Marco and I went for a walk this afternoon, ending at Lebkov for a cup of coffee (medium Americano for me, large cappuccino with a shot of hazelnut for Marco). I usually take a large cappuccino as well but since cafés are now only open for takeaway I noticed that the foam is all but gone by the time we get home. That does tend to affect the taste a bit. Therefore, medium Americano it is!
It was fairly cold out today (under the freezing point) but luckily I found a bit of protection hiding behind flowers sold at the shop next door. The Turfmarkt is known as a wind tunnel so this is always something to keep in mind.
Primary schools, daycare will reopen on February 8, minister confirms from dutchnews.nl. The Dutch government has always said that the re-opening of primary schools was their primary objective. There will be a press conference next Tuesday to see if any other measures could be lifted on 9 February. The next on the list to be lifted might be the curfew from 21:00 to 04:30. I think in an ideal world the government wants to keep the curfew in place, but that also risks more rioting and general unrest so it is hard to tell what they will do. My bet is that it will still in place a bit longer, but who knows?
Seven-day average of Covid-19 infections down to 4,286, the lowest since the beginning of the second wave [the beginning of October] from nltimes.nl. There were 3,714 cases today, however Sundays tend to be lower regardless.
Getting a virtual haircut: It’s a thing from nltimes.nl. A hairdresser in Limburg (southeast Netherlands) came up with an innovative way to keep his business afloat: you order a package of supplies and find a relative who wants to help cut your hair. The hairdresser and client then have a virtual hair cutting session where the hairdresser shows your relative step by step how to cut your hair using a “doll head” traditionally used to train new hairdressers.
Police in Leiden prevent riots by giving out free coffee, also from nltimes.nl. Over the last few weeks protests and riots have been announced online by inviting people to come to a certain location to “drink coffee” together. The police heard that some people wanted to “drink coffee” in certain areas of Leiden. Officers went to the areas with jugs of coffee and tea to help dispel the situation and show that they were there to talk with residents. Their plan seems to have worked – no unrest was reported in the city and only one person was arrested and taken to the police station. Bet he felt a bit embarrassed, being the only one to get arrested…
Life in the Hague 