Where to buy Tea in The Hague? At Marion’s Betjeman and Barton Teashop

Marion van den Blik decided to share her passion for tea with others and opened shop in The Hague in August 1992. It was the first teashop of Betjeman and Barton in the Netherlands. Betjeman and Barton is originally a partnership between two English tea lovers who had set up shop in Paris in 1919.

Marion’s Betjeman and Barton shop offers a choice of no less than 180 hand picked teas, black or green, classic or perfumed. Tea from the beautiful silver gray tins or tea prepacked in the famous hand sown cotton bags. Marion also offers many great and original teapots, from the Dutch manufacturer Bredemeijer, Zero Japan, Emma Bridgewater, Bunzlau or from GreenGate. She has also plenty to offer that goes together well with a nice pot of tea from like cookies, sweets, chocolate and cakes from Heerlijkheid Mariënwaerdt, Cottage Delight, Granny’s or from NewTree Chocolate.

In the beautiful shop at Denneweg 25c in Den Haag you will find a nice mix of Dutch cosiness, French elegance and English class. If you don’t have time to visit the beautiful shop – and you know which tea you like, you can always order at Marion’s Barton Webshop

Finally, we’ve asked Marion to write from time to time here about her tea passion and her passion for The Hague. I hope she will find some time for it. You can also find her on Twitter as @BetjemanThee.

New Meyva

Open for over 20 years the New Meyva serves specialities from Suriname.  Their roti’s are a true treat. Friendly staff make you feel at home and are ready to help you order if you are not familiar with the dishes. Just around the corner from the Paard and across from the cafes on the Grote Markt it is a populair place for a quick bite before hitting the town. There are enough places to sit and you can also take away and call ahead to place your order. Things to order: chicken filet roti speciaal,  lamb roti & white rice and pom.

Location: Boekhorstraat 5

International Day The Hague 2010

Have you ever wondered what the Peace Palace really looks like inside but never had the chance to go there? On September 19th several international organisations based in The Hague are open to the public. Tours will be given by the staff and you can learn more about what each organisation does. To visit the organisations that make the Hague the International City of Peace and Justice you will need to register online before 17 Septmeber.

On the same day there are several Fairs in City Hall. The annual Feel at Home in The Hague fair is in the Atrium with info for newcomers but also international residents. A chance to connect with cultural organisations, sports and social clubs and other businesses based in The Hague. The International Fair is also in City Hall on the first floor and you can meet other international organisations like Europol & Special Court for Sierra Leone. Debates will be held in the Raadzaal.

Which organisation will you be visiting?

The Hague’s Cultural Season Begins

Following the success of museum nights in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, The Hague is hosting its first Museum Night on Saturday, September 4.  The event will feature more than 20 museums, galleries and libraries with cultural programs based on the theme “Mix it, don’t miss it”.

Attend a masked ball on the Lange Voorhout hosted by the Escher in het Paleis; experience the glamour of Hollywood at the Museum for Communication and at the open-air film screening at the Gemeentemuseum and take a flashlite tour of the Prison Gate Museum.

Sunday, September 5, come “uit” and usher in the official start of The Hague’s cultural season at the Haags Uit Festival.  This cultural festival features more than 100 acts performing at a number of venues throughout the city, with the main stages located on Lange Voorhout and Spuiplein.

Visit the Musuem Night and Haags Uit Festival websites for more information on participants and activities.

M Building by Rem Koolhaas cancelled by The Hague

The City of The Hague has canceled the M Building by Rem Koolhaas just after they hade broke ground in front of the The Hague Central Train Station and had spend roughly € 2 mio planning costs.

I would say better stop here than completing it in error. In the present economic circumstances it is uncertain whether such mega (some would say magalomanic) building could be filled with paying tenants. The City of The Hague had guaranteed to rent a substantial part of it , so there is a huge saving post gained.

Off course it is a loss that we will miss a building of one of the most foremost architects we have in The Netherlands and even will lose one when the Dutch Dance Theater that was designed by Rem Koolhaas will be replaced by a new building.

The Stork of The Hague (1) – On the Big Church

The coat of arms of the City The Hague contains a stork, for ages already.

