Trifter

A few days ago I decided to join my husband on a ride to the city of The Hague. He was going there on business and he would be the entire day busy at work so I planned a few hours of sightseeing in an area of the city that I hadn’t yet seen: “the Fred”.

“The Fred” is what locals call this particular shopping street in the Statenkwartier in the Dutch city of The Hague (The Netherlands). The full name of the street is…. “Frederik Hendriklaan” which is difficult to remember, let alone to pronounce or write, so “The Fred” is how it is widely known.  The street is 1 km long and is packed with a wide range of shops: from cool boutiques to delicatessen shops and of course cafés, takeaways and restaurants.

The architecture of the Statenkwartier is stately and quaint, with buildings from the Art Noveau period which give the whole neighbourhood a very chic feel. The streets are lined with leafy old trees and most of the 19th century old houses there have beautiful gardens. The neighbourhood is popular with the very large expatriate community living in The Hague and also houses several embassies and consulates.  The Gemeentemuseum  (Town Hall Museum) and other musea are also located in this area.

Around mid-morning then, I took tram 17 at the Station Centraal Den Haag in the city and got off at the Frederik Hendriklaan stop. I first took a right and walked up the Fred to the Johan van Oldebarneveltlaan. It was still a bit early so the street was rather quiet and I could stroll down at my own pace, looking at the different shops, stopping occasionally when a window looked attractive. I found the regular kind of shops that you normally see in any city around in the Netherlands, like an Albert Heijn supermarket,  a Gall&Gall (off-license/liquor store), a Hunkemöller shop (lingerie) or an Arke Reisbureau (travel agency).

Turning around and walking all the way down the “Fred”, I found some interesting (though rather pricey) shops, like the Jeweller’s Van Winsen. I also came across the Thomas Green’s British Supermarket, which offers a wide range of British food products and is frequented by the large British and expat community living in The Hague. I went into the supermarket and looked around at the display of foods on offer like savory snacks, maple syrup products and a wide range of chutneys, jams and spreads. I learnt there that if you can’t find the product you are looking for, they can get it for you and they also deliver all over The Netherlands.

Another point of interest for me was the choice of shoe shops located along the “Fred”. For some reason, I never get tired of window-shopping for shoes and I also believe there is no such thing as “having enough shoes”! So the “Fred” offered me a treat of “shoe paradise”…

In the food department also, I found quaint, nice looking shops like De Kaasspecialist which has stalls and shops all over The Netherlands; or the Simon de Vogel Traiteur, a catering chain that offers takeaway food and  delicatessen from different parts of the world; and several bakershops, like for example, Plasman Banketbakkerij. 

All the time I was also taking mental pictures of the different cafés and restaurants I saw along the street in order to come back later for lunch or a cup of coffee. I found several interesting options such as Boosty with its healthy food, Stip Lunchroom, the  Toko Sawa Indonesian Food, the Walong Chinese restaurant, or the Café Fore Lunch & Dinner, which is located on a side street (Willem de Zwijgerlaan) and a cute little stall (very popular among office workers and shop assistants from the area) offering the classic “kroketten” and fast food, called Dick’s Snackbar.

After walking up and down the street, window-shopping and taking photos of the shops and interesting architecture I found in my way, I decided it was time to stop, choose one of the cosy cafés along the “Fred” which offered a friendly atmosphere and a nice view of the area, and have something to eat.

The choice fell on Brasserie Meys which is situated in a privileged sunny corner of the popular street. I picked my table, took out my ever present book to read later, and studied the menu. I finally ordered a nice cup of tea with an Italian panino of brown bread, with grilled vegetables, green pesto, mozzarella and pinenuts – delicious!!!

I relaxed for an hour or so, enjoying the view and the tasty panino while reading my book and looking forward to yet more of “the Fred” to discover before heading back to the station…

“De Fred” has its own website where you can get  a list of all the shops in the area, a history of this commercial street, an agenda of events, news, etc. You can find the page here.