Author Archives: Niki

About Niki

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

It’s almost Friday! (Or: Time for an apple)

Posted on March 17, 2016 by Niki

This is actually a photo from last week, but I didn’t get around to posting it then so I decided to post it today.

First, the photo:

And now the context:

One of my coworkers usually eats an apple or two a day. Last month during lunch I noticed she peeled her apple, so I asked her if she was going to eat the apple skin. She said no, so I ate it. Perhaps a bit weird (?) but green apples tend to be more on the sour side, and I do love sour food. (Ever had cucumber slices in vinegar with a bit of lemon juice thrown in the mix? It’s awesomely sour.) But anyway, it’s like eating apple chips – there’s always a bit of apple mixed with the skin.

So these days if she eats an apple she always puts the skins on a separate plate and brings it to my desk. She told me on Wednesday that she wouldn’t be in on Thursday, so we joked about my missing the apple skins.

Lo and behold, when I came in on Thursday there was a whole apple on my desk with the note “Happy almost Friday! :)” I liked the note so much I actually placed it under the receiver on my work phone, so when I make calls I see the note.

(P.S. Happy St. Patrick’s Day!!!)

Categories: Food, Working & Volunteering | Leave a comment

Selling oranges at Centraal Station (Or: All in a day’s work)

Posted on March 15, 2016 by Niki

Recently Marco and I ended up leaving the house together in the morning, as he had to catch a train to Utrecht for work. As we were walking, we were passed by a fruit seller riding his cart. It caught my eye because the road was so bumpy I was amazed that none of the oranges fell off…

Later on in the day Marco sent me a photo. It turns out the fruit seller was selling his wares at Centraal Station. It’s a bit blurry, but you get the idea:

Bikes really are the “transport of choice” around here!

Categories: Everyday purchases, Food, The Hague | Tags: Bikes | Leave a comment

Muse at the Ziggo dome (Or: A look at the stage)

Posted on March 12, 2016 by Niki

On Thursday Marco and Roger went to see Muse in Amsterdam. I just had to share this photo that Marco took of the stage:

I found an article about the tour (aptly named the “Drones” tour) from December of last year. I recommend reading the 3rd item, about the use of projections to make it seem like a giant hand was controlling the movement of the guitar player. I saw a video of it afterwards – it looked pretty cool!

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Music | 2 Comments

Zij, hen and hun (Or: Check this one out)

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Niki

I just heard about a fun website that talks about the differences between zij, hen and hun. Well, fun if you like Dutch grammar…

Hoe zat het ook alweer met zij, hen en hun?

I have tried to explain the difference before, back when I was actively in Dutch classes in what feels like a long time ago. But I must admit this website does the trick a lot better!

Comic above is from Fokke & Sukke. The grammar doesn’t translate well into English, unfortunately. But the student is asking the teacher if instead of “Atilla the Hun” it is “Atilla the zij”, which makes sense if you consider the website above is trying to teach the difference between zij, hen and hun.

Categories: Learning Dutch | Tags: Dutch language | Leave a comment

Haagse Historie (Or: A new website)

Posted on March 3, 2016 by Niki

On Twitter I found reference to a web portal called Haagse Historie. The website went live yesterday, but unfortunately it is just in Dutch (but that is why we have website translators, right?). The website must be good – the front page currently links to the ‘Haagse Beeldbank’ (The Hague image bank). The first time I opened the website I was greeted with a lot of tram pictures. Little known fact (maybe): I’ve fallen in love with trams and spend way too much time checking HTM‘s website, the bus/tram provider for The Hague and surrounding areas.

The web portal links to various websites like Haagse kaart, Fonds 1818, Haagse Herinneringen (Hague memories), and more. It also tries to find photos of your search term. If you’re not sure what to put in, try putting in your street name! I found a photo of my street from the early 1900s.

There is actually a lot of archival websites for The Hague. The Hague maintains a list, although the page is in Dutch. Finally, the website also mentioned that they opened a fifth Historisch Informatiepunt (HIP) in the Central Library on the 4th floor. It’s another way to research the history of The Hague and its neighborhoods.

Categories: The Hague | Tags: Dutch history | Leave a comment

Remembrance (Or: Flowers by statues at Rabbijn Maarsenplein)

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Niki

Recently Marco and I explored the neighborhood (Rabbijn Maarseplein) just outside of Spui/Grote Markt, past Hema. I came across a statue of a woman:

I am not sure why the flowers are there, but I suspect it has something to do with World War II. There is also a nearby monument to Jewish children who perished due to the war. Amsterdam’s public transportation was recently stopped for one minute to remember the February 1941 strike in protest of the prosecution of Jews (Dutch | English).

But I am actually not finding much about the statue of the woman online. Does anyone know anything further?

