There are always courses of every type going on in Leiden, but this one caught my eye: a month-long beginner’s course in karate for women over the age of 14.

The course is given by an association dedicated to teaching women karate (Shuri Ryu) and will start tonight (Sunday) at 19.45. It runs for one hour and also covers self-defense training. The course takes place in both Amsterdam and Leiden.

Not a bad idea, and a great opportunity to practice your Dutch. For more information look here.

It is that time of year again fashionistas, Amsterdam Fashion Week. Despite being someone who is clueless when it comes to fashion, I can only imagine alot of you are down with whats new and exciting. Therefore, a bit of AFW here on trippist, starting with a video:

I stumbled upon a few stories lately related to The Hague's project for the year 2020. It's called the Global City By the Sea project, and it's purpose is to change the so-called international zone around the embassies, Europol, and the international court for the former yugoslavia into a more beautiful area.

How can the area be made more beautiful? According to the plan, which has not yet been approved, the major focus is upgrading roads, walkways and tunnels. Beyond that, making the beach more accessible is the major selling point. The plan calls for the area around the World Forum to also be upgraded, specifically green spaces and public areas around the convention center.

That is of course, if the plan is approved.

Before hitting the Rotterdam Film Festival on Saturday, I headed to my favorite sushi place: Sumo. They have an all-you-can-eat lunch special (sushi and grill) for just EUR 16.50. Customers get two hours to order a maximum of five rounds, five items each. If you don’t finish the items, you pay extra.

I’ve never made it past round three, and they serve the sushi so fast that it’s impossible to get nervous about making it in two hours. The only drawback is that this great deal is available only between 12.00 and 17.00, and the dinner version is more expensive (EUR 20.50 and 22.50 on the weekends) but still reasonable.

Sumo is located at Westersingel 1A, about a five to ten-minute walk from Rotterdam Central Station – depending on how excited you are to get to the sushi.

Every month, the Leiden expats organize a pub night in Leiden. They’ve been going on for over a year now and the turnout is incredible! We’ve settled in at De Burcht, and I’m happy to say the expats really do take over the pub on this special night.

If you’re in the area feel free to stop by. There are expats from many different countries and all walks of life that call Leiden or a surrounding city home. You never know whom you might connect with.

The next pub night is tomorrow (Saturday) starting at 8pm. See the Facebook event page for more details.

A quick to-do list as I'm actually in Portugal this weekend on family business.

Saturday:

Giant Sand is one of the great acts of the last 20 years, Paradiso; 8pm, 13€ plus membership.

Maloe Melo is doing Asian night with the Bebas Band; 10pm start, 5 euro entry.

My dear friends at Peper are throwing a big bash entitled "Lust in Space", thats at OT301 at 10pm, 5 euro entry.

Sunday:

Wicked Jazz Sounds Clubnight at Sugar Factory; 11pm to 5am, 9.50€ entry.

I’ll be heading to Antwerp soon for a work-related activity, so research has been necessary into how and how fast I can get there. I checked out the NS Hispeed site and punched in the specifics: Leiden to Antwerp.

The site lets you select the basics (date/time of travel, plus any applicable discounts – I have the Voordeeluren card). The trip (with same-day return) only costs me about EUR 30. The journey takes a little more than 1 ½ hours each way. Not bad for a quick visit to the lovely city of Antwerp!

Here’s a story from December that may leave you…confused.

Van Dale Publishers, a Dutch dictionary company has revealed that 57% of online visitors have chosen “word of the year” for 2008. I’m not even going to describe it here, so just check out the article. Fifty-seven percent?

The second and third-place finishers were a bit more family-friendly:

The dictionary company said the second-place finisher for word of the year was "wiien" -- to play video games on the Nintendo Wii. Third was "bankendomino," an all-in-one metaphor for the recent economic phenomenon of banks falling like dominoes.

Did you know that Amsterdam has an urban farm? YES it does.

It is called the Buurtboerderij, and its located right off Westerpark. Amazingly, its a farm house practically in the middle of the city. Back in 2001 the house was squated and a group of people took on the work of rehabilitating the old abandoned house. What they created was not only an alternative living space, but also a performance space, and a vegetarian eatery.

