Merry Christmas and Happy new year!!!!

Today a white view of the border of Westbroekpark. Many people went out to make photos of those very nice landscapes around. It has not snowed, the frost has covered everything white. It is very beautiful!

The Hague Daily Photo is going on holidays for 2 weeks. I wish you all a very nice Christmas time, and will be back on 7 January.

The frozen Hofvijver

This main water pond in the centre was nearly frozen today as temperatures remained very cold. The birds did not have a lot of water left to be able to swim around!

"Sea Horse"

As the temperature did not climb above 0 degree (celsius) today, I brought the kids to the aquarium, where we found a new room dedicated to sea horses. To me, this is one of the most amazing species in the underworld. I love the way they look and move.

Did you know by the way that with pipefishes, they are notable for being the only species in which males become "pregnant"! Seahorse fishing is strictly illegal as it became an endangered species but it is still widely used in traditional Chinese herbology (they are used to treat a variety of ailments including asthma, arteriosclerosis, incontinence, impotence, thyroid disorders, skin ailments, broken bones, and heart disease...).

30 Boat houses

About 30 "home boats" are parked in the Soestdjiksekade in the centre. Next month, works will start to give the canal a greener look by planting extra trees. Despite the cold weather, the water on the canals is not frozen yet. We'll still have to wait for a new edition of the 11-city ice-skating marathon (200kms skating race), which took place for the last time in 1997.

Get saved....

First time I see this American school bus parked in one of the main shopping streets of the city. I find the setting quite funny, but still wonder how many people will step on the bus for this kind of journey. If you fancy it, the bus is also available for rent for wedding parties (!)) and other events (see their website).

If the main objective of the Foundation Saved is to proclaim the Word of Jesus Christ, they also want to warn people against the dangers of drugs, alcohol en (house)music, a much more pragmatic approach to religion...

LightArt Kijkduin (2/2)

There is also a charity side I wanted to mention about this installation, organised by Right to Play, an international organization that helps children to practice sport and promote peace: 24 light balls have been painted mainly by ex-top skaters and soccer players from The Hague and will be auctioned early next year. Last year, they managed to give 15.000 euro to Unicef.

LightArt Kijkduin (1/2)

Since 1 December (and until the end of January), you can enjoy this wonderful installation of 162 light balls of different sizes (from 0,5m to 1m) placed along the beach boulevard in Kijkduin. This is the second year it happens. I have to say, it gives the beach a bit of a lunar landscape, but is very enjoyable to see.

New sculpture?

No, this is neither a new sculpture from Tinguely, nor a Calder mobile, but only a new playground for the kids in the centre... Quite futurist.

Out of the window

Walking in "Om en Bij", I was passing by this house when my eyes caught up this model out of the window on the top floor. Click on the picture to enlarge it and see it better! It did give me an odd feeling to see it there like he was watching the passers-by.

"Om en Bij" is a very nice string of dead end streets in the Schilderswijk district in the centre. The name comes from a a nice cottage house with a cupola, that people used to call "Om en Bij" (a bit similar to the one in Clingendael); around it, farmlands. This house was sold around 1810, and 40 years later, 120 very small working-class houses are built around inner courtyards. It looks extremely charming,

Nicest shopwindow of The Hague

This is the very nice shopfront of the Zwennes family business. It is since 1905 located on the Brouwersgracht. The unique glass fronts are the work of an old glazier, De Wolf (set up in 1843, bankrupt in 1966). The bricks on the facade are entirely covered with glass, advertising for stoves, heaters, cookers, kitchen articles, but also prams and buggies (see the drawings)!

Dirty canal

Here the bridge along the Hooftskade/Zuidwal canal in the Schilderswijk district of The Hague. Enlarge the photo and see how many plastic bottles are floating in the water....

This corner of the Hague represents a third of the city centre and was originally developed following strong demand in cheaper housing at the end of the XIX century (the population of the Hague grew between 1875 and 1900 from 100.000 to more than 200.000 inhabitants). Now, nearly 90% of the people leaving in this part are Turks, Moroccans or from Surinam and Dutch Antilles and this district is one of the poorest ones in the country...

Tree inscriptions

Walking in Clingendael again, I passed by this tree which had indecipherable inscriptions carved in its bark. One was clearly 1970, hence dating back some years already! Funny enough, I only noticed it on one tree.....Maybe it is very special!!!

