The Hague

Rabbijn Maarsenplein (Or: The Amalek monument)

Posted on March 13, 2021 by Niki

Rabbijn Maarsenplein is a neighborhood in The Hague’s city centre which used to be well-known for its Jewish population before World War II. Most Jews did not survive. A few years back the Jewish Monument Foundation moved the 1967 memorial to this location, giving it a more prominent space. It depicts a family seeking protection, with a Holocaust victim at their feet. I have posted about this memorial a few times. The name “Amalek” comes from the biblical verse from the book of Deuteronomy: Remember what Amalek did to you… don’t forget, with Amalek representing the enemy of the Jews.

There are usually flowers at the base of this memorial, but this time the careful placement of a single white rose caught my eye:

And a photo from the front:

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Who will you vote for? (Or: The 2021 Dutch general election)

Posted on March 11, 2021 by Niki

Next week is the 2021 Dutch general election to elect members of the Dutch House of Representatives. The election is officially scheduled for Wednesday, 17 March, however due to the pandemic you are also allowed to vote on 15 and 16 March.

I say “you” because I can’t vote – you need to be a Dutch citizen to do so. That’s fine, though. I am allowed to vote in the municipal elections (and curiously, the local water board elections). For the municipal elections the eligibility is simpler: as a non-EU citizen I need to be registered in the municipality and live in the Netherlands for five uninterrupted years.

I will admit that since I cannot vote in the upcoming elections I have not paid much attention to Dutch politics, although I did do my research before the municipality elections I voted in a few years back.

The Netherlands is full of advertisements like this: a huge board that shows all (most?) of the eligible parties for the upcoming election. As you can see some parties prefer to show the party leader (the first few squares) whereas other squares rely more on text or slogans.

And me being me, I did make sure to get a shot of tram 16 in the background. This was in the city centre. Behind the tram is Primark (English Wikipedia), an Irish “Fast fashion” retail store. I have bought a few things there over the years, but you can see the difference in quality because everything is so cheap. Although I did find one of my favorite Christmas decorations there a few years back. That was definitely a good purchase!

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Just another Tuesday (Or: Ridderzaal, different angle)

Posted on March 9, 2021 by Niki

Last week I took another photo of the Ridderzaal, this time from behind. Mainly because I liked how the trees looked. Although I started to imagine how nice it would be to have leaves on them when Spring arrives…

In other news: Unilever woos diverse clientele by deleting ‘normal’ from packaging from dutchnews.nl. Unilever (English Wikipedia) started as a Dutch company all the way back in 1929, and had dual headquarters in both London and Rotterdam. However these days they are officially a British company. I think it is a good move to stop saying ‘normal hair’ or ‘normal skin’ since ‘normal’ can mean different things for different people.

Coronavirus positive test rate at lowest point in 23 weeks; Youth infections rising from nltimes.nl. It is currently at 8.1%, the lowest percentage since September 29 when it was 8.0%.

8.4% of Netherlands adults now partially vaccinated against Covid-19 from nltimes.nl. (2.9% adults are fully vaccinated.)

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Horse-drawn carriage rides (Or: Another sign of Spring)

Posted on March 7, 2021 by Niki

I returned to the Malieveld for a long walk for the first time in months. It is a large grass field just outside of The Hague’s Central station where events are held. It reminds me of last fall when they were setting up for the carnival. Apparently that was in September – time really does fly, it seems.

On the way to Malieveld I spotted a horse-drawn carriage:

While you do have the opportunity to take horse-drawn carriage rides, it is not something you see every day. I only see them a few times of the year. I am also pleased to report that I walk at the speed of a slow horse-drawn carriage, apparently. Or actually I was slightly faster. I think they turned right before entering the Malieveld to go into the Koekamp, probably to let the tourists take pictures of the deer. (Feel free to click the link again if you want to see cute pictures of deer.)

In other news: Dutch clubbers hit the dancefloor for study into easing lockdown from theguardian.com. If I remember correctly this is one of the events where the tickets were gone in 20 minutes. You have to have a negative test to enter the event, and there is also random “fast” testing at the door as well. In theory you also need to get yourself tested within 5 days after the event, but not everyone does. During the event you are divided into groups, each group with a different level of corona measures (face mask, no face mask, concessions at seat, you can get concessions yourself, etc.) Each visitor has to wear a device as well to track their movements. It will be interesting to see what data comes out of it.

