DEN HAAG

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Well all the contingent of players has arrived at the Van Der Valk Hotel in the area of Nootdorp in The Hague, ready for the long anticipated Masters Hockey World Cup. On Sunday last, our team, the Over 65's had a trip to Bruges then to Ypres. Bruges is a very old town in the northern area of Belgium, a two hour bus trip through beautiful countryside, as well as passing the outskirts of Brussels, the capital, on the way. Being a Sunday and the start of Summer over here, Bruges was very crowded. We loved the town, and enjoyed walking around some of the back streets and seeing the beautiful old houses lined along the cobblestone streets, and window boxes full of flowers, as well as the historic buildings of the town, and the canals throughout the town with the buildings literally standing in the water, like Venice. It has a beautiful big square surrounded by old buildings, a church, cafes and shops, a lovely area, all in cobblestones Underfoot. Bruges is noted also for horse and cart rides, so we were always on the lookout for them click clacking up behind us. We travelled from Bruges to Ypres which is east of Bruges, in the north east of Belgium. We saw war graves along the way, standing out because they are all done in white stone and are beautifully maintained. Ypres is home to the Menen Gate, a beautiful memorial to the Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the area in WW1. There were still wreaths there from Anzac Day , and every evening, the Last Post is played there. We also visited the amazing museum that has been established in the town. We only wish we would have had more time to take it all in. We left Ypres at 6.00 pm to drive hack to our hotel in Leuven. It was a time when all on board snuck in some much needed sleep. Monday morning then was an early start, leaving Leuven by 7am, for the trip to Den Haag. We enjoyed that trip of two and a half hours as well, as some caught up on sleep again. There was traffic in some areas, with people heading to work, and we were struck by the number of caravans and motor homes on the highway. We arrived safely in Den Haag, unpacked the luggage from the bus, then immediately some of us went to watch Australia's premier hockey teams, the Kookaburras and Hockeyroos play. The stadium is very close to the hotel, as we walked home after the hockey. The stadium where they payed is a soccer stadium which up to mid-May had a grass field. Apparently it was ripped up and replaced by the artificial grass surface for the hockey tournament. It looks amazing. When hockey is finished, it will be ripped up and the "real" grass will be laid again. However our masters teams do not play at this venue. The masters play at a club about 20 minutes away in the bus. Today the men are off to a game and the women are all being taken by bus to a beachside area to wander and have coffee or whatever. The men begin their tournament on Thursday. So till next time, Donald and Carol

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