June 16, 2005
-
The past few weeks might have been pretty hectic, but they were also very rewarding in some respects. My boss, the Attorny General ( ‘Procureur-Generaal’ in Dutch) retired and we had to prepare a lot of invitations, speeches, receptions etc. He’ll be teaching law at my old university starting next semester, as he already is a member of the board of that faculty. One the perks of my job is that I get invited to a formal reception or dinner every now and then, and this time the reception was held in the medieval Knight’s Hall of the Hague where our queen reads our equivalent of the State of the Union speech each year.
(left) Knight’s Hall (Ridderzaal) by night, (centre) interior, (right) Official throne of HM Queen Beatrix.
(left) Speech by the minister of justice (centre) Close-up - my boss, whose full name is Joan Lodewijk de Wijkerslooth de Weerdesteijn, esq., is officially a knight of the realm by (noble) birth. You can still be knighted by the queen, but in those cases the title cannot be inherited. (right) my new boss (l.) talking to his boss, Piet Hein Donner, minister of justice.
(left) minister Donner (l.) talking to US ambassador James Sobel (r.), (centre & right) my old boss, De Wijkerslooth presents the annual report of the Prosecution Service in our offices, during a press conference.
(left) a definite perk of my job are the posh dinners every now and then; nice food, but far too many glasses and pieces of cutlery for my simple taste and upbringing, though. (centre) a visit to the television set of “Opsporing Verzocht” (the rather tame Dutch equivalent of ‘America’s Most Wanted’), (right) annual office outing, this year we paid a visit to a project that aims to build a full-size, functional replica of a 17th c. frigate, that sunk during a sea battle against the British.
After having visited the wharf, my colleagues and I saw our own country from a tourist’s perspective as we were did an open-boat tour along the canals of Schiedam, a picturesque town near Rotterdam, where every other house seems to be a jenever distillery (jenever being a very popular type of Dutch gin).
(left) Schiedam canals, (centre) Schiedam centre, (right) tall 17th c. houses, originally used for storing wheat and barley, jenever ingredients.
(left & centre) Schiedam houses and windmills, (right) the office outing ended with lots of booze and a BBQ in one of the many beach restaurants in Scheveningen, the seaside resort of The Hague (at this point I’m already pretty far gone…).
Comments (15)
I love the chandeliers. Do they invite spouses too, or just the people who work with you? In the first picture, the lighting makes it look like it is covered in gold.
I love the old architecture. How many stories are in some of those houses. Tall and narrow. The boat ride looks relaxing. Is it still cold there? Sorry, I look at the pics and have soo many questions.
Great pictures !! And I’ll bet that ship is really something to see when it’s done.
I am always in awe of the photos you share with us. I would love to render some of them in pen and ink…of course, the windmills are of particular interest to me. Here in the Heartland of America, there are none to be seen. They are just so graceful and hold such character. The Hall of the Hague is amazing. I think I would be holding my breath as I walked through it, fearful to touch anything. I’d probably feel more comfortable at the office outing…Looks like too much fun!
Wow, that boat shot is amazing! I bet that was quite the vessel in its time despite that fact that it sunk.!!
Your job has a lot of nice perks. I am with you on having too much STUFF on the table, I used to get taken to business dinners with my dad and I was always SOO nervous I was going to break/drop/or just plain mess something up because there were so many forks, glasses, plates etc… I think I still get nervous just out of habit
As for my master’s degree, I’m going for an education master’s so when I go back to the US I will be certified to teach because as of now, I’m not. (and I am still amazed they let me come here and deal with their children!)
Hi Wil! Great to see you back on Xanga! Enjoyed the details of the Aruba situation on your last post. Speaking of replicas of ships, I went on board a replica of the Nina a few years ago. It was amazing to realize how small the boat was that made such a long journey. Have a great weekend….
Oh wow…so cool to see all these Dutch pix of familiar places. Thanks a bunch!! Awesome site you have. Got me hooked already.
Have a great day….
Groetjes,
LeLo.
How do I know if I commented on this before if I can’t read the comments!? Anyway enjoyed the pics. and info. as usual.
Happy Fathers Day! A day late. Sorry. I have been sharing your and Renee’s site with James. I he always asks alot of questions. So far he has been a little jealous of the people I make friends with on here, but I think he is slowly realizing why I enjoy conversing with all of you. Hope your week at work goes smoothly and isn’t too taxing.
RYC: I was born in Den-Haag and lived most of my life in Holland. Still have my mom, brother and lots of aunts and uncles there. Moved to TX about 10 years ago…Yikes!! Catch you later, k?
Groetjes,
LeLo.
Hey, just because we aren’t “English” doesn’t mean we don’t know Autumn. I know nothing about car races either but got involved because of the G-kids and son. Still know nothing but can sound as if I do some of the time. Oh, gosh, when I was a teen anyone in their 30s were old!
Thanks for stopping by.
Always love the inside scoop pics – I really really like the pic of the Knights hall- might have to con you outta a copy to have my friend enlarge so I can frame it .
Hugs to you !!!
Wow, the Queen B’s throne doesn’t look very comfy … ouch!
beautiful images. Thanks for sharing.
Your Xanga is a piece of shit. Seriously, it looks like it was put together by some 3rd grade retard. Sorry to say that but it’s just really really bad. You are probably just as ugly as this site. I am a model… I know these things. Bleh…
Just in case you ever check these comments….your Xanga pals miss your wit, intelligence, and interesting posts. How about a new year’s resolution: return to Xanga! Best wishes to you and yours….