SURPRISING AMSTERDAM, SURPRISING SOLUTIONS TO EAT OUTSIDE IN TIME OF CORONAVIRUS

Safe dining in glass houses in Amsterdam, photo credit: Misset Horeca

Amsterdam is one of the most beautiful cities not in Europe but in the world. The lively city known for its interesting places, attractions, restaurants, and boats sight touring on canals, welcomes tourists from all over the world.

Like most of the European countries, the coronavirus has closed down businesses, tourist sites, restaurants and other interesting places that entertain people from all walks of life.

But when will the coronavirus subside for our deserted cities to be normal? And will businesses spring back to life for people to put the bitter experiences of the coronavirus behind them?

One of Netherlands businessmen who wants to change things and serve the people amidst the coronavirus is Willem Velthoven, founder and director of Mediamatic.

Mediamatic has plenty of space in Amsterdam-Noord and, therefore, puts a row of double greenhouses on the quay so that guests can dine safely.

The Mediamatic location in Amsterdam-Noord makes it possible for everyone willing to eat to do so in safety. The project is called Serres Séparées – Chambre Séparées, translated room separation, or private dining.

In the time of pandemic, things are difficult, yet Willem Velthoven wants people to utilize every opportunity to make things better. He wasn’t happy catering entrepreneurs who say that it is impossible to be hospitable 1.5 meters away.

According to him, “It may be difficult for large catering businesses that run the business when it comes to peak pressure and mass turnover, however, there is another part of the hospitality industry when it comes to attention, that is taking the time and carefulness. These companies are much less threatened. We are an example of that," he said.

The idea of ​​using greenhouses to create an intimate and safe dining experience was obvious. "We already had those greenhouses.  Several art projects with plants have been done there. We tried it with people and it turned out to be just right." says Willem Velthoven.

Service remains outside the greenhouse, guests take their own dishes and wines from carts or trays. The most workable solution is now being tested. For example, De Librije has had special trolleys made to bring dishes and glasses to the table.

Well, there are always surprises in 'surprising Amsterdam,' this is one of them. Congratulations Willem Velthoven.

THE BEER STORY

Heineken beer: One of the poorest beers in the world, but a good promotion has made it more famous than any Belgian beer.

Why is Holland’s Heineken one of the poorest beers of Europe, but more internationally known than any quality beer in Belgium?

This is a humorous story created by the writer, even though there are genuine facts.  Both Holland and Belgium have customs they have been following for decades and have made names for themselves in producing certain quality products. 

Apart from the coffee shops selling drugs to customers with impunity and the tradition of eating a sour raw herring fish, Holland’s Heineken beer has increased the fame of the country, making it one of the most popular tourist attraction centers in Western Europe, especially in Amsterdam.

This is where the story begins: Is it a concern to people or the Belgians to find out the reason Belgium is one of the world’s leading producers of quality beer, yet the fame in that production is completely buried or lost? 

Yes! Beer experts can tell you that Belgium brews more than twenty quality beers, including La Chouffe, Corsendonk Pater Noster, Leffe, Delirium Tremens, Gouden, and De Koninck, yet Heineken, a beer produced in Holland, which lacks quality standards, (if compared to Belgium’s beer) is known throughout the whole world, leaving Belgium’s quality beers far behind.

Have you ever heard of this slogan in the field of advertising? “A quality product doesn’t need any advertisement.” Since Belgium believes it produces quality beer, it relaxed, slept, and made merry around its products, without making any effort to sell or promote them. 

They were dwelling on miracles to sell the beer because there is a street in Antwerp called ‘Jezus Straat’ (Jesus Street). It is true that out of compassion, Jesus turned water into wine, but to sell Belgium’s quality beer wasn’t in his diary.

While the Belgians were fast asleep, dreaming of miraculous sales of their quality beers, and waking up during the day busy building statues and naming streets after King Leopold II, a king that killed and maimed over ten million Africans in Congo, when there is no statue of Adolf Hitler, for killing six million Jews, Holland is actively engaged in seeking an international market for their poor Heineken beer. Today, Heineken is one of the famous beers in the whole world.

In Africa, we used to say that ‘Kwesi Buronyi Ye Ayen,’ meaning the White man is a witch, in the sense that they use that witchcraft to develop their country, while African witchcraft destroys. 

But believe me, if there is witchcraft for destruction, it doesn’t only exist in Africa, because the continent suffered the witchcraft destruction in underdevelopment, slavery, looting, and killings in the hands of Europeans and kings like the Butcher of Belgium, King Leopold II.

