Hidden Holiday Gems

If an exotic foreign holiday is a bit beyond your budget this year and you’re still digging around for something closer to home (that promises more than just the average Dutch holiday camp experience) then look no further; Esther O’Toole has dug up some hidden treasures for you.

For the original (and more great Dutch news stories; including features from Quint) check out the brilliant English language site www.dutchnews.nl

Family Novelties

Picture courtesy of Feather Down press dept.

Feather Down

http://www.featherdown.co.uk/

Get unwired and back in touch with a simpler way of living. Feather Down (in Dutch, Het BoerenBed) has a variety of working farm locations geared up for guests who still want comfort when they’re in the great outdoors. If you like to ‘rough it’ in style then this is a great stop.

The children can help fetch water and fire wood for your stove and enjoy the novelty of sleeping in bed stays or looking after animals while you can still be assured of a great tent that doesn’t leak, a comfy bed and hospitable welcome. Special horse riding locations also available.

This is the English language version of their site, click on ‘locations’ for NL farms. Customer Service in Holland can of course help you in English on 0528 229440. From €455 for a weekend tent stay.

De Vreemde Vogel

http://devreemdevogel.nl/assets/english.pdf

If you’re looking for something really quirky then De Vreemde Vogel has lots to offer.  It’s in Vlaardingen between Rotterdam and the beach at Hoek van Holland so a good place from which to explore the surrounding area. From treehouses to olde gypsy wagons, sleeping in a reclaimed aircraft or a giant birdhouse they pride themselves on variety and comfort. Prices vary from about €155 for a weekend stay but all general information and contact details in English can be found at the above address.

Stortemelk

http://www.stortemelk.nl/default.aspx?lang=uk

If you’re looking for a real getaway how about Vlieland? Tucked in behind the dunes on this protected Wadden island is Stortemelk. It offers a variety of accommodation including small attractive cottages and different types of camping e.g. family and teen areas.

One thing they don’t cater for, campervans, because you can’t take any vehicles onto the island at all. For a real get back to nature feel this is a beautiful, untouched and remote spot.  Look at the site for details of how to book the ferry from Harlingen to the island and how to hire a ‘baggage car’ to go on to the Stortemelk itself. Prices vary but tent hires start at €630 for a week in the school holiday season.

Luxury and Romance

Dutchen Holiday Parks

http://www.dutchen.nl/contact

Dutchen promise unusual holiday homes, in small numbers, located at beautiful spots throughout the country; complete with all luxury mod cons, including options such as a sauna or Jacuzzi.

For example, Weideduyn, has up to date luxury eco-cottages, lots of space from your neighbours and a beautiful beach; Vlindervallei is in the middle of the Veluwe woods, outdoorsy yet complete with spa and wellness facilities; at Baayvilla’s, on the border between Groningen and Friesland, there are large houses with lots of amenities for sea and sailing enthusiasts overlooking the sea of the Lauwersmeer National Park.

Though their website is only available in Dutch and German at the moment all customer service workers speak English and can help you book. Prices upwards from €460 a week, ask for details of where last minute discounts can be had.

De Verrekijker

http://www.belvilla.com/search/#hsco=NL-6617-01&orgkw=verrekijker

If you want to do it you can, sleep in a windmill, you can’t get much more ‘Nederlands’ than that. Beautiful and atmospheric mills can be hired for private holidays, such as this near Gelderland, one of many good quality holiday homes to be found on Belvilla. Prices for the Verrekijker from €943 Friday to Friday. If you have special access needs do check whether this is suitable for you.

Castles from Bilderberg Hotels

http://www.bilderberg.nl/uk/hotels/chateau-holtmuhle/

Who doesn’t want to sleep in a castle? Honestly, who? At least once let loose your inner Romantic or sweep someone else away with a special castle B&B such as these from Bilderberg Hotels located near Utrecht, Venlo and Maastricht. From €94 per person per night.

Tugboat Willem

http://www.sleepbootwillemzoutkamp.nl/en/

If you’re over 18 years old and a water lover you could opt for an unusual stay for 1-2 people on Tugboat Willem; an original 1930’s working boat now transformed into a lovely bed and breakfast. Moored at Zoutkamp near the village of De Marne you will get a truly personalised trip. If you have special access needs do check whether this is suitable for you; as a sailing ship it won’t be able to accommodate wheelchair users unfortunately. Upwards from €80 per night per person, for a stay of 1-7 nights including breakfast.

