Editing CS Newsletter for the Netherlands 2010.2 (section)

=CouchSurfers meeting up (rechterbalk)=

===Queensday 2010. Who parties along?===

Most people who come to the Netherlands have heard about it at least once. The day that all Dutch people act even more silly than usual. The day that the country is orange. And the day that everyone is (beyond) drunk. We're obviously talking about.. Queensday!
 
Queensday is a national holiday in The Netherlands, on April 30th. This is the birthday of our Queen Mother, Juliana. We do so since 1949. Before that it was celebrated on august 31st, the birthday of Queen Wilhelmina (she's the grandmother of our recent Queen). In 1948 her daughter, Juliana, became Queen and the holiday moved to April 30th. Back in the days, Queensday was no more than just a regular weekday (and the birth date of the Queen). The royal family never attended any festivities. Nowadays, almost everyone has got the day off and Queensday has become the national holiday of the year. 
In case you're wondering why we still celebrate the birthday of our Queen Mother: Our current Queen is born on January 31st. As most of you know, you can never count on the Dutch weather (and winter time it isn’t reliable at all). Queen Beatrix therefore decided to honor her mother by keeping Queensday on April 30th (but also to have a bigger chance of a sunny day). 

What's special about this day? The royal family attends and participates in many activities (you can watch it live on tv, it's not very interesting really ;)). Every year, they visit a different city in The Netherlands. This year they will visit Middelburg and Vlissingen (Zeeland). 

 
'''Couchsurfing the night before!
'''

For Couchsurfing, Queensday means not just a DAY of activities and parties. No, we have a WEEK filled with fun things! 

Couchsurfing starts the week traditionally during Queensnight with events in The Hague, Amsterdam and Utrecht. Originally, The Hague was the first city to celebrate Queensnight with a lot of live music throughout the whole city. Soon after other cities followed The Hague’s example. CS The Hague organizes a fun night in [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=67418 the city] with traditional Dutch food and party in the center.  
In [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=62852 Amsterdam] they know how to party, too! During Queensnight you can join the CS Amsterdam members in a pub in the very typical Amsterdam surrounding; the Jordaan district. ‘A great opportunity to meet other CS members and dodgy locals’ (at least, that's what the meeting page says). 

Ever played Musical Chairs? I’m sure you did. It is a nostalgic game which you can play In [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=64743 Utrecht]. Utrecht has also one of the biggest Queensday flee markets of the country, which opens during Queensnight. Get there early with fellow CS’ers and get to the best stuff first. Or just make a competition out of finding the weirdest, craziest rubbish. Really, be amazed by what people used to have in their homes and want to get rid of now!

Also smaller cities have parties during Queensnight. [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=67641 Enschede] for instance has a free party with DJ's and also a CouchSurfing meeting. 

'''Queensday'''

Partied hard during Queensnight? Well.. get some Ibuprofen, a new beer and suck it up. There is no time to sleep, because the party continues. 
The place to be on Queensday is [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=62856 Amsterdam]. Over half a million people visit the country’s capital to celebrate the Queen Mother's birthday. Throughout the city there are parties everywhere, people are selling things and you’ll find the traditional games. Don’t be surprised if people try to make money by giving you a kiss, hug or whatever. The Dutch are always keen on money and Queensday is the best opportunity to make some profit. 
The biggest party for CouchSurfing is also in Amsterdam. Right where it all happens. CS Amsterdam is organizing a real CS-Camp down in the Vondelpark. The park is a nice place to relax, regain your powers for the next party, chat with other CS’ers, play music and have a BBQ together. Besides that, walk around the city center! It will be crowded and you move slowly, but the experience is simply unique. 

If you feel you haven’t partied enough by the end of the day; you might want to head east. [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=68347 Zwolle] organizes their first Monthly meeting! CS Zwolle chose Queensday as a the kick-off for their regular meeting; which better day to start it? It'll start at 20.00 so it is a great opportunity for an after party. 

'''I still have plenty of energy left: what’s next?'''

Don’t worry! As said before, CS Netherlands has a week filled with activities! Other activities you can enjoy are:
•	May 1st – Rural Cinema in [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=60092 Wognum]. 
Ever watched a movie with special effects containing frogs, birds, bats, mosquitoes and other animals?

