Netherlands - Painter and musician – racing and culinary

holland amsterdamMany world-famous painters were Dutch. One of the most famous early artists was Hieronymus Bosch. The heyday of the Republic in the 17th century, the so-called Golden Age, produced great artists such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Jan Vermeer, Frans Hals, Carel Fabritius, Gerard Dou, Paulus Potter, Jacob Izaaksoon van Ruisdael and Jan Steen. During the Golden Age, around 700 painters worked in the Netherlands, completing around 70,000 paintings a year. Famous painters of later eras were Vincent van Gogh and Piet Mondrian. M. C. Escher and Otto Heinrich Treumann were well-known graphic artists.

The most famous Dutch rock band Golden Earring had their biggest hit with Radar Love in the 1970s. The classic rock bands Ekseption around Rick van der Linden and Focus as well as Shocking Blue with their hit Venus were also world-famous in the 1970s. Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen, band members of the American hard rock band Van Halen, were also born in the Netherlands.

Anne Frank wrote her world-famous diary between 1942 and 1944 while she and her family were in hiding in Amsterdam to avoid arrest or deportation to an extermination camp.

In motorsport, the motorcycle world championship Grand Prix race track in Assen (Dutch TT), the Formula 1 Grand Prix race track in Zandvoort and the De Bonte Wever ice stadium in Assen with its ice speedway world championship races are known worldwide.

The best known for Holland are frieten or patat, Dutch for French fries, with various sauces, the most famous combination being mayonnaise and peanut sauce (with onions), the patatje oorlog. Other specialties include Goudse kaas (Gouda cheese) and Hollandse Nieuwe; These matjes are young, not yet sexually mature herring. Due to the Netherlands' past as a maritime power, culinary influences from the former colonies came to the country, for example the nasibal or bamibal. These are Nasi Goreng or Bami Goreng in the shape of meatballs.

Amsterdam - Tolerance of homosexuality as a heritage?

  • Written by Portal Editor
  • Category: Netherlands
  • Hits: 914
Amsterdam - Tolerance of homosexuality as a cultural heritage?

When trying to get tickets for the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam (at the time there were 4 - 6 weeks to book in advance), we also came across the so-called Museumsplein, where we noticed the many, mostly unknown national flags who accompanied the path across the green space.

“Het Rembrandthuis” museum in Amsterdam

  • Written by Portal Editor
  • Category: Netherlands
  • Hits: 1361
“Het Rembrandthuis” museum in Amsterdam

Rembrandt's works were also a destination on our tours through Amsterdam. However, anyone who thinks that the large, well-known works of the important Baroque painter,

Van Gogh Museum and the Concert-Gebouw

  • Written by Portal Editor
  • Category: Netherlands
  • Hits: 3548
Van Gogh Museum and the Concert-Gebouw

If you, like us, actually want to visit the Van Gogh Museum, you should think about the exact date well in advance and book accordingly, because the Van Gogh Museum is one of the most visited museums in the Netherlands, and probably even in the world.

“National Holocaust” name monument in Amsterdam

  • Written by Portal Editor
  • Category: Netherlands
  • Hits: 1772
“National Holocaust” name monument in Amsterdam

Because of its canals and locks, Amsterdam has not only been known as a place of hydraulic engineering culture for centuries, but thanks to its very liberal politics and the accumulation of great art and artists, it is also a tourist destination, at least as well known for Anne Frank's diary, which has been read millions of times.

Visit to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam

  • Written by Portal Editor
  • Category: Netherlands
  • Hits: 2185
Visit to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam

Who doesn't know that the world's most famous diary was written by the girl Anne Frank in her hiding place in a secret annex in Amsterdam and which became world famous after her murder.

Land yachting on sandy expanses of IJmuden Beach

  • Written by Portal Editor
  • Category: Netherlands
  • Hits: 2090
Land yachting on sandy expanses of IJmuden Beach

Land sailing on the sandy beaches of the coasts has a long tradition that goes back to around 1600 in Europe, especially in northern Germany and on the Dutch North Sea coast.

Oud Zaandijk – attractive gables attract visitors

  • Written by Portal Editor
  • Category: Netherlands
  • Hits: 1953
Oud Zaandijk – architecturally attractive gables attract visitors

It was actually only supposed to be a visit to the café with its own ice cream creations, discovered at the entrance to Oud Zaandijk, but then the conspicuously curved gables with their wooden panelling were so attractive that we extended the tour considerably.

Beautiful Giethoorn - as the season’s changes

  • Written by Portal Editor
  • Category: Netherlands
  • Hits: 4228
Beautiful Giethoorn - as the season’s changes

Almost car-free, very idyllic, and incredibly romantic - this is the best way to describe the small village of Giethoorn in Holland. A network of canals meanders through the village for around eight kilometres, which is best explored from a boat.

Our trip across the Zuiderdamm to Callantsoog

  • Written by Portal Editor
  • Category: Netherlands
  • Hits: 3784
Our trip over the Zuiderdamm to Callantsoog

As already reported in a first blog article, the destination of our trip into the weekend was Callandsoog in North Holland, a small, idyllic coastal town on the North Sea, which has become particularly well known for the height and beauty of its sand dunes and its cycle paths.

De 1800 Roeden – cultural park in Amsterdam

  • Written by Portal Editor
  • Category: Netherlands
  • Hits: 2415
De 1800 Roeden – a cultural park worth seeing in Amsterdam

South American sounds came to our ears while we were setting up our tent at the “De Sport Camping” campsite, so we grabbed our bikes and went exploring as soon as we set up.

Zaandam – a hotel building is creating waves

  • Written by Portal Editor
  • Category: Netherlands
  • Hits: 1809
Zaandam – a hotel building is creating waves

We were cycling along the Zaan when we noticed a rather strange building in Zaandam, which at first sight looked like classic Zaanse-Schans houses stacked on top of each other, and in the typical shades of green at that.

History

Life | Outdoors

Culture