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!

Stylish road signs

You are here really in the heart of the touristic centre of The Hague: Royal palace, main square (Plein), Mauritshuis, Binnenhof.... I like those black road signs.

The Seven Provinces

This bronze sculpture stands on top of an office buiding at the beginning of the Lange Voorhout and is named after the vessel from Admiral Michiel de Ruyter, De Zeven Provinciën.

The Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (or "of the Seven United Low Countries") was a European republic between 1581 and 1795, in about the same location as the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands, which is the successor state. The 7 provinces were Hooland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Gelderland, Overijssel, Friesland and Groningen.

Mauritshuis

The Mauritshuis is one of the emblematic monuments of The Hague. It hosts paintings from the most reknowned Dutch artists in the world such as Vermeer, Rembrandt, Frans Hals. The monument was build between 1633-1644 as the residence of count Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen and is a typical example of the classicism style in The Netherlands at that period, very much inspired by the Italian architecture.

For information on what to find in the museum, click here.

Very cold

Despite today being a beautiful day, it was so cold that nobody enjoyed the terrasses on the "Plein". I do miss here the extra gas heaters that are so commun in other cities.

War memorial (1)

There are many war memorials in The Hague. This one stands on the Vondelstraat, and is a tribute to the Berger family who lived on that square and was on 16 May 1944 deported to Germany with 18 other Gipsy families from the Hague. 245 people left, only 30 came back.

I have been tagged today by Don from Everyday Rotterdam. Thanks Don!
Here are the rules:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. List eight (8) random facts about yourself.
3. Tag eight people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving them a comment on their blogs

Here are 8 facts about me:
1. I have been lucky enough to live in Montpellier, Barcelona, Paris, London, Amsterdam and now The Hague!
2. I spent 6 months in Bogota (Colombia) as a student, and would never ever forget that time...
3. I usually do not answer to any chain tagging, but coming from my favourite community, I had to answer!!
4. I love cooking.
5. I love walking in the dunes in the early morning (when the sun is shining).
6. I am very new in photography, but love this way of communicating.
8. I would like to live in the mountains once.

Tagging have been going on for a while now, I was not sure I could came up with 8 names to tag, but I just managed! Here you are! Joann, Smilnsigh, Alice, Connie, Mountainboy, Gagah, Xana, and fenix!

A nice building

The Hague is full of very nice buildings. This is the Nutshuis, originally the HQ of the Nutsspaarbank (1921 to 1992). This bank, set up in 1818 played a big role in the social history of The Hague as all profits were redistributed to finance all kinds of social projects (living, education, culture). It was part of the important foundation that now named Fonds 1818. The building itself still houses different social and cultural foundations and is home to many social and cultural events.

So organised!!!!!

"Forbidden to fish / Forbidden to swim"

This is another post from the Royal Gardens behind the Noordeinde Palace. Wandering around in the park, you come across this (not so) big pond, full of unclear water.....I do not think it will cross anybody's mind either to fish or swim in this pond, but Dutch people do have this necessity to put rules everywhere!!

Paleis Tuin

Always nice to meet those birds in the middle of the city, here in the Royal Gardens behing the Noordeinde Palace! This is nowadays just a normal park open to the public, with some nice modern sculptures in it.

Deux Chevaux

Since the end of production of this car in 1990 and with 3,9m cars sold, the French Citroen 2CV has become a collectors' item in many countries. Its nicknames included the "ugly duckling" or the "duck" (Netherlands), the "goat" (Flemish), the "frog" (Greece), "Tin Snail" or "Dolly" (England). Driving in it is real fun!!

Next canal

To complete yesterday's post, here is the main view of the wider "Bierkade" canal, which prolongs the "Dunne Bierkade". The main boat in the front is called the Hendrina Johanna (26m long * 4,15m wide). It was built in 1905, and has been restored and is now being used by the Ooievaart association. Between May and October you can tour on this boat and discover the main canals of The Hague.

Another canal view

Canal boats on the "Dunne Bierkade" in the centre. This canal is the last part of what is now being called the "Avenue Culinaire" of The Hague. I didn't have the opportunity to post any pic of the nice terrasses that you can find along those terrasses, not yet!!

This canal was digged around 1615, and is named after beer, then already the most important drink for all layers of the society. On this canal was the main location to trade beer with a lower alcohol percentage, the "dunne bier" or "clear beer". This beer with 1% alcohol was created then as an alternative to drink dirty water directly from the canal....Together with the next "Bierkade" canal, the place was already in the XVIIth century called the Beer Quay (to load / trade beer, which was coming from different part of the Netherlands).

Flower stand

Can you notice that Halloween is approaching? I found this very nice flower shop just outside the chinese neighbourhood in the city centre. I liked the colours and the settings. (BTW all prices are in euros!)

Just a drop...

OK, it could have been taken anywhere! A blurry tear of fresh water....

Horse riding

Isn't that wonderful to go and do some horse riding in a (nearly) deserted beach? Horses are welcome again on the Hague beaches since 15 September. This was taken in Kijkduin yesterday.

