Den Haag

The sun was shining.   I need to point this fact out as we have now experienced a brief few hours of sunshine.  And the sunshine felt so good, as we set out for a day in Den Haag (The Hague).   

We travelled by train, via Amsterdam and Schiphol Airport, due to the direct line from Utrecht to Den Haag being closed for the day.    It happens here too.

The first stop was lunch, whilst sitting on the bench, in the sunshine.   It was so lovely to step out of the railway station, and into a pleasant spacious area, surrounded by parks.   And the people around were happy and relaxed too.   So different from the filthy and dismal area that surrounds the railway station in Amsterdam.

A bird of prey?    A sinister sculpture, I think.

 An unusual perspective!    I was so busy concentrating on the furniture lift that I forgot about the buildings, which were not really leaning forward.   Too much wine on the previous evening.

 A brief moment of rest for us, in the Binnen Hof (inner courtyard) which contains the Houses of Parliament.   The Ridderzaal, which looks like a church, is behind us.    The Ridderzaal is from the 13th Century, and is the meeting place of the representatives of the states of Holland.

A person carrying grass?   A person covered in green hair?    No, it was in fact one of a series of sculptures, which were very realistic.   I nearly apologised to the first sculpture, for bumping into him (sorry, it).

 A very Dutch scene, the buildings with gables, and an outside eating area in front.

 

An antiques market.   Fascinating, and it came with the opportunity to make some good purchases.    I bought a cast iron poffertjes pan and Kylie bought little coffee cups.    I then carried the pan around in my back pack for the remainder of the day.    It nearly broke my back.  Talk about training for the SAS.  At least Kylie only had to worry about not breaking the cups.  No weight there.     

 A display in a shop window.   The last remnants of the celebrations to mark the investiture of King Willem Alexander.

 A pleasant canal scene.

 Java Straat, where Walter and his family lived in the early 1950s, in the top two floors of the building.   Walter's bedroom was in the top right hand corner of the building.  He must have had a great view of the surrounding streets. There was once a tailor's shop at the bottom of the building.   Now the shop is part of a beauty saloon.

The owner of this bicycle will not be happy when he/she finds out the wheel has been bent.  Creatively bent, I think.   No it was not me that caused this damage, but some passing vandal.

 The statue of Queen Emma, together with Abi and Mia posing in front.    Queen Emma was a very motherly person, and would have loved the two subjects standing beside her.   Queen Emma was the mother of Queen Wilhelmina, so therefore the grandmother of Queen Beatrix, who of course is no longer the Queen here, as she abdicated the throne.    Very strong ladies I think.

 And this was all that was left of Walter's school.    The post box with the name of the school on it.    The school appeared to have been only recently demolished.   Very sad.   And quite unexpected.

 A comfortable bicycle?  Impressive, yes but not sure about the comfort.

 And back to the railway station in Den Haag, after walking for hours and hours, where we bought hot chips with lashings of mayonnaise, and caught the train back to Utrecht, travelling via Leiden this time.   The chips were so lovely, and so hot.   Comfort food.

 A long trip, but very relaxing.    Mia and Abi totally engrossed in dressing Barbie dolls.

 And finally back to Houten, where we unloaded our bicycles from the high bicycle stands.    The Dutch must have strong muscles as this was not an easy job.    Is Aaron smiling or gritting his teeth?

We arrived home feeling very foot sore, but also very happy with our day out exploring Den Haag, in the sunshine.