Vrolijk Kerstfeest: Christmas in the Netherlands House of Rituals in Amsterdam

House of Rituals in Amsterdam

In honour of its 20th anniversary this year, Rituals Cosmetics has launched a holistic shopping and lifestyle concept with the House of Rituals. People will find refuge from the frantic pace of everyday life and discover a place where the body can relax, the mind feels calm and the soul can find satisfaction. As the world’s largest Rituals flagship store, it offers a unique brand experience from the moment you step in, with immersive body and mind experiences on every level including many exclusive and unique collections.

Distributed over 4 different floors, of approximately 1500 m2, House of Rituals embodies the marriage of the ultimate retail experience with the unique new range of premium product collections and lifestyle innovations, exclusive to the store and online. Next to 2 floors of shopping experience it will have 2 floors to pause the hectic rhythm of our busy lives, opening a mind and body spa.

Located on The Spui (where the former Esprit café was based) in the heart of Amsterdam, Rituals will offer customers an extraordinary experience with amazing new collections and a launch that will be carried out in two phases. Phase one will see the opening of the first and second floors in October 2020, which are a restaurant and a mega store and with phase two seeing the launch of the mind and body spa, opening in the early Summer of 2021. House of Rituals is a place where the philosophy of the brand, The Art of Soulful Living, truly comes alive and is represented in all its facets.

On the ground floor, you enter the wonderful mega store which offers you a sensory experience with your trusted Rituals collections. Experiential and Instagrammable corners invite you to experience your favourite products from The Ritual of Sakura, Hammam and many more, Within close reach of the other side of the floor enjoy the amazing new restaurant Rouhi [Rouh meaning soul (in arabic) and i meaning my = MY SOUL] where you can spark all the senses with anything from a calming cup of specialty tea, to soulful bites for lunch and an exciting dinner menu inspired by a surprising fusion of Arabic -Asian food.

Going up to the first level, House of Rituals dedicates a complete floor to showcasing its enriched home collection through an exclusive and premium collection of completely new innovations. Discover the new Mansion Collection, supersized luxury home fragrance designs, The Talisman Collection, a perfume bar with 25 bespoke eau de parfums with the option to customize, and the Signature Collection that offers 10 new exclusively designed porcelain scented candle holders, decorated with bold patterns and beautiful artwork, which you can complement with your personally selected experience the art of soulful living to help you

candle fragrance.

This premium range is amongst other new product categories including exclusive laundry solutions, travel accessories, sophisticated home decoration and luxurious bedding and bath textiles. The Mansion Collection, Talisman Collection, Signature Collection and a part of the Bed, Bath & Beyond collection will also become available on Rituals. com.

Phase two will see the launch of the second and third floors which will be opening early this spring Summer of 2021. These floors will strengthen the lifestyle and brand experience with a ‘Body experience’ floor and ‘Soul experience’ floor. The Body Experience floor is home to the ultimate body spa, dedicated to a variety of specialized massages, luxurious facials and professional beauty advice and treatments. The Soul Experience floor will give you exclusive access to the Mind Spa, a sanctuary where body, mind and soul can escape the frenzy of city life and find a moment to realign, recharge and regain new energy.

Offering brand new stress-reducing treatments, expert meditation classes and workshops to support the mind and soul and rediscover a moment of peace and relaxation. More information about these innovative launches will follow soon. The new store in Amsterdam is part of Rituals Cosmetics’ commitment to delivering a soulful shopping experience to people living and visiting Amsterdam, the beating heart of the brand. Raymond Cloosterman, CEO, is proud to present this experiential concept to celebrate 20 years of “We are proud to be bringing our very first 4-floor Rituals experience to the residents and visitors of Amsterdam where it all began 20 years ago. With this new concept of unifying body, mind and soul we are entering the next phase for the brand and the company. With the new premium collections as an impulse for the online business and the company and with the Body & Mind spa’s as an impulse for the brand we bring them to the next level”.

