thatched with straw roofs line the dirt roads. This…

Tourism

North Caves of Maastricht

Posted on June 4, 2018

Our time in Maastricht was an exciting one that included a fantastic tour of Fort St. Pieter. What I didn’t share previously was that this ticket venture also included the North Caves. Inside are 20,000 tunnels, man made and still standing strong. They consist of limestone and used to build the structures that made up young Maastricht. Today were are around 8,000 of these tunnels that still stand. They are a chilling reminder of what the past was and where…

Tourism

Day tour at Fort Sint Pieter of Maastricht

Posted on May 28, 2018

We usually don’t do a lot of touristy things. That all changes when it comes to learning about history. Our vacation home was a short drive to Maastricht. Needless to say we ended up visiting the city quite often. We had a week of unplanned events so we decided to see what we could do to pass the time. We decided on a tour of the Fort St. Pieter. Now, Maastricht has a ton of things to do and this…

Tips Tourism

A Belgium Vacation Park

Posted on May 25, 2018

We spent a week nestled deep within a forest of tall trees and away from the noisy city life. This is our second trip to a vacation home. This time we spent the week at the Belgium/Netherlands border. If you recall, we went to Oosterhout a few years ago. That trip was a much shorter one though. This time we were away for a week. We went along with Sander’s parents and split the cost of a two bedroom cottage.…

Tourism

Van Gogh & Japan

Posted on May 7, 2018

Van Gogh & Japan is a special and limited exhibition on display at from March 23 to June 24 at the Van Gogh Museum located in the cluster of museums that make up Museumplein in the heart of Central Amsterdam. It showcases two sorts of art themes. The first theme features pieces of Japanese art styles that fit into categories like Ukiyo-e. The second theme is Van Gogh and the pieces he painted that drew their inspiration from Ukiyo-e. Van…

Living in North Holland Tourism

Koningsdag 2018 (the localized version)

Posted on April 27, 2018

Rambunctious Koningsdag celebrating beings the night before and continues on into the next morning. Sprawling dance parties are held in each major city across the nation. Markets with stalls overflowing with goods line up in front of closed store fronts. Flags with the Dutch colors fly over most houses. Everyone is wearing tall hats and neon orange shirts. What exactly causes the Dutch to celebrate so extensively for one day a year? King’s Day is the birthday of the current…

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