Dragon boats in Amsterdam

Apparently the traditional Chinese dragon boat has quite some fans in Europe and in Holland. This was evident by the European Dragon Boat championships that are being held here this weekend. Teams from 14 countries came to the Bosbaan to race against each other, while I enjoyed a seminar about doing business in China, delicious dim sums and plenty glasses of wine. 

Kwakoe

What started out as a football tournament of mainly Suriname teams more than 30 years ago has now become one of Amsterdam's largest  events: the Kwakoe Festival. Originally a purely Suriname party, in recent years the influence of the Dutch Antilles and Africa have been increasing as the population of Amsterdam South East, the immigrant rich area of the city, has been diversifying.

Football matches are still held during the six weekends that the festival is held, but the main attraction is food: barbecued ribs, Suriname hindustani roti duck and javanese saoto soup, African baked fish and Parbo Beer are staple foods. A delicious taste of the Dutch Caribbean and Africa!

BBQ!!

Holland has been experiencing somewhat of a heatwave (five days of temperatures above 25 degrees makes it officially so). As our resident BBQ master Cristian has returned from Chile, the time was right for a family barbecue. Slabs of meat, spicy sausages, token vegetables and a few bottles of wine made for very pleasant afternoon!

The morning after the match

The Dutch football team has made it to the finals of the World Cup. For the first time in over 30 years Holland has a chance of winning the trophy. As a result Orange Fever has reached dizzying heights in Amsterdam and the rest of the country. 

Crown Prince

Indians love having important people at their events such as ministers or other government leaders. If you can get royalty to add a little extra cachet, it's even better. Having Crown Prince Felipe give a speech about the opportunities for business between Spain and India, as well as a private session for some select Indian businessmen, is therefore fantastic. For me it's my second crown prince in a year, after seeing the Belgian one in Brussels (at another India related event).