Foto’s

Cool down (Or: Through the maze of water)

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Niki

Spuiplein fountain in the Hague

This is the fountain where Marco and I tested our luck, near Spuiplein.

During one of the trips, Marco, his mother and I were going somewhere in the Hague (I forget where). Marco and I sort of didn’t realize where we were walking, and soon found ourselves entering this area. His mother was paying more attention and laughed at us as she walked around it.

We had time to turn around – but Marco did not. So I did not. It was a tense 12 or so seconds where I wondered if I was about to get inadvertently soaked. It wasn’t that warm of a day, so this does not sound as fun as it could be. But no – neither of us got soaked and we got through it in one piece.

As we walked out the other side, Marco’s mom was still laughing at us. Pfft!

Categories: The Hague | 1 Comment

Warm weather (Or: Seashells on Scheveningen)

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Niki

Over here in the New York area, we are finally going to get a bit of a warm spell. The last few days have been rain-filled and dreary. Unfortunately, it will probably be a bit cooler tomorrow and Saturday than it appeared earlier this week (we were originally promised 80 degree/27c temperatures!).

But I was reminded of the beach at Scheveningen. Here is another photo – this time of a few of the seashells we collected.

Scheveningen seashells

I kept a few of the seashells on the shelf by the TV. Ah, memories.

Categories: Scheveningen | 2 Comments

Queen’s Day (Or: The Hague looks… crowded)

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Niki

Obviously I am on the wrong side of the ocean to be showing you pictures of Koninginnedag (Queen’s Day), but Marco took some pictures to show me what it is like. I won’t go into detail, except to say that it is the celebration of Queen Beatrix. And it’s a day where everyone loves to wear orange (well, moreso the tourists). You can read an offiical publication for the Hague’s celebrations at the website, haagsekoninginnedag.nl. When Marco sent me that link, he spent a bit of time muttering about why they were mentioning Chinatown, since it is only a street and a half, of which only half of the shops are actually Chinese!

One of the more interesting things for me is the vrijmarkt, or free market, where anyone can sell their wares. Here are some of the pictures Marco took:

Oranje! Go books! (ik wil het oranje boek)

Marco was also kind enough to give a short description of his thoughts about the holiday:

Continue reading →

Categories: Culture, Holidays, The Hague | 6 Comments

Dutch carousels (Or: Plein Open festival)

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Niki

One of the more random things that we did last summer in the Hague was go check out the Plein Open festival. …For about 20 minutes. There was a lot less people there than it seems to show on the website’s banner, but maybe that is because we went there during the day when they were still setting up (if I remember correctly). Or maybe the banner was from a different year. I was surprised to see the website still hasn’t really been updated since the 2011 concert.

It was just a short stopover on our way to Roger’s place!

tents at the Plein Open

The festival was held at het Spui plein, very close to the city hall…and the library!

Plein Open west stage

People starting to mill about, with their little ones in tow. It also amuses me that the word for “west” in Dutch is west, but the word for “east” is oost. I also have a picture of the oost stage, but it wasn’t as interesting for looking at the crowd.

small carousel at the Plein Open... Disney!

Cute little carousel that was sadly not yet in use when I took the picture. I think I would have loved going on that as a kid, but you never know. Apparently I cried when they put me on the the little “dinosaur” train track at the local carnival when I was growing up. And I remember being a bit too scared of the kiddie sized ferris wheel to go on it… and then I didn’t see it the following year! By the time I saw it again, I was too big to go on it. Boo.

But still, it was a fun little experience even if we didn’t stick around too long.

Categories: Culture, The Hague | 2 Comments

Grote Markt (Or: A busy thoroughfare)

Posted on April 15, 2012 by Niki

One of the more busy streets in the Hague is Grote Marktstraat, or Great Market street. This is the street where you will find Media Markt (pronounced May-di-ah Markt). That’s the store where Marco bought his fridge and Roger and Marco go almost daily for DVDs (ducks and runs).

sign for Grote Markt

I love the sign above. It looks sort of…damaged, and off-kilter.

Grote Marktstraat

Media Markt is on the right – you can see the red and white pinwheel. The red path is for bikes. The gray paths on either side are for pedestrians.