La Chouffe is one of Belgium's quality beers, but its fame is buried forever..

A mind or a country full of hatred, racism, and discrimination never progresses. That’s the situation in Belgium. Despite the racial problems worldwide, the Dutch get along nicely with Surinamese, Curacao, Antillean, etc, thus, you can see that the Netherlands is more developed and better integrated than Belgium.

The Flemish find it hard to cooperate with the Walloon, let alone a Congolese or an African.  If Bart De Wever, the mayor of Antwerp, wants the Flemish to be an independent state from Walloons in such a small country, it signifies a lack of proper union and integration.

Finally, how can Belgium establish its name in the world’s beer book as the leading producer of quality beer to beat Holland? That can never happen because Holland’s Heineken beer is even available in the remote parts of Africa, where there is no electricity. 

Above all, a bad character that doesn’t change is like a car’s flat tire; it doesn’t move, it always stays in the same place.

WHY NO ONE WANTS TO LIVE WITH ME?

Many are experiencing bitter relationships, but how many of them try to find out the reason things are not going the right way?

Many are raised in different homes, influenced by different cultures, customs, and traditions. Thus, living with other people sometimes becomes a very difficult issue, proving that it’s often wrong if we lean on our own understanding. Many times, you may think you are right but wrong.

It is very common and part of our everyday life to see beautiful ladies and gentlemen in town and at the offices. The perfume they wear adds glamor to their personalities with sweet charm, but many are experiencing bitter relationships, often taking away their happiness and putting them into a tunnel of misery.

The setup of our homes immediately conveys the message to a visitor, the nature and character of those dwelling there, and the sort of training or life being acquired from it. 

Truly, the life and character of a person can easily be determined from the home he or she was raised in. Thus, are you one of those hard to live with, because of your bad character or the nature of the home you were raised in?

If you are a lady or gentleman in your late thirties and still living single, after many stormy affairs, it’s time to sit quietly and ask: Am I a difficult person to live with? If I am, how can I make things better?

Once in Amsterdam, I shared a kitchen with other tenants living in the apartment. More than a dozen times, I witnessed one of the male tenants spitting into the kitchen sink. 

A kitchen where I cut my meat and do my cooking? I was shocked to the extent that I lost the desire to cook in that kitchen. I couldn’t tell him to stop because I don’t want any confrontation.

This went on and on until one of the tenants caught him in the act again, and the confrontation escalated into a physical fight. Eventually, the owner of the apartment, who wasn’t pleased with what he did, ejected him from that apartment. 

How can an adult or fully grown man lack the intelligence to do something like that without noticing that it’s completely wrong?

In another development, a man lost his job because his employers said he stinks. He stood his ground to tell his boss that he is the one who stinks. 

This bad odor is something I knew, but couldn’t tell him, because there are certain things not easy to speak about. This is a problem that shows that as human beings, we do many things and harbor many bad characters we don’t simply see or notice them.

In the early 2000s, I nearly lost my job at the restaurant where I was working in Antwerp. One of my female colleagues’ armpits smells very bad. I was finding it difficult to work with her, so I bought her a deodorant to use. 

The deodorant ended up in the hands of her husband, who came to the office with his wife to see my boss. Luckily, I had already discussed this issue with my boss, thus I was set free.

It was a lesson I’m now very careful about the way I approach things. Some kindness may put you into very big trouble.

Life is wonderful. Life doesn’t mean suffering, but chains of sad and bad events, including bad habits and character, have taken their toll on mankind today, making life worthless to some people. 

We can make life better and worthy to live by being humble, eliminating foolish pride, being content with whatever we have, and giving respect and love to our neighbors.

Immigration: Europe Doesn't Make One Rich Overnight. That's The Simple Truth

Books by Joel Savage

Through cultural diversity, I would like to share my experience as an African writer with you. Joel Savage is a freelance writer who enjoys the challenges of creativity and adventure. 

I arrived in Europe as an illegal immigrant a couple of years ago. One of my sleeping places was the central train station in Rome. I worked as a houseboy and raised enough money to come to Amsterdam. 

It was during my efforts to get papers that I landed in detention. After getting my papers, I decided to write my stories as books.

There are many people in Africa eager to sell all their properties with the aim of coming to Europe. Through the media, I have encouraged people to read my books before making the decision to come to Europe. 

Many think Europe makes one rich overnight, but I use my books as a teacher, educating the masses on how difficult it is to be an illegal immigrant in Europe.

