The Happier the Hotelier, the Happier the Guest
Dirty Old Man Need Love Too!
The group with whom I toured The Hague where I found the sign suggested the house where we found it might have been used by certain ladies of certain pleasures…. I don’t know. What is clear from the photo is that the typical Dutch habit of polishing such plaques at the front has obsoleted the paint over the years…
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I started a new site, Absolutely The Hague! together with Lisa Rouissi (@Koffiekitten) and hopefully many other contributors.
The reason is – and off course I’m biased – The Hague is an excellent city to work in, to live in and an excellent city to visit. I just want to tell this to the world out there in the English language.
Moreover The Hague has a huge SEO problem. It is known by at least four different names:
so it ain’t easy to find on Google. I want to try to change that with the help of a couple of locals and expats who live and work in The Hague and love it like I do. Finally there are many good sites about The Hague, but they are in Dutch only….
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Today we Dutch may vote to elect 150 representatives in Dutch Parliament (the Second Chamber). We don’t have an easy task as there are many parties. You can say the smaller the country the more political parties it has. The photo shows the leaders of the 8 political parties that in one or another combination will reign after they have formed a coalition. Nothing is certain yet and traditionally the formation of a government typically takes between 60 and 90 days.
According to the polls the liberal party of Mark Rutte will become the largest party in Parliament. Most likely he will be the next Prime Minister of The Netherlands. This photo I took from him two years ago just after he had disembarked from a new Lifeboat of The Hague (Scheveningen to be more precise) when he had volunteered to undergo a 360 rollover test in the lifeboat.
He will certainly need the lifesaving vest and the experience he underwent there to help getting The Netherlands floating again:-)
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On July 2, 2010 Dutch Queen Beatrix will open a New Car Museum in The Hague. It is practically located in the garden of her residence. It will be the new home for the Louwman Museum‘s car and art collection that will move to The Hague from its present location Rosmalen.
The Ferrari 500 Superfast Speciale of the photos was built by Ferrari on specs by the father of Queen Beatrix, Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands.
As Ultimate Car page reported:
Although all Superfasts were similar in design and configuration, Enzo Ferrari was more than happy to make an exception for one of his most loyal customers, Prince Bernhard of The Netherlands. Like for all his Ferraris, the Prince specified green (Verde Pino) as the colour for his Superfast, but that’s not what makes s/n 6267 SF a ‘Superfast Speciale’. For reasons unknown he had Ferrari fit a 330 GT derived four litre engine, which was not a problem as the Superfast’s chassis was derived from the 330 GT. A special bench type front seat is fitted, designed to seat a second passenger. With no air conditioning or power steering the Prince’s Superfast is a true driver’s car, stripped from all luxuries.
In fairly original condition, it is pictured here at the 2003 Bonham’s Gstaad Ferrari Auction. It found new owner for just over 420,000 Swiss Francs. Prince Bernhard’s Superfast has found a good home in the National Dutch Auto Museum in Rosmalen, The Netherlands.
It is not very clear what name will be appropriate for the museum. The present signs name it Louwman Museum. The Louwman family who build it are car importers who started the collection. But they also acquired the Dutch National Automobiel Museum a few years back when that came in financially lesser circumstances. It’s prior name was The Louwman Collection. We will see. I wouldn’t be surprised if Louwman would get the Queen so far as to grant him permission to name the museum Royal Dutch Automobile Museum.
Personally I believe that whatever the name will be, it is very important for The Hague to get this new museum which has a unique collection of cars and car art and will be worth a visit.
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Ah, and here is another real travel writer and not-so-frequent-blogger to introduce to you:
I am Ellie Brik and I was born many many years ago in Rotterdam. About 10 years ago I wrote for publisher Mo’Media in Breda (www.momedia.nl) my first book “52 zondagen wandelen & lunchen” (52 Sunday walks and lunches) which was very successful (100.000 copies and on the Top 100 list of best sold books in 2002). I’ve written 12 guidebooks up to now. All about the good life: visiting lovely towns and villages, having great lunches and dinners, and staying in the best hotels.
When I am working every day is a holiday. After all these years I am still surprised by all the beautiful cities in Holland, Belgium and Germany which I visit for my job.
I don’t like the traffic, so I try to avoid it by leaving my house early in the morning.
With my blog http://elliebrik.web-log.nl I love to combine private and business matters.
