The Hague

New Year’s Eve (Or: Waiting in line for oliebollen)

Posted on December 31, 2015 by Niki

Similar to a post I did last year – here’s a look at the line of people waiting for oliebollen on New Year’s Eve. Oliebollen is a sort of doughnut covered in powdered sugar.

Waiting for Godot (and oliebollen)

And be a look at the stand itself (voted #1 this year in The Hague):

This was around 12pm – Marco said the line was about twice as long (by the library) around 2pm. Crazy. This year they even had a street organ playing music for those waiting, which was a nice touch.

Fine jaarwisseling! Happy New Year!

Categories: Food, Holidays, News, The Hague | Tags: New Year's Eve, Oliebollen | 3 Comments

Christmas eve (Or: Bijenkorf’s Christmas tree)

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Niki

Today I briefly visited Bijenkorf, a department store, to take a picture of the tree they always have. This isn’t any tree… it stands 4 floors tall, with the base actually above the ground floor (so you could peek under the tree, technically). This was this year’s design:

And a close up of the design (the gold items are large, round boxes):

I must admit it does not really feel like Christmas eve. I think it has to do with the fact that I even worked today. Just a half day, though. I am not completely insane.

Fijne kerstdagen!

Categories: Holidays, The Hague | Tags: Bijenkorf, Christmas | 1 Comment

Bikes all around (Or: Advertisements for bike parking)

Posted on December 22, 2015 by Niki

The Hague currently has an issue with the amount of bikes it has lying around, especially in the city center. Over the last year or so The Hague has opened a handful of new bike parking areas, including under the public library. Future work will be done at The Hague’s two train stations (Centraal station and Holland Spoor).

One of the more crowded areas in the city center is by Hema, where the amount of bikes has doubled over the last few years. The city has started putting free bicycle covers on every bike in the area for advertisement purposes:

It says “Put your bike in a free, guarded bike park”

Each bike also gets an advertisement on one of their handles, complete with a map of the nearby free, guarded bike areas in the neighborhood.

The trick is that it is free for the first 24 hours – if you do not remove your bike at the end of the day you need to pay to get it back. This in theory prevents the rider from using the area as a free storage area for a few months (only in theory, as some people just never come back for the bike).

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

Dr. Anton Philipszaal (Or: The building is almost gone)

Posted on December 21, 2015 by Niki

As I mentioned earlier in the week, Dr. Anton Philipszaal is almost completely erased. A few days ago they were knocking down the iconic red roof. And now…

It is crazy how fast it goes. Only the black windows on the left side of the building are left.

Categories: The Hague | Tags: Centrum | Leave a comment

Three years in the Netherlands! (Or: Christmas photos)

Posted on December 18, 2015 by Niki

I realized this afternoon that it was the 3rd anniversary of my arriving in the Netherlands (18 December).

2012 post || 2013 post || 2014 post (n/a)

Three years already! Time has flown by. And each year seems warmer then the next. Silly global warming…

Here are some random Christmas photos. A stand for oliebollen:

Christmas lights at Bijenkorf, an upper end department store, in The Hague Centrum (see also last year’s post):

Christmas lights at The Hague, Spui (Centrum), by the movie theatre, across from V&D:

Christmas lights at Bijenkorf in Amsterdam:

Happy Friday, all!

Categories: Holidays, The Hague | Tags: Bijenkorf, Christmas, Oliebollen | Leave a comment

Dr Anton Philipszaal (Or: Tearing it down)

Posted on December 16, 2015 by Niki

This afternoon I was out and about in the Centrum I noticed that the tearing down of Dr. Anton Philipszaal (a concert hall and theatre) was beginning in earnest. They have begun to tear down the red part of the roof:

The hall was first built in 1987 and is slated to be replaced in 2019 with a new culture center. Until then the theatre has moved to a temporary location on the Scheveningen beach, Zuidstrandtheatre.

And of course you have the tram work in the foreground. That project started in April of last year and will hopefully be done this summer. Once done the newer trams should be able to ride over the rails.

Categories: News, The Hague | Tags: Centrum | Leave a comment

Undelivered letters from the 17th century (Or: Treasure in The Hague)

Posted on November 17, 2015 by Niki

A news story from last week: thousands of unread mail from the 17th century were found recently in The Hague, some letters still unopened and unread. (Dutch news link || English news link). A museum in The Hague has had them since 1926 but they have only recently been studied.

Undelivered letters - Hague museum for Communication

Photograph: Hague Museum for Communication

With letters from aristocrats, spies, merchants and more, the collection is a wonderful look at the Netherlands as it existed back in the 17th century. Most news articles report about a letter which was delivered to a man and returned unopened – likely he suspected that it contained news that he was the father of an unwanted child.

It’ll be interesting to see if and when the letters would be digitized – there are bound to be many interesting reads. Also interesting: the 600 pieces that are still sealed can be read without opening them at all – that’s modern day technology for you!

Categories: Culture, The Hague | Leave a comment

At the water’s edge (Or: Gemeentemuseum in The Hague)

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Niki

Some time ago I was walking past the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague. As you might be able to guess from the name, it’s an art museum. I’ve only been inside once so far, to see a Delfts blauw exhibit. That is blue and white pottery made in the Delft area since the 16th century.

Pretty, huh?

The weather is turning colder this week. About 50 degrees Fahrenheit, when it should be closer to 60 for this time of year. It’s hard to believe it will be Christmas in a few months!

Categories: The Hague | Tags: Art, Museum, Tourist attraction | Leave a comment