Foto’s

Afspraken (Or: A visit to the IND)

Posted on January 11, 2013 by Niki

Today Marco and I went to our scheduled appointment (afspraak) with the IND to set up my VVR (permanent residency). This also included a meeting with the GBA (…Gemeentelijke Basisadministratie persoonsgegevens!), otherwise known as the department who keeps tabs on every single citizen of the Hague. You are required to register.

The appointment was at 9AM, so we left the apartment around 8AM and took tram 17 to the Statenplein tram stop. (The street we wanted was Stadhoudersplantsoen, 24. Yeah. Who needs to use the space bar.)

Gemeentemuseum in the Hague

gemeente museum in the Hague, near our appointment building. (gemeente = municipality)

The appointment went rather smoothly – as mentioned, we first met with an official from the GBA and I turned over one of the official copies of my birth certificate (don’t worry mom – a long version, not the fragile original version!). Then we waited a few minutes for the IND appointment and got that sorted. I had my fingerprint taken digitally, which was interesting because the machine was rather finicky. Eventually they ended up just trying the index finger on my left hand instead of my right, and it worked a bit quicker.

Then my fingerprint was taken again at a different window, and then it was done. The VVR should arrive in 6 to 7 weeks. I hope!

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Categories: Forms, etc., The Hague | Tags: , , | 5 Comments

Welkom (Or: A visit to the Hague’s International Centre)

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Niki

Today I visited the International Centre in the Hague’s City Hall. It’s on the first floor, but if you use the main entrance (near the library entrance) it is clear on the other side of the building. Their main website is thehague.com.

Here are some images of the space:

Inside the city hall of The Hague

I received an information booklet on the city hall and it stated that the city hall had been used in the film Ocean’s Twelve (in the movie it was the Europol headquarters).

sign near the International Centre in the Hague

I feel a bit far from “home” now (New York). Just kidding.

Here was the welcome package I received:

bag from the International Centre in the Hague

And the items inside:

Welcome package from the International Centre in the Hague

Here is a list:

– flyer on what to do with household waste (garbage and recycling)
– information on the next upcoming information session and tour for new residents, February 18
– information on an organization called “The Hague Midtown”
– copy of a newspaper called The Local Expat
– thehagueonline.com winter 2012-2013 magazine (lists events)
– The International Correspondent magazine
– “Freebee Map” to Den Haag and Scheveningen
– promotion for “The Guest Card” with a free 1 year membership (discount, events type card)
– Expactia Expat Survival Guide, 2013
– healthcare brochure
– ‘The Hague thinks ahead’ disaster planning flyer
– Expat Events Calendar flyer (www.expatevents.com)
– Access brochure
– “City in One: The Expat Guide of the Hague”, 2013
– brochure on the city hall, with historical information
– bike path map
– guide to Scheveningen
– HTM bus, tram, and train map
– HTM guide on what to take to go shopping, to the beach, to the region, etc
– and an actual hardcover book, just under 200 pages. ‘Manners in the Netherlands’
Categories: Daily Dutch living, The Hague | Tags: | Leave a comment

The Hague (Or: One awesome blue sky)

Posted on January 4, 2013 by Niki

Happy Friday!

awesome blue sky in the Hague

This image was taken a few days ago (or so), after a week of mostly rain and gray skies. Good times!

Categories: The Hague | 3 Comments

Sixteenth day (Or: Flowers for sale)

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Niki

Today Marco went back to work after the holidays. It has been pretty interesting having the apartment to myself, but unfortunately I didn’t get as much work done as I had hoped.

One of the things that I started on was reviewing Dutch pronunciation, in the hopes that I would be able to figure out how to say new words without giving Marco a blank stare. Little things like realizing that most vowels can be doubled: aa, ee, oo, etc. But ‘ii’ doesn’t exist – it is written as ‘ie’ instead, like ‘bier’. But mostly the diphthongs annoy me – ou, etc.

After lunch I decided to venture outside for a while and walk to American Book Center. Even with Google Maps it wasn’t that easy – although it was mainly just trying to get my bearings (again). Amusingly, the walk home was much quicker and easier. But at least now I know how to walk back there without a map.

Somewhere along the way I took a picture of some flowers for sale:

flowers for sale in the Hague

When I walked to the apartment entrance, another person who lived in the complex was coming out of the door with her dog. She said hallo so I said hi back. But then she said something else, and I wasn’t quite sure exactly what it was. But all I got out was a confused “um…” before she said Gelukkig Nieuwjaar! (Happy New Year) which at least I understood. But then my brain was still in English mode and I said “you too!” before the Dutch started to slip into my thoughts. (For the record, she grinned a bit and said something minor in English after; I forgot what.)

It’s been interesting listening to Dutch news today. So far I have battled with teletekst (channel 888 – subtitles for certain channels)  trying to get that figured out. It’s technically for people who are hard of hearing but it’s obviously helpful for foreigners as well. But not every channel has it, and sometimes it is not really obvious which channels do and don’t support it.

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Swings (Or: Is Central Park safe at night?)

Posted on September 22, 2012 by Niki

From Marco…

Every now and then I pass a set of swings on the way to work.
I’m reluctant to call it a playground despite that there’s also one of those sort of rocking horses next to it. It’s really nothing more than these swings and that horsey. No grass or anything, just some sort of rubber padding.
But I guess it’s better then nothing.

Niki asked me the other day to be on the look out for picture ops.. So today when I walked past the swings I decided to take a snapshot and share this fun story: Back in 2009 when I was vacationing at Niki’s place, we went to New York (as we often do *grin*)

We ended up at Central Park, entering from Columbus Circle (for those in the know). As we entered this young woman approached us and asked if the park was open at night for joggers. I was somewhat speechless to hear that question. Not something you’d expect her to ask. The park is a large place, I don’t think you want to be running around in it at night by yourself.
Now for some reason I remembered seeing a sign saying it closed at some point of the evening, only allowing people on the main roads. So we sent her off with that knowledge.

Niki and I proceeded into the park itself. It had just rained so that nice smell of wet grass and trees was everywhere. We walked past a playground and Niki wanted to go on the swings! 🙂 Since it had just rained and it was already around 7pm there weren’t any kids there at that moment. So I just sat on the swings (gotta stay cool) while she actually erhmm..well…swung I guess the word would be.
She did warn me that she had to be careful to not do that for too long or she might get sick. And sure, at some point she suddenly stopped before it was too late. It was a very random but fun few minutes there on those swings. A very good memory. It actually reminds me of another story from the same trip but I’m going to have to keep that one for another time.
A hint: It involves bugs.

Categories: Rijswijk | Tags: | 2 Comments

Amsterdam (Or: View from the canal)

Posted on September 18, 2012 by Niki

Here are some more pictures from the canal boat ride we took back in the summer of 2010 (“we” being Roger, Marco, Marco’s Mom and I).

Random family above.

Categories: Amsterdam | Tags: | 1 Comment

Delft (Or: Dutch fridge trinkets)

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Niki

My fridge is full of lots of little trinkets, including but not limited to Dutch things.

Above you can see a Delft postcard and magnet (the latter having a 3D element in the upper right that comes out a bit, using a spring). This was from the Summer 2011 trip. You also see my parents’ dog, Oreo. She is a papillon (see below). Kind of big boned for a breed that is supposed to be dainty, but we love her…

There’s a Holland magnet above that which Marco gave me a long time ago. Due to its age, it’s starting to bend a little bit.

In the upper right you can see part of a magnet for the New York Rangers goalie, Henrik Lundqvist (Let’s go Rangers!). It’s actually holding up a business card with information regarding my next dental appointment in late November.

And this is only one corner of the fridge! I plan on taking most of these with (if we find a not-so-garish way to display them) – and if they survive being peeled off. Some don’t respond well to being moved anymore.

Speaking of papillons…

Above is a picture of the Westminster dog show banner in the Madison Square Garden.  It features the papillon “Kirby” which won in 1999. During the dog show (which happens during the hockey season), the ice rink must be melted down. Otherwise the dogs can sense the ice and spend most of their time trying to dig down to get at it!

Categories: Delft | Tags: | 2 Comments

In motion (Or: Spinning art in Rijswijk)

Posted on September 7, 2012 by Niki

Marco was able to get some good pictures of a curious looking art installation which was placed in Rijswijk near the Hoogvliet supermarket. I have included both pictures so you can see the motion of both the skaters and of the small ledges they stand on.

I really have no idea what the art is supposed to symbolize. Maybe it hypnotizes the viewers so that when they enter Hoogvliet they buy more…

Happy Friday, everyone!

Categories: Rijswijk | Tags: | Leave a comment

Picture books (Or: Tien kleine heksjes)

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Niki

Before there were chapter books like Het geheim van de verliefde hulpkok, there were picture books like Tien kleine heksjes (10 little witches). Marco and I had gone to Amsterdam Public Library, and we stopped at the children’s section for this photo.

You can see more pictures of the children’s section of the library by looking at one of the first posts I wrote for this blog.

Categories: Amsterdam | Tags: | 4 Comments

Traffic jam (Or: Amsterdam’s in-water boat show 2012)

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Niki

Roger was gracious enough to send me some pictures of Amsterdam’s in-water boat show which starts today, September 4, and runs through Sunday, September 9. He has been watching the construction of the marina over the past few months, which will house all of the boats this week. Apparently most of the marina will stay after the boat show wraps up, which is nice.

Location: Amsterdam Marina, NDSM Shipyard; Werfstraat 4, 1033 SN Amsterdam

Of course, it does mean there will be more traffic in the area, which hopefully won’t put a damper on Roger’s commute to and from work each day. It’s only four days, at least! Here’s a floor plan of the boat show so you can see the amount of boats that will be docked there. As Roger noted, it is kind of weird to see “Manoeuvreren voor vrouwen” in the lower left of the floor plan (maneuvering for women)… as if men don’t need any help, or all women need help. (I would!)

You can also see a list of activities broken down by day — though it seems like a lot of activities happen on all of the days.

There will be 200 exhibitors and 300 boats. You can read more about the facts & figures of this event by going to the press section of their website.

Categories: Amsterdam, Culture, Transportation | 3 Comments

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