Posts Tagged With: Spring

Flowers and sweets (Or: Marakesh bakery)

Posted on February 18, 2020 by Niki

A photo taken a few months back, of a local bakery by the Holland Spoor train station, Marakesh bakery:

A very Spring-like photo, which is timely considering the weather of late. On the one hand we’ve had a few storms – storm Ciara two weekends ago and storm Dennis last weekend. In the United States these storms would be better known as winter storm Kade and winter storm Mabel. It’s interesting to think about how far these storms travel.

On the other hand the photo is ‘timely’ due to the fact that storm Dennis brought along warm temperatures, helping break the record for the warmest February 16 by 03:20 in the morning (around 56F) with temperatures in the southeast maxing out around 63F. The only problem is that the storm brought along a lot of rain and wind. The rain is luckily gone, but like the first storm the wind will hang around for a few more days.

So don’t let go of your hat just yet…

Categories: The Hague | Tags: Spring, Weather | 5 Comments

Flowers in the sun (Or: A spring day)

Posted on April 27, 2019 by Niki

Here are a few more photos from last weekend’s gorgeous sun:

The shape of the purple-pink flowers is especially eye-catching.

These bright red flowers are along the water by the Buitenhof

Flowers in the foreground, monument to Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach in the background.

The stone building on the right is the former American embassy of The Hague, which since moved further away from the city centre. The monument in the distance is to Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, a Dutch colonel back in the 18th century.

Categories: The Hague | Tags: Flowers, Spring, Statues | 2 Comments

Warm weather (Or: Who needs a jacket?)

Posted on April 20, 2019 by Niki

Yesterday I had the day off so I went for a walk. The weather has been great for the Easter holiday: 70-75F with a ton of sun. One of the places I walked through is the Binnenhof, a place mentioned a lot on this blog. I like going there and watching the tourists, actually. It’s weird to live somewhere that tourists visit. So I go there and watch the families and friends excitedly taking photos of this and that…

Here is my photo, with the beautiful blue sky behind.

Categories: Culture, The Hague | Tags: Binnenhof/Buitenhof, Spring, Tourist attraction | Leave a comment

To celebrate the good weather (Or: By Hofhouse)

Posted on February 27, 2019 by Niki

Full disclosure: this picture was actually taken at the end of June last year, on a Friday. The weather was spectacular that day. It was taken at Hofhouse, here in The Hague. The only drawback is they aren’t open in the weekends, although that makes sense since they are reliant on the traffic to Central Station.

Marco and I enjoying a beer at the start of the weekend last year

This week’s weather has also been great, considering it is mid-February. The weekend and the last few days have been 15C-18C (about 60-65F). Of course, the weather gets colder after today, but still – we are still above average temperatures tomorrow.

And it’s not even March yet… kind of scary, when you think about it!

Categories: The Hague | Tags: Hofhouse, Spring, Weather | 4 Comments

SUN! and music (Or: Bevrijdingsfestival in The Hague)

Posted on May 5, 2018 by Niki

The Netherlands is enjoying a rare dose of sun this weekend! And like all good Dutchies, this means going outside to a café or restaurant and baking under the sun for a few hours.

Flowers at the Hof House https://www.hofhouse.nl

This afternoon Marco, Roger and I went to the Bevrijdingsfestival in The Hague. Bevrijdingsdag, or Liberation Day, is celebrated on May 5 each year. The day commemorates the end of Nazi occupation during World War II. The day before, May 4, commemorates the Remembrance of the Dead.

One of the music stages at the festival

Bevrijdingsfestival music in The Hague, 2018

Another music stage, in the background. The woman in yellow is receiving a ‘Dutch kiss’ (the custom where you kiss each other on the cheek three times to say hello or goodbye).

Vrijheid display at the Bevrijdingsfestival in The Hague, 2018

Vrijheid = Freedom

And do you see what the letters are made of, above? Juliper beer crates! (Juliper is one of the sponsors of the event.)