Budget

Camping Zeeburg, Amsterdam

http://www.campingzeeburg.nl/index.php?page=wagonette

In high season hotel prices in the capital may price out many families and students so why not try an alternative city break at Camping Zeeburg? Located in the old harbour area to the east of town Camping Zeeburg offers you the chance to camp out in the city. Be it overlooking the water in your own tent or campervan or in one of their brightly coloured gypsy style ‘wagonettes’ or ‘eco-cabins’.

Good amenities include fresh baguettes/croissants daily and free wifi across the whole site.  They’re located a short distance from tram 26 which takes you into Amsterdam centre in about ten minutes. Prices start at €25 a night for a 3 person tent spot, €105 a night for a 3-4 person wagonette, to €115 a night for a 4 person eco-cabin, in high season.

Cube Houses, Rotterdam

http://www.stayokay.com/en/hostel/rotterdam

Another alternative city stay can now be had in the famous Cube Houses in Rotterdam which have been made into a Stay Ok Hostel; a great location from which to explore the city.  From €24.30 per night for a bed in mixed sex shared room.

Cycling Tours

http://www.nederlandfietsland.nl/en

You’re in the Netherlands so, get on your bike. All sorts of bike tour holidays including biking between hotels, family biking and short breaks are available to suit every pocket. All information you could possibly need about cycling in the Netherlands can be found at Nederland Fietsland, the site of the official Dutch organisation for recreational cycling (Nederlands Fietsplatform) this includes maps, where you can hire bikes and a variety of  information on reputable tour operators.

Quint's suggestions for the Dutch school holidays. For the original (and more great Dutch news stories; including features from Quint) check out the brilliant English language site www.dutchnews.nl

HOLIDAY HIGH JINX

With a lot of school holidays coming up, Esther O'Toole has some suggestions to keep your offspring amused.

With the Easter and May holidays ahead, how can you make sure the kids are exhausted enough to fall into bed and leave you alone with a bottle of red wine and all the left-over chocolate?

If you are in Amsterdam how about getting arty? 

Get arty

There’s new awesomeness to explore down at the Rijksmuseum for ages 6+. Since it’s reopened the museum has expanded its family activities, including learning how to etch like Rembrandt, discovering life in the Golden Age and a family tour.

Find out more: www.rijksmuseum.nl

Over at the Van Gogh take a trip back in time with Vincent’s suitcase. Available in Dutch or English; it’s full of interesting activities for kids to dive into that turns the visit into a treasure hunt (again from age 6). They also offer very affordable art courses for youngsters throughout the year.

Find out more: www.vangoghmuseum.nl

Regular arts and crafts workshops can also be found in the studio of the children’s department at the Central library near Central station. For bi-lingual kids these are often coupled with book readings in the library’s Annie MG Schmidt theatre.

Find out more: www.oba.nl

Get messy

If you fancy getting out of town and getting messy then check out Oerrr from Dutch natural heritage (Natuurmonumenten). It’s full of great family ideas on where to get muddy country-wide.

Plus sign up for the newsletter and get free wildlife activity cards throughout the year. Learn how to survive in the wild from April 13 with the ‘Wild Outdoors Day’ at Overijssel, Utrecht, Gelderland and other locations up and down the country.

The thing that most caught my eye amongst the night time walks, castle exploration and deer watching activities had to be seal spotting off Zeeland – an exciting and mucky day is guaranteed for all!

Find out more: www.natuurmonumenten.nl/kinderen/oerrr (Dutch only)

Southern fun

For those further south here’s a tried and tested favourite in our household. Eleven minutes out of central Eindhoven brings you to Nuenen and its massive children’s wildlife park - Dierenrijk.

Large enclosures and a wide selection of well-cared for animals - both obvious biggies (tigers, bears, lions and seals) and surprise winners. My kids both adored the…Garra Rufa Fish. That’s right - the ones you get at foot spas. You can wash your hands and put your fingers in so they can be nibbled at. Endlessly exciting for the under tens.

Two major benefits here: if it’s raining there is a gigantic indoor jungle-themed play-zone with seating for parents with tired feet, and great Puro coffee for any parents with tired heads.

