Author Archives: Niki

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About Niki

I run the blog http://www.lifeinthehague.com

Bijenkorf’s Christmas tree (Or: 2025 edition)

Here’s a look at Bijenkorf’s Christmas tree for 2025:

The Christmas area on the third floor also had bears which ever so slightly moved.

I do like the use of colored lights this year. A lot of places in the Netherlands only have soft white lights. The gold symbols on the tree are pictures of a teddy bear, Bijenkorf shopping bag, and Christmas present. The longer rectangle one is the symbol for the Bijenkorf in Amsterdam. You can also buy it as a Christmas ornament

That picture makes it seem like the store was fairly empty, but that was most definitely not the case. It was a bit of a madhouse, but the ornaments are a bit further in. This was near the beginning of the section, by the escalators.

In my last post I mentioned the Christmas tram. Unfortunately, it got into a (minor) accident the next day (omroepwest.nl), although it was back in service quickly. Accidents between trams and cars happens a lot. A bit more unexpected was the accident earlier this week when the switch which allows the tram to change tracks broke and shot through the floor of the tram, slightly injuring one of the passengers. A few pictures into the article you can see the damage to the floor. Crazy stuff.

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Christmas tram in The Hague (With: A Santa hat)

I recently saw the Christmas tram riding around in The Hague. It was the second time I have spotted it this year, but this time I was able to stop and take a picture.

Don’t you think the Santa hat on top is cute? Apparently it has 6,300 lights on it and it also plays Christmas music non-stop. Haha. (I wouldn’t mind, though. It isn’t like you are in the tram that long.)

You can check out ovzoeker.nl to see where the tram is riding. The URL looks for HTM tram #3109.

Also, if you are in The Hague, check out the Royal Christmas Fair, which is open on the Lange Voorhout until December 23.

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Flags for Princess Amalia (Or: Decorations at the De Passage)

Today when walking through De Passage I noticed that Dutch flags had been raised. After a second it clicked ー today is Princess Amalia’s 22nd birthday (Wikipedia). She is next in line for the throne.

Although you can’t see it that well in the photo, one of the big clues was the strip of orange also hanging by each flag, for the royal family.

In other news, if you are looking for something to do on New Year’s Eve, check out this article from indebuurt.nl (in Dutch): Everything about New Year’s Eve in The Hague.

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Golden lights (Or: Christmas tree in De Passage)

Last week, the Christmas tree arrived in De Passage, a covered shopping area in The Hague.

This is in the older part of De Passage, outside of the Apple Store. The older part meets at this point. De Passage is designed in such a way that the Christmas tree is visible from everywhere.

Here is a photo from a bit further away, to give you an idea of how the area looks:

It’s a great place to walk through, especially when the weather is bad. The older part is a bit cold in the winter, but the new part closer to Grote Marktstraat is much warmer.

If you click the “De Passage” tag at the bottom of this post, you’ll see similar blog posts about this part of The Hague.

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Takoyaki by Takumi (Or: New experiences)

At one of our recent visits to Takumi, Marco and I ordered a dish of takoyaki. I’ve never had it before, while Marco did have some in one of his earlier trips to Japan. Takoyaki is made with wheat-based flour and small pieces of octopus (English Wikipedia).

It was softer than I expected (perhaps due to the amount of takoyaki sauce on top). The sauce is descended from Worcestershire sauce which the British brought to Japan in the 1800s. There’s also a bit of Japanese mayonnaise, the orange color on top.

It was tasty and hit the spot. You couldn’t really taste the octopus, if you’re wondering. The sauce was a bit overpowering in that regard. Marco and I will probably order it again the next time we are there.

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Sintvoorieder1 (Or: Holiday toy drive)

If you live in The Hague, you have two more days to donate a gift to the Sintvoorieder1 action. Sint is short for Sinterklaas, similar to Santa Clause. voorieder1 is short for ‘voor iedereen’, or ‘for everyone’. You can donate gifts tomorrow or Friday at the Central Library, so that all kids have something fun to open on December 5, the Sinterklaas holiday. The event closes Friday at 17:00.

DenHaagFM has daily news stories covering the action at the Central Library. There is also more information available at the official website.

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Takkie and Sepia at Hema (Or: Christmas gifts 2025)

Hema is going all in on the Takkie and Siepie gifts this year. Takkie is a dog and Siepie is a cat, and both are from Jip and Janneke, a series of children’s books (English Wikipedia).

This year they have Takkie mugs:

There’s also a Takkie toy:

I also took a picture of some of the stuffed animals.

Takkie has a red collar and Siepie does not have a collar.

You can find more Takkie and Siepie related items on Hema’s website, on their Takkie en Siepie page.

I’m a fan of Takkie with a scarf as well as the Christmas ornaments for both of them. Cute stuff!

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Toothpaste and tanks (Or: Unexpected art)

Recently I was walking along Prinsestraat in The Hague and I noticed some eye-catching art in the window at the art gallery Chiefs and Spirits:

Pretty cool, huh? I also squeeze my toothpaste tube to get every last bit out, so I enjoy it even more because of that, I think.

The Hague’s official website has a list of art galleries in city. For instance, De Affiche Galerij, or loosely translated, the poster gallery – it’s found in tram tunnel at Grote Marktstraat. Most people walk right on past, myself included usually. I need to stop and check the posters out more often!

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Surprise (Or: Giraffes walking through the Grote Marktstraat)

Well, not real giraffes of course. But as part of De Betovering (an art festival for the youth), there were performers walking through the city centre a few weeks ago dressed up like giraffes:

And a close up:

Apparently there was also a hippo, although I didn’t see that one. You can read more about De Betovering on the official website, which translates to “The Enchantment” in English. The event was from 17 October to 25 October, during the autumn school holiday.

If you can, don’t forget to vote tomorrow! The vote is for the Dutch House of Representatives. In theory for the next four years, though the government seems to collapse faster than that lately. Of course, you need to have Dutch citizenship to vote, so I won’t be voting in this one. I do plan on getting it, but at this point it is easier to wait and do the option procedure, which I can do once I have lived here at least 15 consecutive years (and because I am married to a Dutch citizen for at least 3 of those years). So that would be after December 2027. Time flies…

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Christmas time (Or: Window decoration by Bijenkorf)

The holiday window decorations are now in place by Bijenkorf, a high-end department store here in The Hague. Here’s a look at one of the windows:

The window reads: “Ook 100 jaar geleden bezorgde de Bijenkorf al aan huis”, or “100 years ago, de Bijenkorf was already making home deliveries”.

I found a news article which mentioned that their Christmas departments opened on 11 September (!). It’s early, of course, but going to Bijenkorf to look at Christmas ornaments and other decorations is a tradition for a lot of families. It sort of reminds me of the mall scene in A Christmas Story, only there is no Santa!

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