Ever wondered what Keukenhof looks like after it’s closed down from its normal tulip splendor? If you’re also a fantasy/medieval/renaissance fan, you can head to the Castlefest 2008 this weekend (1-3 August) for an interesting adventure.

To get an idea about what’s on offer, check out their activities page. In the “to do” section you can read about writer’s workshops, children’s activities, and much more. It looks pretty amazing. The website does warn that they may sell out on Saturday, so be sure to head there early if it’s in your plans for the weekend.

Directions can be found here.

Despite the Gay Pride Parade being the DO NOT MISS event of this weekend, you might want to get away from the big crowds and the bad music. You might even want some prestigious artists and world famous musicians.

Saturday:

These two guys aren't necessary household names, but in fact - they're two of the finest musicians walking the earth today -Daniel Lanois & Brian Blade; Paradiso, 8:30pm, €25.

Cristina Branco loves the Netherlands, which is why she visits so often. This time she's back singing Fado after dedicating much of last year to Portuguese revolutionary music; Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 8:15pm, €26.50.

Sunday:

Classical music - La Venexiana, vocal quintet; Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 8:15pm, €21.

The Great Flying Circus Noord-Korea - SERIOUSLY! Sunday at 2pm and 7pm, Carré, €15-€49. (also during the week at different times)

I’m away from the Netherlands right now, and missed the Gay Pride Parade this past weekend. The events this year took place between 29 July and 3 August, and the photos on the website show that it was just as much fun as it’s been in past years.

People often ask me when they should visit Amsterdam. Queen’s Day (30 April) is a no-brainer, but another great weekend to be around is during Gay Pride. The whole city comes alive with music, exhibitions, and parties. The Canal Parade must be seen to be believed!

On the right hand side I've posted video from Pride weekend here in Amsterdam. Besides enjoying the crowds of all ages lined up along the canals, I thought the floats were extra creative this year, though I've no idea who was declared best float. I believe the main judge was the Minister of Emancipation, who I saw running around with a cowboy hat greeting people on the floats.

Below I'm posting a flickr video of my favorite float. (note flickr video, though brief, looks alot better than youtube video)

Haven’t seen enough of Leiden? The other day I discovered a website full of amazing panoramas of the city. It was put together by someone called Marco Langbroek and covers many of the city’s architectural highlights including a fair share of beautiful scenery.

There are millions of pictures of Leiden online, but this guy really does a great job of capturing the city in a unique way.

For the first time in a long time, I'm not recommending the music in the Amsterdam area this weekend. Nope. I looking more towards the clubs and galleries.

Friday:

Chicago's Billy Dalessandro spins house and techno; Studio 80, 11pm-the wee hours of the morning, €12.

I was just standing outside the Bitterzoet, tomorrow they've got the Best of DUM DUM: Sjammie de Money, Etcenist, Illvester and Mike Mag. , 10pm-4am, € cost wasn't listed.

Me! Me! Me! is the high tech exibition that relates to our self image and modern mass communication over at Mediamatic; Tues-Sat 11am to 5pm, Sun 12pm to 5pm, until the 14th of September.

Saturday:

Perennial favorite GirlsLoveDJs; Hotel Arena, 11pm-04am, €15.

The Tropenmuseum has an exhibit called 24-hour Indonesia, I think thats self explanitory; 10am to 5pm daily until November 16th.

Gemengd Zwemmen involves 80's and 90's and alot of people; Melkweg, 11:59pm-wee hours of the morning, €9.

Sunday:

Always a bit of respect for Wicked Jazz Sounds; Sugar Factory, 11pm-5am, €9.50.

Take the free ferry from Central Station to the NDSM Wharf, there you can catch a play by the name of Extremitas, The End of the Earth. Performed by a London theater group; NDSM-werf, Thurs thru Sunday 8pm, €8.

Who knew there were so many cool things to do in the Netherlands! Head to Roosendaal, where you can experience indoor skydiving. Indoor Skydiving Roosendaal has a wind tunnel (with winds up to 250 mph) where if you’re up for it you can fly alone, with others or with an instructor.

Interested? The Ultimate Xperience lasts two hours and costs EUR 69 (for two flights). Not bad! Sounds like a nice way to practice before doing the real thing.

Rotterdam’s Cube Houses are a must-see attraction. Designed by the Dutch architect Piet Blom, the complex is made up of 51 large cubes, and 38 of these are houses.

