Den Haag

After a tranquil Sunday, since the baby got sick (aaww), on Monday (May 15) I set out on my own to The Hague (Den Haag), a quick day trip. You can read the wiki for more details, and then read on to my impressions. This day, btw, was my 2 months anniversary since arriving to Europe! :D

I went there with a general idea in mind. I have the museumcaard (a 30EUR value that lasts the whole year and lets you into most museums for free, or at least at a reduced discount!) and there is a small but famous museum there, with several masterpieces. And then there is Maduradam, a cool miniature city with buildings and sightseeing spots recreated in small scale. I figured, even if I only got these two things in, the trip would be worth it.

While in the train I spend some time going over the guide, thinking of a route to take. I happen to read up on the museum. I note there is a schedule. I read it, just to have an idea of how to organize things. Tue-Sun. ...Tuesday? Hmmm, and today is... doh! I should have known this. Mondays is often a day off for museums!! My plan just went puff. Ah well. I'm already half-way there. I'll at least get to see the city itself, and the miniature city.

I get there no problem, and I used my not-too-detailed map of the city from the guidebook to navigate to my first sight-seeing spot by way of the library (free, clean bathrooms and a detailed map of the city ;) ). The town at first felt a bit disappointing. Not many tourists around, and I had a not-quite-so-safe feeling overall. So I kept my manner purposeful, kept the camera in my bag, and tried to look not like a tourist. The buildings around weren't exactly striking, so I had no urge to play tourist anyways. Then I got to the Town Hall. It is a typical stairs-roof Dutch style corner building, which I really like, and it was just really neat. From there through the Dutch Parliament buildings (Het Binnenhof) and by the Museum Mauritshuis, sitting on a mini lake, reflecting in the water, I was fascinated. I did a lot of walking, and did manage to get into one museum, the Panorama Mesdag. Not much to it, but the main dish is worth the entrance price. A circular room with a 360 degrees painting! You are in a circular platform in the middle, sand is around you to the wall, and the wall is just a giant painting of the town nearby, on the water, as seen from a sand dune.

Another long walk through a forest (*real* nice, if it wasn't for the still not-so-safe feeling... I think some guys were harassing me from afar, but I didn't understand a word... so not sure...) I reached Maduradam! This is pretty neat. The best was to see miniatures of places I had already visited in real life, and then I got inspiration of new places to visit. I must have spent 2 hours there. I got a cute little souvenir by putting a coin in a box near a reproduction of a ceramics fabric, and a little truck brought it over to me, after the mini clogs fell into its cargo hold from a chute. :D

Right now it's 1am of Tue night (technically Wed) and I had a quiet day shopping and having dinner out. Tomorrow I am flying back to Madrid, I'm taking a vacation from my "vacation"... :D Going to spend 6 days of fun in Madrid and Valencia! Yey!

...and as I go to publish the blog entries for the whole past week... I just realized that all the work I did yesterday night, of pulling photos and creating sites for them, disappeared. When I came home earlier tonight I had some problems with my computer and had to force-quit stuff and restart... The work hadn't been saved!! :(

So pictures will be forthcoming... sorry.

Hasta la vista, babies. Madrid, here I come! \^o^/