Graffiti work (2)

Here is the second part of the street mural painted in the 1e Haagpoort street opposite the main department stores in the city centre V&D and de Bijenkorf. Here earlier this month I posted the picture of the other part. It is just very colorful and actually, very nice.

Reading further into the archive of the Council House, I just found out that those street murals were in fact commissioned by the Council to a group of artists called Soulsur5 in Sept 2004, are unique by the size in the whole of the country, and should not at all be called "graffiti" .... as it is a call to keep the city walls cleared of graffitis!

Father Christmas

Here we are!!! Sinterklaas is gone, all minds are now switched towards Father Christmas. Christmas trees are being decorated, lights are lit up everywhere, Christmas markets also open this week-end in different locations, and companies have started to organize their Christmas parties. December is really the party month!

Birds

End of the day in Zuiderpark. As often in Holland, beautiful sky. But try to count the birds!!! For a second I thought of Hitchcook's movie The birds. Those are carrion crows, not specially kind birds.

An old car - quizz.....

I just liked the old car parked in front of an Italian icecream-maker. I'm so bad in cars... Can anybody tell me which brand this is and from which year?

"Open" jail

This is the entrance to a very special part of the main prison of the Hague (the same compound holds one United Nations Detention Unit where _suspected_ war criminals are detained (Charles Taylor, the late Milosevic. Do not forget that The Hague is called the "legal capital of the world" and houses many international legal organizations such as International Criminal Court, the Yugoslav Tribunal, etc...).

As you can see on that picture, the door is open!!!! This is the POI or "Penitentiair Open Inrichting", which means the "Open" prison. Prisoners with less than 5 months to go can be offered this opportunity as a way to accelerate their re-insertion into normal life: they work or study during the day, have to be back inside by 10pm, and are allowed to go home in the weekend.

Chinese breakfast?

Two months ago the first Chinese hotel opened in the chinese neighborhood in the centre. The 3-star Wahdo hotel has 20 rooms, is named after a Chinese city, and offers a Chinese roof garden that I still need to visit. Of course, Chinese breakfast is offered to the guests. If you want to find out what Chinese people eat for breakfast, have a look here! Enjoy it!!!!

Dutch colours

Walking along the Troelstrakade, South-west of the city, you'll find many boat houses where people permanently live. The council house is trying to regulate the number of boat houses by requiring a permit. Expect to pay around 200,000 euro for a 17m*5m boat house in this location....

Sport fishing

That's the great thing about living next to a fishing harbour: you can do all kinds of outings with friends or colleagues such as sport fishing, on one of the pictured boats. Being on the eastside of the North Sea, the coast is exposed to the westerly winds and thus can bring some stiff offshore sailing conditions when the wind is blowing onshore with large waves due to the long stretch, the sloping rising sea bottom en the tidal influence. Great for surfing, and fishing.

Month theme day : Bridges

This view is taken in my favourite park in The Hague, Clingendael. Not sure whether the tree was put there intentionally, but it works well for this month theme!!!

Take the time to visit any of the following cities participating in December's month theme:
Boston (MA), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Stayton (OR), USA - New York City (NY), USA - Portland (OR), USA - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Inverness (IL), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Stockholm, Sweden - Setúbal, Portugal - Brussels, Belgium - Phoenix (AZ), USA - Seattle (WA), USA - Hyde, UK - Manila, Philippines - Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA - London, England - Austin (TX), USA - Toulouse, France - Weston (FL), USA - Sesimbra, Portugal - Selma (AL), USA - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Saarbrücken, Germany - Cleveland (OH), USA - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - American Fork (UT), USA - Seoul, South Korea - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - North Bay (ON), Canada - Arradon, France - Paderborn, Germany - Durban, South Africa - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Cypress (TX), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - Portland (OR), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Wichita (Ks), USA - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Petaling Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Grenoble, France - New York City (NY), USA - Nottingham, UK - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia - Arlington (VA), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Miami (FL), USA - Cheltenham, UK - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Saratoga Spgs. (NY), USA - Las Vegas (NV), USA - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Nashville (TN), USA - Toruń, Poland - New Orleans (LA), USA - Port Elizabeth, South Africa - Melbourne, Australia - Moscow, Russia - Trujillo, Peru - Château-Gontier, France - Quincy (MA), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Joplin (MO), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Brookville (OH), USA - Chateaubriant, France - Chandler (AZ), USA - Stavanger, Norway - Baziège, France - Auckland, New Zealand - Wellington, New Zealand - Ocean Township (NJ), USA - Subang Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Detroit (MI), USA - Riga, Latvia - Nelson, New Zealand - Budapest, Hungary - Cape Town, South Africa - Sydney, Australia - Dunedin (FL), USA - Sofia, Bulgaria - Radonvilliers, France - Turin, Italy - Montpellier, France - Kansas City (MO), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Wailea (HI), USA - Lubbock (TX), USA - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Terrell (TX), USA - Mexico City, Mexico - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Budapest, Hungary - Montréal (QC), Canada - Sharon (CT), USA - Le Guilvinec, France - Jefferson City (MO), USA - Saigon, Vietnam - London, UK - Crepy-en-Valois, France - Orlando (FL), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Paris, France - Mainz, Germany - Newcastle (NSW), Australia - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Darmstadt, Germany - Naples (FL), USA - Torino, Italy - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Bogor, Indonesia - The Hague, Netherlands

