Author Archives: Niki

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About Niki

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

Statues and birds (Or: More signs of spring)

Posted on March 16, 2024 by Niki

While walking recently I came across a group of Egyptian geese (admittedly, I had to use Google Images to figure out what type of goose it was). See also Wikipedia in English.

And here are all of the young walking near the water of the Hofvijver:

And as a bonus, here is the Haags Jantje statue in the same area. He is pointing to where his father works, at the parliament (Binnenhof). The boy referenced died in 1299 at age 15. You can read more about him in English at expathollandinfo.nl.

Personally I really like his (temporary) spring outfit. in his left hand he has some of the yellow flowers. In his right hand he has a crocheted bird and he also wears a crown of crocheted birds. Someone definitely went to the trouble to dress him up for spring.

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Sun! (Or: The first signs of spring)

Posted on March 15, 2024 by Niki

It is finally starting to feel like spring around here. On Thursday the temperature was around 16C/60F, although that was definitely the exception and not the norm. But the flowers have started to bloom, and coworkers are starting to talk fondly about the clocks changing at the end of the month to give us more daylight in the evenings…

It’s cherry blossom season in the Netherlands (but not for long!) from dutchreview.nl. Apparently you can find cherry blossoms in the Bankastraat, Prins Hendrikplein or near the Peace Palace. I haven’t really been on the look out – I only know of the more famous cherry trees in Japan or Washington D.C. – but maybe I should go have a look this weekend?

Sunday is also St. Patrick’s Day, which will be celebrated on Sunday in the Grote Markt from late afternoon to just before midnight. Read more at stpatricksdaydenhaag.nl.

In other news—I don’t think this will work but you have this over at The Guardian: ‘Would you like to explore with a spliff?’: Amsterdam tries to deter troublesome visitors with quiz.

And finally, here is a random photo of a poster from Extinction Rebellion I saw at a tram stop earlier this month. The group wants to block the A12 highway near Centraal Station again in April.

It reads:

Are you forgetting to sponsor the fossil industry?

Complete your tax returns before July 14. You contribute fairly, while big, dirty companies barely pay any tax. We give them 39.7 to 46.4 billion euros in subsidy – on average 5,000 euros per taxpayer. That way they can keep the billions in profits but not suffer the consequences.

Do you want to protest this? Visit belastingstaking.nl [belastingstaking = tax strike]

Actually, what caught my eye was the government logo at the top, just barely visible. It definitely looked legitimate until you read the text.

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Gummy noodles (Or: Interesting finds at Xenos)

Posted on March 6, 2024 by Niki

Here’s a look at some candy I found earlier in February at Xenos:

Unfortunately I am not a kid that craves high levels of sugar anymore. Maybe I can eat a few noodles a day?

I like shopping at Xenos, though. You never know what you are going to find as the selection is usually fairly random (stuff for the home, cooking, eating and drinking).

In other news:

Groningen egg balls to roll off production line into rest of NL from dutchnews.nl. I’m not a fan of eggs, so that is an easy pass for me.

Happy hardcore Europapa is this year’s Dutch Eurovision entry, also from dutchnews.nl. It definitely has a nice beat going. It’s in Dutch (and a bit of German!), although the news article does a good job of explaining what the themes are.

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One long hot dog (Or: A set of plates by Berlage)

Posted on February 29, 2024 by Niki

Last weekend Marco and I were walking past Berlage Office & Gift which sells – you guessed it – office supplies and gifts. Their window display caught my eye. I just had to stop and take a photo.

It reminds me of my previous blog post where I wrote about a new store I found in The Hague: Meow & Muse.

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Meow & Muse in The Hague (Or: Gifts for all the cat lovers out there)

Posted on February 25, 2024 by Niki

I walked past a new store in The Hague today. Or at least it was a new store for me. It was at Nieuwstraat 120, walking towards the old city hall at the end of this street.

They have a website here: https://www.lovecatsclub.nl/webinar-registration. I’m not sure why that page of the website points to “webinar registration” nor am I sure why it is spelled “Moew & Muse” on the page heading, but the Shop Online tab definitely has some cute stuff.

Here are the opening hours:

Here is a look at what they were offering in the window. My apologies for cutting off the bottom of the card. It said “overflowing with sexy”. Heh.

And another look:

If you have any friends who love cats, check out this place for some cat themed gifts!

