Den Haag, NL

I had the opportunity to visit Den Haag (The Hague) on Saturday (Aug 18). I hopped on the train in the morning and arrived in Den Haag (via Utrecht) around mid-morning. The train wove its way through the country on its way out to the western coast. Surprisingly the countryside looks very much like Minnesota... corn fields and cows. Interestingly, the Dutch farmers keep their cows and sheep separated from one another and from the crops, not by fences as we do in Minnesota, but by ditched filled with water. Unfortunately, I do not have a picture because the train was traveling too fast. I'll see if I can snap one if I ever have the opportunity.

I was lucky enough to meet a colleague, Dana, in Den Haag so I had company while I was seeing the sights. After a week alone, I welcomed the company. I had forgotten how quite it is for a person living alone. (As an aside... I have succumbed to turning on the television to keep me company in the evenings when I return home from work.)

Den Haag was an interesting place. I had the opportunity to visit the Escher Museum in the morning. Escher is the graphic designer who is well known for this lithograph of the two hands drawing one another, among other works of fantasy and impossibility. The art was fascinating... The man had quite the imagination.

After the museum, we made our way to the peace palace (the location of the international court). Unfortunately, we arrived a little bit too late, as it had closed for the day. It would have been neat to have a tour. Maybe I'll find myself back there someday when the palace is open.



Next stop was Scheveningen... The Beach! Scheveningen is a resort town on the coast. Dana and I walked along the sandy beach, put our hands in the North Sea and had a cool seaside beverage. I love the sound of the water. I could have sat there all day, watching the waves roll in and sailboats glide across the horizon. But, we had too many other things on our list.




We left the beach and headed to Madurodam. The best way that I can describe Madurodam is an outdoor museum with doll house size representations of buildings from around The Netherlands. While my description doesn't do it justice, this place is neat for all ages. The landmarks and buildings are built on a 1:25 scale and include all of the well known tourist sights and historic buildings around The Netherlands. At dusk, they have a light and laser show telling the folktale of a young man who notices a leak in a dike and plugs it with his finger, saving the nearby village. Unfortunately, we missed it because we both had to make our way to the train station. I was heading for Rotterdam and Dana headed home.