Author Archives: Niki

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About Niki

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

A moment of quiet (Or: De Passage and its flowers)

Posted on August 14, 2023 by Niki

It’s been a while, so I figured I would share a new photo of De Passage. It is an indoor shopping area in the shape of a triangle which connects parts of The Hague with each other. Hence the name “De Passage”. You can even buy a keychain or miniature momento.

This photo is taken near the end of the De Passage closest to the Gravenstraat, not far from the Grote Kerk.

How are things for Marco and I? We’re enjoying the brief but sunny weather (one day of around 26C/79F, before it drops back down again for a few days). Luckily the rain has let up the last week or so.

In other news:

Dutch and Belgian railways to double daily intercity trains to Brussels by 2025. This step makes sense — the Dutch train provider NS lost their monopoly on all other international routes (except for Brussels) so they want to focus on that route. Both articles are from nltimes.nl.

Automated study buddies: a quick look at Dutch language apps from dutchnews.nl (just for a fun look at how some Dutch words are pronounced).

Seals practise social distancing, aerial survey of North Sea shows from theguardian.com. As you might guess, it is likely to prevent spreading illnesses. Check out this other news article from nhnieuws.nl which shows the difference between the grey seals (who don’t keep as much distance) and the harbor seals who do.

Categories: The Hague, Transportation | Tags: , | Leave a comment

The writing’s on the wall (Or: Outside poetry in The Netherlands)

Posted on August 6, 2023 by Niki

Maybe it is a European thing, and not just a Dutch thing, but I always find it amusing (and cool) that poetry can even be found on the outside of buildings.

If you look to the left you can see it. The writing is on the wall indeed. For a bonus you can also see the bronze artwork “Ode aan de fiets” (Ode to bikes) on the right side. It was made in 1990 and symbolizes, well, all of the daily activities that happen on the bike, come rain or shine. The cutest part is that there is also a kid on the back, with their own mini umbrella.

In other news:

Amersfoort’s pissed off polar bear no longer pees at night from dutchnews.nl

‘Lego Grandma’ makes wheelchair ramps out of Legos in Germany from reuters.com (I know — it’s not Dutch and it’s from 2020, but it’s still a fun read)

Thrift store in Dordrecht found a python in its donations from nltimes.nl

Pathe’s second record week in a row thanks to Barbie and Oppenheimer from nltimes.nl. Marco, Roger and I watched Barbie yesterday at Pathé (it was fun!), but I don’t think I will be watching Oppenheimer any time soon. Roger and Marco might go see it, though.

Categories: The Hague | Tags: | Leave a comment

Fun in the sun (Or: Two weeks in NYC)

Posted on July 30, 2023 by Niki

My apologies for the lack of posting over here. Marco and I just got back from a trip to NYC. We met up with a lot of family members (my parents, brother, sister-in-law and their kids) for some fun in the sun. And a bit of rain…

Without further ado, here are some random pictures we took:

First off, here is the view from our hotel room at night (!!). Best view from a hotel room ever.
The Vessel at Hudson Yards. Lots and lots of stairs in this piece of art/architecture, although it isn’t open to climb at the moment. Read more at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vessel_(structure)
Statues by the waterfall at W 48th street, between 6th and 7th avenue. Read more about the hidden waterfalls in New York City here: https://www.businessinsider.com/hidden-waterfalls-parks-in-new-york-city-2016-7
Continue reading →
Categories: Friends&Family, Holidays, Marco&Niki | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Eating habits (Or: How they can change)

Posted on July 5, 2023 by Niki

Last weekend I had a day off so I decided to visit the Mall of the Netherlands. It is for the most part a very American looking mall, with dazzling store fronts and small food stands set up in the middle of the walkway. When it first opened I was surprised to see that the mall’s owner is Westfield. I found that particularly interesting considering I lived near a Westfield mall growing up in the US, so it felt like a piece of home.

For lunch I decided to go to the food court on the upper level of the mall. Technically I am European enough these days to want to write that it is on the 1st floor, but any American readers might think I mean ground floor if I say that… (Ground floor = 0 or “BG” for begane grond.)

After walking around looking at the options I chose Laffa, a place which serves Middle Eastern street food. I went for the falafel, which was of course delicious.

That made me realize that eating habits definitely do change, at least for the most part. I hate peas (still do), but if you grind them up or change the texture I am much more likely to appreciate them. I love falafel, I love roti bread.

Back when I was a kid I was mostly enjoyed chicken fingers. Heh. I still have a memory of scrapping spaghetti into a trash can when no one was around as a young picky eater, not realizing that it would be very obvious if anyone looked into the trash can or saw the marks on my plate. Obviously I was caught. For the record, I am still not a fan of spaghetti, but I do love penne. Growing up we called it mostaccioli.

Who knew I would move here and get to eat Vietnamese, or sushi, or Indian, or Indonesian, or Greek whenever I want. Of course, I still need to broaden my horizons a bit more. But it is a start.

Categories: Food | Tags: | Leave a comment

Remnant of the past (Or: Veteran’s Day, 2023)

Posted on June 25, 2023 by Niki

Yesterday was Veteran’s Day in the Netherlands, held every year on the last Saturday in June.

