Who wants a bit of controversy? (Or: Max Verstappen is the first Dutch F1 champion)

Posted on December 12, 2021 by Niki

Max Verstappen won the F1 world championship today, but not without a bit of controversy. Let me paint the picture for you: Verstappen and Hamilton (7 time world champion) went into the last race of the season tied in the points. Hamilton had control most of the race, but Max based him in the last lap of the race to win. To win!

But along the way there was a slight hiccup where Hamilton was racing Verstappen hard going into the corner and Hamilton decided to cut the corner, taking an illegal line and gaining an advantage and first place. The FIA (governing body) said they would not investigate further. Then there was an absolutely brilliant battle between Hamilton and the second Red Bull Racing driver, Checo Perez (YouTube). Due to pit strategy Perez was briefly in the lead, with Hamilton trying to pass him on new tires. Verstappen was about 7-8 seconds behind. Perez managed to hold Hamilton off for one lap, slowing him down so much that Verstappen caught up to both of them. Cue the Jaws music with two Red Bulls right behind Hamilton ready to pounce… But in the end Hamilton got away again. It was great to watch.

The end of the race saw pit strategy playing out again, with Verstappen going in for new tires during a late caution but putting him back a bit further in the pack. There were only a few laps left, and it looked like the race might end under yellow. And then the FIA (governing body) decided that only the cars between Hamilton and Verstappen could unlap themselves so that the race could go green sooner, which went against the rules book. Things only got weirder from there. I believe there were complaints that Verstappen overtook Hamilton while the safety car was still on the track and unofficial complaints that Hamilton slowed down too much behind the safety car (the lead car can decide the pace and when to go, to an extent). In the end Verstappen passed Hamilton on the final lap and won the championship.

Mercedes (Hamilton’s team) has entered a two-part protest, and the FIA will deliver their ruling shortly. And I suspect if Mercedes doesn’t like the result they will go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but it remains to be seen what happens then. The ruling that Verstappen illegally overtook Hamilton behind the safety car was thrown out in the last half hour and the final ruling about FIA only letting some cars unlap themselves before the final lap will occur shortly.

It was quite a surreal race, and not the way I wanted it to end. Hamilton was a class act with his response, gracious in defeat. It did remind me a bit of the podcast episode “The 1972 Olympic Men’s Basketball Final” from the podcast Everything Everywhere. At least in that this one will be talked about for a very long time, and the diehard fans for either side will probably keep supporting their side. But it is probably good that everyone can get a break for a few months. The 2022 season starts in March!

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Lots of alarms going off (Or: Testing the emergency system)

Posted on December 9, 2021 by Niki

Every first Monday of the month at 12:00, the test system goes off here in The Netherlands. It uses an air raid siren which always reminds me of my childhood. Why, do you ask?

The air raid siren sound that is used is the same sound that was used back in Chicago where I grew up. But there it was the tornado siren, warning of impending doom. Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a bit, but not by much. You don’t ignore tornado sirens in the midwest of the United States.

But the last decade has brought a new sound into the mix during the first Monday of the month at 12:00 — your phone also bleats out a shrill sound about 4 or 5 times. The warning system is called “NL Alert” (crisis.nl in English). “Luckily” the telephones are only tested twice a year, in June and December. Now imagine my phone making that sound, and Marco’s phone, and Marco’s work phone… All. at. the. same. time. BEEEEEEEEEEP!

Oh, and the air siren was still going on outside.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s a very useful system. It was credited for helping save lives during the flooding in July of this year in the southeastern part of The Netherlands. It is also used locally if there is a large fire and nearby residents need to close their windows, etc. It it just so loud at times! And it makes me think there is a tornado coming…

Categories: Daily Dutch living, The Hague | Leave a comment

Random find at the Asian store (Or: Instant coffee with…wait, what?!)

Posted on December 2, 2021 by Niki

Have you ever had instant coffee?

Sure, we all have.

But have you had instant coffee with added vitamin C and collagen for clear skin?

No, I didn’t think so. Although a Google search for collagen coffee does lead me to believe it is more popular than I am thinking… So if you have, leave a comment with how it tastes.

In other news, I just read that the annual New Year’s Eve bonfire is cancelled again this year (omroepwest.nl, in Dutch). Same with the local Christmas market, which was cancelled a few days ago (royalchristmasfair.nl, in English). It is what it is – although it will be weird once we get a “normal” holiday season again.

Eindhoven [a Dutch city] has a creepy announcement warning people to keep their distance from dutchreview.nl. Eindhoven has promised to turn down the sound and play the message less frequently – at the busiest times of the day it was every 15 minutes!

The Dutch are testing a weirdly cute robo-dog in Rotterdam Centraal [a train station], also from dutchreview.nl. Very cute, even if it is expensive, priced at €100,000. Yikes.

Categories: Everyday purchases | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Christmas lights at the Bijenkorf (Or: 2021 edition)

Posted on November 26, 2021 by Niki

Here is a look at the outdoor decorations at Bijenkorf here in The Hague (Bijenkorf is a high-end retail store). These lights and decorations go up every year. Actually the lights were already up when Marco and returned from the United States back in late October, although the window displays weren’t ready for a few more weeks.

