Hoyte van Hoytema is officially the first Dutch cameraman to win an Oscar. During Sunday night’s star-studded ceremony, he claimed the top prize for his cinematography for Oppenheimer.

The epic spectacle about the so-called father of the atomic bomb was the big winner of the night, picking up seven awards.

Remember his name (it’s pretty catchy)

Hoyte van Hoytema has already won a BAFTA and the American Society of Cinematographers prize for his work in Oppenheimer — but who is the decorated Dutchie?

Born in Switzerland to Dutch parents, van Hoytema mastered his craft at the Łódź National Film School in Poland after being rejected by the Dutch Film Academy in Amsterdam ().

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This is not the only time the Oscars recognised his incredible cinematography. He earned his first nomination for Dunkirk in 2017, also directed by Christopher Nolan.

The frequent collaborators are adventurous cameramen, choosing to shoot on heavy but SUPER high-resolution IMAX cameras. These were placed on top of the actors’ faces for the ultimate cinematic intimacy.

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Was it worth it? Well, the Oppenheimer trophy cabinet is certainly gleaming.

In addition to being crowned Best Picture, the Oppenheimer team also won awards for Directing (Christopher Nolan), Best Actor (Cillian Murphy), Best Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr. — surprisingly his first ever!), Original Score (Ludwig Goransson) and Editing (Jennifer Lame). 

Reaching new Hoyte-s 

If van Hoytema is one of the few Dutchies to take home an iconic statue, what else can be said for the Netherlands’ silver-screen success?

In total, 11 Dutch nationals have won an Oscar. The most recent was Erik-Jan de Boer for his work on visual effects for Life of Pi in 2013. 

The first Oscar ever won by a Dutchie went to King of Jazz art director Herman Rosse all the way back in 1930 — and did you know Rosse also designed the interior of the Peace Palace?!

Cinema styles of old were coincidentally on van Hoytema’s agenda last night — he took his acceptance speech as a chance to encourage more celluloid filmmaking in this digital age. 

Congratulations to Hoyte, and here’s to more Dutch cinema silverware in the future!

Did you watch Oppenheimer or other van Hoytema projects? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Multiple arrests were made following demonstrations in Amsterdam against the Israeli President’s visit to the opening of the National Holocaust Museum.

President Isaac Herzog, who has controversially claimed that “the entire nation” of Gaza is responsible for Hamas’ October 7 terror attack, attended the opening ceremony of Amsterdam’s National Holocaust Museum yesterday.

As you can imagine, it wasn’t a quiet affair.

Hundreds of demonstrators

Nearly 1,000 demonstrators awaited Herzog’s arrival, and demonstrations took place in multiple locations, including outside the museum’s doors.

And they made their presence known.

As the opening ceremony took place, boos, whistles, and the shouting of slogans could be heard.

As the Israeli president and King Willem-Alexander entered and exited the museum, they were met with more booing.

Stones thrown and arrests made

While the police have described the protests as going “well and peacefully”, not everyone stuck to just booing.

According to RTL Nieuws, stones were also thrown, and police vans were climbed and attacked.

As a result, riot police were deployed, and they made 13 arrests. The demonstrations were disbanded shortly afterwards.

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Do you enjoy travelling from the Netherlands to other countries across Europe? Or are you a home bird who frequently visits family? Well, your wallet is about to suffer.

Specifically, if your journey involves a plane and your destination is within the EU.

According to research by RTL Nieuws, plane tickets to European destinations will increase by tens of euros in the next two years.

One expert says an increase is “inevitable.”

But why?

This inevitable price increase all boils down to something called the ETS, which stands for the Emissions Trading System.

As part of this system, the rights to emit green gasses are traded among the big polluters. The idea is that big polluters must buy their right to… well, pollute.

In the aviation industry, many of these rights are free — however, that’s all set to change in 2026, and airlines are going to have to start coughing up the cash themselves.

And where will this money come from? The price of your plane ticket, of course!

READ MORE | REVIEW: We slept our way from Amsterdam to Berlin on the new European Sleeper train

As Paul Peeters, lecturer in sustainable transport for tourism at the Breda University of Applied Sciences, tells RTL Nieuws:

“It is obvious that this will be passed on directly, with the small margins in aviation, they cannot absorb this.”

Flying outside of the EU? You’re in the clear

While the ETS system is in place to try and discourage companies and consumers from polluting, Peeters fears it may have the opposite effect.

Why? Primarily because the ETS system does not apply to inter-continental flights.

