About

Isle of Holland is an online magazine about the Netherlands, Dutch people and Dutch phenomena. It features the best articles — both short and long, original or translated — about a wide variety of subjects. Within a matter of minutes, you can come across an interview with rock and roll heroes Golden Earring, an article about the expat lifestyle in Amsterdam and a collection of Johan Cruyff quotes that will make you laugh out loud.

Besides reading interesting and amusing articles, Isle of Holland wants you, whether you’re a traveler, expat or native, to go and explore the Netherlands. So we write about events in all shapes and sizes that without a doubt will make your stay in our tiny nation worthwhile. Note to travelers: for your convenience Isle of Holland made a selection of hotels and travel guides to consider.

To introduce Isle of Holland we thought it would be nice and useful to make a short video. So on a splendid sunny day in October 2012, we zigzagged through Amsterdam and beyond with a camera on our shoulder. Filmed and edited by Lisette Spiegeler , the video merely scratches the surface of what Isle of Holland is about, but you’ll get the drift. Funny comments about the dangers of staring into the sun and the supposed awesomeness of tulips and windmills are more than welcome.

Isle of Holland is:

Founder and Editor-in-Chief

Tom Springveld

Contributors

Boukje Cnossen
Mark Goede ( Brilliant After Breakfast )
Arden de Raaij ( CFYE )
Nathalie Wouters
Ebele Wybenga

Logo design

Rozemarijn Koopmans at Multitude

Isle of Holland is an online magazine devoted to the Netherlands, its people and the everyday phenomena that shape Dutch life. Rather than focusing on a single niche, it gathers a wide variety of subjects under one roof, inviting readers to wander between essays, interviews and short observations. The aim is to capture the texture of a country that is constantly being rediscovered, both by those who live there and by those who arrive from elsewhere. In a matter of minutes, a curious visitor can move from a piece of street art in an unexpected alley to a reflection on the quiet rhythm of a Dutch village, all within the same reading session. The editorial approach treats the Netherlands as more than a collection of clichés. Articles, whether short or long, original or translated, are chosen for their ability to surprise or illuminate, giving space to stories that range from the playful to the deeply considered. Profiles of musicians, reflections on expat life in Amsterdam and conversations about shifting media landscapes sit alongside gentler pieces on bicycles, cargo boats and the changing light over flat horizons. The mix is deliberate: it reflects a country that values both practicality and imagination, and that welcomes curiosity from every direction. Beyond reading, the magazine encourages a kind of mild adventuring. Readers are nudged to step outside, wander through unfamiliar neighbourhoods, pause at a harbour, visit a lighthouse town or simply look up at a remarkable building they have passed many times before. Isle of Holland suggests that exploring the Netherlands does not require grand plans, only attention. With an open mind and a willingness to notice small details, even a familiar street can begin to feel new, and the country reveals itself as a place worth looking at closely, again and again.

Isle of Holland is an online magazine dedicated to the Netherlands, its people and the many curious phenomena that shape daily life there. Readers can wander from street art and graffiti in unexpected corners to conversations with architects whose buildings blend form, function and a touch of the hallucinatory. The mix of long interviews, short features and translated pieces mirrors the country's own habit of looking outward while staying rooted in local tradition, offering a window onto Dutch culture for travelers, expats and curious natives alike.

Beyond storytelling, the magazine encourages readers to step outside and explore. It points curious visitors toward sleeping in a former prison hotel, cycling past lighthouses along the coast, or spending a night out in neighborhoods where journalists, entrepreneurs and old rock heroes once shared the same streets. School life, cargo boats, railway cabooses and the quiet beauty of village doors all become reasons to look more closely. The aim is simple: turn reading about the Netherlands into a reason to wander through it.