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.
A few months back I did a blog post about the cat-themed gift store Meow & Muse in The Hague’s city centre.
Today when I was walking past (outside of the store’s normal opening hours) I noticed a cat in the window!
He (or she) expertly avoided knocking over any merchandise. This cat definitely owns the place.
If you haven’t been there yet I can recommend checking it out. It’s at the Nieuwstraat, not far from the Grote Kerk.
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!
Last week I posted about the cronut Marco purchased for me which was delicious. This week he decided to try the next croissant variation that the world has thought of: a cruffin. Even Safari’s spellcheck doesn’t know what to make of this invention.
It wasn’t nearly as impressive as the cronut, though. It was a lot less sugary, except for the bottom. It could be something tasty to eat for breakfast, though.
In other news:
There is actually a lot more going on this weekend. Check out The Hague’s weekly agenda.
Apparently cronuts (a crossing between croissants and donuts) were first made in New York City in 2013 (Wikipedia). But I first had one last year, from the Dutch grocery store Albert Heijn. Technically I’m not a huge fan of sweet stuff – I like it in moderation – but this is a nice exception. A few times a year.
Check out Marco’s lovely knife work to show off a cross section of the cronut. So much flaky goodness! And the texture does indeed taste different than a normal donut.
Consider this your public service announcement (PSA): if you live in the Netherlands and have an Albert Heijn nearby, see if they stock cronuts. They come in packs of two. Put it in the fridge for a few hours so it gets a bit colder before you eat it. It’s also great with a cup of black coffee to counter the sweetness.
Although you’re talking to someone who loves storing her gummy bears in the freezer, so maybe take my advice with a grain of salt…
Here is an unexpected item which you can purchase at the local Albert Heijn:
It will definitely cause you to do a double take! The reason it is hamster pasta is because that is the mascot of the Albert Heijn. The hamster forms are definitely cute but I wonder how the form affects the taste. What I do like is the use of the apron as part of the label – that is nicely done.
Today was a lovely day full of sunshine, no rain and not too much wind. Marco and I even went to Florencia and got an ice cream, our first of the year. I had mocha and Marco had lemon and mango. (Note: I linked to the website but it is pretty sparse at the moment. The website owner left a note that they are working on it.)
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.
This weekend is Remembrance Day (May 4) and Liberation Day (May 5). The first day is a somber event where all war victims with ties to the Netherlands are remembered, and the second day is a celebration of freedom. For instance there is a festival going on at the Malieveld this afternoon and later tonight.
While in the city centre I took a picture of the Dutch flags on display at the Hofvijver:
May has been just as rainy as April, with only a few exceptions. Therefore, any bit of sun deserves a trip outside, even if you still need to wear a jacket.
The Netherlands still has two more holidays to go before we enter June – December drought. This Thursday is Ascension day and Monday, May 20 is Pentecost. After that the next holiday is Christmas… eek! However, we do get more days off than the US does. If you work full-time in the Netherlands you are entitled to 20 days off at a minimum. I get 25 days off, although when I started at this job we only got 20 days. Some lucrative companies even give 40 days off, although that is not the norm.
First: today is the first jacket-less day of the year! Bring on summer!
Second: we had an awesome thunderstorm in the middle of the night last night. Both Marco and I woke up to the loud crash of nearby thunder and then stayed awake for a while listening to the storm. This is newsworthy because proper thunderstorms are quite rare in this part of Europe.
Back to the blog post: The Hague was host to the Life I Live festival last Friday, held on the night before King’s Day (and back in the day, Queen’s Day) every year. Here are some of the photos Marco graciously took for this blog. He’s tall so he usually can get the camera over everyone’s heads. Thank you Marco!
First up was the Dutch band Droom dit (Dream this). See also Dutch Wikipedia. The podium was at Lange Voorhout.
Here is the band Chibi Ichigo. See also Dutch Wikipedia. This podium was also at Lange Voothout, but at the other end. Kind of a funny moment to take a picture if you ask me.
Life in the Hague 