This means that higher ticket prices for flights within the EU may just encourage people to fly to Morocco instead of Malaga — which is a longer and more polluting flight.

What do you think of the ETS system? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

Travellers, watch out: Eindhoven Airport will soon be closed for a major renovation job.

The Eindhoven Air Base is due for a renovation to its runway — and the neighbouring commercial airport, also owned by the Dutch Ministry of Defence, will have to be closed in the meantime.

As the Eindhovens Dagblad reports, the renovations will take about 22 weeks lasting from February to June.

The catch? It’s not yet known what year this job will take place.

Flying improvements

The works include a full renovation of the Air Base runway, as well as some improvements to the commercial airport.

Among other things, the Air Base’s three-kilometre-long runway will be widened, and a second taxiway will be added.

These additions should benefit the airport’s overall safety, as commercial aircraft won’t have to cross the runway during takeoff or landing anymore, as is the case now.

Meanwhile, Eindhoven Airport will also be equipped with an improved landing system, allowing planes to fly in densely foggy atmospheres.

The outdated landing system has caused flight cancellations and delays in the past, so the upgrade is much needed.

Delays at Eindhoven airport pic.twitter.com/1DAGwXwAqk

— Deal (@samuel_deal) May 19, 2023

Flight cancellations and pricier tickets

Naturally, these renovations come at a cost, and it is estimated that the airport will lose about €35 million in revenue in the five months of renovations.

On top of that, the airport will miss out on 17,000 flights (and millions of passengers), who will be unable to depart from Eindhoven Airport.

CEO of Eindhoven Airport, Roel Hellemons, has previously warned that this could result in pricier airline tickets.

Have you ever flown from Eindhoven Airport? Tell us about your experience in the comments.

Going to sleep in flat ol’ Netherlands and waking up in a green mountain paradise? Yup, thanks to European Sleeper‘s newest night train to Germany, it will soon be possible!

In so-called Saxon Switzerland, a national park located south of the city of Dresden, you’ll find breathtaking sandstone cliffs, unique rock formations, deep canyons, lush valleys, and amazing lookout points.

It’s a great place for an outdoorsy getaway. And the best part? As of March 25, 2024, it’s just a train ride away!

To Saxon Switzerland and beyond

Just in time for spring, European Sleeper, the creators of the Good Night Train, are adding not just one but two stops to their night train route: Dresden (Saxon Switzerland) and Prague.

This means that the international route will now service the major cities of:

• Brussels
• Amsterdam
• Berlin
• Dresden
• Prague

How does it work?

Taking the night train is as easy as pie! Simply hop onboard the train from any of the following Dutch train stations: 

• Roosendaal 
• Rotterdam Centraal 
• Den Haag HS
• Amsterdam Centraal
• Amersfoort Centraal 
• Deventer

Next up, head to your seat, couchette, or sleeper cabin, nestle in, and fall asleep to the chugging of the train. Next stop: your chosen destination!

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Dutchies have a reason to celebrate this morning as the Netherlands has the second-highest quality of life in the whole WORLD.

On top of that, the Netherlands is the proud host to four of the top 10 cities with the highest quality of life!

Considering factors such as the cost of living, healthcare, climate, and more, Numbeo has compiled data for over 84 countries and 195 cities, placing the land of tulips and bicycles in second place.

Top 10 countries for quality of life

So, who defeated the Netherlands for the top spot? The answer may surprise you:

Luxembourg maintains a comfy eight-point lead ahead of the Netherlands in quality of life, ranking much higher in the Purchasing Power index (no surprise there).

The rest of the top 10 is dominated by other European countries, except for Oman, ranking in sixth place.

Dutch domination in the top 10 cities

In even better news, a whopping FOUR Dutch cities have made the top 10 for quality of life and landed the two top spots:

While we love to complain about the housing shortage and overall cost of living, we can’t help but be a little proud that nearly half of the top 10 cities are from the Netherlands.

For the second year in a row, The Hague scored the number one city for the highest quality of life (and we’re still not surprised), while Eindhoven, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam follow in 2nd, 4th, and 6th place.

Luxembourg, Luxembourg also made an appearance in the top three, while the Scandinavian cities seem to be more scarce, only boasting Helsinki, Finland and Copenhagen, Denmark this year.

Are you surprised about these rankings? Tell us in a comment below!

From April 3, 2024, onwards, budget airline Transavia will start charging passengers extra fees for “large hand luggage”.

