As a continuation to my last blog post, here is a look at some magnolias in another park in The Hague, this time Huijgenspark. You can read more about the area (in English) at DenHaag.com.
Here is a beautiful close up:
Gorgeous, right?
The area even has its own Little Free Library.
As you might expect, the bench behind it gets vandalized a lot. See also denhaagfm.nl (article in Dutch).
The Zeeheldenkwartier is an area near the centre of The Hague, near Kelly’s Expat shopping. See also Google Maps. I recently took some photos of the star magnolia trees in the area:
You have to be quick with these – the trees have already started to lose some of their leaves. Here’s another look, with a monument to a politician, Hendrik Goeman Borgesius (English Wikipedia) in the foreground.
And finally, some very realistic looking graffiti:
See also this blog post about turtles in the same area, but in August.
Okay, I am exaggerating a bit. But if you were thinking of getting a good picture of the flags at the Hofvijver here in The Hague, thank again. There is currently construction on the tram tracks in front of the area. And that’s ignoring the nearby construction which means the Binnenhof is closed until at least 2028 (dutchnews.nl).
In the meantime visitors can visit the Information centre binnenhof Renovation – see also denhaag.com in English. You can find the information centre at Plaats 22, not far from the Binnenhof (Google Maps).
While walking recently I came across a group of Egyptian geese (admittedly, I had to use Google Images to figure out what type of goose it was). See also Wikipedia in English.
And here are all of the young walking near the water of the Hofvijver:
And as a bonus, here is the Haags Jantje statue in the same area. He is pointing to where his father works, at the parliament (Binnenhof). The boy referenced died in 1299 at age 15. You can read more about him in English at expathollandinfo.nl.
Personally I really like his (temporary) spring outfit. in his left hand he has some of the yellow flowers. In his right hand he has a crocheted bird and he also wears a crown of crocheted birds. Someone definitely went to the trouble to dress him up for spring.
Last weekend Marco and I were walking past Berlage Office & Gift which sells – you guessed it – office supplies and gifts. Their window display caught my eye. I just had to stop and take a photo.
It reminds me of my previous blog post where I wrote about a new store I found in The Hague: Meow & Muse.
I walked past a new store in The Hague today. Or at least it was a new store for me. It was at Nieuwstraat 120, walking towards the old city hall at the end of this street.
They have a website here: https://www.lovecatsclub.nl/webinar-registration. I’m not sure why that page of the website points to “webinar registration” nor am I sure why it is spelled “Moew & Muse” on the page heading, but the Shop Online tab definitely has some cute stuff.
Here are the opening hours:
Here is a look at what they were offering in the window. My apologies for cutting off the bottom of the card. It said “overflowing with sexy”. Heh.
And another look:
If you have any friends who love cats, check out this place for some cat themed gifts!
De Passage (a covered shopping area in The Hague’s city centre) has received a new coat of paint. Black paint around the trim to be precise. Every day they paint a bit more, leaving “wet paint” (English) and “nat” (Dutch) signs in their wake. Woe be the person who doesn’t notice…
One place that might have caused some issues was the angel wings photo opportunity area. I found the “nat” sign there amusing for some reason.
Another fun thing in De Passage is the Valentine’s Day promotion. Even though the holiday has already passed, the promotion is still available:
In English: Valentine’s Day in De Passage. Win a romantic one night hotel stay in De Passage or a box of chocolates worth 75 euros. Take a photo, share it on social media and tag @depassagethehague. (Yes, De Passage does have one or two hotel rooms for special occasions.)
Here is a look at where you take the photo, in the centre of De Passage. This is where the Christmas tree is usually at during the holidays.
Like I mentioned, it’s still up and available if you want to try your luck!
A few weeks ago I was wandering around in The Hague and I came across a piece of art. A sundial, to be exact. This was behind the Kneuterdijk palace.
Here is a close up:
Kneuterdijk palace was built in 1716. The garden where the artwork can be found is in the back of the palace. The gate was open when I walked past, so I assume it is usually open during the day. You can read more about the palace at denhaag.com (in English).
In public transportation news – random, I know – it has been a busy week in the Netherlands.
Hopefully HTM can bring back their full schedule later this year. But I’m aware of how good I have it, considering trams currently run every 10 minutes. But I remember when it was every 7 minutes…!
Last weekend Marco and I decided to go for Lebanese at Amier restaurant in The Hague’s city centre, in the same street as the American Book Center. I’ve walked past the restaurant time and time again over the years, but we had never been.
Since it was lunch we decided to share some small plates. Here’s a look at what we had:
We ordered four things:
It also came with a side dish of Lebanese bread. The meal was quite tasty, as expected. A bit more subtle than I was expecting, but definitely in a good way. Lots of lemon, but it was fine! It was also fun to have a lunch date with Marco.
A few weeks ago Marco and I tried Netherlands Bagels for the first time. It’s in the city centre, a few minutes walk from the Grote Kerk. This bagel shop sells New York style bagels (the owner is originally from New York). Read more about the shop’s history.
First, our drinks arrived. Very tasty chai lattes that definitely hit the spot.
I can’t lie – we were amused when the bagels came out. Why, you ask?
I mean, it is in the name: Netherlands Bagels. So the flags make sense. It’s still funny, though.
I had an everything bagel with peanut butter on the side. A bit of a rare combination, I admit, mixing the salty menu with the sweet menu (I had to double check that I could mix it like that). My tongue also thought it was a weird choice, but it worked fairly well. For me. And as always I requested the peanut butter on the side.
Marco had a bodega bagel (eggs, bacon and cheese). It looked so good I even had a bite or three. That says a lot considering I am very much not a fan of eggs (if it looks or tastes like egg, anyway). I mean, I have a tiny bit of scrambled eggs about every 5 years or so. That’s good, but only in limited amounts. But this was nice – the salty bacon paired nicely with the egg and I could see why people liked it. Hence my having three bites! I think Marco got concerned that I might eat all of it, but nope, I gave it back.
These were some tasty bagels; we’ll definitely go back to try some of the other varieties.
Life in the Hague 