The puzzle is now complete! As a reminder it is a puzzle with the name “NY marathon”. 1,000 pieces! This was two nights ago:
And around dinner time tonight:
You can find the puzzle here.
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Jan van Haasteren puzzles (Or: NY marathon)
Last week Roger dropped off one of his mother’s puzzles for me to work on. Little did I know, it was 1000 pieces! (I thought it would be 500.)
It is a Jan van Haasteren puzzle with the title NY Marathon – he is a well-known Dutch cartoonist. Part of the reason I like his puzzles is the fact that they are animated – it reminds me of a puzzle I had when I was younger (probably 500 pieces) with a mini golf theme.
First things first – separate out the edges:
I had a small scare at one point when I couldn’t find one of the edge pieces (remember, it’s not my puzzle!) but after a while it turned up. The biggest issue is the lack of table space – hence why I don’t have any puzzles of my own and it is better to borrow one from someone else.
Progress is being made…
But still a long, long way to go.
Holidays in the Netherlands (Or: The April-May bonanza)
One interesting thing about the Netherlands is how most of the holidays fall in the early summer. For example:
April 5 &6: Easter Sunday, Easter Monday
April 27: King’s birthday
May 5: Liberation day (public holiday every 5 years– 2010, 2015, 2020…)
May 14: Ascension day
May 24/25: Pentecost
And that’s it until Christmas. America has July 4th, Labor day in September, Thanksgiving in November… Everyone looks forward to the start of summer here, but it is all downhill after that! And then there’s vakantiegeld (vacation money), an “extra” paycheck equivalent to roughly a month’s salary which almost everyone gets in May. Of course, it comes from the taxes you paid the rest of the year, but yeah… vacation time!
Marco and I will be visiting Dublin for a week in June. Should be fun to finally see more than just the international terminal of Dublin’s airport!
On another note, I am hoping it begins to warm up here soon… the mild weather is lovely in the winter but during the summer it is easy to get jealous of other countries. The typical summer high here is (only) 65F/19C, give or take. Brr!
See more about Dutch holidays at this link.
Categories: Holidays
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New bus/tram stops (Or: Look up)
The Hague is slowly but surely getting new bus and tram shelters!
Here is a photo of one of the old tram stops being removed (while buses, trams and traffic in general ride past just a few feet away!). You can see the old stop being moved in the air, including the stone base underneath.
Here is a look at the new design being used (link).
But when you find yourself at one of the new designs, make sure you look up at the roof, as the design is uniquely The Hague:
The symbol of The Hague is the ooievaar (stork). Very pretty!
Cakes and other baking goodness (Or: By the Asian store?)
If you are looking to make American-style cakes and desserts and happen to be in the center of The Hague, I would actually recommend visiting the Asian store underneath C&A (to the left of the C&A entrance you will see stairs leading downwards – see also this blog post with a photo).
Here is just a small sampling of the various Duncan Hines recipes they offer:
In total there are probably about 15-20 different types on offer at any point. German chocolate cake, red velvet cake, blue velvet cake, coconut surprise… Unfortunately the selection isn’t available in the webshop on their website linked above. Of course if you are desperate for American food there is also usfoodz.nl though it is definitely import prices.
As there is a large Asian population in the area (it is not far from Chinatown) the store is almost always crowded. But it is a staple if you’re looking for Asian food. There’s also a smaller store by the same name in the Markthof, across from the Hema entrance and close by Simonis, a fresh fish store, and “Flowers for you” (a flower shop, of course).
In search of baking soda (Or: Zuiveringszout)
Yesterday Marco made soft baked pretzels. The recipe called for baking soda; you dip the pretzels in it before they are put in to bake. We knew that you could get baking soda at the local expat store (Kelly’s) but I was curious to see if it was available at any Dutch stores. While doing some Google searches I came across this article from Kiwidutch. I found out that baking soda is zuiveringszout in Dutch and it is more likely to be found at drug stores rather than the local grocery store. Oddly it is cheaper as an import item than at the local Dutch store…
On the way to the expat store we came across an interesting metal sculpture depicting two bicyclists in the rain (note the umbrellas).
click for a larger size
I just noticed the bicycle shop across the street (Top bikes), too. How Dutch!
Green and yellow (Or: Artwork of The Hague)
Here is a picture of random art from The Hague:
It is green and yellow, to represent the colors of The Hague (also the colors of The Hague’s flag). Above is a piece of art in a Dutch school.
Of all random things to do on a Thursday night, I am currently watching an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The Darmok episode to be exact. A good episode to see Patrick Stewart acting. 😉
Uniquely purple (Or: A random Dutch bike)
Some days I feel like I should have a blog which just documents bike photos. Some other bike photos include: Bikes in Delft and Amsterdam || Bikes along a Utrecht canal || So many bikes by Holland Spoor (train station) || All that remains: A lone bike wheel || Beads along bike spokes
Yesterday I came across a purple bike, although the paint was chipping. Looks like it used to be an orange color.
Click for a larger size
Here is a close up:
Click for a larger size
See? Orange paint!
Grand opening (Or: Paagman bookstore on Lange Poten)
As mentioned in a previous blog post, Paagman has officially opened on Lange Poten. Lange Poten 41 was previously a film house, a store called Liefhertje, and a Mercendes Benz store.
There are two levels. Like the previous Paagman, the secondhand books are on the upper floor.
The roof is rather stunning – so let’s show another picture.
And below is a view from the second floor, overlooking the entrance.
Of course, if you’re visiting this bookstore, don’t forget to stop in at the American Book Center a few shops down!
Here are more photos of the new bookstore (article in Dutch).
A view of fishies while you eat (Or: M C Escher)
A few weeks ago, Roger, Marco and I went to the café in Marks and Spencer for mid-afternoon coffee and cake. Yum! At some point I looked over Roger’s shoulder and finally noticed what should have been glaringly obvious as soon as we walked in. There was a fish staring back at us!
M C Escher’s Three Worlds; click to see a slightly larger version
It is a lithograph by Dutch artist M C Escher, “Three Worlds” (Wikipedia). Hopefully the picture above gives a good sense of the enormity of this copy – the fish itself is pretty much the size of an adult human!
Here is a close-up:
Click for a larger version
The black and white colors blend in nicely with the the rest of the café as well. If you’re in the area (the central part of The Hague) make sure you check it out!
