Foto’s

Hemelvaartsdag (Or: Visiting Zoetermeer on a day off)

This past Thursday was a national holiday here in the Netherlands – Hemelvaartsdag, or Ascension Day, a Christian holiday. Marco and I decided to take the tram to Zoetermeer and do some shopping. Well, I decided to do some shopping and Marco begrudgingly came along… I kid, I kid.

We visited the Stadshart (City’s heart) to do our shopping. I did manage to find a new pair of pants for work – harder than one might think as the Netherlands seems to discriminate against short folks like me! Here’s a view of the indoor part of the shopping area:

Zoetemeer shopping center

One interesting thing about this area was the lack of proper protection against wind in the beginning. Not long after it opened it became clear that this area was really nothing more than a huge wind tunnel. I found an old article in Dutch about the issue (article) but I mostly know about it from the stories Marco told me.

As usual we stopped at Bagels & beans for a coffee and an apple crumble. The weather wasn’t as good as it was a few weeks ago in Leiden but it wasn’t too cold. For the Netherlands anyway…

 

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Exploring Leiden (Or: Windmills and canals)

On Saturday Marco and I went to Leiden. It is a university city not far from The Hague (10-15 minutes by train). We first made a stop at the VVV office (tourist office) for a free city guide. Unfortunately it was pretty commercial in nature and it wasn’t quite as informative as the Dordrecht guide was (we paid €5 for that). However the Leiden guide did have three recommended walks in the back so we used that. You just need to keep in mind some of the streets it takes you down are store heavy…

My first picture was easily my favorite:

Leiden windmill and canal

See more pictures by clicking Read more.
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Irodion, Greek restaurant in The Hague (Or: Desserts and city views)

A few weeks ago Marco and I went to a Greek restaurant with my father-in-law and his wife. We went to Irodion, a restaurant which has recently re-opened on the Grote Marktstraat (it used to be at another nearby corner, but construction forced it to move so it was closed for a time). They have a snackbar on the ground floor and a restaurant on the first floor.

The best thing about the restaurant is the view of the Grote Markt plein. (It looked like most of the tables next to the window were four seaters, so keep that in mind.)

view from Irodion Greek restaurant

And here is a look at the bar:

Bar at Irodion, Greek restaurant in The Hague

The food was comparable to the Greek restaurant we usually go to, Athene. In both places you generally have the option of a salad bar to go with your meal, plus the typical Greek choices. If anything this menu was a bit easier to get through, as they had less combinations listed (though the same food on offer). Athene does give you a complementary chilled shot of ouzo, a licorice alcohol served as aperitif.

The desserts were pretty nice. First the dame blanche:

Dame Blanche dessert at Irodion in The Hague

There is so much whipped cream you can’t even see the vanilla ice cream! And of course it comes with a rather generous serving of chocolate sauce to pour on top.

Here is the baklava dessert:

Bak lava dessert at Irodion in The Hague

The cool thing about the presentation is the orange slice, although it is hard to tell why from this angle. It is a full orange slice cut in half so that one half is draped on one side and the other on the other side, with the peel connecting the two sides.

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

Springtime flowers in The Hague (Or: Sun!)

Lately the temperature has been climbing up – bit by bit, with lapses back into cold rainy days from time to time, but it is definitely springtime. It’s still generally in the high 50s or low 60s, but it is an improvement. Usually!

Springtime flowers in The Hague

Along with most of our days off (holidays) falling in April-June, this marks the time when outdoor events begin. For example, yesterday was the Dag van de Haagse Geschiedenis (in Dutch, Day of History of The Hague). Next weekend is the Life I Live festival (Dutch | English). This festival is found throughout the center of The Hague, on nine different stages, from 7pm to 1:30am. It falls on King’s Day eve, the night before the King’s birthday.

How do I feel about spring finally being here? Well, here’s a cappuccino smiley to show you:

Cappuccino smiley

 

Of course the forehead makes it look slightly evil… just don’t feed it after midnight.

