Wassenaar

Just outside of The Hague is a small town in the Netherlands called Wassenaar. Getting there I’m transported into a very lush, very scenic area full of green fields, forests and magnificent homes. Once in the tiny city center, though, it’s a ghost town since it’s a drizzly Sunday morning. The spirit of Sinterklaas is everywhere here as well… and …

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Vredespaleis

In the last post I showed you interior photos of the Binnenhof. Here is how the parliament’s complex looks when you round the corner to get the water shots: I love how you can see the skyscrapers and scaffoldings in the background as a new skyline hovers over The Hague’s city center: By the time I reach the flag-lined bridge, …

3

Monster, Eh?

It was a dark and stormy night…so the expression goes, but that was my first thought upon pulling up past this sign in pitch dark, with the wind howling outside the car: Monster, eh? Seemed fitting enough (and yes, I took that photo the next day when the storm clouds blew over), but a few meters later it’s Ter Heijde …

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Happy Turkey Feasting

This time last year my Belgian host family celebrated an American Thanksgiving by going to bed at 9pm so that we could be out the door by 3:30am for Black Friday shopping. After that experience I grumbled to myself that my favorite holiday had become too commercialized and that perhaps real traditions were going the way of dinosaurs. Fast forward …

2

Luctor Et Emergo

Someone gave me a tip about Zeeland, which is a province in the Southwest region of the Netherlands, and it turns out to be a lovely visit. Almost fifty percent of this province is under water (chunks of it are below sea level) so it makes sense that its coat of arms shows lions rising from the water with the …