Sunday's road to the dunes

On Sunday, I walked northeasterly to Westbroekpark, where preparations were being made for the annual rose competition and De Parade was taking place.

For the rose competition, many small gardens -- each with a different type of rose -- were on display. There were probably over 50 different types of roses on display, many of which I had never seen before. I posted some pictures, but the only eventful item of the that particular leg of the journey was the fact that I got stung by a bee on the forearm. I guess I smell like a f$%king flower.

Well actually, I did find a really cool area in Westbroekpark that housed a small sitting lawn and coffee house. I posted a photograph of one of the methods of arriving at this secret place --- to sit on a boat and wait for someone on the park side to reel you in with a small crank. In the photograph, this little Dutch kid was manning the crank and pulling everyone across.

Further into the park, I found what is known as the annual De Parade -- a circus/theater/carnival production which is popular with the kiddies. Although entrance was free, you had to pay to get access to the many theater tents, where some type of production was being shown. I didn't actually go into any of the tents because I felt a little weird not having some excitable kid in tow. So I took a few pictures and bailed almost as soon as I arrived.

Walking north, I eventually made it to Scheveningen, The Hague's main beach which I have blogged about previously. This time, however, I ventured north of the pier into uncharted territory, where I found some interesting beach clubs that play dance music and have large bean-bag like pillow-chairs to sit on while sipping your favorite cocktail. I eventually stopped at the absolute farthest club, which wasn't really that exciting. However, while I was sipping a witbier on the beach (picture), the sky opened up and rained hard. Rather than go into the beach club, I continued to sip my beer carefully curled up under an umbrella I had brought for such a event. It was actually quite nice to be somewhat alone on a beautiful beach, sipping a good beer under an umbrella, and reflecting on the week.

After the storm, I ventured east into an area known as the Dunes. If you have been to a beach, especially in Texas, you may be familiar with the brushy dune-like area that sits a few hundred meters from the surf. Here in the Hague, the Dunes actually comprise many square kilometers and offer walking and bike trails. I will definitely make it back to the Dunes in the coming weeks.

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