Where I live, Germany, it is very common to spend weeks, sometimes even months, trying to slowly get a child used to going to day care. In my home country, the Netherlands, this wasn't really a thing when I was younger and, from what I've learned from people with young children there, isn't common even today. That got me thinking.

Are there many differences between countries when it comes to day care and specifically getting your children to go to day care in the first place?

We're currently getting our second child used to day care. For our first child the entire process took six weeks and represented the Idea trajectory - nobody was ill, she liked going there, she liked eating there and she didn't make a fuss when it was time to sleep there. Still, this represents a significant investment of time (and therefore money) for any working parent. Sometimes it seems really absurd and impractical. I get the impression that the entire day care system in Germany revolves around the idea that mothers don't work or, if they do, it's only ever part time.

How does this look like in other countries? I've linked an article (in German, but translation services are available) about the system we're stuck with here, if anyone wants to dive deeper.

Somehow it still doesn't feel like this new Liverpool team has really clicked. Several new signings look really classy but might still need more time to fit into Arne Slot's plan. Nonetheless they still somehow managed to win every league game and sit comfortably at the top of the table. Let's see if Arsenal, City, Chelsea or anyone else can mount a challenge, but so far it already looks like Liverpool are once again the team to beat.

Guardiola has really looked like his time is finally over, at least recently. It will be interesting to see if he can manage to rebuild the UAE moneysink of a football business he is currently managing to once again challenge for the title or if he moves on. If he moves on, where to now?

Ik woon niet meer in Nederland, maar ik heb er nog steeds veel vrienden en familie. Voor mijn gevoel zou ik denken dat de koopkracht er voor veel mensen niet zou groeien, vooral voor jongeren. Hoe zien jullie dat?

After the hiring and firing of Erik ten Hag, the earliest sacking of a head coach who started a new season in the Bundesliga, Bayer Leverkusen have now gone for Kasper Hjulmand as a replacement. His Denmark team, who despite Christian Eriksens heart attack on the pitch, played quite well, immediately comes to mind. Let's see how it plays out and if he's able to rebuild the team.

Translated article from German:

In the run-up to the DFL General Assembly on Wednesday, Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) spoke out in favour of the 50+1 rule - and at the same time called on the clubs to continue to ensure safety in the stadiums.

At the DFL's evening event on the eve of the general assembly, which takes place in Berlin on Wednesday, Friedrich Merz spoke out clearly in favour of the 50+1 rule in front of representatives of the league association and the clubs. Although he is aware of the "recurring difficult discussion", "I remain in favour of this rule," said the Federal Chancellor. "Firmly anchoring it together with the clubs is and remains important."

Even if the German clubs "impose some limitations on themselves, especially in terms of capitalisation and of course in competition with many other European clubs", Merz continued: "But football should, in my opinion, remain a club sport in which the clubs play a strong role."

The 50+1 rule in German professional football stipulates that clubs must retain the majority of votes in their outsourced corporations. In this way, the members of the club ensure that external investors cannot take full control - as is possible in the financially strong Premier League, for example.

Most recently, the 50+1 rule has been the subject of controversy, particularly with regard to its compatibility with antitrust law and the exceptions for clubs such as Leverkusen and Wolfsburg. It is being debated, for example, whether these special regulations should be abolished in order to achieve legal certainty.

Merz also appealed to the clubs to ensure a safe stadium experience. "We must have a common socio-political interest in ensuring that the stadiums are safe, that we keep what comes from the fans there under control to some extent," said the CDU politician, who sat on the supervisory board of Borussia Dortmund until 2014 and is still associated with BVB and its outgoing managing director and DFL supervisory board chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke. "The fan scene is not getting any easier either, but this scene is also an expression of the socio-political development - even the party-political development - that we are seeing in Germany."

It must be in the interests of everyone involved that "it remains primarily focused on the sport, on the game, on the teams, and is not overloaded with topics that have no place in football stadiums," says Merz, who says he is delighted when the opportunity arises "to watch a game live and in colour. Unfortunately, that has become somewhat rarer recently."

