By Carl Dombek
Day seven was our day to explore Den Haag.
After a week on the road, doing a load of laundry was our first task. Doing laundry in another country is always an adventure, as things often operate differently than at home. Fortunately, we found a laundry with attendants just a few blocks from our hotel. The attendants got us set up and €15 later, our single load of laundry was underway.
Fortunately for us, the laundromat was situated on a sweet little street called Frederik Hendriklaan near the Kunstmuseum, a street that was also home to a number of cafés, restaurants and shops as well as a children’s playground and a stadspark.
Strolling down the street, we soon came to the park and playground. We were constantly amazed by the number of fathers who were taking care of their littles during the workday, which is one of the advantages of the Netherlands’ paternity leave policy. Dutch law provides one week of leave at full pay and up to 15 weeks at 70 percent pay during the child's first year.
Across the street was the Fredrik Hendrikplein park, a lovely green space of about one-quarter of a hectare, right in the middle of a busy urban area. A very nice oasis indeed.
Now it was time to taste some local flavors, so we headed to the Van Kleef Distillery. Founded in 1842, it is the sole surviving distillery producing the Dutch gin "jenever" as well as a variety of other liquors and liqueurs.
Founded by Lambertus Theodorus van Kleef, it produced a wide variety of alcoholic beverages at its current site in The Hague’s historic center from 1842 to 1985, when the distillery was closed. Owing in part to the fire risk in such a densely populated area, distillery operations were moved to a more distant locale. In 1995, the fully refurbished original location reopened as a museum and showpiece of the distiller’s equipment and wares.
Guided tours are available Thursdays through Sundays and self-guided ”tours” on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. As our visit was on a Tuesday, we were shown to a table, provided with a book detailing the history of the place, and made to feel at home by our hostess, Fleur. She shared some of the history, the back-story behind the malt-forward Dutch gin called jenever, and offered us samples so that we could evaluate for ourselves, in between wandering around the museum and seeing the antique showpieces. Several miniature bottles came home with us.
From there, we wandered to the Grote Markt, the city’s huge “Main market square” with its impressive array of shops. However, as with most big cities, a goodly portion of the merchants are branches of international chains. One has to proactively seek out local merchants amid the neon lights advertising Chanel, T.K. Maxx (the Euro name for T.J. Maxx), UNIQLO, Zara, H&M, McDonald’s, Burger King, and the like.
Returning to our hotel, we decided to have dinner at Vigo, a seafood restaurant just down the street from the laundromat we’d used earlier in the day, and then retire early.
Day seven was our day to explore Den Haag.
After a week on the road, doing a load of laundry was our first task. Doing laundry in another country is always an adventure, as things often operate differently than at home. Fortunately, we found a laundry with attendants just a few blocks from our hotel. The attendants got us set up and €15 later, our single load of laundry was underway.
Fortunately for us, the laundromat was situated on a sweet little street called Frederik Hendriklaan near the Kunstmuseum, a street that was also home to a number of cafés, restaurants and shops as well as a children’s playground and a stadspark.
While the laundry was tumbling, we were exploring. Directly across the street was a local women’s wear shop where my wife acquired two new cashmere-blend sweaters at very reasonable prices.
Strolling down the street, we soon came to the park and playground. We were constantly amazed by the number of fathers who were taking care of their littles during the workday, which is one of the advantages of the Netherlands’ paternity leave policy. Dutch law provides one week of leave at full pay and up to 15 weeks at 70 percent pay during the child's first year.
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| Fredrik Hendrikplein park |
Across the street was the Fredrik Hendrikplein park, a lovely green space of about one-quarter of a hectare, right in the middle of a busy urban area. A very nice oasis indeed.
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| Scheveningen Beach |
After our chores were finished, we hopped on the tram to the beach. As cool and windy as it was, we HAD to see the Scheveningen area, walk on the beach (however gingerly), look at the Scheveningen Lighthouse, the descriptively named “Red light northern harbor pier,” and gaze across this southernmost portion of the North Sea toward England, some 180 kilometers to the west.
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| Scheveningen Lighthouse |
Then it was back on the tram to see some of the other sights Den Haag (pronounced: den-HOCK, rather like ham-hock) had to offer.
I wanted to see the Peace Palace, where the International Court of Justice meets. Because the weather was nice (cool, but sunny) we walked the 1.6 km through a park called Scheveningse Bosjes, or Scheveningen Woods, before arriving at the Palace.
I wanted to see the Peace Palace, where the International Court of Justice meets. Because the weather was nice (cool, but sunny) we walked the 1.6 km through a park called Scheveningse Bosjes, or Scheveningen Woods, before arriving at the Palace.
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| Den Haag's Peace Palace |
While visitors cannot get in without an appointment and a guided tour, views of the palace were readily available through the wrought iron fence. Outside the palace fence is a memorial to Benjamin Ferencz, who served as a prosecutor at the Nuremberg Proceedings after World War II. His motto, “Law. Not War.” is emblazoned on a nearby bench.
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| Memorial to Benjamin Ferencz |
On the day we visited, a parade of horse-drawn carriages – complete with police escort – passed by the Palace. We never did find out for certain who or what it was, but it captured our attention and that of many others nearby. A Google image search said the carriage was similar to those used during a new ambassador’s arrival to present credentials to the monarch.
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| Horse-drawn ambassador's (?) carriage |
Now it was time to taste some local flavors, so we headed to the Van Kleef Distillery. Founded in 1842, it is the sole surviving distillery producing the Dutch gin "jenever" as well as a variety of other liquors and liqueurs.
 |
| Entrance to van Kleef Distillery Museum |
Founded by Lambertus Theodorus van Kleef, it produced a wide variety of alcoholic beverages at its current site in The Hague’s historic center from 1842 to 1985, when the distillery was closed. Owing in part to the fire risk in such a densely populated area, distillery operations were moved to a more distant locale. In 1995, the fully refurbished original location reopened as a museum and showpiece of the distiller’s equipment and wares.
 |
| Distillery equipment |
Guided tours are available Thursdays through Sundays and self-guided ”tours” on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. As our visit was on a Tuesday, we were shown to a table, provided with a book detailing the history of the place, and made to feel at home by our hostess, Fleur. She shared some of the history, the back-story behind the malt-forward Dutch gin called jenever, and offered us samples so that we could evaluate for ourselves, in between wandering around the museum and seeing the antique showpieces. Several miniature bottles came home with us.
 |
| Guidebook and tasting samples |
From there, we wandered to the Grote Markt, the city’s huge “Main market square” with its impressive array of shops. However, as with most big cities, a goodly portion of the merchants are branches of international chains. One has to proactively seek out local merchants amid the neon lights advertising Chanel, T.K. Maxx (the Euro name for T.J. Maxx), UNIQLO, Zara, H&M, McDonald’s, Burger King, and the like.
Returning to our hotel, we decided to have dinner at Vigo, a seafood restaurant just down the street from the laundromat we’d used earlier in the day, and then retire early.
Visit my main page at TheTravelPro.us for more news, reviews, and personal observations on the world of upmarket travel.
Photos by Carl Dombek
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