*above – a dream house from Giethoorn
I’ll keep April recommendations post short, just like I perceived this past month.
PLACES
De Haar Castle, Utrecht
You may remember that last month I told you about Posthoornkerk, a beautiful church in Amsterdam designed by Pierre Cuypers. This month I am including another one of Cuypers’ masterpieces: De Haar Castle. It has easily climbed all the way to the top of my favourite castles’ list due to its superb and neat gardens, red and white window shutters and bold stained glass.
Allard Pierson Museum, Amsterdam
A hidden-in-plain-sight museum with a great selection of archeological and historical pieces from many areas of Europe, this museum also has a very serene inner garden with beautiful cherry trees that I had the chance to see in full bloom. Less touristic, but still a great destination, especially if you have already been to Amsterdam and crossed off the big museums.
Biking up north from Amsterdam
During Easter weekend I went on a bike trip up north from Amsterdam to discover small villages like Broek en Waterland, Zunderdorp, Holysloot and Randsdorp (my personal favourite – the church there is so beautiful!). To be honest, I was keen on seeing cows in the green Dutch fields, but instead I saw hares and sheep. The closest I got to cows was by drinking cow milk so at least I had that going on.
ARTICLES
How to make better use of everything you read
After reading many articles on speed reading, quality reading and what not related to how to read more and how to do that efficiently, this may be the best article I have stumbled across which actually gives great advice and less intuitive tips on how to make the most out of what you read but also on how to save notes for your future self.
13 movies to watch if you miss Paris
If you are like me, always longing for a trip, then this post from RueRodier might be exactly what you need if you are looking for a fast and inexpensive way to feel like you are strolling on one of the many narrow cobblestone streets of the City of Light.
VIDEOS
Brace yourselves because this month the video list is quite long, but super interesting:
The Hilarious Art of Book Design
Chip Kidd is not only one of the most renowned book cover designers, he is also a fabulous public speaker, engaging you and luring you into his world from the moment he enters the stage. A character by himself, Kidd is also a great storyteller, building up information about some of the books he has designed and offering lots of insight into his work only to reveal piece by piece the final mouth-dropping book cover. Definitely worth watching!
“A book cover is a distillation, it is a haiku of the story.”
The Coastline Paradox Explained
How come each time a different institution measures a coastal country’s coastline and they each come up with shockingly different numbers? This video answers exactly this question and it. makes. so. much. sense. Mind blown. Also, this proves that we should always close read whenever we learn about new figures so we make sure we know how the measuring was done.
The Hidden Formula Behind Almost Every Joke on Late Night
I don’t know about you, but most of the time I get my news intake by watching American Late Night Shows since they usually combine both an informative side of journalism and humour. Thanks to this video analysis I finally understood how these hosts can come up with so many good jokes on a daily basis. Super useful to implement the findings of this video in real life as well 😉
How Dark Patterns Trick You Online
One of my favourite channels (Nerdwriter! ) has managed once again to produce an insightful video on how platforms are creating mazes out of their interfaces in order to have a high retention of accounts. This means websites go to great lengths to make it as hard as possible for users to delete their accounts and Evan illustrates those actions (called “dark patterns”) amazingly well by taking the examples of Amazon accounts, newsletter subscriptions, games and many more.
Why people believe they can’t draw – and how to prove they can
I found myself smiling from ear to ear thanks to this wonderful talk which highlights the simplicity and the accessibility of drawing. All you need is a piece of paper, a pencil and the openness to acknowledge that maybe drawing is easier than we might think.
And with that, April Recommendations post is over!
Let me know what you have been reading and watching, I’m super curious 🙂
Laura
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