Check out this photo I took of the Peace Palace (Wikipedia) last week:
Foto’s
In De Passage (Or: Hat Exhibition Chapeau!)
The hat exhibition “Chapeau!” has returned to De Passage in The Hague’s city centre:
De Passage is a covered shopping area first opened in 1885. Insane! That makes it the oldest shopping area in the Netherlands.
More than 20 years ago a hat store in De Passage closed, but the stock was never removed from the upper area above the shop. In 2020, 3,000 hats were found. In 2022 (and again this year), 2,000 of those hats were put on display. This is the same spot where they display the Christmas tree every year.
Tour de France Femmes (Or: Coming next week to The Hague)
On Monday, August 12 the first stage of Tour de France Femmes will start in Rotterdam and end in The Hague. The neutralized start is at 12:15 with the expected arrival in The Hague around 15:33. Here is a look at the route posted on The Hague’s website. It skirts the city centre on the far right side, riding past the HCM Westeinde hospital in the top right before turning left again, heading to the beach.
Here’s an image from the official Tour website to show you just how flat the Netherlands is… woo boy, we go from 10 meters height to 8 meters, after 123 km (76.5 miles) of racing. Or maybe I mean that we are just low and close to the sea level? That is the meaning of the Netherlands after all (=lower countries).
Yep, the Netherlands is very, very flat and/or low…
Here is a look at the banner at The Hague’s city hall. Ignore the construction – there is a project going on to finally replace the stones around the city hall and main library.
Here is a prettier look, albeit from the side.
I probably won’t attend in person as I need to work, but I’ll try and follow it online since it will be cool to see the racing going through the streets of The Hague.
Categories: The Hague
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What summer needs (Or: An ice cream cone from the Ijskabinet)
What do you do on a warm summer evening? You go get ice cream, of course.
The Ijskabinet (literally “ice cabinet”) is an ice cream store in The Hague’s city centre, across the street from the Buitenhof/Hofvijver. They have been there since 2019 but this was our first time.
I knew I wanted a cone, but I quickly opted for a decadent chocolate cone. Then they asked if I wanted sprinkles, and I said yes, thinking they meant the sprinkles would be on top of the ice cream. Nope…
Apparently that meant sprinkles on the cone itself (Lekker! Tasty!).
I got coffee flavored ice cream and Marco got two scoops: yoghurt and lemon meringue pie. Mine was great and hit the spot. Marco liked his as well, although he said the lemon meringue pie flavor could have been stronger.
Ijskabinet does not have a working website, but they do have an Instagram page. I get the impression that the flavors change day by day, so you just need to walk in and see what they have. There is ample seating outside because it is right next to the statue of Johan de Witt which has nice seating opportunities at its base.
Overlooking the Hofvijver (Or: A relaxing place to be)
Here’s a photo I took of the Hofvijver last weekend:
I suspect the area was crowded today. Our summer is apparently two days long: today and tomorrow the temperature is around 28C/82F, before the temperature drops back down to 21C/69F on Sunday.
Did you know there is a live webcam of the beach at Scheveningen available at strandweer.nu? (strandweer = beach weather). Of course the sea itself is still pretty cold, considering the summer hasn’t been overly warm, yet.
Flowers in The Hague (Or: Anna Paulownastraat)
Last week I was walking along Anna Paulownastraat, a street in The Hague not far from the Peace Palace (Wikipedia). I had to stop and take a picture of some of the flowers by one of the front doors. The color of the flower against the black door worked really well:
It’s also close to the Anna Paulownaplein (a plaza honoring Anna Paulowna, a former queen of the Netherlands). The plaza has a beautiful statue of her which I posted about back in 2019.
Looking out over The Hague (Or: Binnenhof’s “uitkijktoren” now open)
uitkijktoren = watchtower in English
Binnenhof’s uitkijktoren is now open. It is 28 meters (92 feet) tall, which gives you lovely views of both the city centre as well as the renovation work in the Binnenhof. Anyone can freely go up during the day:
I don’t know, maybe I will go up there at some point and get some good pictures for you. In the meantime, take a look at the pictures at this article in Dutch over at omroepwest.nl. There’s also an article in Dutch over at indebuurt.nl with a few more pictures.
149 steps up, 149 steps down…
Spotted (Or: A real live cat at the cat gift store)
A few months back I did a blog post about the cat-themed gift store Meow & Muse in The Hague’s city centre.
Today when I was walking past (outside of the store’s normal opening hours) I noticed a cat in the window!
He (or she) expertly avoided knocking over any merchandise. This cat definitely owns the place.
If you haven’t been there yet I can recommend checking it out. It’s at the Nieuwstraat, not far from the Grote Kerk.
Flowers by the House of Representatives (Or: Pretty blue sky)
Last week I was walking around getting my usual dose of summer vitamin D when I came across the Tweede Kamer (House of Representatives). It’s actually the temporary location, but considering the renovation of the Binnenhof won’t be done until at least 2028 it doesn’t feel that temporary.
On the side of the Tweede Kamer, not far from the National Library of the Netherlands or Central Station, you can find some pretty flowers. Of course, their primary use is to be a roadblock so that you can’t ram into the building, but okay. Let’s be positive.
The Binnenhof observation deck that I mentioned in a previous blog post will be opening on 11 July. There’s an article in Dutch about it at binnenhofrenovatie.nl. I don’t think I will (ever) be going up it, but maybe you will. You’re probably braver than I am!
Summer, sun! (Or: Even the deer at Koekamp are feeling lethargic)
The Netherlands has finally gotten a mini heat wave – it’s only the second (or maybe third) time that I have gone outside without a jacket on this year. Yesterday and today was even shorts weather! Unfortunately the good times only last through tomorrow, as the weather will turn a bit cooler again from Friday. Just in time for the weekend…
Here’s a look at the Koekamp, not far from The Hague’s central train station:
And here’s a look at the deer on the other side of the fence (they are a bit further down the path on the photo above, but not really visible):
Interesting fact: in July of 2022 there were plans to create a visitors centre in part of the Koekamp, although I’m not sure if those plans are still moving forward or not. Hmmm.
Life in the Hague 