Author Archives: Niki

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About Niki

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

Only minor changes (Or: Dutch press conference, 8 March)

Posted on March 8, 2021 by Niki

There was another press conference tonight, as usually happens one week before rules are set to expire. Not much is changing, however.

  • The curfew (21:00 to 04:30) will stay in place until 30 March
    • There is an exception for 15-17 March if you are outside due to the elections (you just voted, you are an election worker, etc.)
  • From 16 March: up to four adults can exercise together outside, if you keep 1.5 meters distance from each other.
  • From 16 March: swimming lessons for children will restart (very important for a country with so much water)
  • From next week: stores larger than 50 square meters can allow one customer per 25 square meters, provided they made an appointment at least 4 hours in advance. The maximum number of customers at one time is 50.
  • Nursing home residents can have up to two visitors per day, with differing visitors allowed during the week, provided all residents and staff are completely vaccinated. Previously they could only have one visitor per day, and it was the same visitor per week.
  • The “negative advice” on traveling out of the country is extended to 15 April. At the press conference on 23 March they will announce the decision for travel during the May and summer vacations.
  • If the number of cases, the R number and the number of hospital intakes don’t rise, the government will look into opening restaurants terraces (outside dining) from 31 March. If, if, if. In that scenario higher education students would also be able to go to school once a week.
  • In the next few months the government is looking into the possibility of allowing quick tests to be sold for use in businesses and education. They could also be sold at drug stores for home use.

So, there are ome changes, but it is mainly looking towards the next month or two to see what is possible once more of the population is vaccinated. Check out the vaccination situation at the official Dutch corona dashboard (in English).

See also: Current lockdown will be gone by July; Terraces could reopen March 31 from nltimes.nl.

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Horse-drawn carriage rides (Or: Another sign of Spring)

Posted on March 7, 2021 by Niki

I returned to the Malieveld for a long walk for the first time in months. It is a large grass field just outside of The Hague’s Central station where events are held. It reminds me of last fall when they were setting up for the carnival. Apparently that was in September – time really does fly, it seems.

On the way to Malieveld I spotted a horse-drawn carriage:

While you do have the opportunity to take horse-drawn carriage rides, it is not something you see every day. I only see them a few times of the year. I am also pleased to report that I walk at the speed of a slow horse-drawn carriage, apparently. Or actually I was slightly faster. I think they turned right before entering the Malieveld to go into the Koekamp, probably to let the tourists take pictures of the deer. (Feel free to click the link again if you want to see cute pictures of deer.)

In other news: Dutch clubbers hit the dancefloor for study into easing lockdown from theguardian.com. If I remember correctly this is one of the events where the tickets were gone in 20 minutes. You have to have a negative test to enter the event, and there is also random “fast” testing at the door as well. In theory you also need to get yourself tested within 5 days after the event, but not everyone does. During the event you are divided into groups, each group with a different level of corona measures (face mask, no face mask, concessions at seat, you can get concessions yourself, etc.) Each visitor has to wear a device as well to track their movements. It will be interesting to see what data comes out of it.

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Still a construction zone (Or: Amare in The Hague)

Posted on March 6, 2021 by Niki

Last week I mentioned the new building they are constructing on the Spuiplein: Amare, a new cultural complex that will house various establishments: Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Zuiderstrandtheater, Nederlands Dans Theater and the Royal Conservatory (so an orchestra, two theaters and a music school). At the moment the planned opening is September 2021.

As I mentioned last week, I’m also looking forward to having the space in front of the building back – it has been a construction site since 2014 I think. Time flies…

And here is something a bit crazy (but in the end, similar to a desert mirage):

It was exactly a really interesting article with a diagram explaining how it was possible. If you have a moment, go check it out.

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Weird Hofvijver mystery (Or: Random chemical truck)

Posted on March 5, 2021 by Niki

Imagine: you are walking past the Hofvijver last week Friday when all the sudden a truck appears, backing up into the Hofvijver:

They back up slowly. Beep, beep, beep. As the hose is automatically lowered into the water, you start to wonder if they should even be there or if it is some evil plan to poison the water supply. Should you tell someone? The side of the truck reads Kaweco, but a Google search doesn’t give much help. Unless maybe it is a slurry tank from kaweco.com? Who knows. It is one of life’s minor mysteries.

On a related note: Sinds de coronacrisis is er meer beveiliging op en rond het Binnenhof (Since the corona crisis there is more security at and around the Binnenhof), from ad.nl. I have always found it cool that you could easily spot the Dutch prime minister walking around The Hague without security. A coworker of mine said she was biking a few months ago and suddenly he was biking right next to her. They exchanged pleasantries and then went their separate ways. Hopefully it stays that way in the future, that Dutch politicians don’t need to be surrounded by security all the time.

Happy Friday, everyone! As always, it has been a very long work week and I am glad to be able to relax for the next few days.

