The town of Baarle-Hertog, located on the Belgium-Netherlands border, is an interesting geographical anomaly. Most of the time, national borders are clearly identifiable lines-- the US is on one side of the line, Mexico is on the other.

But in Baarle-Hertog, the border isn't a line at all. As seen in the map, parts of the Netherlands are sprinkled throughout this mostly Belgian town like raisins in a bag of trail mix. This makes for some rather odd results, as the Financial Times recently noted: "Apparently, women are able to choose the nationality of their child depending on the location of the room in which they give birth."

Wikipedia adds this charming tidbit: when Dutch restaurants used to have an earlier closing time than did their Belgian counterparts, restaurants on the border would simply move the tables to the Belgian side to stay open later.

[HT: BLDGBLOG]

I've never understood how the concept of a silent rave ever got popular. People in a club listening and dancing to their own music on headphones. The hook is around the fact that you can dance to whatever music you want in a social environment.

How is this fun? Why wouldn't you just do the same at home? It's a social thing, but when do you talk? On drink breaks?

The concept originated in the Netherlands some years ago under the notion of "going wild in silence", and ever since has been floating around Europe. A couple of months ago, Union Square in New York held a huge "Silent Disco", apparently the first ever in New York.

In Madrid, it's come on a small scale. Organized by a youth center at their premises, I can't imagine it to attract too large of a crowd, but then again, it's Madrid -- you just don't know.

According to the CNN, the DJ's involved in introducing the concept say that they are confident that in the ever changing world of clubbing, it's better to be seen than heard. Hmmm.

I'd go to watch, but I doubt you can get away with just being a spectator to this silliness. Maybe I'll just go and join in.

The Netherlands has long been known as one of the most tolerant countries in the world. But as of July 1, that famous live-and-let-live attitude will no longer extend to tobacco. That's the day a ban on smoking in public places of employment takes effect in the Netherlands. Well, not all smoking.

Yes, while smoking tobacco in public is soon to be verboten, smoking a joint (that's a "marijuana cigarette" for you squares) will remain legal in the Netherlands. But, as this article notes, Dutch potheads don't feel too lucky that their drug of choice is still legal. That's because many of them cut their joints with tobacco.

The Dutch government is not prohibiting marijuana smokers from rolling "pure" joints, and it's likely that many smokers who had previously mixed marijuana and tobacco will switch to smoking "pure." Interestingly, there's not yet a way for government inspectors to determine whether a joint is "pure" or cut with tobacco (other than testing it themselves, I suppose.)

Smoking tobacco will still be permitted inside the famous Dutch coffee shops, but only in separate rooms without employees, which many shop owners say they can't afford to provide.

More here.

Book lovers and aficionados: if Amsterdam wasn't on your travel plans before, you might want to add it. On April 23, UNESCO named Amsterdam the World Book Capital. The city will hold the title until April 2009, and in that time hopes to inspire dialog and spark debate about the freedom of expression.

Here are some of the World Book Capital's upcoming events that just might be of interest:

May 18: Amsterdam International Literary Festival. With over 1,000 stalls this is Europe's largest book market held in the streets of Amsterdam.

April 23 - June 23: Amsterdam in Words. An exhibition with portraits of 60 authors and quotes from their work that relates to a street, park or site in the city.

June 1 - September 8: Poetry in the Park. Two days of poetry in ten of Amsterdam's parks, beginning with Vondelpark and ending with Westerpark.

I guess it's time to hit the Amsterdam books.

When a Dutch schoolteacher named Paul van den Heuvel began gathering materials for a history lesson on Anne Frank, he probably had no idea that he'd make a bit of history himself. As he was looking through some of his father's old books, he discovered an old postcard displaying a Christmas bell and signed with one very famous name: "Anne Frank".

Curators at the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam have already confirmed that the card is genuine, stating that this card resembles another already in the museum's collection. The card was apparently sent in 1937, eight years before Anne Frank's death.

