Wednesday was another excursion day, this time with almost zero korfball content. After a leisurely start we biked and dubbed to board the train at Halfweg-Swanenburg, first to Amsterdam Central, then to Den Haag.
Once the mist lifted, today gave us the best weather of our trip so far. While waiting for our connection at Amsterdam Central we had an interesting encounter, meeting a party of 30 korfballers from Manchester University, heading for a tournament in Eindhoven. A pity we didn’t find them earlier as it would have been fun to organise a game against a different korfball team altogether.
As we sped through Noord Holland’s early spring, through the train windows between Leiden and Den Haag, the tulip fields were starting to come into bloom.
Den Haag, the capital of The Netherlands, is a beautiful, historic European city with open piazzas, cobbled streets, plenty of statues and imposing historic buildings. After finding our bearings from the railway station, we made our way to Escher in Het Paleis, a former royal palace now a museum devoted to the life and works of MC Escher, the Dutch artist who lived from 1898 to 1972 and whose work in woodcuts and lithographs explored visual trickery and the themes of infinity and eternity. Much of Escher’s most famous art is on display in the three floors of the museum, along with explanations of how he worked and the themes he delved into. On the top floor a number of interactive exhibits allowed us to challenge our visual perceptions in a similar way to how Escher’s art does. Some of us were more into Escher than others, though those of us who were interested stayed longer and became more immersed in his playful approach and intriguing techniques. We left looking at everything a little differently.
A short walk from the museum took us to the Dutch houses of parliament, the Binnenhof. We were there on a day the Dutch king was present, honouring the police force, so large numbers of police officers were present, including a parade in hi-viz through the streets later in the afternoon that Mark, Bevan and Rob became caught up in, giving us the biggest police escort in Europe. For lunch and most of the afternoon we split into small groups and dispersed, either going for Subway and Burger King or more authentic outdoor café kroketten and appeltaart, some then taking the opportunity for more shopping, some for sight-seeing.
We arrived back at Droompark early in the evening, where, after a supermarket run into Halfweg, Vikki and Leigh cooked a delicious carbonara pasta dinner.
A leisurely and low stress day that gave us the chance to experience another new city and a different side of Dutch culture.
Tot morgen
Rob
Once the mist lifted, today gave us the best weather of our trip so far. While waiting for our connection at Amsterdam Central we had an interesting encounter, meeting a party of 30 korfballers from Manchester University, heading for a tournament in Eindhoven. A pity we didn’t find them earlier as it would have been fun to organise a game against a different korfball team altogether.
As we sped through Noord Holland’s early spring, through the train windows between Leiden and Den Haag, the tulip fields were starting to come into bloom.
Den Haag, the capital of The Netherlands, is a beautiful, historic European city with open piazzas, cobbled streets, plenty of statues and imposing historic buildings. After finding our bearings from the railway station, we made our way to Escher in Het Paleis, a former royal palace now a museum devoted to the life and works of MC Escher, the Dutch artist who lived from 1898 to 1972 and whose work in woodcuts and lithographs explored visual trickery and the themes of infinity and eternity. Much of Escher’s most famous art is on display in the three floors of the museum, along with explanations of how he worked and the themes he delved into. On the top floor a number of interactive exhibits allowed us to challenge our visual perceptions in a similar way to how Escher’s art does. Some of us were more into Escher than others, though those of us who were interested stayed longer and became more immersed in his playful approach and intriguing techniques. We left looking at everything a little differently.
A short walk from the museum took us to the Dutch houses of parliament, the Binnenhof. We were there on a day the Dutch king was present, honouring the police force, so large numbers of police officers were present, including a parade in hi-viz through the streets later in the afternoon that Mark, Bevan and Rob became caught up in, giving us the biggest police escort in Europe. For lunch and most of the afternoon we split into small groups and dispersed, either going for Subway and Burger King or more authentic outdoor café kroketten and appeltaart, some then taking the opportunity for more shopping, some for sight-seeing.
We arrived back at Droompark early in the evening, where, after a supermarket run into Halfweg, Vikki and Leigh cooked a delicious carbonara pasta dinner.
A leisurely and low stress day that gave us the chance to experience another new city and a different side of Dutch culture.
Tot morgen
Rob