Wonder what they look like inside? A show cube is available for viewing every day of the week between 11-5pm. And the best part – it only costs EUR 2.50 to get in.

Now I've heard everything.

They robbed the Dutch Clock museum this past weekend! Yes. According to Dutch newspapers on the night of friday to saturday, 2 very valueable clocks were stolen from the museum. A third was badly damaged as thieves threw it at security, apparently trying to pursue them.

Sounds like an interesting time to finally go to the Dutch Clock Museum, which is certainly not at the top of most tourists' lists. The museum itself is a modest building in Zaandam, just outside Amsterdam. The clock collection dates from 1500 to 1850.

But how to get there? I suggest taking the Amsterdam CS to Alkmaar train, getting out at Koog-Zaandijk. Takes about 20 minutes. The Koog- Zaandijk station is about 10 minutes from the museum, which is located in Zaanse Schans.

Check the website for more details and other ways to get there.

When it is all over, and you're done watching the olympic games, you might find yourself in Amsterdam. Perhaps during the games you found yourself admiring the skill and spirit of the Dutch olympic athletes? If so, you could join the welcome home festivities at the old Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam south.

Itself a beautiful piece of early 1900's architecture, the stadium will be open to the public and Dutch Olympians will appear there immediately after their arrival from Beijing. There will also be music by various Dutch artists.

So if that sounds like your thing, find your way there on the 25th of August. It all gets started around 3:30pm, with the athletes arriving from that airport around 4pm. Tickets are free, you get them by answering the trivia question at the bottom of the website, and I'll translate the question for you now: How Many Medals did the Dutch Olympic Team win in Athens '04? Go to the site, click your answer, and poof, free tickets for you.

2008’s version of Feel at Home in The Hague is right around the corner. The 3rd annual event will be held on September 21 from 11-5 in the City Hall Atrium.

It has been dubbed The International Community Fair and aims to provide international residents with an introduction to possible activities and information about groups in The Hague. From the website:

Not just for distributing information, the Fair is an event unto itself. There will be activities for children, a podium with entertainment and - new this year - an International Food Court where attendees can enjoy some of the flavours of the city. Furthermore we at TheHagueOnLine are encouraging participants, including our sponsors, to have some sort of activity at their stand.

Go to the website for more information and directions.

August rambles on with a distinctly classical; big orchestra sound.

Friday:

Amsterdam Sinfonietta does a Russian program; Concertgebouw, Grote Zaal, 8:15pm, €22.50/€26.50.

The Sellabration 08 festival is on. With Electric Eel Shock from Japan, T-ka from France, Julia Marcell from Portugal, and many more. Paradiso, 7:30pm, €10.

Peter Beets the pianist and his trio; Concertgebouw, Koorzaal, 7pm and 9pm, €13.50.

Saturday:

Luciano beings Raggae; Melkweg, The Max, 9pm, €26 + membership.

Lots of SOUL with Juice Box at Maloe Melo; 10pm, €5.

Sunday:

Amsterdam Smartlappenkoor, another outdoor concert in the Jordaan; Jonkerplein, 3pm, free.

Sunday Songs is the place for all you singer song-writers; Studio K, 10:30, free.

I’ve lived in the Netherlands for years, and had never heard about De Efteling until a friend told me. Granted, it’s for kids, but it sounds like so much fun that I might have to check it out myself soon.

The park opened in 1935 and now includes a huge array of fantasy attractions (see this link for details). In the summer, the park is open from 10 am to 9pm. It’s a little pricey – tickets are between EUR 27 and 29, with a two-day ticket for EUR 49 – but from what I’ve heard it’s completely worth it.

Among the things most people look forward to when coming to the Netherlands: bicycles! Whether you ride or you watch people ride, people regularly say to me "I had no idea just HOW MANY bicycles there are and how people just bike everywhere in the Netherlands."

Indeed. If you've seen it up close, or in photos, you know this is part of the experience. Some, like myself, might even say - it is the best part of the country.

One person who I know agrees, and recently founded a website dedicated to cycle culture in this country is Marc over at Amsterdamize. His site includes text entries, photos, and video, all connected to bicycling. Usually he's somewhere in the country but occasionally he heads out to other European destinations to look into how bicycle culture is there.

If you're curious about bicycles and the Netherlands, I highly recommend his site. If you're more than curious, and a bike fanatic, well there's surely something there for you as well.

