You've heard the announcements before, it was popular in the early '00's for city's around the world to announce they were going to have free wifi citywide. Then the years went by and companies pulled out of the projects, went out of business, or they turned it into a pay-only wifi option.

This week the city of Rotterdam announced that they're getting back into the free public wifi game. As of January 2010, next month, anyone on the street in the city center, will be able to access the citywide wifi system. They haven't mentioned any limitations on this system other than the fact that for those indoors, the signal will not work or will be weak at best.

I'm especially happy about this as in previous years I've heard from tourists who have their laptops or wifi-enabled mobile devices who are looking for a specific address in Rotterdam but could not find a convenient place with open wifi. Looks like the wait is almost over, next thing you know we will all be sitting around in public parks and street corners checking our email and updating facebook.

The NS has an exciting announcement: More fast trains! Check out the screen shot from their website ("Uw reistijd vanaf Amsterdam" means "Your travel time from Amsterdam").

This is great news! Amsterdam to Paris in just over three hours? Finally a weekend in Paris is becoming more of a reality. And Brussels in less than two hours? It's great!

However, one small note of caution: The Amsterdam-Brussels-Paris train, so far, is notorious for delays and cancellations. On my journeys down south I've almost always had a major problem. Let's hope the HiSpeed can change all that, and make train travel in this part of Europe even more fast and convenient.

They're still a long way from flying a commercial airliner on only biofuel, but this week KLM did fly a commercial jet with some biofuel. Out of the 4 engines of the 747 in question, 1 was powered by a 50% biofuel mix.

With a handful of government officials, industry representatives and environmental organization leaders, the plane circled the Netherlands. KLM's CEO Peter Hartman was on board and told the press he was pleased to be taking the first steps to switching commercial flights to biofuels, but that the future of biofuels for air transport depended on finding suppliers that could handle the needs of such a large airline.

As we approach 2010, we're now just a little closer to the day where when you board a plane on your way to or from the Netherlands, your trip will be made possible by fuel made from plants. But, not yet.

Worth trying! This contest was added today on the Holland fan page on Facebook :

The Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions is partnering with the Lloyd Hotel, known for its support of innovation and design, to send you to Amsterdam, but they want to know what it is worth to you!

The winning submission will be on display at the Lloyd Hotel, and you get to experience Amsterdam's stunning canals, incredible nightlife and amazing attractions firsthand.

To enter, submit a photo of a possession you are willing to trade in exchange for:
Airfare for two to Amsterdam
Three nights accommodation at the Lloyd Hotel
Dinner for two at the Lloyd Hotel
Daily breakfast at the Lloyd Hotel

If you're willing to part with something near and dear to your heart, you may be on your way to Amsterdam!

As it often does, ultimate frisbee is taking me to Nijmegen this weekend, where Ill participate in the annual Scream of the Seagull frisbee tournament.

Looking up things to do for someone NOT playing frisbee in Nijmegen, I learned about the Valkhov Museum, dedicated to Art and Archeology.

Currently the museum features an exhibit entitled: Catherine's world. Devotion, demons and daily life in the 15th century. :

the museum will now present the most important late medieval manuscript from the Northern Netherlands: the Hours of Catherine of Cleves (c. 1440). This anonymous masterpiece from The Morgan Library & Museum in New York will be disbound for the occasion so that more than 100 pages can be viewed separately in Nijmegen.

Not sure I will have enough time in between games, but at the very least its one more thing to do when in Nijmegen that eventually either you or I can look into. Opening hours can be found on their website.

Just as I finished writing about Joho, the youth organisation focused on study & career, they've moved! On August 17 Joho moved from the Stille Rijn and took the old location of the VVV in Leiden. They are now very close to the Central Station.

Now, even if you're in Leiden and just have a couple minutes to spare, you can walk up and check out their new location. My favorite feature? In the window they have a giant world map, complete with descriptions of fun and educational opportunities available in different parts of the globe. Volunteering, language classes, environmental excursions, you name it!

The address of Joho's new location is Stationsweg 2D.

Leiden may be small, but it's home to some pretty cool international places. For example, Joho. According to the website,

"Starting in the early 90's as a local youth organisation focused on study & career, JoHo has grown into an international organization with the goal to set up a network of worldwide centers, dealing with international cooperation, personal development and travel. The main focuses of the organization are passing on knowledge, promoting international contacts and awareness and giving advice."

Sound like something worth checking out? Head to the website for some great travel advice - they have travel insurance information, how to find work abroad, insider tips for places to stay during world travel, and a ton of jobs, internships, and volunteer experiences.

If the website isn't enough, you can head over to Joho in Leiden, located at Stille Rijn 8-9. Joho also has locations in Amsterdam, Utrecht, Groningen and Rotterdam.

The Netherlands is a picturesque country, and often attracts great photographers from all over the world that are drawn to its photo opportunities. Recently, Expatify wrote about an American Expat called Kerry O'Malley. She's a fine-art photographer that lives in Eindhoven and has taken a number of spectacular panoramic shots of Volendam.

For those of you who have not yet visited, Volendam is a beautiful, quaint town that is located just under 40 kilometers north of Amsterdam. I have no doubt these shots (see Expatify for her examples of her photos) will encourage you to visit.

It's summer - so what better time to visit the beautiful island of Texel? Texel is the biggest and most populated of the Frisian Islands which belong to the Netherlands, and resides in the Wadden Sea. The island includes seven villages, countless cycling trails, tons of beach and amazing nature, like sandbars.

It is possible to visit Texel all year round, but the summer months provide an opportunity to fully enjoy the biking trails. Swimming, walking and horseback riding are also popular.

From Amsterdam, it's easy to get to Texel. Just take the train to Den Helder station. At that station there is a bus to the port, and a ferry takes you to Texel in about 20 minutes.

Last weekend I was at Hargen Sail festival 2009. Hargen Sail is a huge annual sports festival on a beach up near the city of Alkmaar. Unlike most locations I recommend as someone who relies on public transport and bicycle, getting to Hargen Beach without the help of an automobile is pretty complicated. But if you do happen to rent a car, make your way towards the picturesque town of Schoorl and from there you will easily find Hargen.

To give you a feeling of the beautiful beach atmosphere after a full day of ultimate frisbee, volleyball, and sailing, here's a short video clip: