We lived in The Hague from October 1999 to December 2002, first at Hooikade 15, then at Jozef Israelslaan 59.
As part of an 18 day journey from my home in North Yorkshire to London, Marseille and Rotterdam in the heat of August 2026 I re-visited The Hague. Our old haunts are still there, but there's been much new building. Den Haag Centraal Station is quite spectacular now. I'm used to Kings Cross looking swish, but this something else.
"The four people—three men and one woman—are depicted in an animated, equal discussion. They symbolize the modern public engaging in debate and democratic dialogue." Beyond is the re-developed Central Station.
Our home in Hooikade was by a canal. It used to be white and plain. Now it's tarted up in olive green.
Grace was born when we were here. I used to carry her up and down this street on my shoulders to ease her bawling at 1 in the morning, my hand behind her back fixing her against the back of my head. Or sometimes atop my head with both my hands.
Our bike supplier.
The Blue Cafe where we sat outside on weekend mornings. Shut, alas, when I was there.
"Hooikade (literally Hay Quay) was historically used for unloading hay brought in by canal boats for horses kept in nearby city stables. The bridge crosses over the waterway, where small pleasure craft, electric rental sloops, and canal tours regularly pass under the historic stone and cast-iron bridge."
Our coffee spot.
"Jozef Israëlslaan is a notable tree-lined avenue located in the prestigious Benoordenhout neighborhood. Characterized by its wide layout, classic green trees, and early 20th-century townhouses (many built around the 1920s). It sits very close to the Haagse Bos park, Van Hoytemastraat shopping area, and is within walking distance of Den Haag Centraal station. The street is named after Jozef Israëls (1824–1911), one of the most celebrated Dutch painters of the Hague School. He was famous for his realism and depictions of fishing communities in Scheveningen."
Our house was the brown door extreme left.
A few yards round the corner is a sculpture of an owl.
The owl is by Jan Altorf (Johan Coenraad Altorf, 1876–1955), one of the most prominent Dutch sculptors of the Art Nouveau and Nieuwe Haagse School eras. Altorf was legendary for his highly stylized, geometric animal figures carved into building facades.
Material & Style: The relief is carved directly into a dark, heavy natural stone panel (Namense hardsteen / Belgian granite). Altorf used bold, sharp planes and cubist angles, perfectly matching the geometric lines of architect Jan Wils' building design.
Symbolism of the Owl: In Art Deco and Nieuwe Haagse School architecture, the owl was widely used as a symbol of wisdom, vigilance, and quiet domestic peace—an inviting motif placed right at the threshold to welcome residents into a secure and luxurious home.
Designed in the Nieuwe Haagse School style, strongly influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright's geometric and organic forms Wilshout is designated as a National Monument (Rijksmonument).
It was my solace when I left America for the North York Moors and photographed the barn owls hunting right outside my window.
A few yards further is the side chapel entrance to the Sint-Paschalis Baylonkerk. The pelican is an ancient symbol of maternal self sacrifice later adapted to Christ's sacrifice (shedding his blood to give eternal life to his followers).
In Hooikade.
In Jozef Israelslaan on a dark December day:
Bourgeois Valhalla
Bourgeois Valhalla, brick Benoordenhout
Is rich with emblems and foreshadowed memory.
Haunting heron, eagle owl,
The spirit selves of Grace and you and me.
In dark and darker days and neon nights
Sinisterly zoftig 's-Gravenhage
Gathers shadow armies in the sky,
Signifying something is to change,
Or did already change and memory plays tricks.
Cold flares up and wind dies down,
The patina is frozen from the brick,
The darkest days come crowding round,
And in this shadowed time and place
May angels guard us, Kirsten, Mark and Grace.
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