I'm trying to figure out when, between now and Saturday, I can make it to see Sail Den Helder. The tall ships have arrived from the tall ship races and I've heard my neighbors singing the praises of the beautiful sailing vessels lined up there.

Organizers listed the total number of ships in port at 76 vintage vessels. I'd be happy just seeing 4 or 5 of these beauties. A nice train ride north from Amsterdam and I'll be in Den Helder in no time. Hopefully I won't miss the parties!

I'm both a graduate of the University of Amsterdam and a former employee, which causes me to pay special attention to the world university rankings each year.
It may come as a surprise to some of you, but the U of A is not in the top 100 this year and in fact, I don't think its been in the top 100 in ages. Who is?

>Utrecht University, once again ranked the best Dutch university (47th overall). And further down that list, at 76, is Leiden University. Both of these schools have international programs, so if rankings mean alot to you, and you'd like to study abroad or pursue a degree in this country, these are your highest ranked options.

Whats the criteria for being highly ranked? The usual, awards given to faculty and students, articles published in scholarly magazines, etc. Who's number 1 in the world you may ask? - Harvard.

Anyone who has traveled to the Netherlands – or maybe just outside the U.S. – may be surprised by the seeming lack of public toilets available. It seems to be the European conundrum: often the only way to find a bathroom is to go to a restaurant and buy something (usually something to drink, thus starting the whole process over again).

I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of The Bathroom Diaries until today. It has taken the absolutely brilliant idea of chronicling where many public toilets are in more than 100 countries. And yes, the Netherlands is included.

The site lists 11 gems in Amsterdam – some even free! – including the toilet at the police station. Who knew. I think I would still be hesitant to walk in and ask the police to use the bathroom…

Enjoy.

Some options for this weekend as we fend off the rain here in Amsterdam.

Saturday:

Sensual is at the Bimhuis, playing their style of Brazilian grooves. 8:30pm, 14€.

Melvin Taylor plays the blues at Maloe Melo starting at 10pm, 5€ entry.

DJ Pinchado spins at OCCII, € 4, 10:30pm to 4am.

Sunday:

I can't believe Less Than Jake is still going. Little known fact, my old ska band played with them back in 1998. Melkweg, 8pm, 15€ + membership.

Kids ages 7 to 12 can check out the Klankspeeltuin at the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ. Starts at 12:30pm and kids will have a chance to create their own world of sound. € 7,50.

If you’ve purchased the “Voordeelurenabonnement” for train travel in the Netherlands, you know that you receive a 40% discount…but with time restrictions. That means that the discount is only good for journeys made after 9:00 am.

However, in the months of July and August (and on weekends all year round), you are entitled to the 40% train fare discount for the entire day. This is great news especially for those of you that want to buy the pass while traveling through the Netherlands for a short time. Believe me, it’s really worth it!

A bit more information from the NS website:

- You receive the 40% discount on Singles, Day Returns, Weekend Returns, Day Travel Cards and 5 Return tickets.
- The 40% fare discount applies to both 1st and 2nd class.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the reading audience... we have a new blogger here on trippist. Her name is Rachel, she's originally from the West Coast of the US, but has been based in Rotterdam for several months now. She'll be joining us with a particular focus on all things Rotterdam, a city that I believe deserves alot more attention.

Welcome Rachel!

At the beginning of the summer I paid a visit to schiphol airport and got a little "whats new" and "behind the scenes" tour. One place I stopped in was the new Xpres Spa. Here's a quick video of that visit.

Dear Trippist readers, the time has come for me to take a break from my posts for a while. It’s been a fun stretch – writing here keeps me aware of what’s going on around me. For now I’ll leave you with a classic Amsterdam picture. Despite the winter scene it’s still one of the most beautiful spots in the city.

Hope to see you again soon.

This weekend its the traditional Amsterdam, "the summer is over but we've still got some days left to party" -party known as Uitmarkt. Which to me always means lots of stages set up in different places featuring various styles of music and of course - freeeeeee.

Just like last year, it looks like Uitmarkt is being held at the Eastern Docklands, where lots of new shnazzy buildings have been erected very recently. Follow this link and read through the more than 470 performances that will take place. Honestly this year there's no artist name that really grabs my attention, so that means it will be all new to me. But the good thing is that Uitmarkt always brings a very international flavor with their brand of music, so you'll experience the world.

Uitmarkt is going on right now and will finish on Sunday evening.