Day Trip the Hague

‘s-Gravenhage or Den Haag and in English The Hague is not the capital city of the Netherlands. It is the Seat of Government and the city where you will find foreign Embassies and Consulates. King Willem Alexander lives in The Hague at Paleis Huis ten Bosch.

The Hague is home to several international institutions. The Vredespaleis or Peace Palace houses the International Court of Justice. The city is also home to the International Criminal Court whose aim is to bring to justice individuals who committed human rights violations.

The Hague Highlights

Take leafy avenues, graceful architecture, acres of greenery add extravagant restaurants, snug cafes, stylish shops and inimitable museums and you’ve got The Hague in a nutshell. The Hague is the perfect day trip from Amsterdam – only 53 km south of Amsterdam and time of just under an hour by train. Be sure to join a bike tour as it is a relaxed and very ‘Dutch’ way ways to see the city.

1. Binnenhof and Ridderzaal (Inner Court and Hall of knights)
2. Museums
3. Guide bike tour
4. ‘t Goude Hooft Restaurant
5. Shopping and browsing

1. Museums

Binnenhof and Ridderzaal
Thirteenth-century Knights’ Hall (Ridderzaal) at the Binnenhof was a pleasure garden and hunting Lodge of the counts of Holland. Today, it is used for ceremonial occasions. To the left is the Ridderzaal is building of De Eerste Kamer (Senate) and to the right the Tweede Kamer (House of Representatives). Together they form the Dutch Parliament.

In the middle of the Binnenhof stands a Neo-Gothic fountain donated in the late 19th century. he gilded statue depicts King Willem II, together with Counts Floris IV and Floris V, one of the founders of the Knights’ Hall in the 13th century.

Mauritshuis
This was originally a 17th-century town house and now a museum where almost every painting is a masterpiece. It is home to ‘The Girl with the Pearl Earring’ Johannes Vermeer’s most famous painting. Rembrandt, Vermeer, Frans Hals and Jan Steen are also represented.
Address: Plein 29

Escher in het Paleis
Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) was a Dutch graphic artist who made woodcuts and lithographs. He is known for prints with bizarre optical effects, drawings that are impossible. The building is also interesting as it is the only palace in the world which does not stand in its own grounds. It’s a terraced palace. Not many people can say that they share their roof and walls with a palace.
Address: Lange Voorhout 74

Photo below: Part of a tile tableau depicting fish and birds (1960)

Panorama Mesdag
This is a circular painting that creates an optical illusion. Standing on a platform on top of a hill in the dunes at Scheveningen, you see the surroundings as if they are real. The artist is the Dutch marine painter H.W. Mesdag (1831-1915) he finished the painting in four months helped by fellow artists and his wife Sientje van Houten, known for her landscapes and still life paintings
Address: Zeestraat 65

Madurodam
In this open-air miniature town, you imagine that you are Gulliver in Lilliputian. Madurodam is built to a 1:25 scale and showcases landmarks from all over the Netherlands: tiny Amsterdam canals and canal houses, football grounds, bulb field, windmills and miniature trains and trams that crisscross the city.
Address: George Maduroplein 1

3. Guided Bike Tour

Pedal through different The Hague neighbourhoods and never get lost because your guide not only knows the city like the back of his hand he is also a fount of knowledge about the history of city and will tell you some interesting stories and anecdotes.
Book here Highlights of The Hague bike Tour

4. Café Restaurant ’t Goude Hooft

The façade of ‘t Goude Hooft looks unmistakably medieval, but it isn’t. The present-day building was built in the 1930s. However, its history goes back to 1423 when it first opened its doors and the innkeeper started serving food and beer. Beer is still being served today. The menu has been adapted to 21st century international taste and some typically Dutch favourites like kroketten, bitterballen and appeltaart.
Address: Dagelijkse Groenmarkt 13

5. Haagse Bluf, Shopping Centre

It is not so much the shops that are special, it is the architecture which is most unusual: a mix of old and new styles which go very well together. If you have been wandering through The Hague some of the buildings may look familiar to you. And you are not mistaken. They are copies of some existing The Hague buildings. There is the replica Pagehuis, the original is at Lange Voorhout, a most impressive avenue lined with historic buildings. You will also see the replica of a shop in art nouveau-style. The original is in the Denneweg, a street famous for its antique shops.
Haagse Bluf, Shopping Centre is opposite ‘t Goude Hooft on Dagelijkse Groenmarkt.

The name of this shopping centre is Haagse Bluf meaning keeping up appearances, a characteristic for which The Hague people are famous. Haagse Bluf is also a traditional Dutch dessert: red currant whip, Egg white whipped into a frothy airy substance.
It is easy to make. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
5 egg whites, 130 grams of sugar, 400 ml red current juice, sponge cake
.
Method:
Separate the egg yolks from the whites. Beat the egg whites until stiff, fold in the sugar. Gradually add the red currant juice while beating the whites. Put a layer of sponge cake in a bowl and scoop the mixture on top.

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