To make this wealth of information worldwide accessible, The Holland Guide-app has been developed specially for the iPad with hundreds of stunning photos, almost a thousand live references and various useful interactive features.

The content included is the result of the enthusiastic efforts of dozens of authors, organizations and proofreaders of various nationalities and with very different backgrounds. The diversity of this editorial input and the unique photos and maps makes using this app a journey in itself.

Internationals within the broad representation of global corporations based in the Netherlands; diplomats at embassies and consulates; teachers and students at international centers of learning; entrepreneurs running their own companies – all of them, and their families, will find the information contained in The Holland Guide to be essential reading.

If you plan on moving to the Netherlands, or even if you have been living there for some time, this guide has all the answers to your questions.

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From September 10 until November 20, Japan Museum SieboldHuis will dedicate an entire family exhibition to the cute white Japanese kitten with the red bow. ‘Hello Kitty – Hello Holland’ is the first overview exhibition about Hello Kitty in a museum in the Netherlands. Numerous Hello Kitty objects will be displayed, ranging from the first designs of the 1970s to the Holland Kitty limited edition that was especially made for this exhibition.

The SieboldHuis museum will take you on a journey through Hello Kitty’s world. You’ll get to know her family, her friends, her favorite food and where she lives.

In the exhibition you’ll be able to learn all about Hello Kitty since her birth in 1974. How have her appearance and design changed? How did she conquer the world? What are her Japanese roots? And why do we all love her so much? Ample attention will be given how Hello Kitty appeals to all her fans: young (or grown-up) girls, collectors, artists and fashion designers.

X Factor is a popular Dutch television music talent show contested by aspiring pop singers drawn from public auditions. It is shown Friday evenings on the RTL4 Network in the Netherlands.

King of R&B R. Kelly was in the Netherlands to perform at the Heineken Music Hall in Amsterdam on April 19, 2011.

R. Kelly has spent the past eighteen years selling millions of albums worldwide and won several Grammy Awards.
In 1992, Kelly released the debut album Born Into The 90s together with the band Public Announcement.

In the years that followed the singer scored hits like I Believe I Can Fly and the duet I’m Your Angel by Celine Dion.

From April 13 through May 1, NBTC and KLM are searching for two of the most engaging, fun and adventurous duos in the US or Canada to bike through Holland and share their adventures with other travelers through a daily video diary.

The 10-City Bike Tour is part of NBTC’s 2011 marketing campaign, Just be. In Holland., and is unlike any other biking tour ever created. NBTC and KLM are giving new definition to the term “house hunting” by using KLM’s iconic Delft blue ceramic houses as inspiration for two specially created biking itineraries that take each winning team on an authentic tour of North or South Holland. Each day, teams will search for the real-life, historic houses represented in the famous KLM houses collection. Other special surprises await them at each destination!

“Many people don’t realize that KLM’s ceramic Delft blue houses, which have been given to every passenger in World Business Class on KLM since the 1950s, represent actual houses in Holland that are rich in history and Dutch culture. We’re proud to partner with NBTC and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in creating this never before experienced biking tour of Holland. We’re thrilled to be using social media as a platform in this initiative, as it plays an increasingly important role in engaging consumers in the KLM travel experience,” said Patrick Roux, Senior Vice President Air France and KLM for the Americas.

A passion for Holland, sense of adventure and adept cycling ability are absolute musts for any team interested in winning this extraordinary ride through Holland. To enter, teams simply need to upload an engaging audition video showing why they are the best team to share their experiences with other travelers. More information, including details on how to enter, is available through Holland or KLM_USA’s Facebook pages.

Biking is one of the best ways to see and experience Holland, a country known for its flat, picturesque landscape. “On May 14—National Biking and Windmill Day in Holland—our first winning team will embark on the 10-City Bike Tour,” said Conrad van Tiggelen, Director, North America for NBTC. “We have planned an incredible series of experiences for our first biking team, starting with a welcome reception at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.”

Each winning team will be sent on one of two biking trails—the North Holland or South Holland trail— and bike through five cities. The North Holland trail team will explore Dutch cheese markets and quaint fishing villages in the towns of Edam, Enkhuizen, Alkmaar, Haarlem and Amsterdam. The South Holland trail team will have a chance to see the world’s tallest windmills and Rembrandt’s birthplace while traveling through Gouda, Schiedam, Delft, The Hague and Leiden.

Entries will be accepted from April 13 until May 1, 2011 and are open to US and Canadian residents only. Terms and conditions apply. For more information, please visit Holland or KLM USA’s Facebook pages.

SOURCE Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions

The first of the Farne Island three was found on the 13 December 2010 and was less than three weeks old when it made the 350 mile journey.  After being found by a member of the public it was taken to a seal rescue centre in Holland.

Pups two and three were found on the 6 and 7 January 2011 and were taken to the same centre.  All of the seal pups are recovering well and will be released back into the wild once they have put on enough weight; and they could potentially return home to the Farne Islands or another UK colony.

David Steel, National Trust head warden for the Farne Islands, said: “This is a remarkable tale of determination and survival in the turbulent waters of the North Sea.  For three young grey seal pups to make it through such an ordeal is amazing.”

The Farne Islands is the only place in the UK to use coloured dye to tag the newly born seals – most pup census work at other sites is carried out by aerial surveys.

The colours are rotated during every colony count; two of the seals had blue dye putting their birth around 30 November, and the third pup had yellow dye, putting its birth date at around mid November.

