Holidays

January (Or: Hurry, before it is to late to buy your chocolate Easter eggs…)

Posted on January 26, 2025 by Niki

It’s January, so Albert Heijn has started selling chocolate Easter eggs (Who needs Valentine’s Day anyway?):

The yellow ones are white chocolate, blue is milk chocolate and red is dark chocolate. The ones on the right side are mixed bags – for example, the purple ones are a mix of praline eggs.

Some noteworthy upcoming events in The Hague:

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Amazing Oriental stuffed animals (Or: Who knew snakes could be cute?)

Posted on January 19, 2025 by Niki

Did you know 2025 is the year of the snake? (Almost. Chinese New Year is 29 January.) The year when you were born determines zodiac sign you are, for the most part (travelchinaguide.com). Mine is pig/boar…, which means you can probably guess what year I was born.

In The Hague we are lucky enough to have some Asian grocery stores. The biggest one is Amazing Oriental which has a few stores in the city centre. I took this photo of this year’s commemorative stuffed animal:

If you spend 30 euros you can get one of these, while supplies last. The supply only last a few weeks, so it is better to get them while you can if you’re interested.

Kudos to Amazing Oriental for making snakes look cute, too…

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Holiday lights on New Year’s Eve (Or: By the statue of Johan de Witt)

Posted on January 1, 2025 by Niki

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.

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Singing in De Passage (Or: Christmas choir, 2024)

Posted on December 23, 2024 by Niki

A few days ago I came across a Christmas choir performing in De Passage (a shopping area in The Hague’s city centre):

They were singing for Artsen Zonder Grenzen (the Dutch branch of Doctors Without Borders). And, as things go in this modern day, they even had a QR code as well where you could donate – see the paper at the bottom of the image.

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The Hague’s coat of arms (Or: Christmas decorations)

Posted on December 18, 2024 by Niki

At the crossing of Venestraat and Gravenstraat, near the Grote Kerk, you can find a Christmas decoration in the form of The Hague’s coat of arms (well, at least the stork):

And here’s a close up:

Venestraat (the street the camera is pointed at) also has some nice Christmas lights above the street. It’s pretty nice to walk along it as the sun sets.

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Bijenkorf’s Christmas tree (Or: 2024 edition)

Posted on December 15, 2024 by Niki

Marco was kind enough to take some photos of Bijenkorf’s Christmas tree for me earlier this week. This is a Christmas tree which starts on the 1st floor (2nd floor if you’re American) and goes up to the 4th floor. It is an interesting design this year:

And here is a close up of the ribbons hanging in the tree:

If you are interested, you can also see Bijenkorf’s Christmas tree in 2023 and 2022.

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A bit of holiday cheer (Or: ‘t Goude Hooft decorations)

Posted on December 13, 2024 by Niki

Additional Christmas decorations have been added to ‘t Goude Hooft since the last blog post I wrote:

And here is a close up:

It has been looking pretty festive in the city centre these last few weeks!

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Red and white (Or: Christmas ornament themes)

Posted on December 5, 2024 by Niki

This year we have a bit of a red and white theme going on in our tree:

Somewhat accidental, but somehow still a bit on purpose. A coworker gave me the mushroom ornament this year, so I immediately hung it up in the tree. Here’s a close up of Mickey and his mushroom:

Now I want to play Super Mario Brothers 3 again…

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De Passage’s Christmas tree (Or: In the spotlight)

Posted on December 3, 2024 by Niki

De Passage (literally “The Passage”) is a covered shopping area in The Hague’s city centre. Here’s a look at the 2024 Christmas tree which arrived a few days ago:

It’s in the middle of the old part of De Passage, visible from every part. To be fair, I think it is the same decorations as last year, but that doesn’t detract from it. It does make me realize I should check if Bijenkorf has their Christmas tree up yet, though…

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All lit up (Or: Holiday lights by ‘t Goude Hooft)

Posted on November 30, 2024 by Niki

There is now a Christmas tree by ‘t Goude hooft (the oldest inn in The Hague).

Of course, there’s so much light in this area that it is difficult to see the decorations on the hotel itself, but it is the building on the right where it says “bites to go”. The last part is an automat (English Wikipedia) to purchase food at any hour of the day. I haven’t checked in a while to see if it still has food in it, though.

On the right is the clothing store The Sting. The building is nicknamed either “the cookie jar” or the “candy jar”. If you don’t believe me, check out the Dutch Wikipedia page.

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