The Diary of Anne Frank is still the world's top-selling book about the Holocaust, documenting the months Anne and her family spent hiding from the Nazis during World War II.

More here.

31 world record breaker and former Hollywood stuntman Robert McDonald's new adventure is to cross the Atlantic in a 15-meter ship made of 15 million ice-cream sticks, that looks like a replica of a Viking ship.

A lot of the sticks were used, steam-cleaned ones and about 13-million of them were donated by Unilever. He made the ship, stick by stick, with the help of his son and 5000 children from Holland; the sticks have been stuck together by salt-water proof glue. This ship is probably the world's largest handmade recycled object.

McDonald's creative and risk-filled life stems from the fact that he was injured in a gas explosion that killed his parents and six-siblings, and confined him to 5-years of hospital bed rest. All his feats are motivated by a strong and simple belief that he wants to share with kids: "you can do anything". Part of McDonald's fearless stunt portfolio includes climbing the Twin Towers in 1995, and free-climbing the Grand Canyon.

A dangerous expedition but possible; the ship is undergoing various sea-trials at the moment. Apparently, McDonald said that when a boat inspector analyzed one of his planks made of 5000 popsicle sticks, he pronounced it 5-times stronger than steel.(!)

According to a Reuters report, he currently is looking for a crew to sail the ship across Atlantic from Holland to America as well as of course, funding.

You may be sick of hearing how low the dollar is, but today we have just another example of how badly the American currency is fairing. In Amsterdam, small currency outlets are refusing to buy dollars for euros, making it difficult for tourists to exchange their money.

"Our dollar is worth maybe zero over here," said Mary Kelly, an American tourist from Indianapolis, Indiana as reported by Reuters. "It's hard to find a place to exchange. We have to go downtown, to the central station or post office."

Small currency exchanges are different than banks and other institutions in that they don't want to be holding a currency that will devalue and be worth less next time they have to sell it. One euro is currently worth $1.58, compared to $1.47 a month ago. If you want to make your travel money last, it's probably time to find a job in Europe.

Located in Amsterdam, the Sandton Hotel de Filosoof (Philosopher's Hotel) is one of the more high-minded theme hotels in the world. The thirty-eight rooms are all dedicated to well-known philosophers, including Nietzsche, Spinoza, Confucius, and Thoreau (pictured).

The Thomas Hobbes room, I've heard, is a little "nasty", while Plato's room apparently has a lamp and a wall for perfect for making shadow puppets. Socrates' room looks nice in the photos, but I'd avoid sampling any leftover drinks you find. Kudos to you if you got those references.

Check out some of the rooms here.

[Hat tip: Tyler Cowen]

In December, I wrote about how Amsterdam is dramatically downsizing their red-light district in the coming years. It seems that's just the least of it.

Rumors are coming in that within a couple decades, Amsterdam will start building a massive underground city. Engineered already by the architecture firm Zwarts & Jansma, it calls for "a range of underground facilities ... at various levels below the city."

The project will cost some 7.4 billion euros and take 20 years. The good news is that the city's historic canals will be left in place--thought they'll have to be temporarily drained. Could we see this elsewhere?

I don't see why not. Many cities are already building as high up as they can possibly go, just look at Shanghai. The next logical step is down. When I was in Beijing, I stayed in a terrible hostel that was minus four stories down. It felt like I was two levels removed from hell.

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What strange things have been found on planes?

Click the image to read the bizarre story...

Anyone who has ever traveled knows just how rewarding a trip can be when you meet a local who takes you under their wing.

And now there is a website to ensure that this happens.

For a price, of course.

Like-a-Local.com specializes in hooking tourists up with locals in London, Antwerp, Barcelona, Madrid, Amsterdam, Paris, and Lisbon. Simply mention what you are looking to experience (local restaurants, local architecture, local shopping, local etc.) and your hired local will then do what locals do best: show you around like a local. Get it?

Sounds like a pretty good deal to me.