Just a photo of the Christmas tree at The Hague’s city hall:
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Christmas crafts (Or: The joy of the unexpected)
One gift that made Marco laugh (for a long time I might add!) was made by Marco’s dad and his wife:
How cute is that? We now own two melted snowman! Complete with the melted ice (safely stored in a water bottle) and a tiny plastic bag containing his hat, nose, eyes, and mouth. Hehe!
Another craft from them was the yearly Christmas card – check it out!
And a much deserved close up of the Christmas card, so that you can better see the intricacies of it:
Mooi! (beautiful)
Christmas at Media Markt (Or: An inviting tree at the entrance)
A photo of the Christmas tree at the local Media Markt here in The Hague:
Media Markt is “the” electronics store of the Netherlands, a chain that started in Germany. According to Wikipedia, it’s the largest electronics retailer here in Europe, and the second largest worldwide after America’s Best Buy. The one thing to get used to is that most or all of the stores are franchises, so the price might differ between stores.
Media Markt is also known as the place to go during the BTW-vrij week, which usually happens around the end of January. BTW-vrij = Media Markt deducts the taxes from the price so you don’t have to pay it.
Merry (2nd day of) Christmas!
A quirk of Dutch television (Or: You mean I have to stay up until midnight?)
I don’t know, this probably happens in other countries too. However, the first time I remembered encountering it was after I moved to the Netherlands.
Last night, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York was on TV. It started at 8:30pm and ended at 10:30pm. Or so I thought… Around 10:20, I turned to Marco and said: “I don’t understand how this movie is going to end in 10 minutes. Kevin is just starting to prepare his offensive against those two robbers.” Marco thought for a moment and said: “Oh. I know what they are doing”, in a slightly offended tone. We looked it up:
Eek! It doesn’t end at all at 10:30. The TV provider just decided to skip a few programs in between. With a sinking heart, I realized I’d have to stay awake until 11:55pm to see the whole movie. I’m no spring chicken, so I decided there was no second half of the movie for me.
It’s not the first time this has happened – I remember our friend Roger mentioning how he hates that, since he would change the channel during the “intermission” programs and then forget to go back – but it was still annoying.
Oh well. My parents (and most of the US, who are able to watch the 24 hour TV marathon) will be happy to know there is a copy of A Christmas Story on the table, waiting to be watched. Repeatedly. It’s tradition!
Candles and ornaments (Or: Merry Christmas, 2018)
Merry Christmas!
Pictured above are three ornaments from the early 1980s. On the ornaments are cherubim. Dad bought them for Mom way back when, and I was able to take them with at some point after moving here. So now they go on our tree!
A pile of wine bottles neatly left behind (Or: No deposit on them I assume)
Captured at Albert Heijn, the local grocery store:
Lots and lots of wine bottles… someone must have had a party! This is by the bottle return area (the bottom part pictured here is for returning a beer crate), so I assume wine bottles don’t have a deposit on them. I am not much of a wine drinker (besides the occasional prosecco) so I’m not sure.
Still, kudos to them for leaving them behind without making a mess. Although it does mean work for Albert Heijn to get rid of them.
Royal Christmas Fair, 2018 (Or: Gifts in The Hague)
The Royal Christmas Fair is running until this Sunday. Here are some photos that I took when I visited with Marco:
This year we bought a bag of lebkuchen – German Christmas cookies. YUM!
Christmas at Bijenkorf (Or: 2018 offerings)
As usual, Bijenkorf (a local upscale department store) has beautiful Christmas displays.
Here is what the Christmas tree looks like this year:
For reference the tree starts around the 2nd floor (1st floor if you’re European) and is about four floors tall.
Lots of teddy bears on sale. His official name is ‘Bobbie’ and he has his own page. You might remember him from a previous blog post I did with the window displays – the group of bears was his family.
Bijenkorf always outdoes themselves with their holiday displays!
Thanksgiving in the States (Or: Photos of cold places)
A few weeks back Marco and I were in the States for Thanksgiving. First we went to Chicago to be tourist-y and then Indianapolis to see my folks again. Actually, Chicago was chosen because there are no direct flights from here to Indy, so we usually tack on an extra city somewhere…
It was a lot of fun, but I had a hard time adjusting to the cold that first day, which was around the freezing point, or just a bit warmer. After doing some tourist-y stuff near our hotel, we went to a Cheesecake Factory to try and keep me awake. This backfired, since the restaurant keeps their lighting so low I can barely see the menu. As a joke (mostly), Marco pulled out his phone to use the flashlight option. A joke, until we realized the couple across the aisle did the same…
Continue readingHomemade slow cooker beef stew (Or: Yummy goodness)
Yesterday Marco and I made a hearty beef stew in the slow cooker. Pure mostalgia. 🙂 With Liefde & passie bread from Albert Heijn (Love and passion). One of their freshly made breads from their bakery.
Categories: Food
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Life in the Hague 