Now if you excuse me, I will go back to basking in the sun…

Categories: Holidays, The Hague | Tags: Flowers, Music, Spring | Leave a comment

Days off (Or: Musings in the library)

Posted on April 17, 2018 by Niki

This past Friday was my birthday. And what better way to celebrate that then taking the day off from work? I am currently in the middle of reading Haruki Murakami’s Killing Commendatore, a novel published over two volumes (about 500 pages each!).

Thus Friday morning was a treat to myself: I went to the central library, ordered an iced coffee, and sat down in the café to read the second volume. In Dutch.

Two reasons that I mention that it was in Dutch:

For some reason this novel won’t be released in English until October. Part 1 has been out since November in Dutch, and part two has been out since January. It’s crazy (but cool) to know you are reading something — and can read something — that hasn’t even been released in English yet.
At some point during the morning I realized that there was a conversation going on to the right of me, at another table. Two women were talking in a mixture of Dutch and English, but since I had my headphones in I hadn’t realized right away. After a few minutes and based on the content of the conversation, I realized that it was probably a taalcoach and taalmaatje (language coach and student) from SamenSpraak.

And it was at that moment when I realized I have come a long way in the last five years, from barely knowing any Dutch to being 700 pages into what is effectively a 1,000+ page novel.

Categories: Reading | Tags: Books, SamenSpraak, Spring | Leave a comment

Stirrings of spring (Or: Flowers by the Buitenhof)

Posted on May 4, 2017 by Niki

Spring is probably here already, but some days it feels so cold. At least there are beautiful flowers to enjoy!

Flowers by Buitenhof, The Hague

This is by the Buitenhof in The Hague.

Categories: The Hague | Tags: Binnenhof/Buitenhof, Flowers, Spring | Leave a comment

The stirrings of spring (Or: Flowers to photograph)

Posted on April 1, 2017 by Niki

On Thursday evening Marco and I decided to take full advantage of the beautiful weather and walk outside after dinner. One thing that caught my eye was a beautiful bank of flowers that the city had placed around the ‘De Plaats’ plaza:

Flower bank in The Hague at De Plaats

This plaza is well known for the statue of Johan de Witt. He and his brother Cornelis were executed at the plaza in 1672. Wikipedia has a nice photograph of the unveiling of the statue by Queen Wilhelmina in 1918. Almost 100 years ago!

And one more close up:

Curious where De Plaats is in The Hague? It’s across the street from the Hofvijver, in the city center. It is also really close to the Dutch parliament.

De Plaats, The Hague - Spring time flowers

Categories: The Hague | Tags: Flowers, Spring | Leave a comment

Springtime flowers in The Hague (Or: Sun!)

Posted on April 19, 2015 by Niki

Lately the temperature has been climbing up – bit by bit, with lapses back into cold rainy days from time to time, but it is definitely springtime. It’s still generally in the high 50s or low 60s, but it is an improvement. Usually!

Along with most of our days off (holidays) falling in April-June, this marks the time when outdoor events begin. For example, yesterday was the Dag van de Haagse Geschiedenis (in Dutch, Day of History of The Hague). Next weekend is the Life I Live festival (Dutch | English). This festival is found throughout the center of The Hague, on nine different stages, from 7pm to 1:30am. It falls on King’s Day eve, the night before the King’s birthday.

How do I feel about spring finally being here? Well, here’s a cappuccino smiley to show you:

Of course the forehead makes it look slightly evil… just don’t feed it after midnight.

Categories: The Hague | Tags: Flowers, Spring | 1 Comment

Bird nests (Or: The A in Hema)

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Niki

As I was walking past Hema a few days ago, just after 8AM, I noticed something peculiar in the A of the logo. A bird nest:

A closer look:

Good choice for a nest — the capital letter (A) offers the most protection from predators.

Categories: The Hague | Tags: Birds, HEMA, Spring | 6 Comments