Life in the Hague

Upside down delicacy (Or: Port infused Stilton cheese)

Posted on January 6, 2015 by Niki

Okay, I can assume that this is one post Roger will not “like”! (He is not a cheese person.)

Earlier in December one of our friends visited from England. We showed him around The Hague and a little bit of Amsterdam. One of our stops while in Amsterdam was Albert Heijn of all places. It is one of the many Dutch grocery store chains. This one was close to Central Station so it was interesting to see just how many items on offer were geared towards tourists. Things like drop (black licorice), stoopwafels (syrup waffles) and more. All of it was offered in pretty touristy bins.

Another unexpected thing we saw was cheese being infused with port.

In this case the bottle was simply turned upside down into the partially scooped out cheese. I found what looks to be a pretty decent link on how to accomplish it by doing a Google search.

I was never a big cheese eater growing up (at least nothing that definitely had visible fungus growing on it) so I am not sure if I would be adventurous enough to try this one. Maybe another day!

Categories: Food | Tags: Albert Heijn | 4 Comments

Cloud Gate sculpture (Or: Chicago’s skyline)

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Niki

If you have ever been to Chicago, chances are you have been to the Cloud Gate. The locals call it “The bean”. It is a huge metallic sculpture which has impressive reflective qualities. This was my favorite “tourist” photo from the Chicago trip. (You can get an idea of the size if you look underneath to see the shadows of people taking pictures.)

You can see the skyline at nighttime, reflected on its surface.

Funny story – we actually went there to listen to a choir singing Christmas songs. This was supposed to happen every Friday in December from 6:00-7:00pm. By the time we got there at 6:45pm, people were leaving. Hmph. I know the website says that it might be shortened due to extreme cold, but it wasn’t that cold! Oh well. Maybe the next time we are in Chicago for Christmas.

Categories: Holidays | Tags: Chicago, Vacation | 2 Comments

Crib puppies (Or: At the Fox Valley Mall)

Posted on January 4, 2015 by Niki

One of the places that we visited during our trip to Chicago was the Fox Valley Mall, which is in one of the suburbs.

There is a store to buy… puppies! Of course all of the puppies are showcased in baby cribs. Can’t have it any other way.

The one big rule is that you do not reach in to pet the puppies – although when we were there, there were two girls who oooh’d and ahhh’d as they reached in. The puppy calmly rolled over and let its belly get scratched. (A few seconds later a worker came over and politely asked them to stop.)

A bundle of cuteness, though who knows how long they have to wait in the crib before being taken back to the backroom and allowed to rest away from the prying gaze of people. I’ve also always found it a bit odd that there isn’t much of a blanket for them to lay on, though I am sure accidents are frequent in this line of business.

But they sure are cute.

And one picture of the mall’s Christmas tree to close things off. 🙂

Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: Dogs, Malls | 1 Comment

Patio chair destruction (Or: Squirrel entertainment)

Posted on January 2, 2015 by Niki

While Marco, Roger and I were staying with family in Chicago, we encountered a most peculiar sight. A very hungry squirrel!

Enter Mr. Patio chair killer:

How is that fluff tasting Mr. Squirrel? You’ve got quite the appetite there.

Yep, that’s right. Pose for the camera now!

Actually in all honesty he was gathering materials for a nest probably, not eating it. But he took so much he must have been eating it on the side…

Here is a final look at the damage. You can see the top of the chair being molested, but it is nothing compared to the bottom of the chair where the guy really dug in. At some points he was actually *inside* the chair. We watched the cushion bounce around a bit as he dug into it.

Unfortunately I missed out on the opportunity to get the best picture of all — at some point he was on the sliding glass door itself, hanging upside down on the screen showing his furry chest at us.

It goes without saying that after the screen incident, the chair cushions were removed and thrown in the trash. And of course they filled up a large trash can all by themselves…

Categories: News | 2 Comments

New Years in The Hague (Or: Lines for oliebollen)

Posted on December 31, 2014 by Niki

On the way through Centrum this afternoon, I just had to stop and take a photo of the line of people waiting to buy oliebollen, which is sort of like a doughnut. (Actually the Wikipedia article for oliebollen says that it was the inspiration for doughnuts, so there you go.) They are usually covered in powdered (confectioner’s) sugar.

Now that is a long line! When I left for work this morning I wondered why they needed five people working this stand. Now I know why!

