Lazy Sunday

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Ok, so I woke up at 2 today--as you do on a Sunday--just in time to grab a late lunch with Erik and some of his 'colleagues' (the word co-worker doesn't exist on this side of the pond) at a great outdoor cafe in the center with huge sandwiches. The weather was actually pretty nice...about 70F in the sun; so I ran back to the hotel to grab my city walking tour guide and headed back out.

I managed to make it to about the first 8 items on the list before it started getting foggy and I got cold, wussed out, and went back to the Sofitel.

So here's what I saw:
1)The statue of William I that's in the center of the Plein. William the Silent is also known as 'Vader des Vaderlands' or Father of the Fatherland. Pretty sweet nickname no? Beats Mango, that's for sure.

2) Walked around the Mauritshuis museum (home of the Girl with the Pearl Earring) and the Binnenhof, which is the big government building area.
In the Binnenhof I saw the big Knights Hall and the ornate fountain in the courtyard. The cheesy pics are my yahoo album here:

I'll try and make the pic links match up with the blog later if I can!

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Photos

Mauritshuis
This is the Mauritshuis museum, located adjacent to the Binnenhof. It's home to the Johannes Vermeer work 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'

Binnenhof Courtyard
In the courtyard in front of Knight's Hall in the Binnenhof (Thanks to random Asian guy for the photo)

William I Statue
This statue of Stadholder Prince William I, aka William the Silent. It's located in the center of the Plein, which used to be a cabbage garden of the ear's castle. It's now lined with cafes and bars and sits on top of an underground car park.