•	May 1st – Windmills & Cheapthrills in [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=66089 Dordrecht]. 
Get a view of the beautiful islands, windmills and other Dutch scenic things around Dordrecht. 

•	May 4th – Memorial day service at the Dam Square – [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=62867 Amsterdam]. 
The day that we all remember the World War II victims with a beautiful service at the Dam Square. 

•	May 5th – Liberation Day Music Festival – [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=57513 Zwolle] 
To celebrate our freedom and the end of World War II. Every provincial capital organizes one or several music events. CS Zwolle has a gathering for those interested. 

•	May 9th – Spring Forrest Hike 2010 – [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=60029 Oss]
Enjoy the nature with a nice, refreshing hike! 

'''One last tip:
'''

Wear orange! So get an orange t-shirt, paint your face orange, buy a weird wig.. be creative! It doesn't matter how you do it, as long as you do it. Orange is the keyword!

===The 24 hour train race project===

The Netherlands is probably the only decent country where it is possible to travel by train through every provincial capital in just one day.

This time table is tested:

http://www.rosenbrand.net/cs/timetable.pdf

The start and end will be in Amsterdam, but there are plenty of cities in the Randstad area where from you can join as well.
For people who live further out: all cities part of [http://www.ns.nl/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheader=application%2Fpdf&blobheadername1=Content-Disposition&blobheadername2=MDT-Type&blobheadervalue1=attachment%3B+filename%3D51%2F813%2FNachtnettreinenlijnenkaart.pdf&blobheadervalue2=abinary%3B+charset%3DUTF-8&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1208879563070&ssbinary=true NachtNet] are available to find a couch in. 

Preparation:

There are several pretty cheap options to get your dayticket. Kruidvat sells daytickets for only 14,90. The red ticket is valid on the right day. At several Kruidvat stores they are already sold out, but you can still get them pretty cheap at www.marktplaats.nl
With discount otherwise the ticket is 26,80 (there will be plenty of people with a NS-subscribtion at the meeting, so your discount ticket will be valid).

Food:

The timetable doesn't give much time to get food outside of the train stations. But we have plenty of time to make our own in the train. Let's make it a challenge to make as much food as possible in the train!
Also don't forget to bring drinks. It is allowed to drink alcohol in Dutch trains.

Entertainment:

Your not allowed to play electric music in trains, but I'm sure we can also get creative in here. There are plenty of games we can play in the train. Let's also make it a challenge to come up with the most crazy games!

An extra challenge could be to make a picture with you and as much city-signs as possible!

Visitors:

Of course you don't have to do the entire journey. We would love to get visitors along the track. Do you live in a tiny village, that only has a train station? This is finally your chance to join in in a CS meeting!

Just check the timetable:
http://www.rosenbrand.net/cs/timetable.pdf

Sign up [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=68094 here]

===Family Meeting on Kijkduin beach, The Hague ===

We are happy to organize the very first [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=66973 Family Meeting] in the Netherlands.

The beach is a perfect place to meet for families and share experiences under a (hopefully) bright blue sky, while barefoot children play games in the sand.
 
We meet at 10.30 o'clock under the lighthouse near the parking and bus stop in Kijkduin, before going down to the beach (right side). Here the children (and parents too) can play games in groups like waterpaaltjes voeltbal, giant mikado and frisbee. Also individual games like poi and diabolo are fun to do or learn. Also there is the biggest swimming pool of the Netherlands: the sea!

If all families bring some food (enough for yourself and two others) we can have a huge picnic around 12.30 o'clock.
In the afternoon there is a yoga class and we'll build sandcastles and play more games.

If you want to join this event, sign up on the meeting page, we would like to know how many people are coming. Please bring friends who are not yet a member of CS as this is a perfect introduction to CouchSurfing.

What to bring: The usual stuff like towels and swim suits, favorite games of the children and food/drinks.

