The Hague, The Netherlands - Alice
Where are you originally from?
Proud to be a Prague born with a big part of my childhood spent in the Czech mountains, Krkonose.
What is your profession?
I am a graphic designer with the pleasant syndrom of conceptual (over)thinking haha.
How long have you lived in The Netherlands?
I recently realized I am here already one third of my life, so 9 years. Lucky that I can say I finally conquered an adequate level in the Dutch language, otherwise I’d be almost ashamed to admit it.;)
Why did you move to The Hague?
It was for a passionate choice of study. I didn’t really know anything about Holland before (e.g. that I shouldn’t call it Holland in most places, because that is just one part of the land), but art & design has an incredible history and a good spot in the culture of The Netherlands. The Royal Academy of Art in the center of The Hague fitted at first sight into my dream vision of studying graphic design. Pretty glad I found here much more than that, because it was definitely one of those intuitive jumps in life, but absolutely not well researched in terms of « Is it nice to live here? »
What is particular about Dutch culture?
Nobody is gonna be surprised about this one: Dutchies are direct. It can be sharp (for someone coming from a land full of literature, music and art romanticizing nature and love), so I did have my lessons during working here at first, but I love the clear grounds you can stand on with such people and I miss it whenever I work with someone that doesn’t tell or take constructive criticism well. Also, from my personal observation lot of people here are quite pragmatic. I tend to blame it on the centuries long fight with the water threatening to over-flood the land and thus Dutch people are great solution makers, progressive thinkers, hard-workers and responsible citizens. The downside of it can be overly stiff and controlled way with emotions. And a slight lack of tolerance for countries that don’t have it so together and aren’t as organized (but in their chaos cherish some amount of individual freedom to live however one wants to live).
What is your favorite thing about the Netherlands?
I think loving the Dutch streets is a norm. But on top of that, Dutch standard is to not hide anything (while not showing off with wealth), I assume due to the influence from early presence of Protestantism in the country. In practice it means that after dawn you will get a glimpse of enlightened beautiful foyer living rooms and the human life happening behind the windows free of curtains. It is not very polite to stare, especially here, so I only peak in curiously and shamelessly when on a bike, never when I walk around. Another way how to fall in love with this country is to stay close to water (which is not at all hard). Because the sunsets and skies you’ll encounter here get breathtaking and especially if they get reflected in the water surfaces like the famous canals, lakes or the sea shore.
What are some things that in your opinion people do not realize about the Netherlands?
In my experience, the Netherlands is much further in the practice of ideology of equality than other countries (and there is still a continuous active fight for more of it). Meaning there is a big mix of ethnicity around and the concept of man and woman or sexuality is much less defined than in many other places. Maybe just one practical side note to it: equality means also paying for things equally. A term «tikkie» means «little bit» and is an app which friends use between each other to pay any calculated debts so it gets split into bits instead of one person paying too much. I usually like it, the « no emotions attached to finances », just one time I went to an event where I almost didn’t drink or eat and without warning the next day, I received a tikkie of pretty fat sum, like if I allowed myself a fancy restaurant dinner. So that was bit of a «trikkie».😀
What would you recommend to people who are thinking of moving to the Netherlands?
You need to be a good biker and swimmer (just a survival thing any Dutch kid masters pretty early on) and confident (just a woman to woman advice because you will feel the equality in ways nobody warned you about). And you’ll probably score better with the locals if you’re gonna be environmentally conscious, not superficially, truly aware and trying.
What has been the hardest part about moving to the Netherlands?
Although I’ve been an alpine skier till 18yo and therefore survived pretty tough winter conditions on many trainings at the glaciers, I’ll say it’s the weather. I started taking icy showers way before Wim Hof became a thing to toughen up for Dutch winters in the indoors (don’t let your landlord control the heating). I am not giving up, but by now, I’ve learned that you can put me in -20°C dry snowy conditions and I’ll do more ok than in -5°C and 100% humidity combo. So yea, my wardrobe consists of much more raincoats and granny sweaters (some long like bathrobes) than it did 9 years ago.😀
What is your favorite memory of living in the Netherlands?
Many many...But in the class called Playlab which basically dissolved the borders of what graphic design is, one of our visual identity assignments was to create a band and perform at the end of the semester in a concert hall in Amsterdam. There was no limit to how you approach this and people made besides logos Vjing videos, costumes, merchandise, props for their performances. That final night of presenting our whole work in the way of performing on the stage was absolutely incredible. The inspiration coming from this living and buzzing creative hive still feeds me and I really think this was possible due to the progressive Dutch mindset. Many universities here have programs which combine seemingly opposite disciplines and bring creativity into places where you would not expect it and then connect the students with the outside world. Like suddenly you can be talking to the Minister of Finances or the King and you don’t even know how you ended up there.
/ Btw, I can’t find videos, but I found few pics of the event We Are The Band on Vice: https://www.vice.com/nl/article/kw4e3x/we-are-the-band-897
Any places / activities you would recommend to people planning on visiting The Hague?
Although Den Haag has bit of a mix of styles in it, you will find so many pretty streets already close to the Central Station spreading till the seaside. Besides obviously discovering it on a bike, I’d also recommend renting a canoe for an hour and taking the old center canal way. I love Zeeheldenkwartier for eating out and chilling with friends, but when alone, I am personally finding lot of joy in the dunes that separate the city and the seas so I must mention the nature of Meijendel or Westduinpark, even Ockenburgh which not even many locals know. Side tip: when the conditions are right, the local widelong beach becomes a spectacle of great surfers, wind- and kitesurfers having a blast on the water. Also an amazing event happens in DH every September called TodaysArt which showcases new media in great interactive experiences.
Can people follow you on social media?
I’d be happy if you check out my website alicefialova.com