Although it is not my favourite drink: having tea at the Ritz hotel in Paris (just passing by), the Amstel hotel in Amsterdam (seeing rich friends who spent 3 nights in a royal suite) and hotel Des Indes in The Hague (writing an article about the hotel, see below). And last but not least the trip with my two daughters to Berlin in September 2009. We had a lovely high tea at the Adlon Hotel (www.kempinski.com) in Berlin after biking the whole day through this beautiful city.
View from the Adlon terrace on the Brandenburger Tor in Berlin [been there too Ellie:-)]
For a Belgium magazine I wrote an article about Hotel Des Indes (www.desindes.nl) in the Hague. I enjoyed afternoon tea, stayed one night and had a lovely breakfast. Because I live in the Hague I traveled by bike!
For an other article in the magazine Hotels of Mo’Media I ‘had’ to stay at the Bliss Hotel (www.blisshotel.nl) in Breda. I’ll never forget the strawberries, chocolate and champagne which I found in my room after a lovely dinner in their restaurant Chocolat.
In February 2010 I shared a room with my best friend in hotel Duo in Paris (www.duo-paris.com). He is the rich guy who always stays in the most famous hotels in the world, but he had to admit that breakfast at a large wooden table at Le Pain Quotidien (www.lepainquotidien.com) is not bad at all.
The best shrimp croquettes in Belgium on the terrace of Zuiderterras in Antwerp (www.zuiderterras.be) with a fantastic view on the river Schelde.
A perfect sandwich at the roof terrace of the Kurhaus Museum in Cleve, Germany (www.museumkurhaus.de) with a fantastic view on the historical park.
A glass of white wine at The Walvis (www.walvis.org), a beach restaurant on the island Terschelling, with again a fantastic view on the Waddenzee.
My stay in a bed & breakfast in Belgium, where the owner gave me the wrong room. I was a bit surprised by the heart of rose leaves on my bed, the many candles around my bed and the present which appeared to be a bottle of man’s perfume. But at 23.00 hrs when I was deep asleep a young Belgian couple opened the door with a key and the lady was furious about the fact that I had thrown the rose leaves away and opened her present for her lover. The owner of the B&B who came in a hurry, let me stay in my bed and the young couple got a room next to me. I could hear them yelling for half an hour!
My stay in a hotel in Friesland, where I got a single room which looked more like a prison cell with very thin walls. In the middle of the night I heard my neighbours entering their room, screaming because a pigeon was under their bed and did not want to go out.
My stay for three days in a hotel in Nijmegen where I got three breakfasts and three dinners served at a single table opposite the single table of an Englishman. Everytime I looked up I looked into his eyes….
Try the shrimp croquettes at Dendy (www.restaurantdendy.nl),
the Caesar salad at Oker (www.restaurantoker.nl),
both at the Denneweg in the Hague, and the fusion kitchen of Wox (www.wox.nl).
Stay at the Haagsche Suites (www.haagschesuites.nl), the best in town,
at Hotel des Indes (ask for a room with a view on the LangeVoorhout), or
at the Paleishotel (www.paleishotel.nl)
Visit the Gemeentemuseum (www.gemeentemuseum.nl),
the Mauritshuis (www.mauritshuis.nl)
and the Panorama Mesdag (www.panorama-mesdag.com)
all three a must.
What are you doing at the moment?
In August, October and December 2010 I’ll write a four pages article for the magazine “Heerlijkheid”, published by Mariënwaerdt in Beesd (www.marienwaerdt.nl), it’s all about the good life in The Netherlands.
For English language guide books 100.000 copies sold may seem nothing, but I believe it is the equivalent of selling 10 mio copies in the English language…And MoMedia guides are very handy, short and to the point!
Although we live practically around the corner from each other, I hardly meet Ellie ever when shopping, which is strange as we seem to share the same preferences. Just when I was editing the interview of Patrick Goff, who wrote the first full English language review of Haagsche Suites, I ran into Ellie who wrote the first ever Dutch review for a guidebook of Haagsche Suites.
Ellie with a Galerne Baguette
We met at our favorite Breton (France) patissier Philippe Galerne here in The Hague from whom we both love the bread, the chocolate and the cake. I’ve a feeling we now will meet soon again. Thank you for your cooperation Ellie!
Update: You can find Ellie on Twitter now: @EllieBrik
Last edited by GJE on June 15, 2010 at 1:30 pm
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