The lights:

And here is a look at some of the window displays. They change every year and usually draw a crowd (though less of a crowd this year and last year, of course).

It is hard to believe that it is almost December…

In the meantime, the current corona wave is still going strong, with intensive care units filling up. There was another press conference tonight, a week earlier than originally planned. Here is a look at the measures that go into effect Sunday morning, in English at government.nl.

There was another “noise” demonstration near Central Station this evening; the press conference is held in that area so the people outside try to make as much noise as possible to get heard on television. See also some images at regio.15 (text in Dutch). There were some pretty grim demonstrations last week so this time the military was present instead of the police. This demonstration went rather peacefully though, especially in comparison to the riots last week in Rotterdam (theguardian.com).

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Comfort food (Or: Beef stew on a Sunday evening)

Posted on November 22, 2021 by Niki

Marco and I made beef stew in our slow cooker this past Sunday. It’s a pretty simple recipe – just beef stew meat, carrots, celery, potatoes, onions and leek. Add a bit of thickly sliced bread for dipping and you are good to go.

As you might have heard, Europe is currently in the grips of yet another corona wave. Remember how I said a little over a week ago that our previous record for infections was around 13,000 and we leapfrogged over that record with 16,300 infections reported the next day? Yeah, It would be nice to go back to 13,000 (or even 16,300 really). We’ve been at over 20,000 infections for about a week, with the average over 21,000 and 23,000+ registered today. See also this nltimes.nl article in English.

So they might move up the next press conference (currently scheduled for Friday, December 3) to later this week, but since there hasn’t been enough time to see what the effects of the latest measures, the press conference will likely just be a reminder that people need to stick to the rules.

But, on a lighter note:

Man threw “irritating” Nijntje toy in trash sparking hours long police search from nltimes.nl. The best part is the security guard who originally called the police ended up keeping the hide-and-seek toy and putting it on his dashboard, as reported by this nos.nl article in Dutch.

Walrus leaves Arctic comfort zone for snooze on Dutch submarine from theguardian.com. Quote: “…others, however, thought it was very nice of the Dutch navy not to kick the walrus off their boat.” A lot of jokes were made since the submarine was part of the “walrus” class (English Wikipedia). The walrus has since moved on (most likely to the UK) although it hasn’t been spotted recently.

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New mural by the Eat Company (Or: Apparently it wasn’t the end after all)

Posted on November 18, 2021 by Niki

A few months ago I wrote a blog post about the mural by the Eat Company being painted over, after 5 years of sitting stuck in the “fall” theme. At the time it seemed like the end of an era.

A work colleague sent a tip last week that a new mural had unexpectedly appeared recently:

Although I do need to take a closer look during the day – it looks more like a giant (weatherproof) sticker than a painted mural. The texture is really nice, though.

(The stork shows up in a lot of imagery around The Hague; it is part of the official coat of arms – see also English Wikipedia.)

Categories: The Hague | Tags: , | 2 Comments

Riots against corona measures (Or: Another press conference)

Posted on November 14, 2021 by Niki

As expected, things are getting worse before they get better in the Netherlands. For instance, our previous record was around 13,000 infections in a day, back in December 2020. We leapfrogged over that record last Thursday – clocking in at 16,300 infections (!), a jump of more than 3,300 in one day. The numbers will start getting limited by our current test capacity soon.

There was another press conference on Friday, with more measures added (official government website in English). Consider it a partial lockdown. We’re back to ‘work at home unless impossible’, with non-essential stores closing at 18:00 and essential stores like supermarkets and pet stores closing at 20:00. Cafés and restaurants also need to close their doors at 20:00. This will last until early December. Part of me thinks the government went straight for three weeks to ensure that stores would be closed in the evenings for Black Friday, which was definitely the start of our wave last year. At the moment there is no curfew, though.

The government also said that they were looked into a 2G approach versus the 3G approach we currently have for some things. The “G” comes from the Dutch verbs gevaccineerd, genezen of getest (vaccinated, healed or tested). The current measures are in place to give the government time to change the law to allow for 2G (vaccinated or healed) without the possibilities of getting tested to enter certain areas anymore. Although it also feels like the government is shifting some of the responsibility by stating that certain professions can go for either 2G and not have assigned seating or 3G with assigned seating.

As you can imagine this is a bit of a sensitive subject in The Netherlands. A few hundred people (or a bit more) decided to protest outside of the building where the press conference was held while it was being broadcast. And of course some people come with the intent to damage stuff, not just protest. You can see lots of images of the protest over at regio15.nl, in Dutch. For some reason people decided to vandalize a café (photo taken by me yesterday):

The owner figured something would happen and had moved all furniture inside by 15:00 on Friday, but that didn’t stop the vandalism. The damage for the glass wind screens was estimated at a few hundred euros, whereas the damage for the building’s window was around 10,000 euros (omroepwest.nl in Dutch). And how did rioters cause that damage, you ask?

Why, they literally pulled bricks out of the sidewalk, of course. Oh, and they also threw bricks and fireworks at the police. Who eventually turned a water cannon on them to get them to leave (see also the regio15.nl article linked above). Five people were arrested.

