Memories

Just to finish on posting on MuZee Scheveningen (see the last 2 days posts), here is a pic of the last exhibition they showed on the first floor: "Remembering is life", an art project developed for senior people when during 6 workshops senior people had to paint on textile their most vibrant memories (favorite food as a child, self portrait, favorite flower etc....).

I found it very interesting, especially the fact that you realize that kids' drawings are not far away from drawings made by senior people. What about us in between? We just do not take the time to draw!!!!!

Still in Muzee (see yesterday's post), you'll find this strange bathing machine in use about 1830 to 1920.

The description reads:
"The bather would enter the bathing machine, undress and put on a bathing costume. A horse pulled the coach into the sea to a depth of 70cm, the bather then enjoyed a dip in the water and after bathing he re-entered the coach. Then the horse pulled hte coach back up on the beach. During the bathing there was always supervisin by a "bath man" attendant". In case of affluence, people had to get a number to get on the waiting list.

Any idea of how we will be having a bath in the sea over 150 years?

In the old days, ...

I was pleasantly surprised by the MuZee in Scheveningen. This small museum offers a nice picture of what the activities in this popular bath resort and fishing harbor used to be around the beginning of the last century. It is also a nice place for the kids to celebrate their birthday, as they offer some activities like looking for shells (the museum owns a big collection of shells from around the world), as well as climbing to the top of the Scheveningen lighthouse.


If you wonder what those wooden picks on the pic above are for, then think of smoked eels. The fishes were hung on the stick before being smoked. If you want to see how they used to do it, then you must pay a visit to the harbor next 7th June on "Vlaggetjesdag" or the day celebrating the new haring season.

Lighthouse

How can I have this blog for over half a year, and not have shown the lighthouse of Scheveningen, one of the landmarks of the city!! This red 12-sided cast-iron tower is 49m high. It became operational in 1875. It is still in use now, and can also be visited on Wednesday's and Saturday's. More photos of the view you have from the top here.

Month theme : " When People Think of My City They Think of..."

Haagsche Hopjes!!!!!!

This candy exists for......215 years, and is still The Hague's very own sweet! Haagsche Hopjes are hard coffee flavored candies with the taste of coffee, packed in the original Rademaker's tin cans.

The hopje was named after the baron Hendrik Hop, whose doctor advised him not to drink coffee. He ordered his baker Theodorus van Haaren to invent a sweet with coffee flavouring. After some experimenting, van Haaren created a sweet made of coffee, caramel, cream and butter. The enthusiastic baron Hop was keen to let his guests try his 'Hopjes', which quickly gained popularity. A typical characteristic of the hopje is that it does not stick and that it does not go soft over time. The Hague has a museum called "Museum voor het Haagsche Hopje", which is dedicated to the hopje and its history.

Besides being a local speciality it has become a Dutch national candy.

Buy it here!!!!!!

There are 133 cities participating in this month's theme, so do spend some time visiting some of the following cities:
Portland (OR), USA - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Memphis (Tennessee), USA - Manila, Philippines - San Diego (CA), USA - Anderson (SC), USA - New York City (NY), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Mexico City, Mexico - San Francisco (CA), USA - Mumbai (Maharashtra), India - Mainz, Germany - Weston (FL), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Turin, Italy - Las Vegas (NV), USA - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia - Bicheno, Australia - Durban, South Africa - Joplin (MO), USA - Nashville (TN), USA - Stockholm, Sweden - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Brussels, Belgium - Chicago (IL), USA - Montpellier, France - Seattle (WA), USA - Mazatlan, Mexico - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Sharon (CT), USA - Sesimbra, Portugal - Toulouse, France - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Susanville (CA), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - Helsinki, Finland - Pilisvörösvár, Hungary - Lisbon, Portugal - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Trujillo, Peru - Dunedin (FL), USA - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - London, UK - Baziège, France - Jefferson City (MO), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Selma (AL), USA - Mumbai, India - Naples (FL), USA - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Setúbal, Portugal - Stayton (OR), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Sofia, Bulgaria - Arradon, France - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Athens, Greece - Austin (TX), USA - Singapore, Singapore - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Jackson (MS), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Budapest, Hungary - Rotterdam, Netherlands - St Malo, France - Chandler (AZ), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Cleveland (OH), USA - Nottingham, UK - Kansas City (MO), USA - The Hague, Netherlands - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - Wrocław, Poland - Chateaubriant, France - Cheltenham, UK - Moscow, Russia - Monrovia (CA), USA - Saigon, Vietnam - Toruń, Poland - Grenoble, France - Lisbon, Portugal - New Orleans (LA), USA - Sydney, Australia - Boston (MA), USA - American Fork (UT), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Montréal (QC), Canada - Wichita (KS), USA - Radonvilliers, France - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Christchurch, New Zealand - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Wailea (HI), USA - Aliso Viejo (CA), USA - St Francis, South Africa - Port Elizabeth, South Africa - Seattle (WA), USA - Pasadena (CA), USA - Vienna, Austria - Orlando (FL), USA - Torun, Poland - Delta (CO), USA - Santa Fe (NM), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Paris, France - Stavanger, Norway - Niamey, Niger - Le Guilvinec, France - Bogor, Indonesia - Saarbrücken, Germany - Auckland, New Zealand - Wellington, New Zealand - Budapest, Hungary - Juneau (AK), USA - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Glasgow, Scotland - Chicago (IL), USA - Jakarta, Indonesia - Adelaide (SA), Australia - Sydney, Australia - Riga, Latvia - Subang Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia

