In October of last year I received an unexpected card from Marco. It was a card in honor of our 5 year “anniversary” since meeting each other the night of October 19, 2006. It’s pretty easy for Marco to remember the date since he went out with a group to the Predators vs Devils hockey game. My flight arrived that night so I didn’t meet him until after the group returned.
Topics
Rijswijk (Or: Where I act like a confused American)
First, I want to mention how amusing it is to be subscribed to a dozen or so Dutch blogs and see how most of them talk about the weather. Snow, cold, and the prospect of elfstedentocht (elf-steden-tocht, 11 city tour). It’s a rare event where the canal ice freezes up enough for ice skating through 11 cities to take place. It hasn’t happened since 1997.
Over here, I am just glad we’ve only had two snowstorms: the Halloween one which knocked out my power for 5 days — just a few inches of snow — and one a few weeks ago, about 5 inches.
Today’s topic is de bogaard in Rijswijk, a shopping area near the Hague which you can get to by bus. I visited it twice. The first time I had someone with me, the second time I traveled there alone.
Streets (Or: Wandering through the Hague)
It’s been a crazy day, but it’s nearing the end. I will say the most random thing of the day was learning to use the JAWS screen reader to help a student find scholarly articles. The craziest was confronting another bus passenger (from a nearby psychiatric hospital, no less) about the laws of momentum and perhaps he would like to hold on to his cup of coffee, rather than letting it spill all over the floor?
Perhaps I’ll make a cup of koffie (coffee) later. But it’ll be straight – the only time I add anything is when Marco is around and we make french vanilla coffee. Yum, vanille suiker (vanilla sugar).
Marco was kind enough to take some pictures of some places in the Hague that hold special or fun memories for me.
Super Bowl (Or: It’s all over the television)
So, tonight is the Super Bowl. Start time 6:29PM EST. Since the New York Giants are in this one, there is a definite buzz in the air. The grocery store has the usual display right by the front entrance, including chips, dips, and similar snacking items.
But further in, I found something even more amusing…
Categories: Sports
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A chance meeting (Or: American present, Dutch future)
I met my fiancé Marco in October 2006. We first knew of each other for some years before that through an online game called Avatar MUD, a text-based medieval fantasy game similar to Zork.
But the first time we met in real life was at a gaming convention in New Jersey, USA. I was working the help desk at the time. To be honest, to me he seemed a bit unapproachable online, playing a character that tended more towards evil than good.. yet I had no idea that that night would change everything.
Categories: Marco&Niki
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Albert Heijn (Or: Glad I don’t need to ship yellow mustard in)
The grocery store of choice near where I will be living is Albert Heijn. Although it’s nowhere near the typical size of an American grocery store (maybe 12 or so aisles) it works for most things. The store itself is on the lower level, with escalators allowing access from street level. When the escalators are functioning of course; one time they were broken for about 5 weeks straight. I considered taking a picture of the negative comments a customer left on the official “We’re sorry” note but didn’t…
Entrance to Albert Heijn via escalators
Hooligans (Or: Voetbal or soccer, it’s all serious in the Netherlands)
Imagine the scene: dining out in Amsterdam, when all the sudden a bunch of tourists run in from outside, scrambling to the back to get away from something unknown. And all the sudden, shouting can be heard outside . . .
Eek! It’s voetbal fans from another country! July 28, 2010
Turns out Ajax was hosting a team from Greece – PAOK Salonika.
Music (Or: A scene carefully sketched out)
Near the train station in Delft, you might find yourself near this mural, on the side of a random building, in a random place.
A musical mural found in Delft
Although most of the mural is done in black and white, accentuated by the shadowy tree limbs, one can also find rare glimpses of yellow. The most predominant encircles the lamp on the left side, but the glow of night can be seen from most of the windows on the left side of the mural. A figure (Charlie Chaplin-esque) hangs from the middle street lamp. Three lions in the lower right – one with a paraplu* (umbrella), one coming from the garbage can, and another on top of the garbage can lid.
Note also the rider on their fiets (bike) talking to someone else.
* = I love the Dutch word paraplu. I have heard about the Paraplu restaurant in the Hague, but have not yet visited it. Soon…
Statues (Or: An unlikely coincidence half a world away)
I spent a year and a half in the Master’s in Library and Information Science (MLIS) program at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. During that time I did a bit of searching on Dutch culture and history — this was before I visited the Netherlands.
One of the things I excitedly learned was that there was a statue of William the Silent in the Hague. I didn’t really understand why his finger pointed to the Binnenhof at one time (or, more accurately, what the Binnenhof was) but I thought it was an interesting bit of trivia.
William of Orange statue at The Hague, Netherlands
But I had seen a similar statue at the College Avenue campus… one that points in a seemingly random direction. Upon further digging I realized that there was a replica of the Hague statue placed at Rutgers University, due to the University being founded by Dutch ministers back in 1766.
William of Orange Statue at Rutgers University (from Wikimedia Commons)
I kept the secret for a month, telling my then-boyfriend that I had a surprise to show to him when he was in the country again. I remember dragging him to the statue, refusing to tell him what I was going to show him, and the look on his face when he realized what it was.
Half a world away, but so close without my realizing.
Rijksmuseum (Or: Finding more traces of libraries)
What warm summer’s day would not be complete without a trip to the Rijkmuseum? Featuring art from Rembrandt, Vermeer, Jan Steen and more, the museum also has an online component allowing you to see much of the work. For example, see The Masterpieces Special.
Banner on the outside of the Rijksmuseum, with sponsors (Phillips, ING) below
Although I visited during renovations, there was still a lot to take in, including The Night Watch by Rembrandt, which had the most crowds admiring its size – almost 12 feet by 14 feet. Interestingly, it used to be even larger, but it was cut down on all four sides to allow for its fitting between two columns. The staff were even passing out pamphlets which described the various items within the painting.
Although the Rijksmuseum also houses the well-known Het melkmeisje (The Milkmaid) by Vermeer, my favorite is actually housed within the Mauritshuis in The Hague: Het meisje met de parel (The Girl with a Pearl Earring). My work coffee cup is even a souvenir of it!
Renaissance and Baroque gardens of the Rijksmuseum (free beauty!)
With the current entrance of the Rijksmuseum near the Philips Wing, you will pass through the Rijksmuseum gardens – very pretty to behold. Have a seat at the stone bench above, and get your picture taken for a lasting memory. You’ll appreciate it later, trust me.
Everywhere you turn, there’s a library to be found. And that’s not such a bad thing.
I presume this used to be the entrance to the Rijksmuseum Research Library, which has since moved to a separate building. But more importantly, it’s a reminder of the lasting influence of libraries on society as a whole, even as we move into this digital age.
Life in the Hague 