On immigration issues, on how to educate Third World Countries about the difficulties of being an illegal immigrant and prevent them from coming to Europe, I'm available to share my experience. 

I always ask how I can be useful to educate desperate Africans willing to come to Europe at all costs when Europe doesn't make one rich overnight?

https://www.amazon.com/author/joelsavage-1957

MY LIFE AND MY BOOKS

Joel Savage

Joel Savage is a freelance writer who enjoys the challenges of creativity and adventure. Growing up in an environment where he sees the experiences of hard living and suffering deepens his understanding and knowledge to start writing. His work is considered to be a pure genre of creative nonfiction. 

He studied at Ebenezer Secondary School and Accra High School and later studied at the Ghana Institute of Journalism in Accra. His first book, “The Writer Died’’ which focuses on his father’s childhood and adult experiences, reveals the ordeal of a neglected child.

His second book, “Road of Agony,” reflects on his life as he struggles to take care of the welfare of his family after the untimely death of his father. 

As a passionate writer, Joel records his life experiences as a roofless illegal immigrant sleeping at the central train station in Rome and shifting camp to Amsterdam, only to be incarcerated in his third memoir, “Overseas Chronicle-The Rome and Amsterdam Experience.”

Leaving his wife and a year-old child in Africa for nine years, they finally joined them in Europe. But the happiness of the family turned into a nightmare as his wife was diagnosed with an aggressive type of breast cancer. Those days of sorrow are recorded in Joel’s fourth book, “Heart of Endurance.”

Having dedicated his life to writing non-fiction books, Joel’s amassed experience and skills from previous publications, enabling him to write his fifth book, "Little Boygium-Wonderful Experience" about his life in Antwerp, as he tries to integrate as a forklift driver, whilst he writes his books between scorn, underestimation, and racism.

“AIDS Doesn’t Discriminate, So Why Do We?” is Joel’s sixth book. The book, which is dedicated to HIV/AIDS victims worldwide, eliminates the fears of caring for such patients and brings the human side to the forefront. 

The writer, a Belgian national and member of the 'Flemish Journalists Association, currently lives in Antwerp with his wife and three children.

Joel Savage is a freelance writer who enjoys the challenges of creativity and adventure. Growing up in an environment where he sees the experiences of hard living and suffering deepens his understanding and knowledge to start writing. His work is considered to be a pure genre of creative nonfiction.

http://www.amazon.com/Joel-Savage/e/B008SCTYI6

The Book Connection Guest Blogger Joel Savage

The book connection

 

Everyone has objectives, but not everything goes as planned for those who want to achieve something unique in society. I am one of them. I missed part of my education after the sudden death of my father. It occurred to me that if I really wanted to further my education, the only option was to travel to Europe. 

 

I wasn’t greedy, thinking that Europe makes one rich overnight, but I had an idea that if I succeeded in integrating legally, I could follow my dreams since they have the best educational facilities and good teachers.

Upon arrival in Europe, I realized that going to a foreign country could be very difficult in regard to financial aspects and visa applications, but nothing was more difficult than gaining legal immigrant status in a foreign country.

 

Like Paul’s missionary journey to Rome, I found myself sleeping in rough places, including the central train station and a deserted food factory. Rome might be a strong Catholic city, but it views foreigners, especially blacks, as people from an unknown, strange planet.

At the mission houses, amongst other foreigners, we continuously witnessed the abuse of young boys by the priests and the constant stealing of money from our letters that passed through the mission’s office, because we had no resident address. In Rome, I went to a school run by the ‘Caritas’ [Charity] under the umbrella of the Vatican City.

 

I could read and write Italian very well, but that didn’t help to facilitate my status as a legal immigrant. The continuous degradation, racism, and discrimination forced many immigrants from Africa to leave Rome as illegal immigrants, but I stayed, hoping for the best; however, the situation never changed.

After working as a houseboy to an Italian journalist, I saved enough money and moved to Amsterdam, leaving behind a year-old child and my wife in Africa. Holland is a multi-cultural country and far ahead in development and integration.

 

Unfortunately, the hard immigration policies and liberal laws on soft drugs have encouraged others to do hard drugs, thereby having a drastic effect on many people, including illegal immigrants. I saw the disastrous effects of drugs on many, but they turned a blind eye and pretended they didn’t know what was going on because the free sales of drugs are like a catalyst that sustains the tourism industry.