Veterans Day attracts 90,000 visitors in The Hague from nltimes.nl, which has some nice photos of the event.

Here is a picture that I took of a medical vehicle. I wasn’t able to get any good pictures of the parade, unfortunately. I was just passing through and most of the city centre had crowds 10 man deep. But the marching bands I could hear sounded great.

In other Dutch news: ‘It’s every woman, it’s us’: Rotterdam falls for British statue of ordinary black woman from theguardian.com. It is a pretty interesting statue. And I love the backdrop of Rotterdam’s Centraal train station in the photo.

Categories: Culture, The Hague | Tags: , | 2 Comments

Dodging the summer storms (Or: A bit of rain would be nice, folks)

Posted on June 20, 2023 by Niki

The highlight of the day was a predicted storm that would dump a lot of rain on the Netherlands. And it did… just not that much in The Hague. Booooo. Although I suppose that is for the best, considering if it rains too fast the ground wouldn’t be able to soak it up anyway. But except for a bit of rain a few nights ago, it’s been at least a month since it has rained in NL. The plants and grass are definitely starting to turn yellow! Or are completely yellow, in some cases.

Urgent Code Orange storm warning issued for floods, hail, wind, & lightning from nltimes.nl

Dozens of flights delayed or cancelled at Schiphol as storm approaches the northeast, also from nltimes.nl (Glad I am not flying today!)

(translated as “I’m in the mood for summer, man”)

In other news… ‘Dutch by default’: Netherlands seeks curbs on English-language university courses from theguardian.com. It is indeed quite easy at the moment to follow an education in this country without knowing any Dutch at all.

And, just for fun, here is a photo of a flower on Vondelstraat, a street on the way to Kelly’s expat store:

They definitely caught my eye as I walked past.

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

Basking in the warmth (Or: A walk through Koekamp)

Posted on June 11, 2023 by Niki

As noted, the Netherlands is currently experiencing a bit of a heat wave, with temperatures around 30C or 86F. I decided to take a walk and visit the Koekamp today. It is an area not far from the Central train station, complete with a handful of deer. Of course, they were all hiding in the shade…

I also took a photo of the area from the Koekamp bridge:

The bridge itself is also quite pretty – see a photo at haasnootbruggen.nl. It is for cyclists and pedestrians.

One good initiative that has popped up more and more recently: it is a lot easier to find free sunblock at beaches, festivals and gyms (article in Dutch, from nos.nl).

Categories: The Hague | Tags: | Leave a comment

Eye catching (Or: BlowUp Art in The Hague)

Posted on June 8, 2023 by Niki

This past May The Hague was host to an art festival called BlowUp Art. The festival was an initiative of Pulchri Studio. I previously wrote a blog post about the sculptures they had placed on the Lange Voorhout.

Here is a look at one of the six creations featured in the BlowUp Art festival:

This piece is called “Crested” and it was created by Steven Messam.

In other news, the Netherlands will get to experience its first mini heat wave this weekend! Temperatures are expected to be around 30C or 85F here in The Hague. Time to find my sunscreen…

Dit weekend zomerse temperaturen: meer openbaar vervoer naar stranden from nos.nl. Translated: This weekend summer tempatures: more public transportation to beaches. For instance, HTM here in The Hague will be running the Strandexpress tram (=beach express), with limited stops between the Holland Spoor train station, Centraal Station, Madurodam and the beach. And of course it won’t be enough as everyone will descend on the beach with their car, bike or feet!

Categories: Culture, The Hague | Tags: , , | 2 Comments

Spotted in Rijswijk (Or: A stork sunning themselves)

Posted on May 31, 2023 by Niki

A few weeks ago I was in Rijswijk (a nearby city) and I spotted a stork sunning themselves in a nearby park:

It was in the same area that I spotted a nest a few months ago:

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New competition in The Hague (Or: Dirk supermarket)

Posted on May 28, 2023 by Niki

We now have a Dirk supermarket in The Hague city centre, since this week. It is at the Torenstraat (Tower street). It is in the location where Rock Palace used to be, a store where you could buy all sorts of musical instruments including guitars.

There isn’t much supermarket competition in The Hague city centre. Everywhere is Albert Heijn, with a few Jumbo supermarkets here and there. But now we also have a Dirk (pronounced Dyerk, with a bit of a y sound).

Marco and I decided to visit this weekend. The first thing we saw was this sign:

Translated, it reads “By Dirk you don’t need to horde groceries to get savings”. Although the verb to horde, hamsteren, will always make me think of the corona pandemic, where people were warned not to horde groceries and supplies when the pandemic first hit. Most people didn’t listen.

The store technically should have cheaper prices, although most of the products are the same as other supermarkets. The location is a bit on the small side with narrow rows that quickly cause congestion issues. But the worst part is that they only have one cash register with a worker and four self-service checkout points. Definitely not enough in the weekend or during prime time hours. The space for the self-service area wasn’t designed that wisely (the Jumbo in the city centre has six self-checkout points in half the space, for example). But it might be a good location to visit during the quieter hours, maybe.

Categories: Everyday purchases | Tags: | Leave a comment

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