During my guided tours through The Hague I often walk by the statue of Queen Wilhelmina, across from the Noordeinde Palace. If I do so in the company of Dutch people, their recognition is immediate: ‘Oh yes, Queen Wilhelmina!’ If I’m in the company of visitors from abroad they ask me hesitatingly ‘Is this a …
Nowadays, my search for recipes usually begins and ends on the internet. Not so in 1973! That year Saint Nicholas gave me my first cookbook, titled “Het Haagse Kookboek”. It was the 64th edition, and came with a very practical plastic cover, so stains could be wiped easily. Haagsche Cooking School The first formal cooking …
A well-known Dutch comedian once said: ‘The Dutch have only two problems: how to lose weight and where to park the car’. Perhaps it’s no surprise that these problems still bother many an inhabitant of The Hague.After the completion of the Museumkwartier Parking Garage at Tournooiveld, there are 320 new parking spaces in the city …
I consider myself an observant inhabitant of The Hague. But sometimes I find that I have been cycling past beautiful and interesting art without noticing it. So this time I show you the art at Zuiderpark. Art in Zuiderpark: how it started Have you visited the vast floral gardens at Keukenhof, in Lisse? Well, from …
I drink tea and don’t like coffee, my husband drinks coffee and doesn’t like tea. But talking about beverages, we are of the same opinion on one thing: The best and most interesting coffee and tea shop in The Hague is Inproc at Denneweg. Indische PROducten Centrale As early as 1853 the Leupen family had …
Seeing the title of this blog article, many people in The Hague would think I was referring to the bombing of the Bezuidenhout area in March 1945. But they would be wrong. During World War II, the Allies dropped bombs on more than one location in The Hague in their efforts to fight the evils …
The first time I could take part in a national election was in 1977. But, although I could cast my first vote in 1977, I could not have stood as a candidate for anything! Back then you had to be 21 to stand as a candidate. And in 1977 I had not yet reached that …
Each year in the weeks before Christmas, my choir performs in nursing homes. This year we sang in a home called “Het Zamen”. When I looked for directions I understood the peculiar spelling (“zamen” instead of “samen”).The nursing home’s address is “Esperantostraat” and this street intersects with “Zamenhofstraat”. To understand each other If we can …
It’s February 21, 1985 and I have a job interview in The Hague. It’s a cold day with temperatures between -0,2 °C and 4,3 °C. More importantly, we have had freezing nights since the start of February, with the temperatures dropping below -10 °C on several nights. Why do I trouble my readers with these …
Berlage, insurance company designer in The Hague Read More »
When I drive into The Hague from the north, I always use the “Landscheidingsweg”, or “land-dividing road”. The other day, whilst driving home, I wondered which “lands” are divided by this road. Below sea level Whenever I read the word “polder”, I hear my geography teacher’s voice in my ear: “A polder is a piece …
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