Talk about keeping good hours, the farm is opened everyday from 8:30am to 11pm. They make 4€ breakfasts from 9 to 10, lunch from 1 to 2 for 5€, and dinner starting at 7pm for 7€. Vegetarian options are always available, though they ask they you call ahead (see website for number).

There's a three part documentary about the Buurtboerderij on youtube, it's in Dutch but even if you don't understand you'll see images of what the place looks like and the work they've done.

I'll be heading there on the next nice weather day we get. So stay tuned for more photos and video.

Valentine's day might have once not been a big deal in this part of the world, but looking at the concert agenda... things sure have changed.

Saturday:

Kill Your Valentine on the Catwalk, techno party at OT301; 10pm, 7€.

Over at bimhuis its the Amsterdam World Music Festival: Barcelona! Its a big show and it starts at 5pm, and €35 gets you a passe partout.

Sunday:

It's a sunday morning opera at the concertgebouw entitled "Purcell Gala"; 11am, prices range from 14.25€ and up.

Shimmy Shake - Cross Over Belly Dance Competition at the Sugar Factory; starts at 1pm, 12.50€ entry.

And looking ahead, Thursday night features the great Habib Koité & Bamada at Melkweg; 8:15pm, 20€+membership.

A fabulous new food store has opened in Amsterdam and Haarlem. It’s called Markt, and if you’re picky about the products you eat – this is the place for you.

They provide a comprehensive variety – produce, cheese, bread, fish, etc. – and I’ve heard that it’s all highly recommended. The website even introduces you to their personal butcher, and lets you know what specials are on for the current week.

Markt is located in Amsterdam at Overtoom 21, and Haarlem at Gedempte Oude Gracht 66.

There is a new and fascinating-sounding exhibition that started yesterday (13 February) at the Van Gogh museum in collaboration with the Museum of Modern Art in New York. According to the website, “Van Gogh and the colours of the night is a unique exhibition of paintings by Vincent van Gogh evoking the atmosphere of the evening and night.”

During Van Gogh and the colours of the night an extra charge of € 2.50 applies for a total admission price of € 18.50. An audio tour is included in the price. The exhibition runs through June 7. Don’t miss it.

Despite the pouring rain, there are still lots of things going on indoors this season. And among my favorite places for 2009, S.M.A.R.T. is definitely in the top five.

Formally known as the Amsterdam Center for Contemporary Art and Cinema, before it was made into its current form, SMART was actually the city morgue. And one thing I love about this building, call me morbid, is that as you walk around and see all the wonderful art and creativity, you can still feel a sense that this WAS the morgue. That -to me- makes for an even more interesting experience, knowing some more history of such an interesting place.

The current exhibition that I enjoyed wandering through is called Coalesce: Happenstance and involves various artists doing work in the same space. The result, in my experience, was a mix of ideas and experiences that left me curious at every turn. Of course also confused at many moments as well. But confusion would never stop me, at walking through the exhibition left me pleased and ready to get back to work with a fresh perspective. I think.

Coalesce: Happenstance is showing at SMART until March 8th. Afterwards you can go have a drink at Lab 111, or food if you're hungry. Or watch a film in one of the cozy theaters.

SMART is open everyday afternoons and into the night. There are always people running around and happy to talk to you about life or their work, and perhaps the icing on the cake - its totally free.

You know I'm a sucker for the technology and especially the merging of maps, flight, and my computer. Therefore I was very happy to try out the Utrecht fly-over map on google earth.

If you've ever messed with google earth then you might know that anyone can build 3d buildings and place them on a map. When this option first started years ago, only the most popular buildings would get a 3d image and appear on google earth. But now that some time has passed, maps such as the flyover 3d map of Utrecht have been built down to the most mind boggling little detail. To the point that we can actually call it a virtual flyover tour of a city.

Here's a link to a news item about the 3d tour and an interview with the designer. But Ill also include a link to the file so you can try it yourself (google earth needs to be installed on your computer - its free). So if you can't be in Utrecht right this minute, or if you're planning on going and want to get a feel for the streets and the city layout... try this out!

