On the Town
Walking The Hague: Uncover Every Hidden Gem
Have you ever found unexpected treasures during your local explorations? Whether you're charting your own course close to home or abroad, share your adventures!
I’ll go first…
As my faithful readers know, I have astigmatism. I’m fairly certain it has nothing to do with the fact that I can’t translate a map into the real world for the life of me, but I will still mention it anyway. I can follow turn-by-turn directions, but I can’t just memorize the turns because what makes sense in two dimensions utterly baffles me when translated into three.
Before we settled here, we made several trips to The Hague, which meant I only knew a few explicit locations but not how to navigate between them. Those early trips did confirm this is a beautiful city, full of juxtaposition between traditional Dutch and more modern buildings. Since a few of my nearest and dearest have asked for more photos, I’ll let the city speak for itself...
When I spent a month living in Rome after I “retired” from theatrical wardrobe, I purposefully set out for wandering walks, exploring in every direction. It almost became a game: pick a destination and then do my best to get there without stopping to pirate a WiFi signal so I could check the map.
A couple of years back, my mother-in-law was making a trip there and asked if I could recommend a walking route. I should have thought that not everyone enjoys a 5k as a casual sightseeing excursion the way I do…but there’s no accounting for individual taste. Fortunately, my map illiteracy doesn’t work in reverse and I remembered the turns in my head, able to translate them into “map.”
Now that we’re settled here, I’ve been eager to learn my way around in a more meaningful way. I have also been missing the benefits of a daily walk on both my physical and mental health. I’ve always been a walker; I’ll walk just about anywhere, provided it’s below 30 C. As a respite from Allen and his countless wrenches, I challenged myself to make my way to the Lange Voorhout without looking at my phone, find the second hand shop with the cool lamp I remembered seeing one time, and enjoy the sunshine with a playlist.
Our new home is not far from the Spinoza Kwartier and, as was the case in Rotterdam, there are murals adorning the sides of many buildings with this one being a nod to the neighborhood Uilebomen. The strange compound word doesn’t really translate, but is made up of the words for “owl” and “trees,” and was randomly mentioned a few times in the 1600’s before being formally adopted in 1956.
From there, I made my way through Chinatown and to the old center, where I was eager to wander through the winding maze of little streets. Honestly, it reminds me of walking through just about anywhere in the center of Rome. Dotted with frite shoppes and cafes, most of the stores cater to those with designer taste, but there are some great window displays and lots of tiny alleys to explore.
Another thing I very much enjoy about The Netherlands is the sticker culture, something I remembered from Rotterdam. They’re everywhere and more than just fun slogans, there’s quite a bit of funny (and often cheeky) content around town.
Having been turned around more than once while navigating between apartment showings, when I found myself in front of Noordeinde Paleis—the working home of King William-Alexander and Queen Maxima—I knew I was close to my destination.
Home to several embassies, the Lange Voorhout is the heart of the Museum Kwartier with Escher in Het Palais and the Mauritshuis (home to Girl with a Pearl Earring).
Succeeded in reaching my destination, I turned my attention to the errands portion of the walkabout and, pulling a reusable tote from my crossbody, stopped into a few shops in the center. It’s easy to walk between Den Haag Centraal along Spui (a canal filled in at the turn of the twentieth century) all the way to Grote Markt, the wide boulevards dotted with modern art.
My last stop was on Boekhorststraat where I was sure I had seen the cool lamp. Technically a pair, they really wanted me to buy both but I was already wondering about getting home given the weight of the thing…
One of my first days visiting The Hague, I was amazed by a man riding a bicycle, smoking a cigarette and carrying a chandelier. As I made my way back home carrying the lamp, a more neutral lampshade, and a tote full of treasures, I now understand how the stares feel.
William was tickled by the cat placemats and genuinely wondered what I’d been up to when I pulled out the disco ball…but he did agree the lamp is pretty rad.
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Thanks for reading! It is such a funny thing to know which way to go on the ground but on a map, I’m stumped! What was your favorite part of Rome!?
Hi Gillian, thanks for sharing your adventures - they are very interesting, fun, funny and delightful to read!