Saturday 20th - Wednesday 24th August
We got off the ferry rested and ready to go at around 8am. We tried to visit the tourist office in the town of Hoek van Holland but they didn't open until 9:30. We had met an English guy getting off the ferry so we all decided just to wing it and follow the bicycle signs to Den Haag. It actually worked out really well and we were in Schevenigen on the Den Haag coast by 10:30. We wanted to pick up a book with all of the Dutch cycle routes from the VVV (Dutch tourist board) but after waiting for them to open at midday and then not having the book, we decided just to head straight for our campsite. We set up, went to the shops and planned the rest of our time in the Netherlands.
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| Trees at the campsite |
We spent a day at the museums on Sunday. First we rode into town and ate some frites with mayo (very dutch) before spending the morning in the
Escher in het Paleis museum. The museum is set in an old royal palace, with modern chandeliers, showing modern works by graphic artist M.C. Escher. It's a very cool juxtaposition of old and modern.
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| Shark chandelier |
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| Escher print |
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| Just about our favorite print |
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| Kitty in one of the royal sitting rooms |
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| Skull and crossbones chandelier |
We went to the VVV and got our map book - with a free
knooppunter, a waterproof pad for writing down junction points on the cycle network. After lunch we went to the
Mauritshuis where we spent a few hours looking at and learning about artwork from the Dutch Golden Age. We saw heaps of amazing paintings, including Rembrandts, Vermeers and Rubens. We strolled around the Binnenhof on our way back to the bikes and rode back to camp.
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Plein in Den Haag. Old buildings in front,
modern ones behind |
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| William of Orange sculpture |
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| Sweet sky |
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| Lawrie with a fountain in the Binnenhof |
On Monday we rode down to Delft for the day. It was a nice quiet ride down (and we only got lost once) but in Delft was madness because of student market day (like the O-week kind). We headed away from the main square and wandered the canals for a couple of hours. We also visited the Old and New churches.
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| Canal on the way to Delft |
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| Town hall in Delft |
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| New Church |
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| Old Church |
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| It's a little bit wonky... |
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| Inside the Old Church |
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| Canal and Old Church |
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| Canal |
Tuesday was our first rainy day in the Netherlands (with many more to come), so we took it easy, and prepared for our ride the next day.
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