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Wet paint and Valentine’s Day (Or: De Passage)

Posted on February 18, 2024 by Niki

De Passage (a covered shopping area in The Hague’s city centre) has received a new coat of paint. Black paint around the trim to be precise. Every day they paint a bit more, leaving “wet paint” (English) and “nat” (Dutch) signs in their wake. Woe be the person who doesn’t notice…

One place that might have caused some issues was the angel wings photo opportunity area. I found the “nat” sign there amusing for some reason.

Another fun thing in De Passage is the Valentine’s Day promotion. Even though the holiday has already passed, the promotion is still available:

In English: Valentine’s Day in De Passage. Win a romantic one night hotel stay in De Passage or a box of chocolates worth 75 euros. Take a photo, share it on social media and tag @depassagethehague. (Yes, De Passage does have one or two hotel rooms for special occasions.)

Here is a look at where you take the photo, in the centre of De Passage. This is where the Christmas tree is usually at during the holidays.

Like I mentioned, it’s still up and available if you want to try your luck!

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Time of day (Or: Sundial by the Kneuterdijk Palace)

Posted on February 9, 2024 by Niki

A few weeks ago I was wandering around in The Hague and I came across a piece of art. A sundial, to be exact. This was behind the Kneuterdijk palace.

Here is a close up:

Kneuterdijk palace was built in 1716. The garden where the artwork can be found is in the back of the palace. The gate was open when I walked past, so I assume it is usually open during the day. You can read more about the palace at denhaag.com (in English).

In public transportation news – random, I know – it has been a busy week in the Netherlands.

Hopefully HTM can bring back their full schedule later this year. But I’m aware of how good I have it, considering trams currently run every 10 minutes. But I remember when it was every 7 minutes…!

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A tasty lunch (Or: Amier restaurant in The Hague)

Posted on February 1, 2024 by Niki

Last weekend Marco and I decided to go for Lebanese at Amier restaurant in The Hague’s city centre, in the same street as the American Book Center. I’ve walked past the restaurant time and time again over the years, but we had never been.

Since it was lunch we decided to share some small plates. Here’s a look at what we had:

We ordered four things:

  • Batata harra (spicy baked potatoes with lemon)
  • Arnabeet (cauliflower with lemon, pomegranate and tahini sauce)
  • Falafel with tahini sauce
  • Samboesek djaj (pastry dough filled with marinated chicken, lemon and bell pepper)

It also came with a side dish of Lebanese bread. The meal was quite tasty, as expected. A bit more subtle than I was expecting, but definitely in a good way. Lots of lemon, but it was fine! It was also fun to have a lunch date with Marco.

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Hiding behind some houses (Or: Art in de Bogaard)

Posted on January 24, 2024 by Niki

In the nearby city of Rijswijk there’s a shopping area called Bogaard stadscentrum or “Bogaard city centre”. There’s a small indoor shopping area and lots of shops on the outside as well. The area had a bit of a downturn, especially when the Mall of the Netherlands opened, but there has been some work to restore it. Part of the plans including removing some of the shopping area to add more housing instead, which makes sense.

Here’s a look at an interesting piece of art on the way back to the tram stop:

Unfortunately I don’t have too many details about it. It is cute, though!

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Bagels (With: A Dutch flag in them)

Posted on January 21, 2024 by Niki

A few weeks ago Marco and I tried Netherlands Bagels for the first time. It’s in the city centre, a few minutes walk from the Grote Kerk. This bagel shop sells New York style bagels (the owner is originally from New York). Read more about the shop’s history.

First, our drinks arrived. Very tasty chai lattes that definitely hit the spot.

I can’t lie – we were amused when the bagels came out. Why, you ask?

I mean, it is in the name: Netherlands Bagels. So the flags make sense. It’s still funny, though.

I had an everything bagel with peanut butter on the side. A bit of a rare combination, I admit, mixing the salty menu with the sweet menu (I had to double check that I could mix it like that). My tongue also thought it was a weird choice, but it worked fairly well. For me. And as always I requested the peanut butter on the side.

Marco had a bodega bagel (eggs, bacon and cheese). It looked so good I even had a bite or three. That says a lot considering I am very much not a fan of eggs (if it looks or tastes like egg, anyway). I mean, I have a tiny bit of scrambled eggs about every 5 years or so. That’s good, but only in limited amounts. But this was nice – the salty bacon paired nicely with the egg and I could see why people liked it. Hence my having three bites! I think Marco got concerned that I might eat all of it, but nope, I gave it back.

These were some tasty bagels; we’ll definitely go back to try some of the other varieties.

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