Ik weet niet zeker wat ik hiervan moet vinden. Ik ben niet Fries. Maar ik vind het moeilijk als elke regio nu een eigen partij krijgt met één of twee zetels in de tweede kamer.

Waarschijnlijk het slechtste kabinet in mijn leven. Deze commentaar vat de situatie in mijn ogen goed samen. We hadden het hele experiment beter met rust kunnen laten.

I don't know if I've ever witnessed such a shitshow of an aborted transfer as Jackson to Bayern. The poor guy was already at the medical when the decision was made that the transfer is cancelled. I guess there's always room for more players in Chelsea's double decker team bus.

I've switched over to only buying clothes made in EU countries, if at all possible, a while ago. Today, as far as I know, is the first day of wearing only clothing made in the EU and it does feel like a small achievement. I'll try and share some findings I made along the way for this community and welcome additional Ideas and inspiration. I'll start from the top.

• Baseball cap by Armedangels (German company) made in Portugal
• Shirt by Eterna (German company) made in Romania (although Eterna can be tricky as they have manufacturing in China as well)
• T-shirt by Sanvt (German company) made in Portugal
• Trousers by Hansen Garments (Danish company) made in Italy (while pricy, this has become my new favourite option to replace the casual but sturdy type of trousers I used to buy from Carhartt. I also tried Meyer Herrenhosen, a German company, Made in Romania, which were fine but not exactly what I personally prefer)
• Belt from H&M (Swedish company) made in Sweden
• Underwear by Hanro (Austrian company) made in Bulgaria
• Socks from my local Kaufland (German company) made by Softsocks (Bulgarian company) in Bulgaria (although I also own several pairs of Treazy socks, which are made in Portugal and my daughter has come to absolutely love the colourful SOXN socks made in Germany)
• Shoes by Giesswein (Austrian company) [Edit: made in Austria this is a legacy item; Giesswein seems to have switched manufacturing to Asia recently, I therefore recommend Shoepassion also for more casual shoes, as these are still made in Europe, mostly Portugal] (for work I often wear Shoepassion shoes, made in Portugal, with different models made in other EU countries)

Some of these were fairly easy to find and available at major stores (H&M, Kaufland, online at Zalando) others were more obscure. Especially the more specific pieces like sturdy but good looking trousers took some searching. Surprisingly some pieces like the shoes or the shirt had been in my wardrobe for ages already without me paying attention to their "Made in" labels.

Generally some "responsible" brands like Armedangels have been amazing with their transparency, declaring where every piece is manufactured in their online shop. On the other side established brands like Eterna sent me a friendly response to my Email explaining that they themselves couldn't say for sure which of their products is made where and recommended checking the label or EAN code.

Finally it's obviously a bit more expensive to buy European. But then again workers in Portugal, Bulgaria or Austria have completely different working conditions than their peers in Bangladesh. Overall I will certainly try to continue buying EU made clothes whenever possible. I'd love to hear from other users who have gone on similar journeys or who might have different input.

Multi club ownership is, in my opinion, one of the biggest problems with modern football. This article illustrates just how laughable the entire thing and UEFA's handling of it has become. Technically complying with the letter of the law has unfortunately become more important than understanding what the spirit of the law was supposed to be.

This recipe is really easy and has become a comfort food for my family.

Ingredients:

1 kg potatoes 4 tbsp mild olive oil 800 g sliced leek 15 g fresh dill 2 tbsp coarse mustard 250 g hot smoked salmon fillets

Directions:

Boil the potatoes in a little water for 14-16 min. until done. Heat half of the oil in a frying pan and fry the leek for 4-5 min. until soft. Finely chop the dill. Drain the potatoes and reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Add the rest of the oil, the mustard and possibly some of the cooking liquid and mash the potatoes with a potato masher. Stir in the leek and dill and season with salt and pepper. Pull the hot-smoked salmon apart with a fork and divide over the mash.

Original recipe in Dutch language: https://www.ah.nl/allerhande/recept/R-R1194135/preistamppot-met-warmgerookte-zalm