Posts Tagged With: Weather

Sun! (Or: The first signs of spring)

It is finally starting to feel like spring around here. On Thursday the temperature was around 16C/60F, although that was definitely the exception and not the norm. But the flowers have started to bloom, and coworkers are starting to talk fondly about the clocks changing at the end of the month to give us more daylight in the evenings…

It’s cherry blossom season in the Netherlands (but not for long!) from dutchreview.nl. Apparently you can find cherry blossoms in the Bankastraat, Prins Hendrikplein or near the Peace Palace. I haven’t really been on the look out – I only know of the more famous cherry trees in Japan or Washington D.C. – but maybe I should go have a look this weekend?

Sunday is also St. Patrick’s Day, which will be celebrated on Sunday in the Grote Markt from late afternoon to just before midnight. Read more at stpatricksdaydenhaag.nl.

In other news—I don’t think this will work but you have this over at The Guardian: ‘Would you like to explore with a spliff?’: Amsterdam tries to deter troublesome visitors with quiz.

And finally, here is a random photo of a poster from Extinction Rebellion I saw at a tram stop earlier this month. The group wants to block the A12 highway near Centraal Station again in April.

It reads:

Are you forgetting to sponsor the fossil industry?

Complete your tax returns before July 14. You contribute fairly, while big, dirty companies barely pay any tax. We give them 39.7 to 46.4 billion euros in subsidy – on average 5,000 euros per taxpayer. That way they can keep the billions in profits but not suffer the consequences.

Do you want to protest this? Visit belastingstaking.nl [belastingstaking = tax strike]

Actually, what caught my eye was the government logo at the top, just barely visible. It definitely looked legitimate until you read the text.

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

Time for snow (Or: Time to buy more sweaters?)

Today (December 3) is the Netherlands’ first day of snow. We won’t get a lot – somewhere between a good dusting to about an inch. It’ll probably disappear tomorrow as there is rain predicted tomorrow. Still, it does make for a white world, especially outside of the city. Although the snow didn’t start until after the sun went down so I don’t have any good photos this time around.

Here’s another photo of the Christmas decorations in De Passage lit up:

And here are a few articles I thought were interesting reads in the last week:

‘How do you reduce a national dish to a powder?’: the weird, secretive world of crisp flavours from theguardian.com. I thought it was a great read, although it doesn’t have that much to do with the Netherlands. But there is one reference: “Once the computers have done their job, the data makes its way to Wood. If she’s lucky, she can repurpose an existing flavour. In 2010, Lay’s launched Patatje Joppie in the Netherlands because of the nation’s love of Joppiesaus, a curried mayonnaise. Wood says the same flavour exists as Honey Mustard in other parts of the world. ‘We can play with the naming, because what you call something has a really big bearing on what people think it is.'” Admittedly, I have never tried that particularly flavor. It’s still going strong, though. Oh, and they say Germany loves the paprika (bell pepper) flavor. I am here to tell you that the Netherlands loves it just as much.

Another article I liked was over at Omroep West, although it’s in Dutch so Google Translate is your friend here. It talks about all of the weird, silly things that happened at voting locations in The Hague during the national elections a few weeks ago: Stempas van overleden vrouw en bijdehante fotograaf, gekke dingen tijdens verkiezingen in Den Haag, or, Voting ballot from deceased woman and wisecracking photographer, crazy occurrences during the elections in The Hague.

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Funny sandwich names (Or: Eggstra cheesy)

The weather has definitely turned; the cold fingers of fall has arrived. If you’re lucky you’ll get a moment of sun but otherwise it is just wind and rain. Therefore I haven’t taken many photos for the blog of late. So here is one from a month or two ago which I never got around to posting:

It shows two sandwiches which are on sale at the Pathé movie theatre. The one on the right is named “Eggstra cheesy” which is a horrible pun. Good, but horrible.

The one on the right is Boerengezond. That one is less punny and simply translates to “Farmer’s healthy sandwich”.

In other news:

Saturday first day below 15 degrees since May 17; ends record warm day streak from nltimes.nl. 15C is around 60F. It was a nice record while it lasted.

Van Gogh museum stops Pikachu card promo due to “chaos” from dutchnews.nl. They are cute cards (you should check them out) but really, anyone could have known that these would have been snatched up immediately and re-sold by scalpers.

This Dutch company invented sushi krokets (and we’re not sure how to feel about it) from dutchreview.com. (Krokets are breaded, deep-fried rolls usually filled with a sort of meat paste. See also Wikipedia.) This new product is called “crushi”. I am not sure how I feel about it, but who knows. I’d probably try it once.

Categories: Everyday purchases, Food | Tags: | Leave a comment

Photos of September days (Or: Summer is holding on)

I must admit we have had a lot of luck this summer with good weather, especially in the second half. (The first half could be eloquently described as rain, rain, rain.) With that being said, you can tell fall is approaching, with less sunlight and shorter days in general.

Here is a photo I took of Lange Voorhout, with the leaves on the ground:

And here is a photo from the Paleistuin (Palace gardens):

The building pictured is called Koninklijke Verzamelingen (Royal Collections). The website describes it as “the accumulation of objects and sources of information that members of the houses of Nassau and Orange-Nassau, and people around them, have gathered and kept over many centuries.” You get the idea.

