PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE HAGUE

Transcription

1 PRACTICAL GUIDE TO THE HAGUE VISITA AOS TRIBUNAIS INTERNACIONAIS DA HAIA CORTE INTERNACIONAL DE JUSTIÇA CORTE PERMANENTE DE ARBITRAGEM TRIBUNAL PENAL INTERNACIONAL TRIBUNAL PENAL INTERNACIONAL PARA A EX-IUGOSLÁVIA TRIBUNAL ESPECIAL PARA O LÍBANO TRIBUNAL ESPECIAL PARA A SERRA LEOA Coordenação: Profa. Paula Wojcikiewicz Almeida Comissão organizadora: Anna Clara Monjardim Andrea Lavourinha Rafaela Montenegro Rio de Janeiro, 20 de junho de 2011.

2 Practical Guide to The Hague Useful Tips: Arriving at Schiphol Airport, Amsterdam and traveling to The Hague Once you arrive at the airport your best option to travel to The Hague ( Den Haag in Dutch) is by train. In the airport you ll find the train station with direct trains to Den Haag CS (which is Central Station) or to Den Haag HS (which is Holland Spoor, not so central so I wouldn t opt for this one at first). You can actually purchase a train ticket in the baggage reclaim area. The yellow Nederlandse Spoorwegen ticket vending machines have a screen and English language menu in which you type in your destination and choose a payment method. However, you can also wait and purchase a ticket at the desk in the train station hall within the airport. Dutch Train system (NS) website also in English: If you think you will be using the train system often, you can purchase an off-peak hours discount card. This card is called a Voordeelurenabonnement in Dutch and costs 45 and entitles you to a 40% discount train journeys after 9am on weekdays and whole days on weekends. The card is valid for one year. For more detailed information on the NS, please consult their website. (There is a button to click for the English option).

3 For street maps of The Hague you can consult the following websites: Please note that since 1 January 2005 by law everyone over the age of 14 should carry with them an official ID (either your passport or driving licence) at all times while in The Netherlands. Bus passes, university ID cards etc will not be accepted. For your information: Dutch people tend to speak English very well so do not be afraid to ask people for help in English. Tourist Information Office The Hague Tourist Information Office - VVV Den Haag Open Monday till Friday: , Saturday: , Sunday h Address: Hofweg AA Den Haag Phone: ( 0,45 p/m) info@vvvdenhaag.com Web: MONEY The Netherlands is a cash-country. You may sometimes pay with credit cards, and for some business it s useful to have one, but most of the shops and restaurants accept only cash instead of international plastic money. (1) Credit Cards (VISA/Euro card ) ATMs dispense money for an approximate fee of 4. You can pay with CCs for substantial needs (several stores, Restaurants, Hotels ), but don t rely on it.

4 (2) EC/Maestro If you have a European bank card you can withdraw money at any ATM (bank machine) for a small fee (approx. 4 each). Check with your bank in advance. You can also pay for train tickets and at some bigger chain stores such as H&M without a fee. (3) PIN Any of the PIN options offered in town are for Dutch bank cards only. TELEPHONE (1) Discount Telephone Cards Recommended cards are: (a) Eurocity (for calling the U.S.A., Canada, or Western Europe): costs 12 and is found at shops in the Chinatown neighborhood of Den Haag (b) Budget Phone Card : costs 5 or 10 (at Post offices) (2) Cell phones: Dual band cell phones can be used (Europe, AUS ). Triband phones (U.S.-style) cannot be used. You can get cheap cell phones from 40 (incl. SIM card) or just pre paid SIM cards (for your dual band cell phone) from about 17. SIM cards, phones, and recharge (or top-up ) cards can be purchased at many telephone shops and the Albert Heijn (AH) supermarkets around town. Recommended brands are Orange, KPN, Telfort, T-Mobile. SHOPPING (1) Opening hours

