Well there will be no parade or ceremony of any kind. No flashy banner across the top of your screen and no special offer in honor of our last posts here on Trippist. A place for stories, recommendations, and observations about this land that none of us were born in but we each know and love in a different way. For five great years we have been here with you sharing and musing about a wide range of things going on i a country with a range of tastes as diverse as anyone could imagine. Its easy to travel to the Netherlands, but its an exciting challenge to pick and choose out of everything that which inspires and moves you.

2012 has begun and so too have millions of travel plans that might possibly land someone back on this site, perusing a post about a café or festival that is just as good- if not better- as the day we recommended it. For that reason, this site will live on as a resource, and we're happy to have been and continue to be of service.

I'd like to extend a very special thank you to my fellow trippists Janelle and Alison, and everyone who wrote for the blog over the years, it was a pleasure.

Best of luck in your travels and life adventures this year and beyond. Thanks for joining us here and until next we meet somewhere in the online world, as they say in the Netherlands, -tot ziens.

The NS, the Dutch railway service, recently announced a solution for the lack of toilets on the sprinter trains: They hope to introduce "wee bags" for desperate passengers. What's this all about? Because the sprinter trains stop quite frequently, the NS thought that it wasn't necessary to include toilets in their design. The BBC reports:

Spokesman Jeroen von Geusau told the BBC "wee bags" would be installed on commuter trains without toilets. He said the bags were for use in emergencies such as power failures.

Unsurprisingly, the public does not find this idea very appealing. Some say they are now thinking about getting their driver's license instead of continuing to take the train to work.

The solution does seem to provoke some level of disbelief. But are toilets necessary? After all, trams and buses don't have toilets, either. Or so the argument must go...

Just be warned: If you hop on a sprinter train after drinking a large coffee, you'd better hope you'll be getting off soon!

We're still a month away from the opening of the Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival, but we already know what this year's opening film will be. "The Ambassador" is a documentary by Danish director Mads Brügger Cortzen. The film is described as follows:

This film, shot largely using a hidden camera, reveals another side of Africa: an underworld that cannot be recorded in any other way. Dressed in a neo-colonist style, director Mads Brügger Cortzen goes to the Central African Republic to become an ambassador for Liberia. Once there, he sets up a match factory, run by Pygmies, as a cover for his ambitions in the diamond trade. What Brügger is actually trying to do, however, is reveal the relations of power - and commerce - in that country.

The trailer is great and available here.

Individual tickets for the films are not yet on sale, we will update you when they are. However, this year IDFA has partnered with booking.com offering some special deals on hotels for attendees of the event. Could be just the discount weary travelers have been hoping for.

More news related to IDFA in the coming weeks.

The monday after the Dam tot Damloop, Amsterdam's beloved 10 mile marathon, usually involves a lot of sore muscles and glory stories. This past weekend was no different, as thousands of people turned out to run and cheer in the rain. The event, which started in 1985, starts in Amsterdam and ends in Zandaam.

Many Netherlands based companies are very into the D-to-D marathon and sponsor their own employees who run in it. But its more than companies, lots of running enthusiasts from all walks of life participate as well.

Here's a video report from the good people at Folia, Amsterdam's student magazine, as they focus on the University of Amsterdam sponsored team.

Expatica's "I am not a tourist" Expat Fair 2011 is rapidly approaching, and they're looking for volunteers. From Expatica:

This year's fair will have over 100 exhibitors to assist expats acclimatise to the Netherlands, while our more well-established guests can enjoy some great entertainment and mix with their fellow internationals.

Here is the volunteer schedule:

On Saturday morning (22 October) we will assemble welcome bags for the fair and end with a free lunch in the Beurs Cafe.

On Saturday afternoon (22 October) we need some strapping lads to help our exhibitors unload and set up their stands.

On the day of the fair (23 October) we will need help in checking coats, collecting entrance tickets, handing out welcome bags, etc. The rotation shifts are 10:00-13:00, 13:00-15:00 and 15:00-17:00.

Volunteers will receive a free lunch, free admission to one of Expatica's autumn events, a free Expatica t-shirt. If you're interested in volunteering, contact Expatica's Events Manager Danielle de Groot (danielle.de.groot (at) expatica.com).

Are you an expat? Do you blog, and want to find a larger audience for your work? Expatica Netherlands is now helping to facilitate this process. From Expatica:

Our Blogs section serves as an outlet to share your stories, experiences, and lessons learned from being an expat in the Netherlands. Think of it as an online magazine and scrapbook of tales! We've made it simple, fun and fast to use in four easy steps...Share your blog with others, view other expat entries, and help us build a blog site for expats, by expats at Expatica Netherlands.

Remember this entry, from May? Well, the American Book Center is at it again - they're hosting another book trade-in! It's a great opportunity to sort through your (perhaps overflowing?) bookshelves and get rid of anything that isn't really interesting anymore. As last time, here are the criteria:

• We will accept all fiction as long as it is in English.
• We are particularly interested in science fiction, fantasy and horror, romance, graphic novels and manga.
• We don't accept non-fiction or children's books.
• We prefer paperbacks, but might accept your hardcovers if they are deemed resellable.
• We'll buy your books from you at prices based on their re-sale potential.
• We pay in ABC Vouchers, which are valid forever in our stores.
• The value of the gift voucher you'll receive depends on the condition of the book and the title offered, and is at the discretion of the buyer.
• Please note that we do not pay in cash.

The next trade-in day is August 5, and following that, you can do it again on November 4th. You can bring your books to the second floor of the Amsterdam store from 11:00-18:00, or to the Treehut in The Hague from 10:00-17:00. Happy cleaning!

It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but this month Amsterdam's beloved soccer club Ajax won the national championship and as one would expect, there was a massive party to celebrate it. To get a proper video snapshot of what the atmosphere looked and felt like, here's one of the better highlight reels on the internet at the moment, with the biggest gathering taking place on Museum Square amidst a sea of red and white.

The headlines in most Dutch newspapers read something like "Queen's Day 2011: Busy, Beautiful, Calm". And so indeed it was, a classic sunny spring day covered in orange as the city's streets spilled over with happy people. The following is my highlight video for this year taken from both land and canal.