The Hague and a Grand Strand of Beach at Scheveningen

 

Landmarks at the Scheveningen beach

Monday, April 18, 2022

We left the town of Delft and biked to The Hague - the political capital of the Netherlands since 1586.  It's home to the Dutch Parliament and the International Court of Justice.  It's a busy urban city, so our scenery transitioned from bucolic rural canals to busy streets.  There were some green spaces within the city that allowed for some respite from the city cacophony.

Biking and boat along the canals between Delft and The Hague

Passing by an interesting water tower

Green woods in the center of The Hague - reminds me of Chicago's forest preserves.

Willem led us on a bike track through the city that allowed us to see three important landmarks - the Vredespaleis (Peace Palace), the Binnenhof and the Paleis Noordeinde (King's Palace). 

The Peace Palace was built in 1913 and serves as the home of the International Court of Justice.  Financing came from the many member nations of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which aimed to maintain world peace.  Andrew Carnegie donated $1.5 million to complete the building.

The Binnenhof is the home of the Dutch Parliament and the Prime Minister of the Netherlands.  It is the former castle of the Counts of Holland.  We had a look at the attractive complex from across the water.  We also biked to see the Royal Palace that houses the office of the Netherland's King Willem-Alexander.  However, because he was in residence, we could only look at the outer gates and guards.

The Vredespaleis (Peace Palace), home of the International Court of Justice

The Binnenhof - Dutch Parliament building (this is an internet photo - I couldn't get this view)

We biked on to the seaside town of Scheveningen, to visit the beach at the North Sea.  It's a historically popular spa town, with a number of resorts.  The largest resort has been refurbished, the Kurhouse, and is now again a fancy hotel.  It's a busy strand, with a large ferris wheel, bungie jumping, zip lining and more than 130 restaurants.  It was very busy, as it is a holiday in Holland and the weather was beautiful.

We took the opportunity to stop for lunch and take a break before we completed the second half of our day's journey.  Don't laugh - I had avocado toast for lunch - and why not?

Resorts, restaurants and activities line the beach strand - a bit like Coney Island, in a way..

The white tower supports bungie jumping and zip lining back to the sand.

The North Sea - due west is England, at the latitude of London

Our bikes all parked, as we stopped to enjoy lunch and the views of the sea

The Kurhouse was a place for the wealthy in the last century, refurbished again as a grand hotel

Our biking group, relaxing over lunch

Avocado toast with a poached egg