Home to one of the largest grey seal colonies in England the Islands are also famous for the hundred thousand seabirds including puffins.  In 2008 otter prints were discovered on Brownsman Island after the mammal braved the swirls and tides of the area around the Farne Islands.

Seal pup on a rock from National Trust on Vimeo.

David Steel added: “The two pups with the blue dye would have still been dependent on their parents and the third pup would have only just gained its independence when they began their mammoth journey.  Young pups have been discovered along the Northumberland coastline but this is a real rarity.”

Dr Bernie McConnell from the Sea Mammal Research Centre at the University of St Andrews, said: “From our own survey work it appears that grey seal pups spend a significant part of their first year exploring, often to places hundreds of miles away.”

About the National Trust:
The National Trust is one of the most important nature conservation organisations in Europe with over 1,000 sites covering 250,000 hectares, including coastal sites, woodland and upland areas; many of which are rich in wildlife.  All 17 species of UK bat have been recorded as roosting or breeding on National Trust land and 96 per cent of all resident UK butterflies can be found on National Trust land.  Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire is its most species rich site and 93 per cent of its land has been surveyed for its nature conservation importance.

The National Trust offers many days out ideas including coastal walks, bike trails, rainy day activities and coast walks.

SOURCE The National Trust

The Dutch Bureau of Tourism and Conventions, together with KLM launched the campaign “Just be. In Holland” This campaign started in New York with the aim to show Americans the versatility of Holland. The metro are decorated on the inside and outside, with typical Dutch cultural, traditional and modern images and so offer the possibility to travel to “the Netherlands”.

This campaign is responding to the multifaceted nature of Holland. Netherlands is the place for you to wonder, relax and just be yourself. Conrad van Tiggelen, branch manager NBTC North America, is expecting a lot from this campaign: “It gives Americans who have been in the Netherlands a good view. Namely that the Netherlands is a place where you can really be yourself and many can experience authentic and modern experiences. Whether you’re into art, (horti) culture, design, fashion or architecture. ”

Potential visitors are tested on their knowledge of the Netherlands through a series of contests on the site. “Each week highlights a different aspect of the Netherlands. Around Valentine Amsterdam Diamond City will be promoted.

Netherlands in New York
The campaign started in New York with specially decorated subway trains. The sections of the subway, are both on the inside and out, with typical Dutch cultural, traditional and modern images and so offer the possibility to travel to the Netherlands.

Furthermore, this multimedia campaign is supported by a micro-site www.justbeinholland.com. Moreover, extra attention for Holland is generated by promotion teams, an advertising campaign in the New York Times and via Social media Twitter and Facebook.

Will you be in New York? Then don’t miss a chance to jump on the S shuttle train—running between Grand Central and Times Square! All throughout February, the S train will be wrapped inside and out to represent Holland’s classic, contemporary and cultural sides! Tot ziens!

In some parts of the north of Holland lies between 20 to 25 inches of snow. The last time this occurred was in 2005. Then between 20 and 50 inches of snow fell in parts of the Netherlands. Normally the Netherlands get no more than between 3 and 5 inches of snow.

As climate talks enter their climax in Copenhagen, freezing temperatures are sweeping across Europe.

The snow had a significant impact on social life and caused traffic problems in the north of the Netherlands, while in other parts of the country, police have been busy with a number of weather related accidents.

Even Dutch rail networks were severely affected and bus traffic is down.

Weather centers predict more snow for the Netherlands in the coming days.

Photo by Patrick Goossens

The participants need to bring 6200 euros each to compete. That brings the total prize pool of 1.8 million euros. The prize in the tournament contains over half million Euro. Last year Jan Sörensen from Denmark won an amount of 623,000 euros.

Russell Shorto has been playing the part of the American in Holland, alternately settling into or bristling against the European way of life.

Russell Shorto sounds the praises of the Dutch welfare state. He raves about the ‘kinderbijslag,’ or child benefit, he receives quarterly and the annual check to cover the expenses for his children’s schoolbooks. Should America follow the model of the Netherlands on taxation and regulation? Absolutely.

The Netherlands has “succeeded” by greatly reducing state intervention into the economy and, in bargaining with the powerful Dutch labor unions, scaling back generous sick leave and unemployment benefits.

Shorto argues that the top Dutch tax rate of 52 percent might seem high, but when all of the various taxes in this country are tabulated the differences melt away.

Shorto also focuses on the wonders of the Dutch system of universal health care, while neglecting to mention that in 2006 the government undertook a series of market-based reforms in an effort to save what was once a sclerotic and expensive system.

Russell Shorto is rather disingenuous in portraying the Dutch welfare state as a fairy tale come true and has Dutch natives begging to disagree with his article in The New York Times.

There are indeed lessons to be learned from countries like the Netherlands. Which means that supporters of the “European model” must acknowledge that most of these successes are the result of a significant overhaul of base social democratic assumptions about government control of labor markets and health care systems. America is the land of the free, but the Dutch know how to work and how to live.

The agency asked two hundred of his models about their education. This shows that 32 percent have a university degree.

Almost half of the models have a master’s degree and only one quarter has a bachelor degree.

Research
TV shows such as Beauty and the Nerd and Holland Next Top Model are giving the wrong impression, that beautiful people are dumb and stupid. This research shows that this impression is wrong.

The increasing demand for highly educated and representative employees was the main reason for the research.