During the meeting you can contact us on 06 389 259 52

We hope to see you all on the 13th of June!
Greetings from [http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/onsplekkie/ Ilse, Maarten and Lilou]

===Visit the Deltaworks in Zeeland!===

The Dutch know how to manage the water. It's been a
constant struggle in the past centuries, with the
lowpoint being a major flood in 1953 with thousands of people
drowning. Nowadays big dikes keeps the water out
succesfully. One of the major accomplishments in the
fight against the water is the 'Deltaworks' in
Zeeland, in the southwest corner of the Netherlands,
with the Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier being the masterpiece.
The first part of the Deltaworks was built about 50
years ago, and the Eastern Dam was finished in 1986.
Check for more information:
http://www.deltawerken.com/23

I think both Dutch people and foreigners would love to see the
Delta works with their own eyes. For me it's been a while as
well, so that's why I'm setting up a meeting event for June
5th. The enthusiasm was overwhelming in the first few
days with over 20 people signing up. We are working
on the program now, but it will include a
museum visit and a visit of the outside structures. It
could be a whole weekend event with camping for those who want to, or we could have a night program in a
city afterwards. It depends on you as well. Ideas and
suggestions are very welcome. So please [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=64443 sign up], and
let's make it a fun event! We'll keep you updated.

[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/gils/ Harald]

===Songfestival Meeting in Utrecht===

Everybody has an opinion about the Eurovision Songfestival. Some like the music, some like the show, some think it is only favoritism, but everybody loves to see who gets 12 and who gets 0 points.

*Will the Netherlands give 12 points to Turkey again?
*Will the Scandinavians give all points to each other again?
*Will Turkey and Greece give points to each other?
*Will any of Turkeys neighbors give them points?
*Will the Netherlands finally reach the finals again?
*Are there still enough Poles in Ireland to give them 12 points?
and the most important one:
*Will Israel give points to Germany?

Of course we will also vote ourselves, we'll see who predicted the winner, but more important, we will see which songs the CouchSurfers actually DO like. 

Sing up [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=67969 here]

[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/kilgoretrout/ Jasper]

===Midsummernight in the park in Utrecht===

Again Utrecht has prepared a whole weekend full of activities in the park around [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=57224 Midsummer Night]  

The submeetings are made, so [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=57224 sign up] before it is too late!

- Meeting each other with nice drinks and fun games

- A crazy quest in the centre of Utrecht finding the lost CouchSurfer

- A chance to see the Netherlands play football against Japan in South Africa

- Creative workshops in the park

- A diner made by the Utrecht Cooking team (bring your own plates this time!)

- A new ceremony celebrating the sun going down

- A lazy Sunday afternoon-brunch 

These pictures of [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=23092 last year] will give an impression of what you might expect:

[http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/35ELGAF/5140055_l_bdb8e0959ab23b199855479df60f9f27.jpg Midsummer Lampions]

[http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/35ELGAF/5140049_l_3380f1524d53917fdb4909a46967dc20.jpg Midsummer fireshow]

[http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/35ELGAF/5140039_l_aa8cdea866dc37475bd8326801b38c24.jpg Crazy people in Utrecht]

[http://images.couchsurfing.us.s3.amazonaws.com/1P2DO0K/5188437_l_e22dd4558823bcf9096caea771989838.jpg The whole group of 2009]

[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/kilgoretrout/ Jasper]

==past==

===Flash Mobs in the Netherlands===

Flash mobs have been taking over cities all over the world since around 2003, though until recently they
were not common in the Netherlands. A flash mob
is a (large) group of people who assemble suddenly in a
public place, perform an unusual act for a brief period
of time, and then just leave again. At the first ever
recorded flash mob 150 people arrived at a flooring
shop, claimed to live together in a warehouse and
showed interest in buying the same rug. Exactly 10
minutes later the crowd suddenly disappeared.

Reading about this first flash mob inspired me to
research the phenomenon. As I sat captivated by videos
of flash mobs on Youtube, the idea of organizing one in
my home city became increasingly exciting. Admittedly
it took a bit of work, but within a few weeks eager
participants were signing up on CouchSurfing, Hyves and
Facebook.

The afternoon went off without a hitch. At the
appointed time on Saturday 20th February 2010 the
signal was given. CouchSurfers ran out of shops, jumped
up from benches, suddenly stopped window shopping, and
got down on their knees and fanatically [http://crystalshard.net/test/flashmob.jpg worshiped] a
small statue in the busy shopping area of Rotterdam.
Passers by looked on with confusion and surprise, as
the mob disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared.
You can find “Worship the Sock Bears” on Youtube.
Our after party proved highly successful as
Rotterdam’s Tiki Bar kindly agreed to open early for
us.