Marco and I are now at Roger’s to spend the night. There are basically fireworks going off every second somewhere… It it also important to get to where you need to be a bit early, as the trains have their last run at 8pm and the buses/trams around 8:30 due to how crazy it can get with fireworks in this country. Oh and yeah maybe the transport workers want a holiday too. 😉

Categories: Food, Holidays, The Hague | Tags: Fireworks, New Year's Eve, Oliebollen | 2 Comments

Christmas in Chicago (Or: Random photos)

Posted on December 27, 2014 by Niki

Marco, Roger and I are currently in Chicago for the holidays. 🙂 I am currently writing this blog post on my new iPad! A Christmas gift to myself…

Here are some of the photos that we have taken on this trip (but only a few – not all of the photos are on the iPad yet).

Above is a Christmas tree outside of the Best Buy in Chicago on Michigan Avenue.

Double Tree hotel at the Magnificent Mile

Above is a picture of the hotel lobby we stayed at, with Christmas decorations. Of course the advantage to this hotel is the warm chocolate chip cookies – that was all Marco and Roger talked about for months after booking the hotel. Of course we ended up getting chocolate chip cookies with walnuts but they’re testily very tasty so no one minded… Also funny: this hotel is right by Navy Pier but we didnt visit it at all (this trip anyway – last trip to the city we did).

Post Office in Chicago, flat rate boxes

Here is a random photo of a post office display for flat rate boxes. You have various size boxes available and you can ship whatever is in that box for a flat rate (so a small box is always so many dollars, etc). Technically the boxes are “free” but it costs money to ship them. Marco uses these to send Dutch candy to a friend of ours in California.

And here is something for Marco’s mother, who loves tigers. This was for purchase at the souvenir shop at Lincoln Park zoo. Sorry but it did not fit in our luggage!

Categories: Holidays | Tags: Chicago, Christmas, Vacation | Leave a comment

Waiting for your tram? (Or: Play the HTM piano)

Posted on December 21, 2014 by Niki

Imagine my surprise when Marco and I went down to the Spui tram stop (which is underground) and saw a piano available for playing.

The piano was offered through HTM, the public transportation service of The Hague. Pretty neat idea! Read more here (in Dutch).

Categories: Holidays | Tags: Christmas, HTM | Leave a comment

Debt free (Or: Student loans paid off

Posted on December 17, 2014 by Niki

Woohoo! It took nine and a half years but my student loans are now paid off.

As a present I am treating myself to an iPad Air 2. My first tablet ever. 🙂

We’re off to Chicago tomorrow, visiting family for the holidays.

Categories: Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Back again (Or: Christmas tree in The Hague)

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Niki

Marco and I were walking through the Passage yesterday and noticed that the Christmas tree was back again this year. This is sort of a surprise because when Apple moved into the spot a few years ago, they stated in their contract that the Christmas tree (which had been there for years) was no longer allowed. The first and second years the Christmas tree did appear because the Apple store wasn’t open yet. However, the Apple store opened over the summer, so no more Christmas tree, right?

Wrong!

You can see the Apple store behind the tree.

Happy holidays!

Categories: Holidays, The Hague | Tags: Apple, Christmas, De Passage | Leave a comment

Party time (Or: Christmas trivia

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Niki

Today was a holiday party for work. It was held at Restaurant Pavlov in The Hague. That place is a lot bigger than it looks from the outside! The food included things such as cinnamon rolls (that one was new for me, but it was tasty), salmon wraps, wraps with goat’s cheese, pears soaked in cinnamon sauce, pumpkin soup and more.

We also held a round of trivia, including such questions as:

How many desserts are there during a traditional French Christmas dinner? 13 (it represents Jesus and the 12 apostles, according to Wikipedia).

Which country gives London the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree? Norway.

In which country is the Poinsettia plant commonly found? Mexico.

In America there is a Christmas event called “Running of the Santas”. What type of event is this? A bar crawl (visiting many bars to drink).

How do you say “Merry Christmas” in Dutch? Prettige feestdagen (and other ways).

How many points/sides are in a snowflake? 6. (Read the scientific explanation.)

Whose story was used for A Nightmare before Christmas? Tim Burton’s.

Who wrote the score for The Nutcracker? Tchaikovsky.

All in all, a fun event.

Categories: Holidays, Working & Volunteering | Tags: Christmas | Leave a comment