ilthor wrote:Could be too... there's this litle square there, with one of those nice coffee houses... "trés simpa".
The Hague is littered with small squares and nice coffee houses. But now the definition of little square and the way the dutch people handle weirdness....
A square to pick is the Binnenhof (Innerplace). This is in fact the governmental centre of our country. Yes, you can walk to the square there, sit on the fountain and smoke a .... cigarette. Chances are you bump in the minister of finance who comes to work on a bicycle and refuses an armored car for protection, even when receiving a death thread ("When I am killed, a new minister of Finance will stand up and act"). Seeing the only harm this did him so far was a black eye when he, the fast biker he is, crashed into another cyclist during bad weather, he probably is right...
Another square is De Grote Markt (The Big Market). Lotsa nice bars and definitely the hippest square in town. No service at all, if you wanna have a drink, go inside and order some. Always crowded by people being hip, wanting to be hip and lost tourists. Entertainment is provided by begging homeless, rosepimps and people having arguments over chairs, tables or sunshine. During summer, the square is crowded even when raining by means of the bars using huge umbrella's and people showing off their uber hipness...
A choice is het Plein (Square, Place), a square just outside the Binnenhof. Not recommended, protesters from outside The Hague can be found here.
Considering it all, The Grote Markt I like best as a place to eat and drink. And if anyone from outside the Netherlands wishes to come and enjoy some things that are considered illegal in other countries, like drinking after 23:00 or smoking below the age of 21, possibly even some other things, these are frowned upon as bad form and my company is not guaranteed if you want to be unconscious for two days.
Grtz