Lets see what manner of fun I can recommend for this weekend--

Friday

Bulgarian Jazz star Dimitar Bodurov and his trio; 8:30pm, 16€.

At Sugar Factory its Disco Dip; 11pm, 10€.

Saturday

Maloe Melo's beloved Soul Prophets; 10pm, 5€.

SUBBACULTCHA! at the Nieuw Anita; 8pm, 6€.

Sunday

New Zealand's rockers The Datsun's play Melkweg; 8:30pm, 14€+membership.

Concertgebouw features Maurizio Pollini on piano; 8:15pm, tickets 42€ and up.

Are you an expat in the Leiden area? The Leiden expat group is now hosting a movie night about once a month – here you can watch films out of the mainstream – often in languages other than English – but with English subtitles! Combine that with a chance to meet and chat with a big group of expats and you’ve got a great night ahead of you.

This month’s film is on Wednesday but is fully booked. However, there’s hope for the next one! Just join the Leiden expats group on Facebook (you have to be a member of the Netherlands network to do this) and you’ll be sure to hear about all other upcoming films as soon as they’re announced.

A scene from just before midnight last friday on Museumplein:

I had a chance to try out a relatively new eating establishment in Amsterdam. Located in the east of the city, Quatfass offers an interesting concept in food. Seemingly inspired by the concept of tapas, they offer a wide variety of dishes (from burgers to shrimp) served in smaller portions designed to share with your eating companions. They’re also keen on incorporating feedback from patrons and online visitors, and recently revealed a new menu with these suggestions in mind.

As of March 1, Quatfass offers a Sunday Brunch along with life music and delicious food choices.

Quatfass is open every day of the week from 4pm. It’s located at Ringdijk 3 in Amsterdam, just off the number 9 tram line.

Trippist is of course not a news site for things happening in the Netherlands. However it seems silly to post today without acknowledging that as I type these words the rescue and recovery effort is underway. The Turkish Airlines plane was approaching Schiphol Airport on its way from Turkey when it crash landed in a field. Lots of speculation about wounded or dead but nothing is certain right now other than the fact that many passengers were able to walk away. I won't be posting an update, Ill just list 2 or 3 english language sources for you to consult.

Regular posting will resume later today.

Turkish English News

Expatica

GuardianUK coverage.

There is alot of talk about hybrid vehicles and electric cars being in high demand in North America. There is also alot of talk among European governments, including the Dutch government, about reducing emissions and investing in alternatives. Yet rarely have I heard or seen any evidence of electric cars on Dutch roads (not including the little cars for special needs people that ride in the bike lane).

However, at long last, I found evidence of electric cars in the Netherlands. Thanks to Radio Netherlands, you can watch a little news clip of one such car. Keep an eye on the roads, you should be seeing but not hearing, alot of these.. soon.

I found myself at Schiphol the other night and hadn’t had time to get dinner. Unfortunately I was on an errand outside of security so I didn’t have access to the delicious options for air travelers. But, just past the main entrance, Per Tutti had always looked so appealing with its fresh pastas and pizzas on display. I decided to give it a try.

I ordered a pasta dish and some red wine. A few minutes later, my food was delivered to a nearby table. It was…reasonable. The pasta had been microwaved and tasted like it had been sitting out for quite a while before that. It was served on a plastic plate and the wine in a plastic cup.

Not exactly high-quality dining, but I guess I can’t complain for a quick 9pm-bite at Schiphol.

Hard to believe that there’s a restaurant in Amsterdam with its own greenhouse – but it’s true!

But the excitement of De Kas doesn’t stop with the unusual presence of homegrown herbs and vegetables. The five-course menu comes from whatever is being currently harvested and also draws inspiration from other seasonal ingredients.

I ate there on Friday night and was wildly impressed with the food choices: fresh vegetables, meat, fish, delectable pastries, and delicious wine. A must-visit – and completely unlike anything you will experience food-wise in Amsterdam.