We wrapped up our month-long northwest Europe adventure by spending four days and five nights in Den Haag, a.k.a. The Hague. We took day trips to Leiden and Rotterdam, leaving us two days to explore The Hague.
It’s a beautiful city. While Amsterdam seemed fast-paced, frenetic, and touristy, The Hague (and Rotterdam) seemed much more relaxed.
This was the view from our apartment.
Although Amsterdam is the official capital of the Netherlands, The Hague is the country’s administrative centre and the seat of the Cabinet, the States General, the Supreme Court, and the Council of State of the Netherlands, making it the country’s de facto capital. The International Court of Justice, the main judicial arm of the United Nations, is based in the city, as are the International Criminal Court, the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Europol, and approximately 200 other international governmental organizations, as well as numerous corporate headquarters. So it’s definitely a more business-oriented city. But it has culture too, and some nice parks.
For our accommodations, we chose 348 Suites, apartments geared toward long-term business stays. We liked it, and we’ll probably seek out similar accommodations in the future, as these places likely offer more consistent quality. These pictures show the lobby of the building.
It was conveniently located, too. All the sights we wished to see were within easy walking distance, and there was a tram station nearby. Den Haag Centraal Station was about a 15-minute walk, although we chose to take a tram to get there and back.
We visited the Mauritshuis museum, which featured paintings by Dutch masters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer. It’s home to Vermeer’s famous painting, “Girl with a Pearl Earring.”
These photos show Jeff in front of and behind the Mauritshuis.
Dave was thrilled to discover that there’s a museum devoted to the life and works of M.C. Escher, one of his favorite artists. It was located a couple of blocks from the Mauritshuis and only a few blocks from our apartment.
While we usually don’t take many pictures of the artwork in museums, Dave made an exception here since he is such a fan of Escher’s works. Visit this post to see many of Escher’s best-known and most interesting works.
Our apartment was conveniently located near a wide selection of restaurants. Two were on the ground floor of the apartment building and two others were in the same square, only steps away.
Our first night, we kept it simple and shared bruschetta, pizza, and wine at Vapiano, next to the entrance to the apartment building.
Another night, we ate at a nearby restaurant called Havana. While the name suggests Cuban food, much of the menu seemed more Mexican. No matter – it was delicious!
We ate at a Greek restaurant called Knossos. The appetizer of breads and spreads was delicious, but the entrees were unremarkable. At least it was a nice evening and the outdoor setting was good for people-watching.
Another restaurant in our square was Hans im Glück, which served bowls, sandwiches, and similar gastropub fare in a beautifully decorated room.
We spotted this curious sign next to the door.
This translates to “Takes you home in your own car!” Hmmm… We assume this is similar to calling a cab if you’re drunk, but… we have questions.
When we checked into our apartment, the friendly and helpful staff member named Tom recommended Umami, a restaurant on the ground floor of our building that serves Asian Fusion cuisine.
One rainy evening, we tried it. It was, by far, the best dining experience of our entire trip! We’ve posted the pictures of that amazing meal separately in this post. Check it out if you enjoy food porn.
Overall, it was a great trip. Every place we visited was worthwhile. We could easily have spent another day or two in Kassel, Strasbourg, Luxembourg, and Rotterdam. Plus, it was nice to see more of the Netherlands beyond Amsterdam. Seeing Zaanse Schans, Edam, Volendam, Marken, Arnhem, Giethoorn, The Hague, Leiden, and Rotterdam gave us a much broader appreciation of the Netherlands.