Through House of Rituals, embrace and Rituals.

navigate a journey of well-being.

Spui 10 in Amsterdam www.rituals.com

The Last Five Years There are two sides to every love story

Written by Jason Robert Brown and directed by Elyse O’Shaughnessey, The Last Five Years is an emotionally powerful and intimate musical about two New Yorkers in their twenties who fall in and out of love over the course of five years. Jamie Wellerstein, a rising novelist, and Cathy Hiatt, a struggling actress open their hearts and minds as they tell their side of the relationship, proving there are always two sides to every story. Cathy’s story is told in reverse chronological order (beginning at the end of the marriage), and Jamie’s told in chronological order (starting just after the couple first meet).

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Learn Dutch and live like a local

Eindhoven is like a global village. People come together from all corners of the world and work together on smart solutions that make a difference. Speaking English will help you get around but speaking Dutch will allow you to blend in like a local. At STE Languages our well-trained natives will make you feel at home and know exactly what you need to make big improvements in your progress. By attending our small group courses we can help you take those first steps! Interested in joining?

Why STE Languages?   

Feel confident in speaking Dutch Stop worrying and start enjoying

Small groups Learn from each other in a supportive atmosphere.

Personal approach Tailor-made training based on your personal needs

Skilled trainers Qualified trainers that love to work with world citizens

Learn when it suits you Before work, during lunch break, after work or even on Saturday and during summer

"Speaking the language helps with everything"

The added value of a Dutch language course Sometimes they have travelled there for love, sometimes a job is the reason. More and more internationals are finding their way to Eindhoven and not only to work but also to live and to build a life, and that means getting to know a new language. How do you deal with that? Two internationals talk about their experiences.

"The Dutch prefer to speak Dutch" "Speaking the language is important for integration. That applies to everyone. Even if it is not necessary for your work, it is still a good idea to learn Dutch. Speaking the language helps with everything from shopping to boot camps. The Dutch are friendly and easy to communicate with but I notice that they prefer to speak Dutch. So keep practicing the language. Do your homework, read a book or watch a Dutch television program. Search for something that interests you, then you can keep it up more easily. "

Julianna Feron, Hungary

“It feels a bit like home" "For me, STE is more than just a language school and the trainers are more than just teachers. They help you with everything, even if it is not directly related to the curriculum. Furthermore, you have a lot of contact with students of different levels. That has a stimulating effect because you can directly see your own development and that of others. This is where my life in the Netherlands started and I am grateful for that. It feels a bit like home. "

Rodolfo Castañon Juarez, Mexico

Visit www.ste.nl, mail to info@ste.nl or just give us a call: +31 (0)40 - 245 28 60

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21-05-19 08:38

NETHERLANDS STANZA BOOKSHOP MOROCCO ITALY

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We are an international bookshop established in The Hague offering English, French, Spanish, INDIA German, Italian, Portuguese and Russian books CHINA for adults, young adults and children. Additionally, we have a selection of International Law books in English, Spanish and French.

We host literary events such as storytelling, writing & poetry workshops, and services for book launch.

Opening times Mon: closed. Tuesday-Saturday from 10.30 until 17.00. During November and December we open twice per month on Sundays (please check the dates and opening hours through our social media)

Noordeinde 98, 2514 GM, The Hague. T. 0031 (0) 702144117, www.stanzabookshop.com, Instagram: Stanza_Bookshop, Facebook/Twitter: @StanzaBookshop

mas interieur the ultimate way of modern living

For all your legal issues at work and assistance with your application at the IND for residency and working permits. Van den Heuvel has worked for years for the IND and therefore has personal immigration procedure knowledge.

The cycling paradise|

Peter de Lange & Robert van Weperen

With its flat countryside, stunning nature parks, green meadows, canalside paths, seaside vistas and cyclist-friendly villages and cities, it is no wonder that the Netherlands has more bicycles than inhabitants. Peter de Lange – a bicycle enthusiast who knows the bicycle routes through the country like the back of his hand – has created a book that not only explains how cycling became an intrinsic part of Dutch culture, but also makes it impossible for those who did not grow up on spokes and saddles to resist the urge to join the locals – from primary school children to prime ministers – on the more than 37,000 kilometers of bicycle paths that criss-cross the country.

