Holland, The Final Installment: Den Haag and adventures with Ward

One of our most adventurous days was making our way on bike through Den Haag (The Hague). Laura and I had mapped out a grand plan of how to get to Scheveningen, the port of Den Haag (note: this word is nearly impossible to say correctly for anyone not a native Dutch speaker -- apparently it was used as a pass word of sorts during the World Wars to uncover German spies!). However, as we quickly found upon arriving in Europe, we were not so skilled at reading maps, and all the dutch street names began to run together in our minds. After circling the train station on our rented bikes a number of times, we decided to ditch the map and go with our gut sense of direction. Astonishingly, that worked quite well and we ended on on the wharf, which I had been to before when I visited Holland with the Gray family in 2002. It all looked quite familiar with the grand hotel, many open air bars, shopping, and of course ice cream and herring stands.
We also ventured onto the beach at the end of the wharf and admired the Netherlands' remarkable dike system.

I must say, I was quite happy that "via" is a somewhat universal term. :) It helped us with sight seeing efficiency!


Doing what we do best (except at the end of the trip!) : waiting for trains.


Grand hotel right on the wharf


Sea gull christening a sand sculpture




Sea gull wanted lunch too


These funny little statues, as well as giant ice cream cones, are everywhere!




Fish and chips, a healthy choice.


Open air bar...


The other side of the Atlantic






It's fun to see sea shells that wash up on different shores...


so beautiful along the water....




Den Haag from afar


The dikes doing their job of holding back the sea









More photos in the city of Den Haag

Love these huge houses!




Dutch Parliament...we saw some cars with tinted windows and fancy license plates coming in and out of the gates..






And now onto adventures with Ward...
on our last evening in Holland we took a little excursion with Ward, who is the beloved brother, uncle and brother in law of my good friends the Grays!

Little village near Amersfoort (I didn't write down the name!) that used to be a thriving inland fishing village.


Caught a woman walking through the streets wearing traditional clothing that the town is known for... a true "fish wife" :)




He then took us to a lovely palace nearby!




This charming photo is courtesy of Ward! One thing that was so refreshing about Europe is that you didn't see any obese people. Everyone leads pretty active lifestyles, and despite the abundance of rich food, they know how to consume in moderation. They say french women don't get fat and apparently the same can be said of the dutch!


Near the palace






Probably my favorite photo of the trip! :)


Yet another sand deposit left over from glacial movement during the ice age. Ward called it an "oasis". Perhaps in Holland's lush landscape a deposit of sand would be considered such.


Ward explaining glacial movement, no doubt!










Just a few more of my favorite images from Holland....
(for more on this photo, see earlier posts!)


Gorgeous poppies that were in bloom everywhere!









Best play structure ever!


The dutch seem to like their nubby trees


And for a multi sensory experience, here's a video of me almost crashing my bike while trying to videotape. Brilliant footage! ;)