Find out more: www.dierenrijk.nl

The Hague

And last but not least: if you have children of three and up then maybe they need to know that in The Hague there is a rabbit on the run from the police.

On Sunday May 4 the hunt is on for the meddlesome bunny in Maas Theater en Dans’ WANTED: RABBIT. This highly successful show is on its fourth run promising lots of slapstick and suspense for young and old.

Find out more: www.mastd.nl

Amusement parks

Now is the time when Dutch amusement parks come to life again after the winter months. Website www.netherlandsbynumbers.com has a list of 10 of the country's best theme parks, from the much-praised Efteling to Walibi and the more gentle fun of Plopsaland.

Her

Writer/director Spike Jonze, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Scarlett Johansson and Amy Adams.

So, there go the Oscars again.  Poor Leo really thought it was his year didn’t he? Well, plenty of other people did too but, as Ellen put it so succinctly, there really were only two possibilities for best film:

“Possibility No. 1: 12 Years a Slave wins best picture. Possibility No. 2: You’re all racists.”

Truest words spoken in jest.  No real surprise that the academy did indeed go with a real history lesson over a supposed cautionary tale of Wall Street excess. Especially as we’ve all learnt far more about that in the last couple of years than we’d have liked. Well, except the stock brokers.

With so much discussion about the tough running in the Best Picture and Leading Role categories the writing didn’t get much attention in 2014. Oh, laments the writer, we do all the genius work and get so little credit! No, it’s not that, it’s more that in the Best Original Screenplay category the winner was a shoe in. Her by Spike Jonze was the only title that ever really came up for discussion. And it doesn’t disappoint.

Her is the story of Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) a recent divorcee who, unwilling to take the leap into a ‘real’ relationship, starts one with his new operating system instead. The Artificial Intelligence behind the ‘OS’ though is learning at a rate that both she and Theodore struggle to understand and what seems to be a surrogate for a human relationship mutates into a very real one between a human and an entirely new species that humans have created.

Casting Phoenix was a stroke of brilliance. A less accomplished actor could not have made the job of keeping the audience engaged for two hours (pretty much single handed) look so effortless. He is vulnerable, witty, horny and troubled in quick succession and you never once fail to take his love story seriously.

What could have turned into a schmaltzy pile of indie dross in the wrong hands comes to warm and colourful life in the hands of writer/director Spike Jonze. A light touch, never didactic, he allows both the romantic and disturbing elements of the story to spring out at you from behind the often seemingly everyday dialogue. The premise seemed simple enough; a study of our increasing reliance on technology to provide for our every need. The future shown here is nothing like Azimov’s it is very recognisable and very convincingly the immediate future. As the story unwinds and the technology develops needs of its own the audience is thrown so many questions: what constitutes a ‘real’ relationship? Have we already opened a technological Pandora’s box? Who and what is god?

This movie set my mental processors into overdrive and they will be whirring a good while longer. Well, deserving of its prize and something we all need to start learning more about.

In cinemas throughout the Netherlands now.

Trust and Brands

I was reading a blogpost by James Garvey, editor of The Philosophers’ Magazine and author of a number of books about philosophy. He wrote a short piece on Trust and Brands in which he raises an interesting point. He believes we’re living in an age of mistrust, with scandals in banking, politics, the media and military, even organized religion. He recognizes trust as an emotion, and therefore not something that can be regained through objective means. When people have lost their trust it is very hard to win back. Only through time, transparency, and a change in behavior can trust be regained.

Fair points I think. Maybe it would be useful to push this idea a bit harder.

One way to look at brands is as differentiators primarily built on trust, “I buy Heinz tomato ketchup because I believe the brand will provide me with the same quality product every time I buy it”. Trust is based on belief and therefore only thrives in circumstances where I cannot have all the facts to make my decision (the difference between ‘believing’ and ‘knowing’). But with today’s digital tools at my disposal I can get most of the facts after just a few well aimed mouse clicks. I can examine the brand’s social agenda, I can go over every single ingredient, I can even ask my friends why they prefer a certain brand and advise them to use brand X over brand Y.

