Here I am - In The Hague again!...
March 25th, 2023
(I don't like very long posts, I'd rather write several smaller ones. For this reason, here I will describe only a part of my first day in The Hague with as touristic points The Passage, Hop&Stork, Amusa and the Gate to China Town)
How cool it is to travel as a tourist, to treat myself to a trip, even a short one, but just for me – no work, no obligations!
I love The Hague, and even more so because it is related to my artistic project The Hague Hostel (#LOOkingfOrCaSey).
The day of my arrival there is just perfect all the way through, from timing to weather :-)
And my hotel, in addition to being located right in the center of the city, has a nice view.
(Click on the pictures to enlarge)
Spring is in the air with birds singing and beautiful flowers blooming everywhere. (I love nature so much, I think I will make a separate blog post with all the beautiful photos I took of it).
First, I do what I love most – strolling down the streets without any fixed itinerary or destination, just going where I feel like. That’s how I always discover the most amazing places and spots :-)
My hotel being in the city center, I had a walk there first. I passed by the beautiful China Town gate (I have just discovered that it has been made in China, using Chinese original materials and technique, and then it traveled to The Hague in more than 1000 pieces that were assembled there. And ever since, the gate stands, proud and beautiful, oblivious to weather and time).
(Click on the pictures to enlarge)
Then I went into the Passage. I love those! The one that’s in The Hague is the only one that remains in The Netherlands. It has been built at the end of the 19th century (back then this kind of covered luxury shopping streets were very fashionable in Europe), and it was included in UNESCO protected sites because of its glass covered roof (nowadays it seems so trivial, but back at the end of the 19th century it was very difficult to create a glass-domed roof consisting of rounded pieces of glass). There is a modern part to it – the Nieuwe Haage Passage that was added later. I think the Passage is amazing – it really feels like out of the 19th century, posh and stylish.
An amazing discovery was waiting there for me: Who would have thought? Sounds just like Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes of the Muggle world ;-)
Of course, I couldn’t pass by Hop & Stork without treating myself to an awesome desert :-)
They have the most amazing chocolate, coffee and patisserie (their coffee is believed to be the tastiest in The Hague!) What I also found amazing was that the concept of Hop & Stork was created by two successful bankers! Not chocolatiers or patissiers, but bankers! They first opened their shop in The Hague and they even picked a name that reflects The Hague. 'Hop' is for Baron Hop, the man who invented the Haagse Hopje sweet. And the stork, symbol of happiness and fertility, is even on The Hague's coat of arms.
Apart from luxury shops and big brands like Apple, the Passage also houses a nice souvenir shop as well as a couple of bookstores. It was a pleasure to browse the books there (they have an impressive offer of English books! I bought several :-) )
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Categories: Miscellaneous, #LOOkingfOrCaSey