5 Stores are often closed on Sundays and Mondays. During the week the shops will be closed after 5 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. (Thursday night is late opening for some stores.) The big chain stores such as Albert Heijn, Jumbo, or clothing stores downtown are open until 8 p.m. other than on Thursday night, when regular shops are sometimes open until 9 p.m. (2) General Grocery Shopping Tips Albert Heijn (AH, is the supermarket situated throughout The Hague, has the longest opening hours, and has the best selection but it is expensive. (Closest location to the Tribunal on the Frederik Hendriklaan, or The Fred.) a quick reminder, they don t accept foreign credit cards! C1000 ( and Jumbo ( are other supermarkets, quality and price wise between ALDI and AH. There s a big open air market in The Hague once a week for fresh groceries and all at Paul-Kruger Laan, but also an even nicer market on Saturdays in Leiden, a cute university town that is a fifteen-minute train ride away. If you re up for negotiating you can get good bargains at both markets. The Paagman bookstore on upper Fred(erik Hendriklaan), the bookstore in Central Station, Van Stockum Boekverkopers (e.g. at Noordeinde 62) et al. have a good variety of international newspapers on stock. TRANSPORT (1) Trams/Buses Other than bikes, there are trams and buses everywhere. You need to buy a strippenkaart for the trams and buses from the Albert Heijn, news stands (The 15-strip card costs 6,90 and the 45-strip card costs 19,60). The strippenkaart

6 can be used throughout The Netherlands. Ask people who know about the stamping procedure it can be a little complicated. It is important to remind that the strippenkaart might not being sold anymore, they were abolishing the system. You can buy an ov-chipkaart in the train station or the tourist information office. The ov-chipkaart is a rechargeable card, you can recharge it in the machines at the train station or in the public transportation office (HTM). A quick reminder, if you choose to recharge your card in the train station, in the office you buy the train tickets, it is possible, but you will have to pay a 50 cent fee. How to use the ov-chipkaart: you have to check in and check out of the bus or tram by passing the card on the reader machine inside the vehicle. It is really important, don t forget to check out, otherwise you will be charged more than you should be! If that happens, take your card to the HTM office. On your first journey you can of course also purchase a ticket with the driver but this is a more expensive option Although it might look like nobody is checking if you paid your ride in the bus or tram, they do sometimes check the trams and buses. The officers checking the cards dress in black (no uniforms) sometimes, so you don t see they coming. If they catch you without paying, you have to pay a bitter fee. (2) Trains If you plan on traveling on the train in The Netherlands (i.e. to places that are more than a few kilometers away, such as Amsterdam) it would be a good idea to get a korting card (discount card). You pay about 50, but then you get

7 40% off all train tickets. Also, anyone you travel with (approx. up to 4 people) also travels with the discount, and it's good for a year. This card is interesting to buy if you are staying longer periods in the Netherlands! When you buy train tickets, it's best to buy them from a machine since there is technically a 0, 50 service fees (per person) for buying them at the counter. But, if you buy a ticket from the machine, you need cash, which means coins or a European bank card. So, unless you have a European bank card, you may end up needing to buy tickets from the counter anyway and hope that you don t get charged the service fee. You can use your ov-chipkaart for paying your train rides. You check in and out in the machines at the train station, not inside the trains. If you choose this option, you will have to charge you card with a higher amount of money, at least 20 Euros. Enkele reis means one-way ticket, and a return ticket is only valid if both legs of the journey are taken on the same day. If you buy an open-date ticket, don't forget to validate it in one of the machines near the tracks before getting on the train. Otherwise, you can face a stiff fine. (3) Getting around The Hague by bike Since it is very flat here and the infrastructure is designed for cyclists, many people staying for longer periods end up purchasing a bike. Unfortunately there isn t a system to rent a bike in The Hague yet, like in Paris (vélib).