Two weeks ago, for the first time, I met several participants of Opûh Koffie (Open Coffee), an unstructured group of The Hague loving Hagenaars and Hagenezen (i.e. citizens of the Hague …. the difference of the two terms will be explained in due course) who come together at Aan de Overkant (Opposite or At The Other Side in English) each Wednesday morning at 9.00 hr AM, Just to drink a coffee with each other, to chat and sometimes to make photos or discuss photography. Today I’m hoping to attend my second Opûh Koffie.

After that Opûh Koffie one of the participants, Stork Frans, gave us a sneak preview of his “The Hague Stork Walk”. A wander route with a map and descriptions that shows you various storks on and around buildings in The Hague. Frans has put it together to insert in a photo book he is producing from his collection of over 800 photos of storks. He hopes to publish this book in October 2010.

While we were wandering around I’ve shot a couple of stork photos. I will share some with you here. The first is the stork on top of the Big Church which I didn’t know was there until Stork Frans pointed me to it at the start of his Stork Walk.

Vapiano, for a quick bite

Vapiano is a self-service Italian restaurant for those looking to not spend that much but still feel like they are dining out. When you walk in you are handed a swipe-card and the first thing to do is find a spot to sit and claim it. Busy nights are usually Thursday, Friday & Saturday so be aware that it might not be easy to find a spot, especially if you are with a group.

The menu is pretty basic with pizzas, pastas, some small side dishes and desserts. Everything has to be ordered at the counter and is added to your card. The atmosphere is pretty laid back, making it an ideal place to go with kids. All cards are scanned before you leave so make sure you don’t lose your swipe-card otherwise you pay a fine (more than a meal & drinks would cost).

Location: Buitenhof 45 -51
Image credit: gertys

The Hague Market, the biggest market in Europe

With over 500 stalls the Hague Market is the biggest market in Europe! Besides being open 4 days a week you can find almost anything on the market. It is handy to know that their goods range from fresh produce to clothing, flowers and many more items.

If you are not a crowd lover then go early to the market, it opens just before 9am and you are sure to avoid the hectic part of the day and maybe more importantly not fall over a pram or somebody’s “granny” shopping trolley.

Handy to know is that fruit/veg/meat/fish/ section starts on the Hoefkade side, all other goods can be found on the other side starting at the Hobbemaplein. I have been told that Wednesday is the best day to buy seafood.  My other tip is to set a budget when you go and stick to it, there are too many specials and great deals, before you know it you come home with more than you needed!

Location: Herman Costerstraat, The Hague
Open: 8.45 tot 17.00 uur on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
Public transport: “het Hobbemaplein”, tram 6, 11, 12 & bus 25 or “de Hoefkade” tram 11, 12 en bus 127, 130.
Parking: QPark, De Heemstraat 301, 2525 ET Den Haag

Where to dine in The Hague on Mondays (1)

One of the typical habits of Dutch restaurants is that they close early. Usually they don’t take orders after 9.00 PM. Moreover, on Mondays most restaurants are closed.

For reference purposes we have various Dutch sites that contain guest reviews of restaurants, however they are in the Dutch language … is not very helpful for those who don’t understand jot of Dutch. The two most prominent are are SpecialBite – which used to have an English section and recently told me they are considering to reintroduce their English pages – and Iens.

Recently Special Bite blogged very helpfully about 10 X Open on Monday in 070 (070 is The Hague’s netnumber).

On their list is the restaurant of Des Indes. I’ll start this series with Des Indes, because it is the Grand Old Lady of hotels in The Hague.

Although not everybody can bear their sumptuous decoration (see photo), their huge prices, and their sometimes clumsy services by trainees and their not always positively reviewed food, Des Indes has a huge pré: Until 01.00 AM you can order whatever food you want, 7 days a week and also on Mondays!

Slagerij Rob Van der Zalm

I needed to start the Shopping and Food and Drinks categories. As I’m currently the “Mayor” of Slagerij Rob van der Zalm (a slager is a butcher) on Foursquare with 2 check ins only, I thought to start with them.

I believe that their mouthwatering hamburgers of Angus beef are the closest to the real American style hamburgers, but I would gladly change my opinion for that of a real American with real American hamburger experience.

A lot of shopping to follow.

Update:

It turns out there are two butchers Slagerij van der Zalm, one in Oegstgeest and one in The Hague. The one from The Hague is Rob van der Zalm. Fortunately Foursquare gave me the correct place to login to, but the Foursquare page of Rob van der Zalm needs some updating…

Updated by Happy Hotelier on December 21, 2012 om 10:07 pm