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Still a construction zone (Or: Amare in The Hague)

Posted on March 6, 2021 by Niki

Last week I mentioned the new building they are constructing on the Spuiplein: Amare, a new cultural complex that will house various establishments: Residentie Orkest Den Haag, Zuiderstrandtheater, Nederlands Dans Theater and the Royal Conservatory (so an orchestra, two theaters and a music school). At the moment the planned opening is September 2021.

As I mentioned last week, I’m also looking forward to having the space in front of the building back – it has been a construction site since 2014 I think. Time flies…

And here is something a bit crazy (but in the end, similar to a desert mirage):

It was exactly a really interesting article with a diagram explaining how it was possible. If you have a moment, go check it out.

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Weird Hofvijver mystery (Or: Random chemical truck)

Posted on March 5, 2021 by Niki

Imagine: you are walking past the Hofvijver last week Friday when all the sudden a truck appears, backing up into the Hofvijver:

They back up slowly. Beep, beep, beep. As the hose is automatically lowered into the water, you start to wonder if they should even be there or if it is some evil plan to poison the water supply. Should you tell someone? The side of the truck reads Kaweco, but a Google search doesn’t give much help. Unless maybe it is a slurry tank from kaweco.com? Who knows. It is one of life’s minor mysteries.

On a related note: Sinds de coronacrisis is er meer beveiliging op en rond het Binnenhof (Since the corona crisis there is more security at and around the Binnenhof), from ad.nl. I have always found it cool that you could easily spot the Dutch prime minister walking around The Hague without security. A coworker of mine said she was biking a few months ago and suddenly he was biking right next to her. They exchanged pleasantries and then went their separate ways. Hopefully it stays that way in the future, that Dutch politicians don’t need to be surrounded by security all the time.

Happy Friday, everyone! As always, it has been a very long work week and I am glad to be able to relax for the next few days.

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Former Hudson’s Bay building (Or: The name is still there)

Posted on March 4, 2021 by Niki

Generally the name of a former store does not disappear until the new store moves in. Here is a look at the old Hudson’s Bay building on the Grote Marktstraat (large pedestrian street for shopping):

Hudson’s Bay is a previously Canadian, now American company which opened locations in former V&D buildings (English Wikipedia) back in 2017. Unfortunately Hudson’s Bay only lasted about two years, having closed all of their locations around the end of 2019. The stores just did not take off in the Netherlands, having lost 184 million euros in the Netherlands (article from nos.nl in Dutch). No one knows what will come next for these locations, unfortunately.

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A different look (Or: The Ridderzaal in the Binnenhof)

Posted on March 2, 2021 by Niki

Last week I snapped a photo of the Ridderzaal from the side (here is how it looks from the front, as most tourists photograph it):

This area is also public, of course. Not many people end up on this side, though. The Ridderzaal is most well known for Prinsesdag (Little Prince Day, English Wikipedia) in September where the King gives a speech from the Ridderzaal. You can read more about the Ridderzaal at the English Wikipedia page.

In other, strange news: California doctor performs surgery while appearing at video traffic court appointment from sacbee.com. I’ve heard about emergency surgeries but still…

Tuschinski Amsterdam uitgeroepen tot mooiste bioscoop ter wereld from nos.nl (Tuschinski Amsterdam named “the most beautiful movie theatre in the world”) by British magazine Time Out. You can also check out the English Wikipedia page for the movie theatre. I have never been there, of course. But it is pretty cool that a movie theatre owned by Pathé, a Dutch chain, could be named the most beautiful in the world.

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Waiting in line at HEMA (Or: Pickup is allowed)

Posted on March 1, 2021 by Niki

In the afternoon you will usually see a handful of people waiting to pick up a package at HEMA (official website, or check out the English Wikipedia page). It sells housewares and clothes, mostly made under their own label.

Under the current corona measures you are allowed to pick up packages at non-essential stores, although later in the week you will also be able to make an appointment to shop at a non-essential store. The rules are pretty strict, though; only two customers at a time per floor which is not helpful for large stores.

As you can see a few people are waiting for a package in this photo. Technically the pickup point needs to be outside, but it is actually just inside the first of two sets of automatic doors. If you look closely you can just barely see the white cart with three shelves and a blue bag – there is a customer inside picking up her order. And at least this way you don’t get rained on while you are paying for your order!

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Spring flowers at the Lange Voorhout (Or: A burst of color)

Posted on February 28, 2021 by Niki

First we had snow at the Lange Voorhout, and now a few weeks later we have beautiful spring flowers.

Or a close up:

The purple, yellow and white flowers bloom every year for a few weeks and always bring a bit of color to the area. Check out where Lange Voorhout is on Google Maps. It is around the corner from the Binnenhof, Tweede Kamer, and the Hofvijver (pond).

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