8 GOING OUT (1) Bars (a) The Old Jazz, on the Fred (Frederik Hendriklaan), at the corner of Aert van der Groesstraat, a nice pub and restaurant, dark interior. 20 min walking from the Tribunal, within the range of vision of De Sien. (b) De Sien, on the corner of Antonie Duykstraat and Antonie Heinsiusstraat, Dutch style tavern, perfect for drinks after work. They usually have great food specials (around 7, 50) and decent beer (4,-). (c) Fiddler, Riviervismarkt 1, down the street (straat) from Havana, this is a good place to play pool and hang out. Good music and reasonably priced drinks (don t drink more than ONE Irish Carbomb). (d) Rootz, Groote Markstraat 14, ( Decent Bar, decent drink prices, good music. If you just want to drink, however, don t go before (it s a Restaurant until then). (e) Wicked Wines, Bazarstraat 42, ( a little more posh and upscale, and this place has great wine and the most comfortable chairs in The Hague. Even with the better atmosphere, it s still not that expensive and the food is great. (f) Cafés: Greve, Torenstraat, some Dutch and a few international newspapers on display, smokey, good Café Latte; Dudok, Spui (downtown close to the Pathe cinema), large modern atmosphere, variety of snacks; a few locations on Plein and Molenstraat with good café and snack menus. (g) Misc. other Bars Pubs and Cafés are around Molenstraat, Denneweg, and Nordeinde (2) Clubs

9 (a) Paard van Troje, (Trojan horse), Prinsegracht 12, ( they have three clubs and a pub. They play great music and have cheap beer. Lots of fun. (b) Cocoon, ( - Live Jazz on Wednesday (no cover charge), Clubbing on the Weekends. Decent drinks, comfy couches. (c) Havana, Buitenhof 19, Club Saturday after 11, Salsa dancing on Sunday (no cover charge), the rest of the time a decent Mexican Restaurant. (d) Silly s, Groote Marktstraat 10, kind of techno, but it stays open until 4a.m. so if you re out for a late night this is a good option. (e) Dansplek, varying parties (70 s, 80 s, best of three decades ) for people of 25yrs or older (no ID check), decent music, reasonable prices, no smoking on the dance floor, rather smooth atmosphere, a wee bit of a place our parents would go on a grand young night out, but it seems to be the only place in Den Haag for this kind of music. DINING AND SPECIALTIES (1) Unique Dutch Foods Bitterbollen (little fried balls) but don t ask what s inside (could be meat, potatoes, vegetables, or something else) Kroket (see Bitterbollen, but clubby shaped) Stroopwafels (very sweet caramel-filled waffle cookies) they are best on market days in Leiden or on weekends in downtown The Hague from little stands. Herring (marinated fish, eaten in a bun or by itself) (2) Prices (a) 4 to 5 for Döner, Shwarma, Falafel, Turkish Pizza (Lahmacun)

10 (b) 1, 50 to 2 for fries and add-ons (c) 10 for Pizza (d) 15 to 20 for a reasonable dinner (3) International Food As a very international city, The Hague offers a high amount of international restaurants. MUSEUMS If you re into Museums, it is useful to buy a Museum Kaart, which gives free admission to lots of museums throughout The Netherlands (although not all). All the biggies are covered by the card, including the Mauritshuis and Gemeentemuseum in The Hague, and the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. You can buy the card for 30 (under age 25 it s 12, 50) at either the museums or at It s good for one year. AT THE TRIBUNALS Dress Code The dress code in the Tribunals is more or less casual, however, for attending the Court, people should be suitably attired and persons entering the public galleries must be appropriately dressed. Clothing that is deemed to be provocative or persons displaying disruptive or offensive insignia or images are not permitted.

11 MISCELLANEOUS - other useful WEBSITES (general overview in different languages) (train info, with English pages) (television listings) (Thalys express train to Brussels and Paris) world.altavista.com (online Dutch to English translator) (Den Haag s tram homepage for schedules, tram stops, etc.) (for help, answers, advice about living in the Netherlands)