Of note within this image is the street signs on the left. The top one means “end of walking zone ONLY”, and the bottom one means “bike area”. Personally I would take the top sign to mean “end of walking zone” so no one should be walking there… but that’s just one of the things I have to get used to!

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Art (Or: Three guys walk into a train station…)

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Niki

Sometimes you come across some very interesting street art within the Netherlands. This one is no exception.

Dutch train station art

Yes, that’s three guys – on each others’ shoulders and standing on a ball. At least the guy on the top looks like he is willing to experiment and spread his wings a bit! Perhaps they didn’t have enough money for the train so the one friend suggested that they should all try climbing onto the ball and riding it to their next destination…

In the background the pyramid shaped building is a train station near where Marco works.

Dutch tram in the tunnel

And here’s a picture of a tram in motion within a tunnel. Not sure if this is the underground tunnel in the Hague or not. You can even see a second tram in the background, heading in the other direction.

Categories: The Hague, Transportation | Tags: | Leave a comment

Stationsweg (Or: Annoying bridge to Schiphol)

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Niki

One of the few hills in the Hague! (ducks and runs from Marco)

The road, Stationsweg, simply means Station Road. It leads to the Holland Spoor station.

View from a bridge in the Hague, on Stationsweg

Admittedly this is not one of my favorite places to be. All of my memories of crossing this bridge involve me going back to the train station to go to Schiphol and to the States. Usually it’s a pretty quiet walk, with Marco in the lead being the gentleman and dragging my luggage, but not much is said between us. And since I generally have an early morning flight, there are not usually many people around in general.

But writing this post, I realized I won’t have to deal with that scenario again!

Overlooking a canal in the Hague

And here is a picture of the canal beneath the bridge. The water is pretty still and calm.

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Look out (Or: Attack of the giant birds!)

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Niki

Another picture from Madurodam…

Uh oh... watch out for the large bird!

Quite fitting, since I just saw a trailer for The Raven, an Edgar Allan Poe movie. It comes out later this month (or in the latter part of June if you’re over across the ocean!…). It looks interesting. I actually wrote my undergraduate honors thesis on the humor in his work. Though I am sure some of it focused on the more morbid side of the humor.

Miniature building in Madurodam

And here is another view of the building from the other side, although it is currently bird-less. Madurodam was pretty cool. I might have to go back someday, once I have a sense of where most of these buildings are from so I can appreciate them better. Though Keukenhof is high on my list of destinations next Spring. I can’t wait!

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Indecent exposure (Or: Americans are such prudes)

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Niki

(Rejoice! The blog finally switched over to “8 months” from “9 months”. It seems to only update itself on the 1st of each month.)

In yesterday’s post I mentioned that I did not have a picture of the fountain that resides in the Binnenhof. I realized today that that was not technically correct, as I do have a picture of it… from Madurodam (the place where Dutch landmarks are done in miniature).

Binnenhof square at Madurodam

At first I thought this represented Koninginnedag, or Queen’s Day, which will happen later this month – since it is now April after all (!). But it seems this represents a day in September (the 3rd Tuesday of the month) when the Queen gives her annual speech within the Binnenhof. You can see her golden carriage near the church.

Continue reading →

Categories: Culture, The Hague | Tags: | 3 Comments

Cobblestone (Or: Church in the Binnenhof)

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Niki

Another post about the Binnenhof. There’s only a few things that I remember about this place. One of them is the beautiful golden fountain in the middle of the square. Another is the entrances you walk through to get to the square itself. The middle entrance is fairly large, or at least large enough for a car or two. There is also an entrance on either side, small enough for a few pedestrians (or more frequently, a bike).

I remember when I went, there was also a parked cop car and some police milling around, though I got the sense that this area was their regular assignment.

Church in the Binnenhof in the Hague

The other thing that I distinctly remember is the cobblestone that the square and surrounding areas are made of. I have a habit of always looking where I am walking (not that it prevents the occasional trip) so I always note the ground itself. Here the cobblestone is actually fairly wide, with a lot of space between each stone. This is somewhat noticeable, since it can get uncomfortable if your foot hits the stone wrong.

All and all, a beautiful if somewhat sparse square.

Categories: The Hague | Tags: | 2 Comments

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