Transvaal

Not far from the city centre, on the border of the Zuiderpark, the Transvaal neighbourhood is being renovated with the planned building of brand new appartment complexes. In order to prevent an increase in criminality, the city council and the TransArt association have came up with the following idea: that the local kids should paint all the wooden panels that condem all doors and windows in green, yellow and blue, and paint street murals. As a result, there are now entire coloured streets.

For the time being, it remains a bit gloomy to walk around in those streets, though this is huge reservoir for street murals and graffitis!

The Black Petes

The preparations for the celebration of Saint Nicholas' birthday on 5 December are speeding up. Every school, day-care child centre, public library (here on the picture) are inviting the old man and his "Black Petes" to entertain the kids.

Sinterklaas wears a red bishop's dress including a red mitre, rides a white horse over the rooftops and is assisted by many mischievous helpers with black faces and colourful Moorish dresses, dating back two centuries. These helpers are called 'Zwarte Pieten' (black Petes). Another story goes that the Petes are black because of the soot they are covered with when they go in the chimneys to bring the gifts in the kids'shoes.

Modern Penelope...

At the end of the Keizerstraat in Scheveningen stands a scultpure of a fisherman's wife looking at the horizon. She is waiting for her husband, away at sea, like Penelope. One says that waiting for a missing person is worse than knowing that this person has passed away.

FLowers were placed on the statue to celebrate its 25 years.

Here they are!!!

The three angels are hooked on the facade of the "Het Van Kinderen Museum" that opened in March 2004 and is located in an old school building on the corner of the Elandstraat and de Waldeck Pyrmontkade. I think the angels stand from the time when pupils were studying there and symbolize art, technics and graduation. The museum itself is very nice as it designed by and for children.


The building itself dates back around 1907, and was also used as a girls school, and later as a squat. It now houses, apart from the museum, the Grote pyr foundation and a restaurant.

Just an angel... (3/3)

Here is the last in the serie. Tomorrow I'll unveil where they sit in The Hague....

Just an angel... (2/3)

Here is the second angel in the serie, tomorrow the last one. I'm not sure I know what he's holding in his hands, could that be a fishing stick?

Just an angel.....(1/3)

I found this angel somewhere on the Waldeck Pyrmontkade, in the so-called Zeeheldenkwartier. It is just beautiful....and one of three actually! I'll post pictures of the other two and will disclose his location later this week.

For old pictures of this district, click here. Most of the buildings were built between 1870 and 1890. Before that there were only farms and gardens.

Electricity fabric

It is always very strange to drive around in the city and suddenly see emerging in front of you a big electricity fabric. This one, built in 1904 stands in De Constant Rebecquestraat, in the Regentessekwartier . The canal was digged in 1889 to allow the waters from the city centre to go all the way to Scheveningen. At the time, it stood in the middle of a big industrial area, but has now become a residential area....with industrial land being changed into a park / sport complex (de Verademing).

Haagsche bluf

This is a new exclusive shopping area in the centre of The Hague, where copies of existing buildings in The Hague and Delft have been rebuilt. The Haagsche Bluf is situated between the Dagelijkse Groenmarkt, Vlamingstraat, Venestraat and Nieuwstraat. It is a very quiet square full of very nice shops. One to notice is Woodleaf and Furn where you can find many English products.

For more information on the different buildings and shops, go directly here (in Dutch). By the way, the name itself relates to a traditional sweet desert that is made with beaten egg whites and red currant juice...

Golf course

Is there anything more peaceful than an empty golf course in the early morning? Here is a picture of the 9-hole Duinzicht Golf, one of the 2 golf courses in The Hague.

