Holland in 2 Hours + the beach

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The weather was great, so I finally got the chance to head out towards the beach resort/fishing village of Scheveningen (pronounced Skay-ven-ay-gun, I think). At first I thought I would walk the whole way (maybe a little over an hour hike) but then realized it was hot and I was lazy.

I caught a tram and stopped off in Madurodam, which is this uber-touristy place where you can see 1/25 scale models of some of the most interesting sites in the Netherlands. If you're the kind of person who likes model trains, this would be your heaven. All the little buildings and sites were incredibly detailed, and most of them were automated or played music, etc. The planes at the mini Schipol airport taxied around, a little guy pulled up and down to ring a town bell, and the windmills all spun around. I kept wishing I could take a King Kong type of picture where it looked like I was about to attack a small Dutch town, but I thought that might freak out any stranger I might ask to take the pic. I even found a mini De Valk windmill, which I visited in Leiden the week before!

After touring Madurodam, I headed on to Scheveningen to see the beach. Alas, no topless sunbathers in sight, but there was plenty of food to choose from. I grubbed, walked around the shops, checked out the little outdoor metal sculpture collection, and trammed it (yes, I'm coining a phrase here) back to the Sofitel.

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Photos

Madurodam
Here's a view of Madurodam from one corner. The little boat in front would light on fire occasionally, and so a fire boat would come out and put it out...sweet.

Mini Binnenhof
Remember the Binnenhof I was telling you about? No? Well fake it...from this angle you can see the Knight's Hall. There's also a mini procession of the Queen with her gold carriage. The real thing will happen next Saturday on Queens Day.

Mini De Valk Windmill
Here's me towering over the 145-foot tall De Valk Windmill in Leiden. Dude, I'm huge, like Ahh-nawld.

Mini Forest
Tiny, but totally awesome scenery. Looks like the place where the helicopter flies in on Jurassic Park.

Scheveningen boardwalk
Here's a shot of the Scheveningen boardwalk from a pier that leads out to an over-the-water bungee jump. Maybe there's a tiny topless chick on the beach somewhere.....if you could only squint harder and get a little closer to the screen....

Palace Promenade
The big fancy palace that is kinda the center point of the beach boulevard. Lots of shopping and stuff to be had.

Comments

[rayncloudx]

Hello
Hi, i've been viewing a couple of your journals b/c I"m planning on going to the netherlands. and i've been enjoying them a lot. you're very funny.