This was something I wanted to avoid, and the only way to prevent falling victim to depression and drugs was to fight for my documents after almost four and a half years as an illegal immigrant. One thing I didn’t understand was the drug issue.

 

The Dutch drug force in the past and present has successfully arrested drug couriers in the city and at Schiphol, the airport, but the coffee shops sell drugs, including marijuana, to customers without impunity. Who then supplies drugs to the coffee shops? This was a question I never found the answer to.

I never encourage crime or violence. I fear these two acts, and therefore, try my best to live a clean life. But to upgrade my status to a legal resident, I was involved in a serious crime, leading me to be behind bars. A Surinamese woman collected money from me with the promise of helping me get my papers. I didn’t know her, but I trusted her.

 

According to the police, she was a criminal preying on illegal immigrants. I was thrown behind bars for several days while my passport was with the immigration police. It was likely they were preparing my documents to be deported, as I foresaw my deportation to Africa to be very close.

One day, while behind bars, I had no bath and food for the whole day, even though every day the cell was opened for me to wash and be served food. The next day, when they served me food, I asked them why they had failed to give me my food the day before.

 

The officer thought I was joking, but he quickly realized I was speaking the truth. According to him, I was a very quiet person; therefore, the officers on duty failed to realize that there was someone in the cell. Because of this mistake, they gave back my passport and set me free. Today, I am a married Belgian national with three children.

 

Overseas Chronicle: The Rome and Amsterdam Experience

http://www.amazon.com/Joel-Savage/e/B008SCTYI6

OVERSEAS CHRONICLE, A NOVEL BY JOEL SAVAGE

Life adventure based on a true story

There are so many writers in the world. Each has his or her subject of interest. Some write about fiction, agriculture, science, and children's stories, while others prefer fairy tales and horror stories. 

As a man who has suffered a great deal, traumatized and haunted by my past bitter experiences, I have no room in my life for fiction. This certifies the accounts of this book are genuine, leaving no doubt of its truth.

After writing and publishing “The Writer Died” and “The Road of Agony,” I had the inspiration to write this book. What is the significance of writing this book at all? Is it worth reading? What will readers get from reading this book? These are some of the questions cracking my brain. 

Knowing perfectly well the torment of being an illegal immigrant and as an eyewitness to how the need to get a resident permit in Europe and America has destroyed the lives of many immigrants, especially Africans, I put in enormous effort to write this book.

In Europe and the United States of America, the quest for immigrants to obtain legal status and become documented has destroyed many people. 

Some are insane, depressed, speak at random without stopping, dress shabbily without noticing how they look, and some end up in jail, detention, and death, taking them away, all because of a resident permit. 

Apart from the inhuman activities, methods, strategies, and procedures adopted by authorities that issue resident permits against immigrants, to frustrate them to not getting their legal papers, the act of documented foreigners against their fellow ones without a permit is totally insane and obscured.

An African is not only dark in colour but could also be dark sometimes in the mind. As an illegal African in Europe, especially in a country like the Netherlands, you’re worth nothing to a documented African. You are like salt that has lost its taste. You need to be thrown away for people to trample on you. 

It is the documented African that would make it clear to you that if you are undocumented, you don’t have to join the conversation of the documented. Even if you are right, you are wrong because you have no documents. 

When slapped across the face by the document, you don’t need to hit back because you are an illegal immigrant, and when being cheated, accept it.

Take a deep breath and read about my experience in Europe as an undocumented immigrant before I became documented. “Overseas Chronicle-The Rome and Amsterdam Experience” is like a picture hanging on the wall. I see it every day. I can't take it out of my mind. 

Read this remarkable book revealing the true untold story of an illegal immigrant in Rome and Amsterdam.

Chapters

        1.   Detained At the Fiumicino Airport, Rome

       2.  Sleeping At Rome Central Station and Pantanella

       3.  Help from the Caritas

 4.  Living and Working in Sacrofano

       5.  In Accra, Ghana

       6.  In Bijlmer, Amsterdam

       7.  Working as an Illegal Immigrant

       8.  Working under a New Name

        9.  In Detention

      10. Going for an Advocate

      11. The Struggle over Guns

    12. The Death Of Princess Diana

     13. Arrested At Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam

     14. Exploited by two Dutch Lesbians

    15. Revisiting Rome and Back to Amsterdam After Documented

    16. The Female Angel in Police Uniform

              

 http://www.amazon.com/Overseas-Chronicle-Joel-Savage-ebook/dp/B013SLNWFC/ref=la_B008SCTYI6_1_3?