Passengers will be asked to pay a €10 one-way fee for all hand luggage that doesn’t fit underneath the seat, including small carry-on suitcases.

If your luggage does fit under the seat in front of you, make sure that it weighs less than 10 kilograms — as otherwise you’ll also have to pay the fee, reports RTL Nieuws.

Covering extra costs

So, why is Transavia doing this? Unsurprisingly, the airline needs the extra income to “deal with the ever-increasing costs.”

For example, Transavia is paying more for emission allowances while maintenance costs for the plane are also increasing.

Rival airlines Ryanair and easyJet have recently stopped allowing free suitcases on board, and it was only a matter of time before Transavia and other budget airlines followed suit.

What do you think of the additional travel costs with Transavia? Tell us about it in a comment below.

International commuters who frequent Eurostar’s London-Amsterdam service, we have good and bad news for you.

Let’s start with the good news: Contrary to what was previously reported, Eurostar’s Amsterdam-London service will not be suspended during the renovations at Amsterdam Central Station.

In fact, as Trouw writes, Eurostar will increase its service by running additional trains on the popular route from mid-June onwards, with eight departures per day instead of four.

Now the bad news: Travellers will have to sacrifice an extra hour for the journey to the English capital — because of those pesky passport controls.

Mid-way stop in Brussels

Due to large-scale renovations, the departure terminal of Eurostar in Amsterdam will be closed from June 14 until at least December 2024.

Until then, passport checks for travellers originating from the Dutch capital are being temporarily moved to Brussels.

READ MORE | How to get from Amsterdam to London in 2024

That means travellers will soon have to awaken from their slumber midway through the journey, get off the train, and have their documents checked at a terminal in Brussels.

The result? The journey that currently takes a swift three hours and 52 minutes will soon take four hours and 45 minutes.

But on a brighter note, Eurostar CEO Gwendoline Cazenave tells the AD that “travellers no longer have to be present early at Amsterdam CS due to the cancellation of passport controls. That saves time.”

On the way back from London to Amsterdam, nothing changes, and passports will be checked before boarding the train at St Pancras station.

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Despite big plans to run more international trains in the Netherlands, budget cuts within the Ministry of Infrastructure might prove a difficult obstacle.

As the NOS writes, hefty budget cuts could be jeopardising the ongoing plans to extend the Amsterdam North-South metro line, as well as the expansion of the capacity of the Schiphol tunnel.

As a result, the space for international trains in Amsterdam could be significantly reduced.

An important place

Schiphol’s railway tunnel is an important point in the Dutch rail network, accommodating up to 50 trains per hour. Not just national sprinter and intercity trains zoom through the tunnel, but also international trains like the Eurostar to London and Paris.

READ MORE | 17 places you can get to by TRAIN from the Netherlands

The result? Passenger capacity on the platforms is extremely limited — an issue that was meant to be resolved by the expansion of the Schiphol tunnel and the extension of the North/South metro line.

But after the budget cuts, a whopping €1.8 billion is missing to complete the plans.

Up in the air

With the budget cuts by the Ministry, it’s uncertain if they can implement these infrastructure changes without forfeiting international trains. For now, work on the North-South expansion is being continued — but a significant amount of money is missing.

To make matters worse, the Netherlands is already losing access to the Eurostar line to Amsterdam for six months due to construction in Amsterdam’s central train station.

International trains are a sustainable alternative to flights within Europe, and losing access to even more international trains would greatly affect train accessibility to the Netherlands.

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Thinking about becoming a Dutch citizen? We have one more reason for you: The Netherlands has the third most powerful passport in the world!

According to the Henley Passport Index, The Netherlands snatched a shared third place for 2024, gaining visa-free travel to an impressive 192 countries!

The index compares how many countries you can travel to without needing to organise or pay for a visa, meaning Dutchies are just as mobile in the sky as they are on a bike.

The rankings

The Dutch passport is slowly climbing the ranks, ranking 5th place in 2022 and then 4th place in 2023. Dutchies are now tied for third with Austria, Denmark, and Ireland.

Curious to see which passports made the top 10? Have a look:

Three Asian countries, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea, made the cut — and in the top 3, no less!

Other non-European countries nabbed a spot in the top 10, including New Zealand (6th place, 189 countries), Canada and the United States (joint 7th place, 188 countries).

This is a stark difference from countries ranked at the bottom 10:

Wondering where your country has wound up in the passport index? See the full list.

Where does your passport rank? Tell us in the comments!