April 30th queen Beatrix ended her reign with a signature and passed the crown to her oldest son, Willem Alexander.

Holland is now returning to its original colours and all the orange hats and sunglasses can go back to the attic. Although the economic situation is not much better than 33 years ago when Beatrix was inaugurated, there was no sound of any protest or whatsoever heard. Emotion, gratitude and party time was the main goal. In 1980 Beatrix was welcomed with smokebombs, riots and loud protest. This years crowning was nothing like that. Willem Alexander and his wife Maxima will probably give a new twist to the monarchy. Willem-Alexander understands that his role is mostly symbolic because he is not elected for this job.

After 10 years of renovation, the Rijksmuseum finally opened its doors!

Last Saturday the world eyewitnessed the opening of one of the world’s most spectacular museums. In one of her last public appearances as queen of The Netherlands, queen Beatrix opened the ‘new’ Rijksmuseum. The opening ceremony was followed by fireworks and huge clouds of orange smoke all around the building. The museum has undergone a massive reconstruction. The old wall paintings and floordecorations have been restored and the originally colours are brought back in the museum. The masterpiece of the Rijksmuseum, The Night Watch by Rembrandt, is the only painting that is back on it’s old spot! Over all there are 80 rooms with a total surface of 30.000 m2 and you can walk for 1,5 km through the entire museum. For more info see: Rijksmuseum.

Our Queen Beatrix announced that she is ending her reign after 33 years and passing the crown to her eldest son, Willem Alexander.

Queen Beatrix will step down from the throne on April 30, the birthday of her mother, our former Queen Juliana. At this day we celebrate every year Queensday. This year, Willem-Alexander will be appointed king at an inauguration in Amsterdam. He will be the Netherlands’ first king since Willem III died in 1890. Willem Alexander married in 2002 the Argentinean Maxima Zorreguita and she is immensely popular in Holland. Her father however is not welcome at all here since he was Minister of Agriculture in the regime of Videla, a military dictator who ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1981. Her parents were not present at the wedding and will also not be attending the inauguration. In April Maxima will become Queen.

The museum has been under construction for years. With a brand new wing, the Stedelijk now has more space than ever to show its famous collection and put on renowned and influential exhibitions. The eye-catching ‘bath-tub’ designed by Mels Crouwel facing the Museumplein (musem plaza) is by itself worth while a trip to the museum.

Make your reservation for a ticket on Stedelijk Museum.

April 4th 2012 the new location of the Film Institute has opened! It’s located at the northern bank of the IJ, behind the Central Station, and it has become an impressive landmark definately worth the visit.

Pay a visit for a movie (all movies are subtitled in Holland so you can hear the original spoken language) or stop by for a drink or dinner. Enjoy! More info on the website of Eye.

At number 6 the beautiful canals and townhouses are described and that makes it, among many other reasons, definately worth the visit. Utrecht is only 30 minutes away from Amsterdam by train. In Utrecht it is also possible to enjoy a Home Dinner!

Courtesy of Hans Karel

There is also an interview with Egeria Di Nallo, professor of Sociology at the University of Bologna, founder of an association that promotes the secret restaurant. Thank you Davide for the article!

For the article, see: repubblica

Since August 1st 2010 the Amsterdam’s canal ring is placed on Unesco’s World Heritage List.

For centuries the fame of these 17^th century canals has extended far beyond the Dutch frontiers. The technical innovation with the semi-circular design, the water management system and the sheer size of the area, make the canal ring an urban phenomenon that is without equal in the rest of the world. The ring of canals is an architectural complex of world significance. The entire area is about 160 hectares in surface area, the total length of the canals is some 14 kilometres, with an astonishing 80 bridges.