What a difference a few days make. Last weekend, I went for a long walk along the frozen canals of Amsterdam and in the countryside. There were many activities on the ice in Amsterdam – a classical concert, people partying, speed-skating competitions and many others, like me, who simply went for a stroll. Today, there’s [...]
The Dutch winter frenzy
It’s that time of the year again, when the thermometer hanging outside my window shows a lower reading than the display on my freezer. When I first moved to the Netherlands more than 20 years ago, one of the first things that caught my attention was the Dutch people’s preoccupation with ice. As soon as [...]
Velvet moments: travel photo – fields of tulips in Holland
One of my favourite things to do (and something I recommend to everyone) in the spring is to go for a drive, a stroll or a bike ride around the tulip fields in Holland. The most famous tulip region can be found around the town of Lisse (where the popular Keukenhof gardens are located), southwest [...]
Velvet moments: travel photo – Noordwijk beach sunset
Noordwijk aan Zee is a beach town in the Netherlands, about a 45-minute drive southwest of Amsterdam. The town is especially popular in the summer. On beautiful winter weekends, the locals flock to the beach for a stroll to enjoy the cold breeze, the sound of the waves and the magnificent sunsets.
Things to do on transit at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
The man sitting next to me on the plane looked a bit flustered. We were about to land at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol after an eight hour flight from Vancouver and aside from the polite “hello” when I settled in my seat, we didn’t speak a word to each other throughout the flight. He turned to [...]
High wine at The Dylan Amsterdam
Afternoon tea is a centuries-old English tradition of late-afternoon indulgence: a cup of freshly-brewed tea accompanied by a selection of pastries and bite-sized sandwiches. This quintessential English tradition was introduced in many of the ex-British colonies, including Malaysia, where I grew up, where it became commonly known as high tea. It was something I [...]
Plane views: Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the main port of the Netherlands and is the country’s second largest city after Amsterdam. It’s also one of the world’s largest ports. Located at the mouth of the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta, Rotterdam is often called the “Gateway to Europe” as it handles a large percentage of cargo to and from Europe. The city [...]
Plane views: Amsterdam Airport Schiphol
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is the main international gateway to the Netherlands and a major air hub in Europe. Schiphol (pronounced ‘skip-hol’) Airport handled more than 45 million passengers in 2010, about 3 times the population of the Netherlands, making it the fifth busiest airport in Europe and 15th in the world. On a recent flight [...]
Holland at its best
My earliest impressions of Holland before moving here in the 1990′s were of a country below sea-level, protected by impressive dikes and an extensive network of waterways; massive fields of flowers and grazing cattle; windmills; picturesque villages; farmers wearing clogs; and endless canals. The ‘Kop van Noord Holland’ or ‘the head of North Holland’ is [...]
A treasure trove in the forest
It all began with a course in art appreciation. In the late-19th century, the Kröller-Müller family was one of the wealthiest in Holland. Anton Kröller was chairman of Wm. H. Müller & Co., a conglomerate with large interests in shipping, the American grain trade and iron ore mining in Africa. One day, his wife, Helene [...]
About Keith Jenkins
I'm Keith Jenkins. In July 2008, I left my ten-year banking career to travel around the world. I've not looked back since.
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