Lonely man

I just love the early hours on the beach. I took this photo this morning in Kijkduin, the second sea-side resort of The Hague after Scheveningen. Hardly anybody except a lonely fisherman, horse ridders and dog owners!

Kijkduin was established in 1923 by the developer Joh. D. van der Houwen. Architects Bijvoet and Duiker were the inspiration and architects for a 126 residence village often called 'Meer en Bos' (sea and woods). Most of the houses have been destroyed during WWII by bombs and the building of the Atlantic Wall.

Keizerstraat

After showing many pictures of the beach around Scheveningen, I wanted to post a picture of the main shopping street of this neighbourhood of The Hague. It is the Keizerstraat (The street of the Emperor), the historical centre of this ex fishermen village, and the main way for The Hague residents to head for the beach as far back as the 17th century. It is named after Charles V, who was in the 16th century the emperor of the German Empire (Netherlands was then part of it). The church, dating back the 15th century has always been the central point of the street.

Cute little house

On my way to Clingendael yesterday, I had to stop to make a shot of this cute little duck house in a pond in the middle of a residential area of the city. "Go Home" is written on it. That was the first time I ever saw such a nice shelter. Just wonder who sails out there to paint the house every other year!

Mushroom time

Does anybody know what kind of mushroom that is? Walking in Clingendael this afternoon, I was surprised by the number of them, but given the wet last days, it was pretty expected.

Clingendael is my favourite park in The Hague. It is a beautiful 55ha park in the middle of the city, with a very nice Japanese garden (only open in May and June), an old Dutch garden, a nice mansion from the XVIIth, farms, dunes, etc.... It was in private hands until 1954.

Busy beach sign

Following on yesterday's pic, here is the sign you will see before getting on the beach. Make sure you uderstand all the pictograms!!!

Green beach

For whoever wanted to play golf on the beach, this could be done today in Scheveningen with the organisation of the second golf beach tournament....

Autumnal day

Just a classical woody picture to celebrate a very autumnal day. Leaves have been falling quickly in the last days. Driving on the Kerkhoflaan, I stopped by the Scheveningse Bosjes to enjoy a breath of muddy air.

Season's end

For most of the beach places in Scheveningen, last Sunday was the last day of 2007 beach season. This week, everybody is slowly busy with dismantling all the structures of the stands. They will be kept dry in the winter until April next year.

Fancy a haring?

Typical Dutch!! Those stands outside the Binnenhof are not only for tourists (though as you can see on the picture some Japanese are having fun in making some photos of them). Many regular Dutch people enjoy having a "broodje haring" for lunch (one sweet herring with onion and cucumber in a piece of white bread).

The lion and the mouse

I love this photo and the story that goes with it. Walking along the beach Boulevard in Scheveningen, you can admire 23 statues from Tom Otterness that describes 23 fairy tales. If you do not remember that one, just click here. On another occasion, I'll show you more of those pictures.

Theme day: Cemetary

I found those tombs in the tiny Ter Navolging graveyard in Scheveningen. I was struck by the fact that I had never seen any tombs like them before. They just look like a normal small garden where you would grow some strawberries...looking carefully, you will notice the very small black tablets where the names are written. At the same time, by being so simple, they give such a feeling of tranquillity.

St. Louis (MO), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - New York City (NY), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Mainz, Germany - Hyde, UK - Arlington (VA), USA - Cape Town, South Africa - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Toulouse, France - Arradon, France - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - Joplin (MO), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Seattle (WA), USA - Baziège, France - Baltimore (MD), USA - Chandler (AZ), USA - Sequim (WA), USA - Stayton (OR), USA - Stockholm, Sweden - Austin (TX), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Anderson (SC), USA - Orlando (FL), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Nashville (TN), USA - Tenerife, Spain - Manila, Philippines - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Jacksonville (FL), USA - River Falls (WI), USA - Chateaubriant, France - Quincy (MA), USA - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - Inverness (IL), usa - Lubbock (TX), USA - Phoenix (AZ), USA - Moscow, Russia - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - Crepy-en-Valois, France - Minneapolis (MN), USA - New Orleans (LA), USA - Montréal (QC), Canada - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Toruń, Poland - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Christchurch, New Zealand - London, England - Paderborn, Germany - The Hague, Netherlands - Selma (AL), USA - Sunderland, UK - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Stavanger, Norway - Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA - Weston (FL), USA - Portland (OR), USA - Forks (WA), USA - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Boston (MA), USA - Sydney, Australia - Wellington, New Zealand - Montpellier, France - Jackson (MS), USA - Wailea (HI), USA - Petaling Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Evry, France - Saarbrücken, Germany - New York City (NY), USA - Santa Fe (NM), USA - North Bay (ON), Canada - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Cypress (TX), USA - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Paris, France - San Diego (CA), USA - Wichita (Ks), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Prague, Czech Republic - Zurich, Switzerland - Budapest, Hungary - Paris, France - Saigon, Vietnam - Grenoble, France - Zurich, Switzerland - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Naples (FL), USA - Toronto (ON), Canada - Sequim (WA), USA - Chicago (IL), USA