One good thing about the approaching colder season? It’s much easier to sleep! Air conditioning in homes isn’t that common here so it can get warm at times. But now you can get onder the covers and make yourself nice and toasty.

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

A grey, rainy day (Or: Walking through The Hague)

On Sunday I went for a walk in the city centre, heading towards The Hague Centraal train station. Here are some of the photos that I took on that rainy, dreary day:

On Sunday there were flags honoring Ukraine’s Independence Day. You can see what flags were raised (or will be raised) between the years 2019-2023 by visiting denhaag.raadsinformatie.nl — click the second PDF at the bottom of the page.

The ever colorful gates of the Dutch Ministry of Finance, easy to spot if you visit in the weekend when the building is closed. (And no picture taken in The Netherlands is complete without getting at least one bicycle in the photo.)

And here is a good look at the dark and menacing sky. You can just see the NS logo (and thus The Hague Centraal station) on the left between the two flags.

After checking the weather for tomorrow’s commute, I have decided I will post this and go grab my umbrella so I don’t forget it. Sheesh!

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Dodging the summer storms (Or: A bit of rain would be nice, folks)

The highlight of the day was a predicted storm that would dump a lot of rain on the Netherlands. And it did… just not that much in The Hague. Booooo. Although I suppose that is for the best, considering if it rains too fast the ground wouldn’t be able to soak it up anyway. But except for a bit of rain a few nights ago, it’s been at least a month since it has rained in NL. The plants and grass are definitely starting to turn yellow! Or are completely yellow, in some cases.

Urgent Code Orange storm warning issued for floods, hail, wind, & lightning from nltimes.nl

Dozens of flights delayed or cancelled at Schiphol as storm approaches the northeast, also from nltimes.nl (Glad I am not flying today!)

(translated as “I’m in the mood for summer, man”)

In other news… ‘Dutch by default’: Netherlands seeks curbs on English-language university courses from theguardian.com. It is indeed quite easy at the moment to follow an education in this country without knowing any Dutch at all.

And, just for fun, here is a photo of a flower on Vondelstraat, a street on the way to Kelly’s expat store:

They definitely caught my eye as I walked past.

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Eye catching (Or: BlowUp Art in The Hague)

This past May The Hague was host to an art festival called BlowUp Art. The festival was an initiative of Pulchri Studio. I previously wrote a blog post about the sculptures they had placed on the Lange Voorhout.

Here is a look at one of the six creations featured in the BlowUp Art festival:

This piece is called “Crested” and it was created by Steven Messam.

In other news, the Netherlands will get to experience its first mini heat wave this weekend! Temperatures are expected to be around 30C or 85F here in The Hague. Time to find my sunscreen…

Dit weekend zomerse temperaturen: meer openbaar vervoer naar stranden from nos.nl. Translated: This weekend summer tempatures: more public transportation to beaches. For instance, HTM here in The Hague will be running the Strandexpress tram (=beach express), with limited stops between the Holland Spoor train station, Centraal Station, Madurodam and the beach. And of course it won’t be enough as everyone will descend on the beach with their car, bike or feet!

Categories: Culture, The Hague | Tags: , , | 2 Comments

A new Dutch reading board (Or: This one is a bit tastier)

At some point last month Marco and I were at a store and spotted a different type of reading board. Dutch reading boards have been used for over a century to teach kids how to read. It shows all of the commonly used consonants, vowels and diphthongs in the Dutch language, with words and pictures like aap, noot or mies (ape, nut, word for a woman or kat). See also the photos at this Dutch Wikipedia page. You can also read more about the history of Dutch reading boards (link in English).

Or you can just admire the reading board that Marco and I spotted that is crafted especially for men, apparently:

Leesplank voor kerels = reading board for men.

And here is a random link of the day: in 51 places in The Hague you can take an umbrella / leave an umbrella for free (article in Dutch at denhaag.nl).

Categories: Culture, Everyday purchases, Reading | Tags: , | Leave a comment

Beautiful blue canals (Or: Another view of The Hague)

Last week I took a walk to the old Red Cross hospital in Segbroek, a neighborhood in The Hague. It was time to get another corona vaccination. It was a route I hadn’t taken before, so I was pleasantly surprised to see a beautiful view of one of the canals:

I love photographing trees dipping into the water. And the blue, slightly cloudy sky was also nice to photograph.

In other news:

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Anyone ready for a heat wave? (Or: Issues with Buienradar)

Buienradar.nl is a well-known Dutch website for weather. Buien = showers/rainfall.

A few days ago they had this as a 14 day prediction for The Hague:

In other words, late next week the temperature would go from about 66F to 95F. That sounds nice! But no, it was just an unfortunate bug in the data which has since been fixed. Actually the temperatures will be dropping from 17C to 13C (62F to 55F). It is probably for the best that it isn’t 95F in late October…

See also: Buienradar: in deel Zuid-Holland volgende week 36 graden from omroepwest.nl.

Categories: Daily Dutch living | Tags: , | Leave a comment

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