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Empty stores (Or: Graffiti on Voorstraat in Dordrecht)

As I mentioned in my last blog post, Marco and I went to Dordrecht about a week ago to do a stadswandeling in Dordrecht (that’s a walk around the city). After that was done, we doubled back to visit Voorstraat. People say Voorstraat is the longest shopping street in the Netherlands. Of course, such an achievement does come with a price in today’s economy: there are some empty stores. Not a lot, but enough to be noticeable.

Of course, what makes it even more noticeable is when someone adds graffiti to each of the shop windows to point out that it is empty:

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Here’s an idea for this empty store: a popup cafe with free wifi!

Some graffiti points out the fact that the store has been empty for over three years. But the main purpose of it is to point out what the store could be used as (apparently if the city government cared enough to do something about it – I suspect it isn’t as easy as the graffitist hopes, though). But other ideas for popup stores (always illustrated by graffiti) include music stores, bike rental stores, and a biological store.

More information about the graffiti and pictures can be found here (in Dutch).

Something cute hanging out by the door of a non-abandoned (just closed at the time) store:

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Dordrecht (Or: A walking tour of the city)

Marco and I took the day off on Friday and we decided to visit Dordrecht, a small town outside of Rotterdam (the credit goes to Marco for the idea of what to do).

partial map of the Netherlands

Dordrecht, just under the red “Zuid Holland”

It is about 35 to 40 minutes by train traveling from The Hague. We did a walking tour of the city (Rondje Dordt – page in Dutch) which was about 3km long and showed the sights of the city.

Here are some of the photographs that we took along the way:

Holland Spoor train station platform

Photograph of Holland Spoor, one of the two train stations in The Hague

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New bus/tram stops (Or: Look up)

The Hague is slowly but surely getting new bus and tram shelters!

Here is a photo of one of the old tram stops being removed (while buses, trams and traffic in general ride past just a few feet away!). You can see the old stop being moved in the air, including the stone base underneath.

Old tram/bus stop being removed in The Hague

 

Here is a look at the new design being used (link).

But when you find yourself at one of the new designs, make sure you look up at the roof, as the design is uniquely The Hague:

Ceiling above new bus/tram stop in The Hague

The symbol of The Hague is the ooievaar (stork). Very pretty!

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Green and yellow (Or: Artwork of The Hague)

Here is a picture of random art from The Hague:

Art work at a Dutch school

It is green and yellow, to represent the colors of The Hague (also the colors of The Hague’s flag). Above is a piece of art in a Dutch school.

Of all random things to do on a Thursday night, I am currently watching an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The Darmok episode to be exact. A good episode to see Patrick Stewart acting. 😉

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Uniquely purple (Or: A random Dutch bike)

Some days I feel like I should have a blog which just documents bike photos. Some other bike photos include: Bikes in Delft and Amsterdam || Bikes along a Utrecht canal || So many bikes by Holland Spoor (train station) || All that remains: A lone bike wheel || Beads along bike spokes

Yesterday I came across a purple bike, although the paint was chipping. Looks like it used to be an orange color.

Dutch bike - in purple

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Here is a close up:

Purple Dutch bike - close up

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See? Orange paint!

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

Grand opening (Or: Paagman bookstore on Lange Poten)

As mentioned in a previous blog post, Paagman has officially opened on Lange Poten. Lange Poten 41 was previously a film house, a store called Liefhertje, and a Mercendes Benz store.

Paagman bookstore Lange Poten 1

There are two levels. Like the previous Paagman, the secondhand books are on the upper floor.

Paagman bookstore Lange Poten 4

The roof is rather stunning – so let’s show another picture.

Paagman bookstore Lange Poten 3

And below is a view from the second floor, overlooking the entrance.

Paagman bookstore Lange Poten 2

Of course, if you’re visiting this bookstore, don’t forget to stop in at the American Book Center a few shops down!

Here are more photos of the new bookstore (article in Dutch).

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