Graffiti work (1)

Some time ago, I started to spot out that many electrical "spaces" are covered with some graffiti. I wonder whether there is any kind of authorisation from the Council House to allow graffiti artists to show their works on those special spaces. Here the first photo.

Surf bike rack

Nice to walk in the cold! Have you spotted the handy surf rack for sale for 60 euros? Some of you may be interested!

Finish line

The Red Bull Knock-Out event took place today on the beach....but I arrive too late to catch one of the 500 motorbikes that were racing in the sand....So have a look here if you want to see more pictures!!!! I'll give it another try next year...

Decorated streets

Like in many other cities, shopping streets are being decorated for Christmas...

Nice wall painting

I spotted this painting in the Molenijzerstraat, and found it quite nicely done. Maybe you've guessed already, it is in Scheveningen, and the theme is of course, linked to fishing.....

Sunset on the beach

On my way home tonight.....

Dear William,

This is a nice statue of Willem I, prince of Orange, Count of Nassau, who was also called "William the Silent" (Dillenburg 1533-Delft 1584). He was the main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish that set off the Eighty Years' War and resulted in the formal independence of the United Provinces in 1648. This led to him to be known as the Father of the Dutch nation. This statue was placed here in 1848. On the right leg of the prince, we can see his faithful dog, who saved once his master's life from being killed. If you want to see the Prince's grave in Delft, I refer you to a previous post from Wassenaar Daily Photo here.

The square (Het Plein) used to be a big vegetable garden laying behind the Binnenhof. Now there are many cafes and restaurants.

Easy to clean your car!

I stopped today at the traffic light and noticed for the first time this "blikvanger" or strange bin next to my window; it took me some time to understand it was meant for my car garbage. The light turned green before I was able to throw away my old papers, but promised myself to keep it for the next time I would pass by!!!

Junk on the beach

Walking yesterday on the coast in Kijkduin, I came across this very special museum, the Jutterskeet museum, where the owners gather everything they find on the beach around....Some amazing items as you can imagine!

For more information and pictures of what you can find in the museum (in Dutch only), click here.

High tide and high waves

Probably many people have come home today with a similar picture. The beach in Kijkduin was packed with people equipped with cameras trying to catch the unusual high waves for that Dutch beach.

Encounter with an alligator

Wandering around in the Megastores shopping mall, you may find yourself passing by one of those prehistoric creatures brought there to give you a jungle feeling...Arent'alligators scary?

Storm expected

This is actually only the beginning of the storm that reached the Dutch coastline yesterday. I just wonder what the wind limit is for the kite surfers to stop getting into the water. All dikes were closed overnight, especially the one closing down the access to Rotterdam harbour, as everybody keeps in mind the North sea flood of 1953 that killed 1800 people. One third of the country is below sea level......

International city

Yes, The Hague is a very international city; lots of shops try to get the most of all the foreigners who live here. This is a sign advertising for an "international hairdresser"! Could anyone guess in which language it is translated?

Where is the water?

I still enjoy the canal views full of leaves.... Just another autumn view, probably last of its kind. Nearly all the leaves have fallen now...

The fountain is back!

Oupssss...... Missed you all for a week. I ended up last week in the Northern part of Holland in a hotel resort claiming to have a business centre with no internet connection whatsoever..... Anyway, I have now some catch up to do!!

Since 6 September 2007, people can admire once again in the Binnenhof the beautiful fountain from Pierre J.H. Cuypers (architect of the Rijksmuseum and the Central station in Amsterdam), which has just been renovated. The fountain was placed in 1885 in the Binnenhof as a tribute to the founder of the Binnenhof, Count William II. The fountain was then presented internationally as an example of Dutch wrought iron craftsmanship. Here, one of the gargoyles (I love this word!).

Handy bike

This bike is a Bakfiets, a Dutch cargobike that allows you to transport 2 or more kids on a bike. The idea comes from taxibikes in the Far East. It has become more and more popular since the launch of a new production with new models in 1995. Very handy if you do not have a car and want to circulate easily downtown! It is a very common sight in all Dutch cities.

One Bouter

This sculpture from Leon Bouter of a woman figure stands on the Lange Voorhout in the city centre. I've tried to find other art works from this artist, but did not manage to locate any other public work...

Illuminada 2007

I could enjoy tonight one of the last performances of Illuminada 2007, in the Scheveningen harbour. Named Hear See Sea, two artists Lia Harkes and Peter ten Wolde have illuminated the harbour, placing 8 lighthouses and creating a light / laser / music / video show. Very nice!