The Hague, June 15, 2024
On our visit to the Netherlands this summer, we went to the Hague twice. The first trip took place late in the afternoon of Saturday, June 15, 2024. It was a cold, cloudy and drizzly day. Many of the locals were wearing their winter coats and jackets. It must have been 5 pm when we arrived from Leiden after a quick 15 minute train ride.
While walking towards the centrum or city center, we passed by a War Memorial next to a park.
It was the beautiful buildings that caught my attention right away. The buidlings' architecture was truly pretty and colorful. Given that it was a weekend, there were lots of people everywhere. Lots of them. This was one store whose design I really liked a lot. Very colorful and whimsy!
There was also the Passage, a shopping arcade that resembled those in London, England. Here's a frontal view of the place. We were going to the Novotel to check the place out when we saw this elegant arcade. We immediately made a detour. While in the passage, it was there where we caught a glimpse the major department stores like Bjenkorf and HEMA across the street.
A side view of the Passage
This is what it was like inside. Lots of nice stores.
We also saw funny statues along one main street. This was one of them.
I just had a feeling we were going to find a TK Maxx in the Hague. Well, I was hoping to. Two years ago, I scored big time in this chain of stores in Germany. Then I got to purchase quality leather shoes at discounted prices. We just went inside this one. We didn't buy any.
This was one artwork on the side of a building in an alley.
Since it was getting on 6 pm, we decided to look for dinner. We saw a HEMA Department Store. Having been to a number of HEMAs in many cities in the Netherlands, we headed for its restaurant. Luckily, we were still able to get food, considering the staff had begun to clean out the shelves and tables. They were closing for the day. I thought it was rather early. I remember getting some soup and bread while Marc had a sandwich.