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Former Hudson’s Bay building (Or: The name is still there)

Posted on March 4, 2021 by Niki

Generally the name of a former store does not disappear until the new store moves in. Here is a look at the old Hudson’s Bay building on the Grote Marktstraat (large pedestrian street for shopping):

Hudson’s Bay is a previously Canadian, now American company which opened locations in former V&D buildings (English Wikipedia) back in 2017. Unfortunately Hudson’s Bay only lasted about two years, having closed all of their locations around the end of 2019. The stores just did not take off in the Netherlands, having lost 184 million euros in the Netherlands (article from nos.nl in Dutch). No one knows what will come next for these locations, unfortunately.

Categories: Shopping, The Hague | Tags: | 1 Comment

Himalayan restaurant (Or: Waiting to pick up dinner)

Posted on March 3, 2021 by Niki

It has been a while, but Himalayan is open again! Himalayan is an Indian / Nepalese / Bhutanese restaurant in The Hague’s city centre. We admittedly don’t go there often enough, considering how tasty the samosas are. We noticed that there were on Thuisbezorgd (literally = “Home delivery”) so we picked some up late last year. Unfortunately right after that there was a small fire in the kitchen which meant they were closed for the last few months for remodeling (article at regio15.nl in Dutch). So no samosas for us for a few months…

Luckily I noticed last week that they were opening again, so I quickly told Roger and Marco that we were going to get that for our Saturday meal. And it did not disappoint! I don’t have any photos of the food (dal curry for me, lamb vindaloo for Marco, chicken tikka for Roger) because it was too delicious to wait and take photos. Or maybe I forgot in my excitement of digging into the samosas…

But I do have photos of the new interior:

And another photo:

The restaurant is a bit on the small side, which isn’t helpful in these corona times – they already had to get rid of some tables to adhere to the 1.5 meters rule. Also they are down to just the owner and the wife; the owner does all of the cooking at this point. So since they are open again I need to try and remember to order from them more often. The food is definitely worth it!

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A different look (Or: The Ridderzaal in the Binnenhof)

Posted on March 2, 2021 by Niki

Last week I snapped a photo of the Ridderzaal from the side (here is how it looks from the front, as most tourists photograph it):

This area is also public, of course. Not many people end up on this side, though. The Ridderzaal is most well known for Prinsesdag (Little Prince Day, English Wikipedia) in September where the King gives a speech from the Ridderzaal. You can read more about the Ridderzaal at the English Wikipedia page.

In other, strange news: California doctor performs surgery while appearing at video traffic court appointment from sacbee.com. I’ve heard about emergency surgeries but still…

Tuschinski Amsterdam uitgeroepen tot mooiste bioscoop ter wereld from nos.nl (Tuschinski Amsterdam named “the most beautiful movie theatre in the world”) by British magazine Time Out. You can also check out the English Wikipedia page for the movie theatre. I have never been there, of course. But it is pretty cool that a movie theatre owned by Pathé, a Dutch chain, could be named the most beautiful in the world.

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Waiting in line at HEMA (Or: Pickup is allowed)

Posted on March 1, 2021 by Niki

In the afternoon you will usually see a handful of people waiting to pick up a package at HEMA (official website, or check out the English Wikipedia page). It sells housewares and clothes, mostly made under their own label.

Under the current corona measures you are allowed to pick up packages at non-essential stores, although later in the week you will also be able to make an appointment to shop at a non-essential store. The rules are pretty strict, though; only two customers at a time per floor which is not helpful for large stores.

As you can see a few people are waiting for a package in this photo. Technically the pickup point needs to be outside, but it is actually just inside the first of two sets of automatic doors. If you look closely you can just barely see the white cart with three shelves and a blue bag – there is a customer inside picking up her order. And at least this way you don’t get rained on while you are paying for your order!

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

Spring flowers at the Lange Voorhout (Or: A burst of color)

Posted on February 28, 2021 by Niki

First we had snow at the Lange Voorhout, and now a few weeks later we have beautiful spring flowers.

Or a close up:

The purple, yellow and white flowers bloom every year for a few weeks and always bring a bit of color to the area. Check out where Lange Voorhout is on Google Maps. It is around the corner from the Binnenhof, Tweede Kamer, and the Hofvijver (pond).

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A stone opinion poll (Or: New look for the Spuiplein)

Posted on February 27, 2021 by Niki

At some point in the future “Amare” at the Spuiplein will be complete. That is the name of the new educational and cultural complex at the Spui (amare.nl, mostly in English with some Dutch) which should hopefully open its doors in September of this year. I’m mostly rooting for it to open so that we get the plaza in front of it back, although the new building will encroach on that space a bit. Here is a photo I took of the plaza fountain way back in 2012. The Spuiplein is right next to city hall.

Last month the city put in some stones near one of the entrances to city hall and held a poll: which stone do you like better for the Spuiplein? (twitter.com). The stones will also be used for the nearby Turfmarkt street and the city hall atrium. I was glad to see that at least half of the responses on Twitter shared my opinion: we don’t care, just give us whatever stone is the least slippery. That is my #1 concern.

And here is a look at the general area that will get the new stone (the atrium in front of city hall, Spuiplein and Turfmarkt):

Here is to a less slippery stone!

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