Belgium- Day 9: To Den Haag (The Hague), Netherlands - July 13, 2018

When we were planning this trip, we knew that we would have to have an extra day at the end. Since we had flown into Amsterdam, we'd be flying out of there, too. And while getting to Oostende by train the day we arrived was fine, we knew we could not be assured of getting to Schiphol Airport on time from there. So, an extra day was necessary. We debated, where that day should be spent. Logically, it had to be in the Netherlands. We felt we'd done a pretty good job on Amsterdam before and after the Baltic cruise earlier this summer. Since my husband K kept asking, I narrowed it down to Rotterdam and The Hague. Rotterdam is a huge seaport with great architecture. The Hague is the seat of Dutch government and home of the monarchy and seeing both capitals in one year sounded great. We'd seen one palace in Amsterdam and we could see another here. But, the deciding factor turned out to be a piece of art, Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring. We'd seen so many Vermeers in Amsterdam and I read somewhere that this painting was the Mona Lisa of the North. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to see her. (No, I didn't see the movie.) So, Den Haag it was.
My husband had already gotten our train tickets and had a printout of our connections, but we still had to get up early. I was up and stretching at 6:15; he got up 15 minutes later. He went down to breakfast at 7:10 and stopped by the desk to confirm the taxi he'd ordered the night before. I joined him for our last fabulous buffet at 7:20.

 We dropped the keys at the desk at 8:06 and, since the taxi was already there, we were off at 8:07. He got us to the street in front of the station that heads up to the promenade in just 5 minutes. He wasn't allowed to pull up any closer. So, after paying him 7,60 Euros, we hauled our luggage up and into the station.
The train to Gent-St. Pieters was soon there and we boarded at 8:23 for our 8:42 departure.There were few people in the car, since the train started from here. At 9, just past Brugge (Bruges), the conductor checked our tickets. Good thing he came through then, because 16 minutes later, we were getting off in Gent(Ghent). We quickly headed for another track and were seated in our next train at 9:25 and left shortly thereafter. Our tickets were checked again at 9:45.
We were heading for Antwerpen (Antwerp) and, for the life of me, I just couldn't figure out why we couldn't have taken one of the trains that I knew went directly there. K assured me it was all in the interest of making the train to Den Haag, without getting up at an ungodly hour.
We arrived on good old Track 1 in Antwerpen Centraal at 10:23. Checking the signs, we managed to correctly get on the right elevator to Track 22 for the train to Breda. What we did not do was check the sign on the track, when we saw a train there. K figured that it was ours and I didn't check, so we got on an empty car and it left at 10:42. That surprised us, because it was actually a few minutes early.
Soon a conductor came through and asked where we were going. We told him and he told us to get off at the next station and take the 10:57 train, because this was the wrong train! No wonder it was so empty! At Antwerpen-Luchtbal, we got off, as did a couple of other people. I decided that the train was going out of service.
We were now standing in the hot sun at a rather desolate elevated station.  There were some people standing on the other side of the track and I thought they looked like the ones who just got off ours. I really began to be suspicious about all of this and sent K down the stairs-no elevator, of course- to find a train schedule. When he finally came back, he said that the schedule never mentioned Breda. We realized that our best bet was to go back one stop to Centraal and get a train from there. In the meantime, of course, our train had gone by without stopping.
Going down the steps with our luggage was not fun. K got the large cases down and up the next set of stairs. In spite of the difficulty, I insisted on dealing with my carry on to save him from it. We managed to get over there in time to get the train that left at 11:04. We were back in Centraal in 3 minutes. We found a place for me to sit with the luggage on the level that had the tourist center and the chocolate waffle stand. I insisted that my husband had to go through to the ticket sellers to get info from an actual human being on how to deal with missing the train to Breda.
I watched a couple taking photos of each other and offered to do it for them. We got to talking and I found out that they were Dutch living in Berlin, where he did tours. We had a really nice chat about Berlin and things to do in Antwerpen.
When K returned, he brought a peace offering of a delicious waffle with hot chocolate sauce (6 Euros), because he figured he owed me. He probably did and I won't say no to a chocolate covered waffle. He also got a Coke Zero for 2 Euros. We went back down to Track 22.