In the Netherlands, bicycles are for everyone – tall people, small people, people with physical challenges, racing enthusiasts – and they are welcome everywhere; ranging from Veluwe National Park, where you can pick up a bicycle for free to roam its extensive woodlands and heaths; to fietscafés, where you can meet people who share your passion; to the foundation Vrienden op de Fiets, which offers a network of cheap and welcoming places throughout the country to spend the night, exclusively for cyclists and hikers.

Throughout the book you are treated to a feast of photographs showcasing the beloved wheels of the Dutch, while forty pages are dedicated to a selection of the most beautiful cycling routes in the Netherlands, ready and waiting for you to explore!

Available through bookshops, www.hollandbooks.nl, www.bol.com and Amazon

movie |

Groeten van Gerri

If anyone was going to make a playful but heartfelt comedy about the current Covid-19 crisis, the Dutch were. The question is, does it work? With Groeten van Gerri (Greetings from Gerri), actor-director Frank Lammers pulls out all the stops in an almost one-man show to bring us something quite charming, under the circumstances. It’s slow to start, building up the picture of a chemistry teacher, Gerri, living alone with only his cat Tesla for company. He finds he’s accidentally gone viral when during a virtual class he forgets he’s only in his underpants – can he handle his new-found fame? Lammers is well known for playing the campsite-loving leader of a drug gang, Ferry Bouman, in the series Undercover (available on Netflix). He produced and directed Groeten van Gerri during lockdown and it includes many scenes we’ll be familiar with: from chaotic Zoom sessions to food delivery hassles, from government briefings to utter boredom. Pay attention to the staging and you’ll see many amusing details. romance with a sex cam worker, Chanana, which ends up quite distressing. And although it’s certainly a lightweight comedy, Groeten van Gerri can’t avoid the human loss that any story about this pandemic must include, and Lammers delivers these emotional scenes well. The irony of Gerri struggling with being caught in a state of undress on the internet whilst asking advice on a web call with the lingerie-clad Chanana is spelled out in big letters for the audience – because you won’t need your brain for this, just your good will. And, ok, maybe you’re fed up of hearing about the corona virus and want to watch a story about something completely different, but I found myself loving it, for all its silliness.

The Discomfort of Evening |

Marieke Lucas Rijneveld

“It is no wonder that Marieke Lucas Rijneveld’s parents are “too frightened” to read “The Discomfort of Evening” (or, in the original version, “De avond is ongemak”), as the author told The Guardian. The Dutch writer, who prefers to go by non-binary pronouns, was already a literary sensation in their home country since the novel first came out and quickly became a national bestseller, in 2018. Now that the book has been translated by Michele Hutchison and published in English, they’ve been catapulted into international stardom - especially after it took home the coveted International Booker Prize Award.

Given all this, it is now expected many will rush to take it home from the bookstore. But make no mistake - “The Discomfort of Evening” is not an easy read. It is not a book to carelessly flip through on a relaxing evening; one could even advise against eating and reading. This is because the author’s debut is as remarkable as it is stomach-turning.

“The Discomfort of Evening” tells the story of ten-year-old Jas, whose family is struck by tragedy when her eldest brother, Matthies, dies in an accident. What ensues is a chronicle on the effects of unspoken grief and parental neglect on the remaining three children, in a land where religion is both a path to ruin and to salvation (as the narrator muses at a certain point: “some people lose God when they find themselves; some people lose God when they lose themselves”).

Rijneveld’s book may not be a thing of beauty, and it might even turn some readers away with its grim portrayal of violence that is as human as it is repulsive. However, it is a debut like few others, and an unforgettable one. Do read it, but proceed with caution.

However, Gerri also has another drama to contend with, a budding

Beatriz Negreiros