Blogs from The Hague, South Holland, Netherlands, Europe

Picking up where we left off last night... We headed to Damrak 5 to board our dinner cruise. It was an open air boat, which would ordinarily be nice, but due to the extreme heat here, made things a little uncomfortable. But, we survived, and enjoyed a canal-eye view of all things Amsterdam. We saw many houseboats in varying condition and learned that no more may be sold, so they are at a premium. We saw many locals on boats and in the water seeking respite from the heat and at one point stumbled upon hundreds of boats that created a kind of "redneck yacht club" (a country song recalled by Rich). The dinner was pretty good but, universally, we all particularly liked the red pepper soup served in a cappuccino mug. Sitting at the next ... read more

Nog 1 nacht te gaan en dan is het eindelijk zo ver. Het gene waar ik maanden lang naar heb uitgekeken en voor heb gespaard: ik ga voor een jáár lang helemaal alleen op reis! Maar waarom zou iemand helemaal alleen voor zo'n lange tijd weg van huis willen gaan? Sommige doen het om iets te verwerken, anderen doen het om van de dagelijkse sleur te ontsnappen. Ik doe het voornamelijk om twee redenen: 1. Ik wil mijzelf (her)ontdekken om er achter te komen wat ik verder in mijn leven wil gaan doen. Na twee keer een studie niet afgemaakt te hebben voelde ik mijzelf een beetje doelloos en heb ik wat horeca baantjes en zelfs heel even in de sales gewerkt. De horecabaantjes waren best prima en met name bij mij laatste baan bij Vitesse ... read more

We hopped on the tram today to visit the beach and resort area of Scheveningen On the Zider Zee (North Sea). It was a very windy day and the waves were just wild. We immediately pulled off the shoes and headed for the sand and sea. We saw many adventurous kite ? surfers out on the water. The wind was so powerful we marvelled at how they could hang on to those kites and were not airborne! After our paddle in the sea we wandered up to the promenade and wandered along the oceanside. ? Lots of open air cafes and there was also a casino. ? A Ferris wheel on a pier over the ocean. Such a windy day, we didn't want to chance it. Many people were out strolling in the sunshine and enjoying ... read more

This was my last day in the historic city of The Hague, and I had no time to waste. From my hotel everything of my interest was within easy walking. My first stop was the large impressive Binnenhof (Inner Court). This was a large set of centuries old connecting buildings built as a large rectangle with a large open courtyard inside. The Binnenhof was built in 1248 AD as a royal residence. In 1446 AD this became a home to the Dutch Parliament, and served a variety of governmental functions as it does today. The enclosed middle courtyard is open free to the people. There was large sections with fancy gates open for people to explore. The most impressive free standing structure near the center of the Binnenhof courtyard was the Ridderzaal (Knight's Hall) with its ... read more

I contacted a nice lady in The Hauge that I never met before and she agreed to meet with me and guide me on a walking tour of this nice city. I found some nice places to visit on the internet; but this woman walked me to some very good placers that I would not have found on my own. The Dutch lady met me outside of my hotel and we went walking through a very scenic area. We made a quick stop for coffee; then it was time to keep moving on. There was a nice big gym on the way to our first destination. We arrived to a wonderful botanic garden with lots of beautiful colourful flowers everywhere. There was the typical nice Dutch canals there. I really liked the red footbridge over the ... read more