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Stamppot (Or: A Dutch tradition)

Posted on January 25, 2013 by Niki

Today’s dinner was stamppot, which is usually potatoes matched with a vegetable. This version used sauerkraut mixed in with mashed potatoes. As Dutch are inclined to do, Marco mashed a hole in the middle of the mix to add gravy. The on-the-side meat was smoked sausage.

Dutch stamppot meal

It actually was pretty good, although admittedly I was still in the “it’s slightly sour mashed potatoes” frame of mind, except when the texture stated otherwise. ;p I probably could have mixed the sausages in, but I am the type of person that eats one food at a time and doesn’t mix that much.

Categories: Culture, Food | 4 Comments

Boeken (Or: Selexyz bookstore moving into De Slegte)

Posted on January 15, 2013 by Niki

For some months now it has been known that a new Apple store would be moving into The Hague – the largest Apple store in the Netherlands, in fact, even larger than Amsterdam. They would be taking over space from another well-known bookstore that goes by the name of Selexyz (pronounced something like sa-leks-yas). They would be moving into the De Passage, a shopping area I have blogged about occasionally.

That store, in turn, would be moving in with another bookstore, De Slegte. I don’t visit that bookstore that much, partially because they have a lot of books but nothing that seems to interest me particularly.

When I visited De Slegte, most of the stock was already gone – it was probably only about 20% full:

empty shelves at De Slegte in The Hague

Of course, there were still some books available, but it was definitely a very small amount:

preparation for the move at De Slegte in The Hague

Of course, the most interesting thing is this:

As part of the terms of its lease with ASR Vastgoed, Apple will prohibit the decade-long tradition of displaying a large Christmas tree in the rotunda of the shopping arcade because it will block the company’s retail storefront.

Boo! No more Christmas tree in De Passage?!

Categories: Everyday purchases | Tags: | 2 Comments

Saturdays (Or: Megastores and Warung Mini)

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Niki

Today was a pretty fun-filled Saturday, although I definitely started to drag by the end of it. At 1PM, Marco’s mother dropped by. All three of us went to Megastores in the Hague, which is a larger sized mall. As the temperature has been dropping a bit, it was nice to find that it was an indoor mall. Most of the stores in the mall are furniture stores, although you can also find Dutch staples like Hema, Kruidvat, and Xenos (a thrift store of sorts).

escalators in Megastores in the Hague

Kind of interesting – this mall uses flat escalators rather than step escalators. It’s a bit of a steeper incline, but otherwise it works.

The first store that we went to was Woon XL, which was an Ikea-like store. Complete with routes to follow (arrows on the floor), various room design displays, pencils to fill out your order card with, a back area to pick up larger items, and a cafeteria at the end. We picked up a nightstand and a medicine cabinet, although we have to figure out how to get the latter up on the bathroom wall.

crazy rug in Woon XL in the Hague

A crazy looking, huge rug with stuffed animal-like objects stitched onto the top. Good luck finding anything if you drop it in this rug. Seriously… what were they thinking?

Afterwards, the three of us went to a few other stores to look at perspective washing machines and also to McDonald’s to split an order of chicken nuggets.

Aldi store in Megastores mall

Just for mom – an from-afar look at an Aldi store (since my parents also have Aldi stores near Chicago where they live). You can even see the carts in the front, presumably also requiring a coin to release them. But I am not sure.

By then it was time to go home. As we walked up to the front entrance of our apartment, we spied Roger who had arrived just before us and was waiting in the foyer by the mailboxes. So the four of us went upstairs together.

Dinner was from Warung Mini, a Surinamese/Indonesian restaurant. I had Rijst kerrie lams groenten – which was a large container of lamb in curry sauce, with vegetables, and a large container of white rice. The lamb in curry sauce was so good – perfectly spiced (but not spicy). Dessert was a baked banana (bakabana).

Categories: Food, Shopping, The Hague | Tags: | 3 Comments

Welkom (Or: A visit to the Hague’s International Centre)

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Niki

Today I visited the International Centre in the Hague’s City Hall. It’s on the first floor, but if you use the main entrance (near the library entrance) it is clear on the other side of the building. Their main website is thehague.com.