 At 11:45, we boarded a direct train to Den Haag. Many others boarded, too. One minute later, we departed. We did get seats and got the luggage up above us. At 12:39, I took photos of the river just past Breda, where we were supposed to have changed trains on the earlier plan. It's really good that the tickets are just from Point A to Point B, without listing the specific trains in between, or this error would have cost us money.
At 1:07, we could see the Rotterdam canal and soon we noticed a sign for roadside McDonald's.

 13 minutes later, we were getting off in Den Haag. The station was truly lovely, but from this platform, there were only stairs down, which I thought odd for a Centraal station. A really kind man helped me by carrying my bag down the stairs. How nice!!
K went right to the ticket counter to get tomorrow's tickets, while I admired the lobby with the luggage. When we stepped outside, it was mostly sunny, but cool in the shade.

 It was a tad tricky figuring out where the taxi stand was. My husband left me with the luggage, while he looked a ways to the right and then the left. It seems to be a thing to not let taxis pull up right in front of the station. Finally, we could see beyond the passing buses to see that taxis were across the street on a street perpendicular to the one we were on. We got in one at 1:39.

The drive to the Hilton seemed a bit longer than we would have expected. Then, we passed another train station. So, perhaps, that was the Centraal we'd been looking for. Ah, well, we already have the tickets for tomorrow, so we have to go back to the other one.
The Hilton was on a corner with a canal on one side. K had chosen it to get points and we could walk from there to what we wanted to see. We arrived at 1:53 and the fare was 12,77 Euros, but we paid 13. The lobby was far fancier than what we'd had for the past week. Upstairs, we had to go around 3 sides of an open area to reach the room. As we wended our way around, we saw something I have never seen in a hotel in Europe - an ice machine!

 

 

 And, what a room! So modern, so cold! We actually turned the temperature up. The bathroom was amazing with a huge tub and separate shower. I knew it would be a pain in the neck to get into and out of, but I knew I had to take a bath in that tub tonight.

 We scoped out the map to get our bearings. We would be walking right by the palace to reach the Mauritshuis art museum. I didn't need to go in a palace; I just wanted a photo.  We took advantage of the Wi-Fi to find confirm that the museum did not close until 6. We got to town later than intended, but it would not ruin things.
We left at 2:40. On a corner, I saw a store with beautiful bowls called Aan Tafel Met. I asked my husband to give me a moment, knowing for sure it would be closed when we came back. I chose a lovely small bowl for 10 Euros and tucked it in my purse after the man wrapped it up. Along the way, I photographed whatever interested me.

They were doing major street work near the palace, but we were still able to photograph it and the statue in front of it.

 

We cut down a small street coming out into a broad square with restaurants.

 Across the street, we could see a broad grassy area next to a cemented in pond next to what we determined to be the Binnenhof, the oldest House of Parliament in the world still in use.We took photos before crossing and again when we got across, this time with the lovely flowers.

 We saw a small villa at the end of the complex and decided that was our destination. We walked to the end of the pond, along the street and then to the front.

 Signage was a little lacking, but K found out from a guard that we had to go underground to the entrance. Luckily, there was a glass elevator. Inside, he checked his backpack and we paid 15,50 Euros each in admission fee at 3:15.

 Rather than climb the stairs up to the first exhibit floor, we used the elevator, which my knees appreciated. The map of the museum told us where the major pieces were located. So, even though we looked at every painting, we made sure we looked for those. Most of those major works were by Dutch painters, but there was a Hans Holbein II in that list and I rather like his work.

Portrait of Quintijn Symons- Van Dyck

The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man-Rubens and Brueghel

Old Woman and Boy with Candles-Rubens

Portrait of Jane Seymour-Holbein II

 The museum had free Wi-Fi, so I could post some of the wonderful things we were seeing. There was the room in which the wall sconces were arms with hands holding the candles. Unsettling!

 There was a beautiful painting of St. Barbara and I posted it with my cousin's name. She wrote back that her father used to threaten to put her in the tower just like St. Barbara's father did. That explained the tower in the background.
On the other side of a huge canvas was what was obviously a companion piece to St. Barbara and I recognized it as my patron saint, Catherine of Alexandria. Her dress was absolutely gorgeous. I was sure she'd never worn anything so magnificent in life.