As usually happens in 2021, there is already a virtual donation started for the café owner (omroepwest.nl, in Dutch).

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Almost time to start the countdown (Or: Sinterklaas)

Posted on November 10, 2021 by Niki

Sinterklaas arrives in The Netherlands this Saturday from Spain, as is tradition (read more at English Wikipedia). After his arrival Dutch children start counting down to December 5, as that evening they can open their presents. Minor gifts are given (usually left in shoes) between the arrival of Sinterklaas and December 5.

Albert Heijn is getting into the party with their own version of an advent calendar with mini chocolates:

Every day from November 13 through December 5 has a little window to open (in random order, which as an adult I find a bit annoying). Aftellen tot pakjesavond = countdown to gifts evening (a literal translation).

We’ll see if things proceed as planned. The nationally televised arrival of Sinterklaas can go ahead because almost all of it is taped in advance and the city he arrives in doesn’t actually exist, due to the pandemic. Normally he arrives to much fanfare and thousands of young kids cheering him on in person or watching from home.

Regional arrivals have started to be cancelled, with Utrecht being the first big city to cancel theirs (official website in Dutch). A decision for The Hague hasn’t been made yet, but the signs informing travelers of bus and tram re-routing on Saturday are still in place, and inside the trams an automated message plays saying there will be re-routing on Saturday. It will probably go ahead as the arrival of Sinterklaas at the harbor in Scheveningen now requires tickets and they are restricting the number of tickets offered. At the moment the parade through The Hague is also still on. We’ll see.

For fun, here’s a look at the first (and only) Sinterklaas parade I went to back in 2013. Psssst: Americans, please don’t be shocked at the use of blackface. It is slowly being phased out in most cities.

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Vegan time (Or: Who knew cactus could be delicious?)

Posted on November 7, 2021 by Niki

This Friday Marco, Roger and I had dinner at FOAM in The Hague. This was one of the “first Friday of the month” special dinners. The theme was Mexican, with shared plates.

Unfortunately I am not the person to ask what all of this was. The images are in order that they were served. Some notes:

  • The third image with the cups was my favorite. It is actually a warm, spicy cactus soup. Delicious. I either want the recipe or I want it added to the lunch menu.
  • The fourth image is of mole tacos. It was interesting. I am not sure I have had mole sauce before. The only good way to eat it was with a knife and fork. It was still a bit messy, but doable.
  • The fifth (and largest) image is part of our main course. Not everything was pictured as some things arrived a bit later.
  • The last image is of the dessert. I have decided my palate is not refined enough. I keep hoping it is ice cream or cake or chocolate, but usually we get stuff like figs. It’s fine though, as it keeps it light.

Some other news:

Dutch coronavirus avg. nears 10,000; Covid hospital total close to 1,500 from nltimes.nl. This is not that great; we’re not that far from our record set last December and we’ve only just started November.

Thousands of people demonstrate against coronavirus policy in The Hague from nltimes.nl. This was this afternoon (from about lunchtime to 16:00). The estimated crowd was 20,000 to 25,000 demonstrators. While I was somewhat in the area today I didn’t need to be anywhere near the demonstration route. You can also see dozens of photos over at the local news site regio15.nl (in Dutch). Most of their anger is at the stricter rules – you now need to wear a face mask or show a QR code (vaccinated, recently tested or recently recovered) in public places.

Otherwise things are going well for Marco and I except that the weekend unfortunately flew by. However there is always next weekend forward to!

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Big chocolatey sprinkles (Or: MEGA kruidnoten!)

Posted on November 2, 2021 by Niki

Unfortunately these beauties weren’t available when Marco and I traveled to America a few weeks ago:

It is a new offering from the Dutch grocery store Albert Heijn: a large kruidnoten (English Wikipedia) covered in lots of chocolate and sprinkles. They are quite delicious, but also quite hard. I fear a bit for my teeth. Considering Marco and I brought about six random flavors of kruidnoten to America, I think my parents and brother would have also appreciated trying this version. If only it had appeared last month…

In other news: corona cases have been rising since about 3-4 weeks ago. The rise started the week before our trip, so it was weird to see the numbers double in the single week we were gone. The Dutch cabinet held a press conference this evening to announce additional measures, a bit of a turnaround from their last package where they got rid of almost everything including social distancing. Highlights are:

  • the Dutch access pass (aka the CoronaCheck app) needs to be shown at more locations. You can receive an entry QR code if you are vaccinated, you tested negative for the virus in the last 24 hours or you have recently had corona. A valid QR code is now required for a café’s outside terrace (it was previously only required for dining inside). It is also required for events where seating is assigned and at gyms, museums, conferences, etc.
  • face masks are now required indoors for public locations which do not yet require the Dutch access pass (like supermarkets, libraries, amusement parks and retail stores).
  • booster shots will be given for people aged 80+ from December and for people aged 60+ from January 2022.
  • the advice is to work from home half of the time. For about a month the advice to work from home was completely removed, but as you can see that didn’t last long…

Read more at NL Times: Cabinet expands Covid pass system even wider than expected; Face mask rules explained.

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