Here are some images of the space:

Inside the city hall of The Hague

I received an information booklet on the city hall and it stated that the city hall had been used in the film Ocean’s Twelve (in the movie it was the Europol headquarters).

sign near the International Centre in the Hague

I feel a bit far from “home” now (New York). Just kidding.

Here was the welcome package I received:

bag from the International Centre in the Hague

And the items inside:

Welcome package from the International Centre in the Hague

Here is a list:

– flyer on what to do with household waste (garbage and recycling)
– information on the next upcoming information session and tour for new residents, February 18
– information on an organization called “The Hague Midtown”
– copy of a newspaper called The Local Expat
– thehagueonline.com winter 2012-2013 magazine (lists events)
– The International Correspondent magazine
– “Freebee Map” to Den Haag and Scheveningen
– promotion for “The Guest Card” with a free 1 year membership (discount, events type card)
– Expactia Expat Survival Guide, 2013
– healthcare brochure
– ‘The Hague thinks ahead’ disaster planning flyer
– Expat Events Calendar flyer (www.expatevents.com)
– Access brochure
– “City in One: The Expat Guide of the Hague”, 2013
– brochure on the city hall, with historical information
– bike path map
– guide to Scheveningen
– HTM bus, tram, and train map
– HTM guide on what to take to go shopping, to the beach, to the region, etc
– and an actual hardcover book, just under 200 pages. ‘Manners in the Netherlands’
Categories: Daily Dutch living, The Hague | Tags: | Leave a comment

19th day (Or: Hot chocolate and birthdays)

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Niki

Last night Marco and I made hot chocolate. But not just ANY hot chocolate, nope! Friday night hot chocolate!

a cup of hot chocolate

First off, you have the cup, an awesome little Christmas present. Inside the drink is hot chocolate (of course), Bailey’s liquor, a large marshmallow torn into small bits, and a peppermint candy cane for flavorful stirring. On the side you have a stroopwafel (sorry to make you drool, Mom). And then an awesome little ceramic spoon on the side.

Yummm.

Speaking of Mom, today is her birthday.

Happy birthday, Mom!

 

Categories: Marco&Niki | Tags: | 1 Comment

Restaurants (Or: Drinking water in the Netherlands)

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Niki

Today I met up with Marco after he finished with work and we did some Thursday night shopping (as the stores are open later on Thursdays around here). Afterwards, we had dinner at one of the restaurants in the area. I ordered hamburger schotel which was close enough to a hamburger for me. I just asked that they didn’t put the baked egg on there that the menu mentioned. ;p

Marco and I also ordered two bottles of water:

bottle of water in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, you are less likely to see glasses of water at restaurants. If you are served a bottle of water and an empty glass to pour the water into, this is their way of proving that they did not just put tap water in there. However, they usually serve the bottle to you with the lid already removed, so who knows…

And there are also no free refills. I have adapted alright to this. The first few visits to the Netherlands, I was still addicted to diet coke (cola light) which I think made me even more thirsty so I drank even more. But around April or May of last year, I cut out diet coke for the most part and switched to water. It seems to have worked pretty well. Though I did enjoy having diet coke over Christmas!

Categories: Culture | Tags: | Leave a comment

Fifteenth day (Or: Blowing up the Netherlands again!)

Posted on January 1, 2013 by Niki

Yay. Another New Year’s celebration at Roger’s place. First we had gourmetten (yummm – I highly recommend putting pineapple slices on the grill) and then we watched the Avengers movie which was a lot of fun. We finished about 10 minutes before midnight, and then rang in the New Year watching a music channel which had a clock and a countdown in the corner.

Here are some pictures that I took. Note as always that Netherlands is rather insane with its fireworks, but I always find it harder to get pictures of fireworks so I mostly focused on the things that were being burned…

"tidelijk buiten gebruik" - temporarily out of service. The black part is covering the slot where the mail usually goes, but the post office does not like people shoving lit fireworks into their post office boxes. Mail resumes tomorrow on the 2nd.

