Recent photos that I took of Hop & Stork in De Passage, a covered shopping area in the heart of The Hague. The creations they can make with chocolate are just insane…
Dressed up and on your way to a fancy Christmas soirée…
Tasty!
Chocolate Christmas decorations (Or: Hop & Stork)
Categories: Dordrecht, Food, Holidays, The Hague
Tags: Chocolate, Christmas, De Passage
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Christmas shopping on the Fred (Or: Life-sized Disney decorations)
A few days back I was doing some Christmas shopping at “The Fred” which is short for Frederick Hendriklaan, a street in the Statenkwartier neighborhood. There are a lot of international organizations and businesses in this part of The Hague.
Much to my delight, I saw some cute Christmas decorations:
There was also Pluto:
And Olaf:
I never knew how popular Frozen was until I went to Disneyland Paris last month…
Apparently there was also Minnie Mouse and Goofy, but I missed those (news article in Dutch).
5 years in the Netherlands (Or: Wow!)
Today marks five years to the day since I arrived in the Netherlands. It is amazing how time files… Yesterday was otherwise a very typical December day:
- We visited the Christmas Fair at the Lange Voorhout
- We went grocery shopping at the local Albert Heijn (this one being of the “XL” variety over on Elandstraat)
- We baked cookies (see below)
- We started working on Christmas cards… we are really behind on the international cards this year!
To mark the occasion of “five years in the Netherlands” I made lemon cookies. You can find the recipe in Dutch over at OhMyFoodness. It’s one of my favorite recipes to make. The cookies turn out very lemony and chewy – just the way I like it!
Five years! I couldn’t bake five years ago if my life depended on it…
Crunch crunch crunch (Or: Snow!!!)
Snow!
Snow!
Snow!
In the last two days we’ve received more snow than I’ve probably seen in the almost 5 years I’ve been here (and wow, next Monday is officially 5 years!) Yesterday wasn’t too bad – most people did not have to work. Indeed, Marco and I went outside yesterday and took some pictures.
snowfall yesterday. bus 22, with the oliebollen stand behind
But today would prove to be slightly more chaotic. Schiphol is currently trying to decide if they put out bedding for stranded travellers; about one third of the flights are cancelled and buses and trains aren’t running there. No trains to or from Amsterdam or Utrecht (in the heart of the Netherlands) at the moment. For a while the HTM buses here in The Hague stopped riding, but some lines are riding again.
I knew I had to go into work – my work computer was there! – but Marco was kind enough to walk me to my tram stop. It started snowing again in the late morning, so I stuck around until just after 1pm, and then went home to finish off my work there.
Anyone for a creme brûlée latee? (Or: Urban cafe)
is a cafe across from the central library, near the city hall. Marco and I went there a few months back. At that time I snapped this photo:
As usual: I have a black coffee and Marco has a cappuccino
It was quite tasty, with an interesting concept (it is part of a furniture store). There is also upstairs seating.
But what I want to try the next time we go there? That would be the creme brûlée latte. It sounds delicious…
MingleMush (Or: A food hall in The Hague)
MingleMush is an indoor food hall that opened behind The Hague’s Central Station in June of this year. Marco and I have been going for the last few months. It’s a very interesting concept – there are about 15 food stands in this indoor food hall, with centralized seating around them. Ideal when you go with a group of friends — each person can order from a different food stand.
Some of the choices include paninis (my favorite!), Thai, Lebanese, Mexican, Italian (pizza and gelato), burgers&fries and more. They also have a few drink stands for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
MingleMush has a website, but I do not find it that informative. The main thing to know is that you can’t use cash, you can only pin. Which is fine, cash is so last century…
During our visit to MingleMush yesterday, I took a picture of the Christmas tree that was recently added:
Yes, the lights twinkle. And check out the wall in the background.
Two of the food stalls – Don Brûlée and Pierogies.
Awesome cow at the panini stand!
I definitely love this place and hope it succeeds. It’s not perfect but the main complaint is that there are times when half of the stands can be closed. For instance, when Marco and I visited on Saturday around 1pm, half of the stands were closed. That is fine, but why don’t they put up a sign saying they are either closed for the day or the time when they do expect to open? Just give us a bit more information.
Upstairs they have a small arcade (free bathrooms as well)
Also, depending on when you go it can be very crowded and loud, but I think that is just a sign I am getting old!
A view of some of the stands from above. The brightly lit windows on the other side are where the trams 2, 3, 4 and 6 pass by on the way to and from Central Station.
Definitely give it a try. You won’t be disappointed.