Judicial fight

You usually do not get to see this round building. This rotunda hosts the biggest painting in the Netherlands, the Panorama Mesdag. It is a huge cylindrical painting (>14 meters high and 120 meters round). From an observation gallery in the centre of the room the cylindrical perspective creates the illusion that the viewer is on a high sand dune overlooking the sea, beaches and village of Scheveningen in the late 19th century. It is painted in 1881 by one of the most famous painters of the Hague School, Hendrik Willem Mesdag.

It is the oldest 19th century panorama in the world in its original site as it is housed in a purpose-built museum. The current building of the new Hilton hotel next to it, and its new underground parking is posing many problems to the building as it appears to suffer from some subsidence (already reaching 1cm). Its director announced today that The Hague city council would be directly blamed in case of further damage to the rotunda and the painting as they agreed to the building permit...

Hurry up and visit the museum before it closes for safety reasons!!!! It is forbidden to make photos inside, but if you want a preview, just click here.

Mitoraj in The Hague (2/2)

Moonlight (original Tsuki-no-hikari in Japanese) by Igor Mitoraj (1991) is one of my favorite sculptures in the city. It is fascinating to see this huge sculpture in the outside, overlooking the Boulevard in Scheveningen. It was originally created for the park in Abuta on Hokkaido. It is one of the highlights of the collection of the museum Beelden aan Zee ("Sculptures on the Sea"). For more photos on his work, refer to the link of yesterday's post.

Illusion....

No more storks for the moment (though I have spotted a few more already that I will picture later). Time to move on! If you have never heard of Escher before, than you must have a look here. He is the most famous Dutch graphic artists. He is known for his often mathematically inspired woodcuts, lithographs and mezzotints which feature impossible constructions, explorations of infinity and architecture. He has a dedicated museum on the Lange Voorhout, that you should absolutely not miss if you visit The Hague.

Gin from The Hague (and another stork!)

Van Kleef is a very nice shop in the Lange Beestenmarkt in the centre. For the Dutch website, click here. In 1842, Lambertus Theodorus van Kleef set up a factory of fine liqueurs and bitters, which closed its doors in 1986. The shop reopened in 1995 and is now also used as a tasting/reception location.

That's the good thing about writing this blog: first make pictures, then try to find out the history "behind the scene". In this case, I found out that a museum is also hiding behind the shop, so I'll definitely go there to discover some of the best gins of the city!

Last but not least, the stork is painted on the door, so I'm getting on with this theme this week!!!!!

"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...).

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.

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.

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.

May peace prevail on Earth

I went to visit Het Vredespaleis. As it is not allowed to make any picture inside, I am posting today a photo of the fence on the outside of the palace. Het Vredespaleis was built between 1907 and 1913 and designed by the French architect Louis Cordonnier in Neo-Renaissance Style. It houses, among other, the International Court of Justice which is a part of the United Nations as well as the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the Carnegie foundation (Andrew Carnegie financed the building).
The fence is made by a German iron maker. In the medallions we can see the pictures of Amicitia, Pax, Justitia and Concordia.