Every year in April, Malieveld is host to the King’s Fair (Konings kermis), a fair leading up to the King’s Day holiday on April 27. Last weekend I was walking past and took a picture of the ferris wheel in a distance.
As with every photo taken in the Netherlands, you need to have the obligatory bicycle somewhere in it. The grass is actually greener than I would have expected, considering we haven’t received much rain lately…
Yesterday was International Women’s Day. While I was at the hairdresser one of the workers passed out roses to all the women working there and getting their hair done. I’m not really a flower person – neither Marco or I have a green thumb between us – but I wasn’t about to say no to a rose. Except for the miniature thorns on the side. Ouch.
After my hair appointment I went to Kelly’s expat store to pick up some very important supplies, including cinnamon raisin bagels and Rold Gold pretzels. (The pretzels are a newer offering at Kelly’s but one I appreciate. They are usually my go-to snack when visiting the US.) After making my purchase, the cashier asked if I wanted a flower. I was amused, but said yes, since it would make for a funny story on the way home. I chose a pretty pink flower to go with the rose I already had.
When I got home I told Marco about the two flowers I received, why and where. I mentioned that I had to take out my contacts but after that I would try to find something to put them in, since we don’t have vases lying around (anymore).
When I came back I noticed Marco had found the perfect vase for me:
Asahi is easily one of my favorite beers, so it was a logical choice for us.
Bonus picture – here’s what we had with the beer last Friday:
To celebrate the weekend, Marco made marinated salmon with pandan rice and sugar snaps on the side. There’s also some pickled ginger hiding in the back. It was delicious, and the beer paired well with it.
Last night I took a few pictures of the holiday lights by Steltman Jewelers, with the statue of Johan de Witt (English Wikipedia) in the foreground.
This was taken a bit after 17:00, as darkness was falling, but before the Netherlands turned into the warzone they are known for on New Year’s Eve. If you don’t know what I mean, check out this four minute video from last night’s fireworks in The Hague, but make sure you turn down your sound first! Or check out the bonfire and (legal) fireworks celebration held in Scheveningen on Monday. It should have also been last night, but it was moved forward a day due to high winds last night.
Here is a close up of the holiday lights:
Happy New Year’s! Have a great 2025.
Some months back The Hague’s central library made some changes to their bathrooms. Previously, only the bathroom on the 1st floor was open to the public, and you either had to show your library card or pay a small fee of 50 cents to use it. That is quite common in this country, with cafés and restaurants being one of the few exceptions.
Earlier this year, the library opened up bathrooms on all of their floors for free There was much rejoicing, since it also meant you didn’t have to go back down to the 1st floor just to use it. I usually go to one of the bathrooms on the higher floors, though. The first floor bathroom can be a bit crowded because it is the first one you come across if you use the escalators.
A few days ago, I used the one by the first floor and noticed the library’s generous supply of feminine products:
You don’t often see this offered for free in The Netherlands (as far as I am aware anyway). it’s a great initiative.
The Hague’s main library has an exhibition entitled “13678 characters of Boredom *yawn*” (scroll down for English). It’s actually pretty cool, if you’re into word searches.
Ten writers created two sentences each, in a sort of “chain writing” exercise where each sentence was related to the one that came before it. The words found in those 20 sentences can be found in the giant word search in the library.
I didn’t have any time to stop and work on it when I spotted it over the weekend, but I’ll probably go back and see if there are any words left.
The other side of the board was also a giant word search, as you can see below:
The closing event is on 18 September, so you have some time between now and then to find some words. On that day the entire poem will be revealed. Happy hunting!
Last week I was walking along Anna Paulownastraat, a street in The Hague not far from the Peace Palace (Wikipedia). I had to stop and take a picture of some of the flowers by one of the front doors. The color of the flower against the black door worked really well:
It’s also close to the Anna Paulownaplein (a plaza honoring Anna Paulowna, a former queen of the Netherlands). The plaza has a beautiful statue of her which I posted about back in 2019.
In celebration of the good weather that is finally coming this week (nltimes.nl in English), here is a piece of art not far from the Florencia ice cream (and coffee) shop.
And here is a close up of the art:
In other news, yesterday was Vlaggetjesdag (Flag Day) in Scheveningen. This is the first day of the year where the new batch of haring can be eaten in the Netherlands. Vlaggetjesdag is always held on the third Saturday in June. See also omroepwest.nl’s article in Dutch. There’s also the article Eating herring in the Netherlands: all you need to know about the ‘Hollandse Nieuwe’ from dutchreview.nl if you want to know more.
To be clear: this is one Dutch tradition I haven’t tried yet, and I’m not sure I ever will. But others definitely enjoy it and say it is very tasty.
Today Marco and I went to the Hofvijver to check out BlowUp Art The Hague. Note: tomorrow is the last day to see it! This time we went on the platform itself, which was an experience to say the least. The walkway area leading to the platform is quite wobbly. The best way to describe it is to say it is like walking on a swing bridge as it sways in all directions, especially if you choose a less than straight path. If you walk straight forward it doesn’t move around as much.
You can get some great pictures here with the Binnenhof in the background. The Binnenhof is the parliamentary building for the Tweede Kamer (House of Representatives). The eggs were pretty cool because they are reflective so you can get some interesting photos, especially if you come as a group. The other thing to notice is the tower at the far left of the Binnenhof building – that is normally the office of the prime minister, when the Binnenhof isn’t in the middle of a 5-year renovation.
I mentioned the tower being the office of the prime minister because this pink tower is actually a homage to it.
There is also one colorful egg which will end up in a lot of people’s photos for sure.
Finally, here’s a look at the platform itself to show that you are actually on top of the water.
I think I’ll miss this art installation. When it first arrived it didn’t look like much, but not all of the blow up art was in place yet. It was also more fun than I expected to walk on the platform, although I was glad to get back on stable ground after!
The 2024 edition of BlowUp art has arrived in The Hague and is available through 2 June. This time the focus is around the Hofvijver area. Here is a look at some of the artwork currently on display:
The yellow pot is from the theme “larger than life”. The pink tower is a play on the Torentje or “little tower” that the Dutch Prime minister would sit at, just out of view behind the tree above. There’s even a Dutch Wikipedia page about it.
Here is a close up:
The floating garden near the pink tower is also part of the temporary art exhibition and was designed by second year students in the “Urban Green Development” program.
Tomorrow the Netherlands will celebrate King’s Day to mark the birthday of King Willem-Alexander.
Tonight is the Life I Live festival, with free podiums set up at Lange Voorhout, Kerkplein, Grote Markt and the Hofvijver. Here is a look who is playing at each podium. Alternatively you can now download an app for iOS or Google Play (under the name “Woov”).
Here are some of the things you can do tomorrow:
Lots of places have put out Dutch flags to mark the holiday. This photo was taken near Dozo, an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant (formerly known as Sumo, see also this blog post).
Life in the Hague 