Author Archives: Niki

About Niki

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

Helping hand on a hot day (Or: French restaurant LaSalle)

Posted on July 27, 2019 by Niki

The Netherlands has been in the grips of a record-setting heat wave this week, with at least five provinces reaching 40C (104F). Due to the fact that The Hague is so close to the North Sea, we didn’t quite reach those temperatures – for us it was more like 36-37C (96-98F).

However, most people don’t have air conditioning in their homes. Why would you, when temperatures like this only happen a few days of the year? Luckily public buildings and work places tend to be at least climate controlled. On days like this it is beneficial to go into work rather than being at home, where the temperatures inside can easily hit 84-86F.

I was pleasantly surprised to see this table outside of LaSalle, a French restaurant here in The Hague city centre:

Free water (for both you and your pet) at La Salle

The sign says ‘Pak maar!’ or ‘Help yourself!’. They even thoughtfully put out a water bowl for pets, either dogs on a leash or neighborhood cats.

You have to understand that water fountains are almost unheard of in this country, both indoor and outdoor. The city and water company Dunea are trying to increase the amount of free water spots in the country, but that takes time.

To see free water on a record setting day – Thursday it was 40.7C (105F) in Gilze en Rijen (Google Maps) – is a step in the right direction.

Categories: Daily Dutch living, The Hague | Tags: Summer, Weather | Leave a comment

At the beach (Or: Cocktail workshops)

Posted on July 21, 2019 by Niki

Recently the company I work for met at the Scheveningen beach for the annual summer party. I signed up Marco and myself for the cocktail workshop. Here’s a look at the White Russian that I made:

There were some no-shows at the party, so everyone was able to do another cocktail in the second workshop. In that one, Marco and I made “the Split”, which is named after a Dutch popsicle. That cocktail was with likeur 43, orange juice, yoghurt likeur and ice cubes.

But nothing beats my White Russian!

Categories: Scheveningen | Tags: Alcohol, Summer | Leave a comment

Lady on the bench (Or: Statue in The Hague)

Posted on July 10, 2019 by Niki

Not far from the Peace Palace you can find a lady sitting on a bench, watching the world go by. And not just any lady, but Anna Pavlovna of Russia, Queen Consort to the Netherlands back in the 18th century. She married Willam the II in 1816 and had five children. If you read the Wikipedia page you’ll notice how odd it is to have a statue here – apparently she wasn’t a fan of the Netherlands and preferred instead to be in what is now Belgium (or better yet, Russia). But okay, the statue itself is still very beautiful.

A bit dusty, but a very pretty statue. Added in 1999 by the Russian architect Alexander Taratynov.

A bit further along the path you come across the Peace Palace. I had a bit of luck that day in terms of weather – no grey skies that day. (Unlike today!)

Categories: Culture, The Hague | Tags: Statues, Tourist attraction | 2 Comments

New Papa John’s location (Or: More pizza by The Fred)

Posted on June 30, 2019 by Niki

“The Fred” or De Fred is a neighborhood in The Hague, a shortening of the street name Frederik Hendriklaan, where the heart of the neighborhood can be found.

Last Monday a new Papa John’s pizza location opened on The Fred. It’s the first one in The Hague, although there are already locations in nearby Delft and Zoetermeer. It’s originally from the United States.

And of course (like what Dunkin’ Donuts does with new locations) the first 100 visitors that day received a free pizza.

“Free pizza for the first 100 visitors — we ❤ The Hague”

I’m actually not much of a fan of Papa John’s pizza, although admittedly I haven’t had any in years. I’m more of a thick pizza/thick crust person. But some of my friends do like it, so to each their own!

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

Who needs 112? (Or: Country-wide malfunction by emergency services)

Posted on June 24, 2019 by Niki

First off, 112 is the emergency number in the Netherlands just like 911 is the emergency number in the US. And guess what? Right now there’s a malfunction by one of the telephone carriers in the Netherlands making it impossible to dial 112 or the non-emergency police number 0900-8844.

Around 17:20 they sent out an NL-Alert saying that the was a country-wide malfunction with the telephone and that we should go to the nearest fire department or police station in an emergency. That’s it – yikes. A bit confusing, since there was nothing about the issues with the 112 number. Also not good? Marco I received the alert around 18:10, almost an hour after it was originally sent.

