DEN HAAG 2026-06-11
Dutch travelog, part 2. Read part 1 here.
TIMELINE:
Morning
I planned a manicure appointment at 10:00. We got up early enough, but I ended up talking with S about some serious topics so I didn't want to end it abruptly. Thus, we left later than we should have, and I still wanted to grab a toastie, thinking I could eat it on the way to my appointment.
We went to Toastable because it was open at 9:00 (even though we got there after 9:30). I ordered the kimchi cheese toastie and an Americano. I thought the toastie would be more portable, but it was quite large and came in a box. With a hot coffee in hand, it would be impossible for me to eat while walking. So we sat down at the restaurant for five minutes so I could get something in my stomach before my 2 hour manicure.
I think the dipping sauce was sriracha mayo. At least that's what it tasted like.
Miffy manicure
The nail salon was an 8-minute walk from Toastable. It was actually a space with several other independent beauticians, which I'd never seen before. My nail tech was extremely friendly and funny. We didn't talk much, but I gave her a difficult assignment of drawing Miffy, and she would whisper to herself, "Gambatte (Keep it up!)" in Japanese.
The reason I'm not listing her business is because, aside from her charismatic attitude, I'm not completely satisfied with the work. It was €80 for a 2-hour manicure with nail art, plus a hand massage. That's about 10 Fr. cheaper than what I'd pay for in Switzerland and the service was great, but her painting technique is heavy-handed and not very clean. However, they still look cute overall.
Daniel's comment on my Miffy thumbnail:
"Wow, she managed to make Miffy look scary!"
That Miffy has seen things.
After the appointment, we walked to a nearby park so I could finish my breakfast lunch. The contents were good, but I didn't like how toasted the bread was. It was too crispy for me, like eating a giant cracker.
Walking through the city
After my lunch (Daniel had finished his toastie before we even got to the salon), we made our way towards the Escher museum. We happened to pass by Osaka Mama, which was bookmarked on my maps. This place sells different flavors of taiyaki, so we had to try it. I got the standard custard flavor and Daniel chose matcha, of course. We each got matcha lattes as well.
I already bit its head (or tail, can't tell) off.
The filling for the custard could've been sweeter, but I was grateful to be able to eat a fresh taiyaki again. Daniel didn't like his matcha latte and said it wasn't strong enough.
We continued our walk to the museum, where we began to see inflatable art all over town. One of the main roads to the museum is called Lange Voorhout. On Thursdays, the gravelly road is lined with antique sellers. On Sundays, I read that it's more of a flea market.
You can tell that these were seasoned antique sellers as they had some rather nice things. I decided to save my money though, since it was only day 2.
Escher in the Palace
M.C. Escher was a Dutch graphic artist known for his geometric artwork that distort reality. "The palace" was a former royal estate, used by several Dutch queens. Now, it's a museum dedicated to Escher's work, as well as contemporary Islamic art, because Escher was influenced by the architecture of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.
While I knew of Escher's most famous works, such as "Drawing Hands" or "Relativity" (also known as, "Crazy Stairs"), that was pretty much all I knew of him. I had no idea that he was a printmaker, and was impressed by how modern his work looked. His signature looks like a graffiti tag!
The first two floors were mostly dedicated to his pattern and mosaic work and also featured art from contemporary Arab artists, which I really enjoyed. I appreciated that the museum chose to include art that heavily inspired Escher, because a lot of Western museums tend to ignore those parts of history.
ISLAMIC ART
My favorite room. I love the patterns and colors and everything about it.
MORE ESCHER
Imagine going to this museum on mushrooms.
Um, what's going on here?
P&D IN THE PALACE
I wore my most Escher-esque dress* that day. I didn't know what would be displayed in the museum, but I figured that there was a high chance I'd match the artwork. Sure enough, I found my fraternal twin on the third floor, which was dedicated to optical illusions. (Daniel also wanted to get in on it.)
* The dress is from Monki, which I bought several years ago.
One of the last rooms featured a giant screen where you could design your own pattern. Daniel spent almost 10 minutes here.
He was very proud of this.
There was a photo op at the end of the exhibit, where you could pose in front of these popular, optical illusion setups. At first I didn't want to give in, but then I thought, why the hell not. It cost €5 so I considered it a tip to the museum, because we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and I learned a lot!
I'm finally taller than Daniel.
There were lots of facts about the palace itself, but I skipped those. However, Daniel noticed that each room featured some fancy chandeliers, designed by artist Hans van Bentem.
I highly recommend this museum! It's not part of the Museum Pass as it's a bit cheaper. It's small, but we still spent over 2 hours there because the work was so interesting.
Afternoon snack
It was around 16:00 when we left the museum and had started to rain, even though it was forecasted not to. I had bookmarked a café right next door called Chiqueolatte Den Haag. We ducked in to escape the drizzle and have an afternoon snack. Daniel picked a table in the back, away from the crowd.
The waitresses were super friendly and patient when we asked about the menu. I had wanted to share a plate of pancakes, but upon hearing that they were "four small pancakes," we thought we could handle our own. Turns out, Dutch portions are larger than what we're used to in Switzerland.
I ordered a "Spanish latte" (has condensed milk instead of regular milk), and Daniel got a raspberry latte, I think.
They're not huge pancakes but the entire plate was covered, plus there was fruit, so it was quite filling.
We were pretty full from our "snack," so I thought we'd be able to walk it off in time for dinner in a few hours. We headed back out into the rain, towards the shopping area.
More inflatable street art.
S told me about a store named Dille & Kamille (it's a chain and reminds me of a grown-up version of Søstrene Grene), which was on a street with lots of cute shops. I bought two felt flowers there, and later a fun stacking lunchbox from an Indonesian bookstore and café called Moesson. I also bought a heart-shaped tooth box as a gift for my friend's toddler at Made conceptstore.
Enamelware lunchbox in snot green, a daisy and daffodil made of felt, and the already-wrapped gift.
Dinner at Niko Udon
We stopped by a few more shops and cafés. It was past 18:00 and we weren't entirely hungry, but we wanted to get on with our evening so we made our way to Niko Udon, which was less than 10 minutes away by foot.
Han had recommended this place to me and the Japanese nail tech from the morning also mentioned that it was Japanese-owned, unlike many of the "fake Japanese" restaurants around the city. So double-points for authenticity.
We didn't make a reservation but were seated right away. I ordered the classic niku (beef) udon, and Daniel got the limited Okinawa udon, which came with pork belly. I also ordered a red shiso whiskey sour. (€12.50, a steal!) There was a mixup with my drink order, so I got a glass of red shiso lemonade for free.
Delicious melt-in-your-mouth beef and pork belly (I tried a piece from Daniel's). The udon was also hand-cut.
We were so incredibly FULL. I would've loved to try the dessert as they looked tempting, but I couldn't even finish the soup, and I usually drink every drop. Perhaps the soup portions are bigger in the Netherlands, too.
After dinner, we waddled our way back to R&S's. I knew then and there that I'd need to change my eating strategy, if I wanted to be able to try as much as I could during this trip!