“tidelijk buiten gebruik” – temporarily out of service. The black part is covering the slot where the mail usually goes, as the post office does not like people shoving lit fireworks into them. Mail resumes tomorrow on the 2nd.

The police were happy that the weather was a bit less than stellar - you can see how windy it is here, plus it was also raining off and on.

The police were happy that the weather was a bit less than stellar – you can see how windy it is here, plus it was also raining off and on.

Some fireworks in the sky. As you can see, you can buy professionalish fireworks, although not really the largest type of firework.

Some fireworks in the sky. As you can see, you can buy professional-ish fireworks, although not really the largest type.

Random person setting off a firework (and someone one else with one in the background)

Random person setting off a firework (and someone else with one in the background)

Awesome burning bench. Most of the photos I took were of things burning, but I decided to tone it down for this blog post. ;)

Awesome burning bench. Most of the photos I took were of things burning, but I decided to tone it down for this blog post. ;p

Leftovers for the fireworks. Just a small example of what the streets looked like. ;p

Leftovers. Just a small example of what the streets looked like in places.

Categories: Holidays | Tags: , | Leave a comment

2012 in review (Or: Oudjaarsavond)

Posted on December 31, 2012 by Niki

oudjaarsavond = Old Year’s Eve. I can’t believe it’s been two years since my last oudjaarsavond celebration.

***

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 16,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 4 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

Categories: Holidays | Tags: | Leave a comment

Oliebollen vendors (Or: The crazy things to get noticed)

Posted on December 30, 2012 by Niki

From Marco…

When Niki and I were doing some shopping the other day, we walked past an oliebollen kraam. While we didn’t buy any, we took a picture. Usually they are just regular looking food truck types.
This one had some crazy winter type stuff painted on it, of the “Tiroler” type. So some buxom serving wenches, beer steins etc. We didn’t need to buy oliebollen since my mom is making them for us. Yay.

oliebollen vendor in the Hague
Today was a lazy Sunday. We went to the Albert Heijn to get soup and bread for dinner and we read some pages of a Dutch book. Then we prepared to watch football. The Chicago Bears just won their game (but aren’t guaranteed a playoff spot yet) and next up are the Packers.
Oh and I spent some time playing a game on my tablet (playmobil pirates) while Niki did some work for the Avatar game we play.

I can’t believe we have one day left in this year.
It’s been a hectic one but a good year.
Now we gear up for 2013… Probably even more hectic. But Niki and I are ready for it!

Categories: Food | Tags: , | 1 Comment

Twelfth day (Or: Some keys of my own)

Posted on December 29, 2012 by Niki

One of the trips that Marco and I made this week was to the key shop to make copies of his keys (apartment entrance key, apartment door key, and mailbox key). 🙂

my own Dutch apartment keys

In my defense, I did not ask for the kitty design. It was just the one that they currently had available. ;p (But it does make it easier to tell the three keys apart, that’s for sure!)

Marco, Roger and I also went to Sumo (sushi and grilled restaurant) for dinner. In that restaurant, you are served in rounds, and it is all you can eat (if you arrive at 5PM like we did, you can eat until 7:30PM).

sake at a sushi restaurant

A drink of sake!

You can have up to 6 rounds of food, and you can have 5 items per person per round (so really it’s just a maximum of 15 total).

food at a sushi restaurant

round 1 of 4 (the first few dishes – probably about 6 or 7 more to arrive). Mostly sushi, with some chicken on the left and some mixed fruit in coconut sauce on the bottom (the last being sooo delicious)

We got to round 4, though we took it slow and ended at 7:30PM.

Dessert is your choice of an ice cream scoop. I had green tea, Marco had mango, and Roger had red bean ice cream. Good stuff! Next time I definitely need to try the mango ice cream, as it definitely had a kick to it.

ice cream at a sushi restaurant

Mango ice cream on the left, red bean above, and my green tea ice cream on the bottom

Categories: Food, News | Tags: | 3 Comments

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