Categories: Culture, The Hague | Tags: Dutch history, Statues | 3 Comments

The Hague’s newest addition (Or: A statue of “Haagse Harry”)

Posted on February 25, 2016 by Niki

Marco and I just visited the statue of Haagse Harry (Dutch wikipedia) which was unveiled earlier tonight. The statue can be found above the Grote Markt tram tunnel.

Who is Haagse Harry? A character in a Dutch comic strip who lives in The Hague and speaks The Hague dialect (plat Haags). Here’s an article about the unveiling of the statue (English | Dutch). The author, Marnix Rueb, passed away in 2014. His family used the prize money from a posthumous award, The Hague Culture award, to finance the statue.

If you want to see an example of the Haagse dialect, you can check out this dictionary (a random Google link). The news article about the statue’s unveiling was also written in the dialect. They also translated a good portion of denhaag.nl into Haags in a mirror site (though I don’t know how long that link will work).

There was a contest to determine what the text on the t-shirt would say. It ended up being “Kap Nâh!! Lekker belangrijk”.”Kap Nâh” is “hou op”, or in English “Stop it”. It’s also the name of the first album of strips released. “Lekker belangrijk” is “very important”, but said sarcastically.

And of course, here’s a view from behind. Typically Dutch…

Categories: Culture, The Hague | Tags: Statues | Leave a comment

Chocolate and tea! (Or: De Beukelaer penny wafel)

Posted on February 24, 2016 by Niki

It’s always time for chocolate! While at a friend’s house earlier this week I had tea with chocolate. In this case, the chocolate was a “penny wafel” from De Beukelaer, probably only found in Belgium.

Of course, they don’t taste quite the same as the sugar wafers I remember from my childhood — available in vanilla, strawberry and chocolate, although those awesomely nostalgic wafers tasted of artificial, sickeningly sweet goodness. Most of the taste was “sugar” rather than “wafer”.

It’s probably good I prefer these Belgium versions now…

Categories: Food | Tags: Chocolate | 4 Comments

Haagse hopjes (Or: Wall decorations at MegaStores)

Posted on February 20, 2016 by Niki

A few weeks ago Marco and I went to MegaStores. We mainly wanted to visit Woonexpress XL, a furniture store like Ikea where you have one path with different sections of the home along the route. At the end of the path is the storeroom with the larger items seen along the way (like shelving, drawers, etc.) for you to take. Beyond that you have the cash registers and the exit.

And what is MegaStores? It’s basically an indoor mall (a rarity for the Netherlands, unfortunately) full of mostly furniture shops. Marco and I both find it a bit disappointing as having only furniture shops definitely limits its appeal. I’ve only been there a few times myself, with one of those times to buy our two couches from Sanders. Of course, you do have some other generic Dutch stores here (Xenos, Kruidvat, Hema and similar) but since you can find them anywhere, there’s no great need to go here. Except that it is indoors, always a plus during bad weather.

One of the interesting highlights is a wall decoration of “Haagse hopjes”, a coffee candy made in The Hague. They are delicious. You can get them almost anywhere, including the VVV tourist branch in the The Hague public library’s central branch. Or cheaper at places like Xenos, but most tourists do not realize that.

Haagse hopjes wall decoration at MegaStores

Haagse hopjes wrappers as a wall decoration

I’ve posted about MegaStores before, with one post about how Dutchies tend to visit furniture stores on Easter Monday or to show the awesome escalator layout (and one VERY ugly rug – seriously, you’ve been warned).

One final thing – MegaStores also has interesting toilet facilities from a company called 2theloo. You can see pictures of some of the toilet stalls at Megastores. Each toilet stall has a different “theme”. Each visit costs €0.60, but keep in mind a lot of toilets in the Netherlands charge at least €0.50 and unless you are eating at a restaurant or some cafés you will have to pay. In this country most toilets are maintained by an outside company.

I haven’t had to use 2theloo, but if I ever do I’ll be sure to write a blog post about it and let you know which “theme” I chose. Haha.

Categories: Shopping | Tags: Candy, Malls, MegaStores | Leave a comment

Pim café in The Hague (Or: Over on Wagenstraat)

Posted on February 14, 2016 by Niki

For Valentine’s day, Marco and I visited Pim, a café on Wagenstraat. They have a “breakfast for 2” on their menu which I thought might be interesting to try out. While they have another café on Prins Hendrikstraat, the one on Wagenstraat has only been open since September.

The ambiance was pretty nice, beginning with the flowers on the table:

There was also a foosball table hanging on the wall:

And here is a look at the breakfast for two. Two large croissants, four pieces of brown bread, four pieces of white bread, orange juice, coffee, hummus and a few vegetables (zucchini, eggplant, paprika).

The blue plate was awesome…

As you can see below, there was also cheese, ham and two cooked eggs. I am not a fan of eggs in general, so luckily Marco was willing to eat mine as well.

But definitely a nice breakfast – very filling!

Categories: Food, Holidays, Marco&Niki | Tags: Breakfast, Cafes, Pim, Valentine's Day | 4 Comments