Anouk - Birds (The Netherlands - Eurovision 2013)

After failing to qualify for the final last year, the Netherlands have come back with a serious contender for a top 5 spot. Dutch singer Anouk will be representing her country this year with the delightfully melodic ‘Birds’. Anouk is already a superstar in her home country, where she’s notched up 7 number 1 albums and a string of hit singles across Europe. This success will certainly work in her favour. As for the song, ‘Birds’ is an instantly soothing and shows off Anouk’s vocals amazingly, and has already charted in both the Netherlands and Belgium. This is definitely one of the songs to watch for this competition - expect top 5, or even a win!

http://europeuncovered.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/the-netherlands-eurovision-2013.html

Transport in Amsterdam: 

Trams are a popular way of getting around. You can buy 24 and 48 hour tram passes (longer if needed) for a reasonable price, however I did find the trams to be quite confusing as tram conductors would often tell you the wrong tram to take.

Cycling is a very popular mode of transport in Amsterdam, which is why the city is covered with cycling lanes. You should always take caution when crossing roads as cyclists can come out of nowhere!! You can hire bikes from around 8 Euros per day if you choose to cycle around. 

Artis Royal Zoo, Amsterdam

The oldest zoo in The Netherlands, it houses a planetarium, an aquarium and a geological and zoological museum. For around 19 Euros (as of July 2012), you do get quite a lot. There is one part of the zoo where you can walk inside and have monkeys let lose, swinging around you. There was also a butterfly house, with many different species fluttering around. There are numerous feeding stations with fruit, so you can always get a close up when they are feeding. 

Inside the museum/aquarium building, there is a large variety of taxidermy animals, as well as species of fish from the rainforests to the reefs. The planetarium is interesting, but the voice over is in Dutch; so unless you speak fluent Dutch, I would probably give this a miss.

The zoo did house giraffes, zebra and gorillas, but was missing other big animals, such as elephants, rhinos and tigers. Overall, I thought you got a lot for your money.


London 2012 Olympics - Day 8

Switzerland, Czech Republic, Croatia and Denmark achieved their first Gold today in the Women’s Triathlon, but Team GB were the big winners, yet again, with 5 Gold medals and a Silver, putting them in 3rd position in the Medals Table. Italy, The Netherlands and Kazakhstan also won Gold medals.

Athletics (Men’s 10,000m) - GB - Gold.

Athletics (Men’s Long Jump) - GB - Gold.

Athletics (Women’s Discus Throw) - Croatia - Gold, Russia - Silver.

Badminton (Women’s Doubles) - Russia - Bronze.

Cycling Track (Women’s Team Pursuit) - GB - Gold.

Rowing (Women’s Single Sculls) - Czech Republic - Gold, Denmark - Bronze.

Rowing (Men’s Lightweight Double Sculls) - Denmark - Gold, GB - Silver.

Rowing (Women’s Lightweight Double Sculls) - GB - Gold, Greece - Bronze.

Rowing (Men’s Four) - GB - Gold.

Shooting (Women’s 50m Rifle) - Serbia - Silver, Czech Republic - Bronze.

Shooting (Women’s Trap) - Italy - Gold, Slovakia - Silver, France - Bronze.

Swimming (Women’s 50m) - Netherlands - Gold, Belarus - Silver, Netherlands - Bronze.

Tennis (Men’s Doubles) - France - Silver.

Tennis (Women’s Singles) - Belarus - Bronze.

Tennis (Men’s Doubles) - France - Bronze.

Triathlon (Women’s) - Switzerland - Gold, Sweden - Silver.

Weightlifting (Men’s 94kg) - Kazakhstan - Gold, Russia - Silver, Moldova - Bronze.

London 2012 Olympics - Day 6

Brilliant day for Team GB who climb to 5th place in the Medals Table after achieving  3 Golds and 3 silvers today. France, Germany, Italy, Russia and The Netherlands also won Gold, with Germany winning 4 medals and Russia winning 5.

France & Great Britain are coming 4th and 5th, respectively, whilst European countries make up 26 of 49 countries to have won medals.

Canoe Slalom (Men’s Double Canoe) - GB - Gold & Silver, Slovakia - Bronze.

Canoe Slalom (Women’s Kayak) - France - Gold, Spain - Bronze.

Cycling Track (Women’s Team Sprint) - Germany - Gold.

Cycling Track (Men’s Team Sprint) - GB - Gold, France - Silver, Germany - Bronze.

Fencing (Women’s Team Foil) - Italy - Gold, Russia - Silver.

Gymnastics Artistic (Women’s Individual All Round) - Russia - Silver & Bronze.

Judo (Men’s 100kg) - Russia - Gold, Germany - Bronze, Netherlands - Bronze.

Judo (Women’s 78kg) - GB - Silver, France - Bronze.

Rowing (Men’s Double Sculls) - Italy - Silver, Slovakia - Bronze.

Rowing (Men’s Lightweight Four) - GB - Silver, Denmark - Bronze.

Rowing (Women’s Eight) - Netherlands - Bronze.

Shooting (Men’s Double Trap) - GB - Gold, Sweden - Silver, Russia - Bronze.

Swimming (Women’s 200m Breaststroke) - Russia - Bronze.

Swimming (Men’s 200m Individual Medley) - Hungary - Bronze.

Swimming (Women’s 100m Freestyle) - Netherlands - Gold, Belarus - Silver.

Table Tennis (Men’s Singles) - Germany - Bronze.