However a few minutes later Marco and I received an NL-Alert with better information:

Interesting things to note here:

this time they said 112 was having issues – that’s better.
the end of the message is translated in English. Nice.
You know you’re catching up with technology when they are also able to give a WhatsApp number. (Correction: the WhatsApp number they sent was wrong. Eek! They sent out a third NL-Alert with the new number 06-10000011)
You can also use Twitter to contact the police in general.

Not mentioned above, but the police also said they are also sending all available police officers out into the streets to make their presence more noticeable so that citizens have alternative means of reporting issues.

It’s trying to be summer in Rijswijk (Or: Ever-changing weather)

Posted on June 14, 2019 by Niki

A few weeks back I visited the shopping center In de Bogaard in Rijswijk, a city not far from The Hague. Along the way I took a few photographs of whatever caught my eye. Here are two of my favorites:

Red roses… but can you spot the ladybug on the leaf?

The last few weeks have seen weather change hour by hour. Last Sunday we had temperatures in the high 80s (F). And there have been days where it rained more often than not, with a few hours where the skies just opened up and rain came pouring down. A few days of high winds, where you wonder if it might just be possible that you blow away.

LIMOR social services building in Rijswijk

This building in the image isn’t far from Rijswijk Centraal, the main train station in the city. It’s been underground since 1996.

Fun fact: if you look up the building on Google Maps and then use Street View, some of the images you see are of the completed building whereas some of the images are of the building while it was under construction. Kind of eerie to be able to flip back and forth!

Categories: Rijswijk | Tags: Flowers, Weather | Leave a comment

Rolled up ice cream (Or: Rrrollend food truck festival)

Posted on June 2, 2019 by Niki

It’s that time of year again! The Rrrollend food truck festival has returned to The Hague. Today was the last day, although they will be back at Lange Voorhout from August 9th to the 11th.

The highlight of this excursion this time around was the rolled up ice cream (Wikipedia), which I have never had before. The food truck was manned by a team out of Rotterdam (Facebook). It is a semi-solid ice cream made of cream, milk and sugar. The trick is that it is placed on a cold surface (chilled to -20 degrees) while it is being worked on. Check out this photo from the Wikipedia page:

Once frozen, you can roll up the ice cream as shown above.

Our mango mix rolled up ice cream from Friday

Today’s forest fruit rolled up ice cream. The rolling up didn’t go as well, but it was just as delicious!

Categories: Food, The Hague | Tags: Desserts, Food trucks | 2 Comments

European elections 2019 (Or: Time to vote)

Posted on May 23, 2019 by Niki

Well, time for Dutchies to vote that is. As an expat, I can’t vote. Every five years, European elections are held for the European parliament. 751 seats, of which 26 are for the Netherlands; 29 after UK leaves the EU.

Check out how long the candidate list is (!):

Voting list taped up at The Hague city hall

Voters receive the same list, just a bit smaller (but not that much smaller – it’s still almost impossible to fold back up!)

Only UK and the Netherlands vote today. The rest from the European lands vote tomorrow or in the weekend. Therefore official results won’t be announced until Sunday evening, although exit polls started coming in a few minutes ago. Should be interesting…

Categories: Daily Dutch living | Tags: Voting | Leave a comment

Delft blauw in The Hague (Or: Mini statues)

Posted on May 14, 2019 by Niki

The Delft blauw craze will never quite go away. Recently I was visiting Frederik Hendriklaan or the Fred, as the locals call it. I stepped inside Kaatje aan de Rein (Facebook page), a gift shop.

I had to think of my mother-in-law when I spotted these tiny creatures, made in the style of Delft blauw:

They are similar to the two playing cats she purchased at the Gemeentemuseum, a local museum here in The Hague. You can see a picture of the two cats here.

Categories: Everyday purchases, Shopping | Tags: Cats | 2 Comments

Day of Remembrance (Or: Jewish monument of The Hague)

Posted on May 2, 2019 by Niki

Today was a Holocaust Day of Remembrance in The Hague for the Jewish population. There was a small ceremony held in the city centre in the afternoon to remember those who were lost during WWII.

The Jewish monument in The Hague – at Rabbijn Maarsenplein, a Jewish neighborhood prior to WWII

You can read more about the monument at the official website (nl | en). Also something interesting: some of the flowers came from various embassies, including Germany, Austria, and Israel. Others came from citizens.

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