If you’ve ever been part of a flash mob you’ll know
the immense amount of fun involved. If you haven’t
yet, don’t fear, there are many more entertaining
events looming on the horizon. On Saturday 3rd April at
15:00 there will be massive pillow fights worldwide!
The pillows of Rotterdam and Amsterdam, along with over
120 other cities will be celebrating together as never
before. Interested? Check out our [http://www.couchsurfing.org/group.html?gid=26365 group]

[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/spanglyhaze/ Hazel]

===CouchSurfers’ Music Exchange: Different cultures different music styles===

During my Australasian half-year-in-between-jobs I’ve
encountered it several times: backpackers I randomly
met that have the best suggestions of music I might
like after listening to some of my stuff on my iPod. Of
course you’re somewhere dodgy and that’s exactly
the point where you are being pushed into another
rundown bus and you forget to write down the artists
and titles of the songs your musical muse told you. You
tell yourself you’ll remember it till you find pen
and paper. An hour later you completely forget about
it.

That’s how the idea of the [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=58591 Couchsurfers’ Music Exchange] started: it’s a meeting where CS'ers 
listen to other CS’ers' music and give “if you like this you
might also like”-type of suggestions. (besides
writing down some tracks themselves, of course). To
keep it civilized nothing is actually copied on the
spot (except for some open source tracks).
The first meeting took place the 1st of March at the
“La Place” on the top floor of the OBA (library)
near Amsterdam Central. A happy and culturally diverse
group of around 15 people brought their laptops, iPods,
headphones and hard drives to share their taste in
music. A combination of hip-hop, electro, lounge,
classical music, Dutch music and bollywood was the
outcome. The atmosphere was open and relaxed; a
beautiful start of a monthly little festival of music
lovers.

The next one will be on the 18th of April at the
same spot. Keep an eye on the CouchSurfing [http://www.couchsurfing.org/meetings.html?mid=58591 events
calendar] for more info. 

[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/victorious_e/ Victor]

===Bowling meetings===

One year ago exactly, Jeroen and Ellen organized the first Eindhoven Bowling Meet. This successful meet has brought Eindhoven CS back to life after it kind of died. 

One year and many meets later in Eindhoven, we decided to have another Bowling Meet! We arranged to meet at 8pm, in front the entrance of Mega Bowling. Lots of ‘familiar’ faces, but a lot of unknown ones as well, came to this event and there were even some international guests. It was a nice mix of people, devided in four lanes.

One after the next, the bowling balls were launched and it became clear who had the most talent –and who was there just for fun-. The music was best to be described as ‘old skool 90s’. And of course we saw some bloopers like throwing the ball backwards or sliding along with it.. but in the end the aim of the night was to have a good time.. And so we did! Everyone went home happily afterward. See you all at the next Eindhoven Meeting!



[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/abeyholland/ Astrid]

===Happy times in Zwollywood - Sardines===

What do you do when you're with over 10 CouchSurfers in a abandoned school (which will be demolished in 2 weeks) and because it is [http://www.earthhour.org/ Earth Hour] you just turned off all the lights?

Answer: Sardines!

Sardines is reversed hide and seek; one person hides and the rest tries to find him/her. When you've found the person that is hiding you get next to this person untill you've reached the point that one person is looking for everybody.

Both the location and the group of CouchSurfers appeared to be perfect for this game. We've been hiding under the sink, under chairs and even in the shower of the teachers' dressing room in the gym of the school. In the end we got so good that we even managed to let somebody sneak out and come back with chips. 

The next step: Sardines on Saturday afternoon on [http://www.couchsurfing.org/group_read.html?gid=1348&post=5356152 Utrecht Train Station]

[http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs515.snc3/27054_108733015822075_100000561303728_153097_5544008_n.jpg picture1],
[http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs495.ash1/27054_108732965822080_100000561303728_153087_2414733_n.jpg picture2], [http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs515.snc3/27054_108732989155411_100000561303728_153092_296049_n.jpg picture3], [http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash1/hs495.ash1/27054_108732982488745_100000561303728_153091_1916225_n.jpg picture4]


[http://www.couchsurfing.org/people/kilgoretrout/ Jasper]