That time of year! (Or: Gourmet minis at Albert Heijn)
One of the best things about the upcoming holidays (besides finally having a few days off – the last public holiday was June 5th!) is breaking out the gourmet set for New Year’s Eve.
Gourmetten is awesome. You have a little grill that goes in the middle of the dinner table and you spend a few hours grilling meats, vegetables (onions, paprika), and other miscellaneous items like pineapple (yuuuum!).
To get a sense of what it is like, check out this blog post from 2015.
Mickey time (Or: More photos from Disneyland Paris)
I have so many photos to show, and not enough blog posts…
First, a few photos of Marco, Roger and I’s trip to Disneyland Paris with Dutch influence:
A look at the Dutch section of the “It’s a small world” attraction – windmills, tulips and clogs of course!
Outside, the various translations of “It’s a small world!”. The Dutch translation is off to the right, in blue. “De wereld is maar klein, hoor!”
Restaurant menu from “Silver Spur” – a steakhouse we ate at on our last night at the park.
(above) They had asked what country we were from. When we got to the table we were handed Dutch menus. A thoughtful gesture, but we weren’t sure how the wait staff would understand what we wanted to order. Perhaps it would be done on the “point with your finger” system.
The only confusing thing was that the dessert section read “Coffee or tea, 11 euros” in Dutch. We were very confused. How could coffee or tea cost 11 euros? We later got our hands on an English menu which read “Coffee or tea, plus a selection of desserts, 11 euros”. Okay, that makes more sense!
Weekendje weg (Or: Disneyland Paris, 25th anniversary)
Weekendje weg = a short weekend trip. A bit ironic here, since our trip was five days…
Last weekend (Thurs-Mon), Marco, Roger and I went to Disneyland Paris. This was my second time – the first was during our honeymoon in 2013. And this time we splurged a bit, booking a suite in Sequoia Lodge, a hotel themed after the American northwest. The excuse was that we were with three adults, so this way everyone has plenty of room! And little did we know that the complimentary VIP fast passes (unlimited use) would quickly come in handy when we realized we arrived in the middle of a French school holiday…
We went by train, taking the Thalys from Rotterdam. First class! So free breakfast when you board at 7am. That got us to Gare du Nord, the train station in Paris. Then we had to take the metro (45 minutes to an hour) to get to Disneyland itself. It’s east of the city. We booked “Disneyland express” which meant that when you arrive at the Disney train station you can drop off your luggage and collect your park entrance tickets and VIP fast passes right then and there. They deliver your luggage to the hotel while you go straight to the park. We ended up not getting to the hotel until around 8 or 9pm that night.
Another perk of the room type – separate registration area! It was like opening a new bank account – you went to a desk, with two chairs for the guests. You have a seat while they get the last formalities squared away. There was a bowl of 25th anniversary golden coins (dark chocolate), free for the taking. We took a few, not knowing just how many we’d get during this five day trip…
At this point the worker called someone to let them know what our room number was so they could deliver the luggage to the room and open the sofa bed for Roger. We didn’t go to the room right away, but instead headed over to the “Golden Forest” lounge (for anyone with a Golden Forest room or better). It was a strange experience – there was no one else there! Unfortunately that was the only time we would see the place empty again.
The advantage of the Golden Forest lounge – it is also a breakfast area, and you can get breakfast whenever you want between 7 and 11am. During breakfast they open both rooms. The first time Marco and I went to Disneyland together, we stayed at the New York hotel and had to pick half hour slots when we wanted to have breakfast (first come first serve at hotel checkin). This was much more relaxed.
Last days of summer (Or: A walk through the Haagse Bos and Benoordenhout)
A few weeks ago – the last decent warm day, really – Marco and I took a walk from Central Station through the Haagse Bos (The Hague forest) towards Benoordenhout, a district of The Hague.
Monument to Emma, Queen consort of the Netherlands
Above is a monument to Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont, the mother of Queen Wilhema. After the death of her husband, King Willem III, Emma became the Queen Consort of the Netherlands in 1890. This lasted until 1898 when Wilhema came of age.
(Huh. There’s a tram stop/street called Waldeck Pyrmontkade. And now I know why.)
Building for Scouting Stanley 55.
Above is a building for the scouting group Scouting Stanley 55.
Statue of Maria Gravin van Bylandt
It is a bit hard to tell in this photo but the woman is holding a dog in her lap. This is Maria Gravin van Bylandt, whose organization promotes projects which help people as well as animals.
The Gravin van Bylandt Stichting
Albert Heijn of yesteryear
And the last photo is of an Albert Heijn (local supermarket) which still has the older, golden logo. Cool!
Life in the Hague 