I think this is what is helping the erosion of the historically high level of trust in Apple. Of course the death of Steve Jobs is a large factor but I believe the discovery of sweatshops, the discussion over their use of ‘dirty’ minerals and the availability of the details on the legal fights with Samsung and Google are what are really bringing down this once invincible brand. And it’s not just Apple. Brands seem to be struggling to find an answer to the transparency provided by the internet. Marketeers are coming up with brand strategies aimed at convincing us that their brand is exactly what we want it to be, with ‘transparency’ and ‘honesty’ becoming key marketing terms. Trouble is, you can’t fake this, or like James says in his blog, you have to mean it.

So what’s your point of view? How should brands react to this changing world? Should they? What’s the future of brands? Is there one? Or should brands be on the endangered species list? Leave your comments, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Q.

The World's Fastest Agency.

 Consider this:

“Ad Agency Answers 140-Character Twitter Briefs in 24 Hours”

“A networked team of creatives in New York launched a new service that meets the demand for rapid turnaround advertising. Using Twitter as a medium, the World's Fastest Agency will respond from briefing to idea within 24 hours.”

“Clients can say goodbye to 100-page PowerPoint decks, meetings, weeks of fee negotiation, countless emails, more meetings, lunch, meetings, scope of work to-ing and fro-ing, meetings, more emails, Q&A sessions, tissue meetings, inaudible conference call, pitch, feedback, feedback on the feedback, re-briefing, re-pitching, another meeting, more feedback, focus groups, another meeting, more emails....”

http://mashable.com/2013/03/18/worlds-fastest-agency/

It seems to make a lot of sense. A quick, no-nonsense, cheap creative solution via social media. But, and there’s always a but, I don’t think it’ll go anywhere. Why?

It made me think of the time a slightly annoyed client saw me after what was undeniably a boring meeting. She told me that the time she got to spend with the agency was normally the highlight of her week. She finally got to think about the brand, be presented with great  (and sometimes not so great) creative ideas, got to be the boss and to top if off, eat as many free Pret sandwiches as she could stomach. So for her a boring meeting was inexcusable and should never happen again. And she was right of course (as a lot of clients tend to be…).

And therein lies the rub. I think clients secretly like the process, they like the time they get to spend thinking about the brand, they like the back and forth, the briefings, the meetings, the focus groups, the whole shebang.

The proposition of The World Fastest Agency is very much a translation of how advertising creatives tend to view the world. However, it has made the cardinal mistake of not considering your target audience and that is why I don’t think it’ll fly.

Q.

Philips Wake Up Light

This is an old one, and is no longer live.

We were given this flyer by some student at Amsterdam Central Station. It is asking you to upload your perfect morning onto the Philips Facebook pages and share with your friends, all for a chance to win a Philips Wake-up Light. To us this is another example of a brand asking us to become virtual crafts artists without offering something of similar value in return for my crafty handiwork and personal details. Sure, a nice wake-up light (retailing at a little over a hundred euros) is nice but to ask me to switch on my creative brain and tap into my friends network, only to possibly win one does not seem like a fair trade to me.

And the fact that they were handing out flyers in the ‘real’ world implies that they needed to boost the number of digital participants to try and come up with some figures that could be translated as success. Old school thinking to try and correct something that was flawed at conception. Thumbs down.

Q.

De Correspondent

We think this is exciting stuff!

Rob Wijnberg, former chief editor of NRC Handelsblad, a quality newspaper in the Netherlands, has set up a new initiative, the Correspondent (www.decorrespondent.nl). The new online news site will aim to contextualise the news using high profile and well respected journalists. The exciting bit however is their business approach. Instead of looking to investors to fund the start-up they are looking for subscribers, 15.000 of them to be precise, who are willing to put down 60 Euros per year to receive in depth news analysis and reporting. No investors that you need to keep happy, no advertising to accommodate, you only get what you buy and who wouldn’t want that? Well, they managed to find the required numbers in no time at all, with 22 days to go until their self-imposed deadline. And even if they wouldn’t have reached the 15000 subscribers they would have just refunded the money. Elegantly simple and effective.

If I were an advertising agency I would be scratching my head a lot these days, with TV moving towards a Netflix model, Radio towards Spotify, and now print and online media under attack as well. It seems the world is changing rapidly and traditional advertising is becoming like a dinosaur looking at that beautiful bright burning piece of rock that has suddenly appeared in the sky.

Q.