Den Haag

This last weekend Judi and I had a rental car, so we took advantage of that and spent a few days in central Netherlands. First we spent some time in Den Haag (the Hague), which is the hoofdstaad of the Netherlands, I believe. In the Netherlands the capital is Amsterdam, but the government is based in Den Haag. This is of course where the international war crimes tribunal is located, among other famous international institutions.

We walked around town quite a bit, and it is a very attractive place with old churches and houses, and modern museums and shopping. We walked past many embassies under shady lanes. I wanted to park our car in the Swiss Ambassadors parking spot, where a sign reads “Parking for Swiss Ambassador Only” and snap a photo, but Judi barred me from causing an international incident. We passed the Escher museum, the big central fountain, and went inside the Oude Kerk (Old Church). It is a nice church, and I received an unexpected surprise when we ambled unexpectedly to the final resting place of Christiaan Huygens. He’s a “big name” in physics, especially optics, as well as astronomy, music, mathematics, and philosophy. He was surely one of the Netherlands greatest prodigies.

We also toured the Mauritshuis, permanent and temporary home of many of the finest pieces from the Dutch masters. Rembrandt, Jan Steen, Vermeer, and many more are well represented. Two of the most famous paintings in the building, which I shall paste below, are Rembrandts “The Anatomy Lesson”, and Vermeer’s “Girl with Pearl Earring”. In all of our tours of the museums of Northern Europe, I have developed a particular fondness for Vermeer and Jan Steen, and wonder why they don’t receive more attention.

There is a story related to Judi in this. The observer in the painting in the center, looking forward, is an ancestor of Judi's. I'll have her edit the post so she can explain it.

Later in the day we went to de Pier which means... the Pier. This pier is a sort of “double decker” pier, with glass walls creating an envelope between the two levels, so visitors can walk on top or stay sheltered inside in bad weather. Out at the ends of the pier are a cafe (poffertjes!), a multi-story restaurant, and an arcade. We had a dinner of mussels and frites, and as it turned out our server was an American born, Dutch raised sort of dual-citizen who hops back and forth between the U.S. and the Netherlands. I had to ask him where he was from, because his English was very, well, American. We walked some on the beach, caught the sunset, and even watched a red fox skate along the sands into some beach dunes that seem to be set aside as a reserve. It is a very gorgeous city.