We climbed the stairs to the second exhibit floor and found the ceiling to look really modern in comparison to the art we'd been seeing.

 

On this floor, we found several Rembrandts in the first couple of rooms we visited.

The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp- Rembrandt

We were amazed by The Bull by Paulus Potter. First, it is huge. Second, he put in so much detail. Take a look at the flies around the animal's back!

Finally, in room 15, we found her. There was a semi-circular railing about 2-3 feet in front of her to keep you from getting as close as you could to the other photos. There was a couple there taking so many photos, including selfies. Finally, they left and we could get close to her. She is truly lovely, prettier than the Mona Lisa, for sure. What really got me was how perfect her cheek was. Unlike other paintings, Vermeer did not put a room behind her. Instead, she is surrounded by black. Did he paint that first or her first? How did he keep the black off of her? Under the blue turban on her head, you can actually see that her hair is braided or tied up under there. The pearl reflects perfectly. She was so worth seeing!

 We went back down the stairs on the other side to see the pictures there. We did not want to waste time waiting for the elevator, so I made the knees go down to the lowest floor again to go to the shop.
The shop was quite nice, but did not have a pin. I did get a lot of postcards at 1 Euro each, because that way I was assured of a decent shot. I'll also admit that I got a cloth to clean glasses and a glass nail file with the Girl on them.
We left at 5:58 and, since it was right there, walked into the courtyard of the Binnenhof. We couldn't go in any of the buildings, but we took lots of photos of the architecture, particularly of the Ritterzaal (Knight's Hall) and the beautiful Neo-Gothic fountain.

 When we crossed back over the street to the side with the square with restaurants, we looked at the southern square first in our hunt for dinner. So much of what we found was Italian or nouvelle cuisine, when what we wanted was Dutch food. I did continue to take pictures of architecture and flowers that interested me.

We headed back for the street with the palace. Seeing a side street called Molenstraat that seemed to have several restaurants, K went to check it out, saving me the steps.

 He came back and took me to Humphrey's, which we later decided was part of a chain. We looked at the menu outside and I figured that I could eat something on it. The front looked like a typical local restaurant, but they led us through to what had probably been another building at one time. Here, the look was decidedly modern. I liked it.

 I ordered a Hoegaarden Rosée, a fruity beer, for 3,85 Euros. My husband's Leffe bruin cost the same. The waitress brought us a board with bread and garlic butter and herb butter. Delicious! I ordered the Mixed Grill: skewer of steak, Black Angus Burger, pork tenderloin, bacon and free range chicken fillet-and had the fun of deciding which was which-mushrooms, bell peppers, onion and aioli for 17,95. Absolutely delicious! K enjoyed his Lamb stew with green vegetables, mushrooms and onions on a jacket potato for the same price. We also were given a nice chunky applesauce, slaw and fries in family style bowls.

For dessert, I had to choose chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream and raspberry compote. Oh. My. Gosh.

 After paying 47,70 Euros, we left at 8 pm. I had not yet gotten postcards of the city, so I was on the lookout. I got lucky, when we saw a Spar supermarket with a display of them. I picked out 5 at a pricey 1,25 Euros each, but we also got breakfast food, because we were unwilling to pay over 25 Euros each for the buffet at the Hilton. We got yogurt and fruit and headed onward at 8:16.
I'd liked the look of this building, when we passed it earlier.

We were in our room at 8:30 and decompressed a bit before heading down to the bar at 9:30. We'd been given a coupon for a free drink for each of us at Spark by the front desk upon checking in. We were led to a table with a round seating bank. K ordered a Kompaan Bondgenoot, a beer made in Den Haag. I chose Prospetti Pinot Grigio. There was a DJ playing loud music we did not recognize, but it was nice to sit and enjoy the drinks.

 When we got back to the room at 10:15, I did indeed get into that tub. I read some of my Smithsonian and just loved it. Getting out on my own was impossible, even with the side handlebar. But, K was nearby and ready to help me out.
That bed was so comfortable to get into after a day of ups and downs! We were really glad we'd chosen to come here.