Parrot eats the corn, parakeet gets the blame

(Para ler em Português: Papagaio come milho, periquito leva a fama)

According to Samaritans’ last annual report, an UK registered charity aimed at providing support to anyone in emotional distress, every year about 200 people throw themselves in front of a train in the Netherlands, leaving the country in the 4th position in the European railways suicidal ranking. The suicide rate in the Netherlands is not that bad, around 0,0098% per year, but currently 12% of them are rail-related…

Sunny morning of May 3rd 2013. I was at Bergen op Zoom train station, but my train didn’t show up. I heard an announcement from the station speakers – in Dutch! What the hell are they saying??? Is my train coming or not? Was it cancelled? Is it broken? Is it being fixed or replaced? When is it coming? What am I supposed to do??????

The older you get, the better you get – unless you’re a banana

Uriah Heep | Sometimes dreams come true

(Para ler este post em português: Galinha velha é que dá bom caldo) 

In the southern Netherlands, close to the Belgium border, there is the enchanting little town of Bergen op Zoom, a city that hosts one of the last Medieval Gates remaining in the country. But the reason why I included this village of such a picturesque name on my travel plans was much more special than that: