Den Haag.... 's-Gravenhage......The Hague. How can one city have so many names?

Ouddorp to Den Haag

Day 77 - Sunday - August 28
The thunderstorm started at 0:00 exactly. It poured so hard that sleeping was difficult. Donna only looks awake! It wasn't raining when we got up so we packed really quickly then had breakfast in the dish-washing room.

It wasn't wet but we had to put on the rain jackets anyway just to keep warm.

The Visser Man

Our last ocean-going venture and a good gentle tailwind to go with it. This one was only about 4 miles across.

Life in the slow lane.

Over the helmet upside down shot that actually worked out.

Lunch time in Brielle. Donna tried to find a postcard to send to niece Brielle but it is Sunday and nothing is open. :(

On a cold, wet summer day the streets were pretty quiet.

We have reached the shippping channel of the Rhein/Maas Rivers again. The highway goes under the channel, the train tracks and the bike path stay above ground.

Those vertical structures are to keep the wind from affecting boats as they go through the narrow bridge passage.

The vertical lift bridge section.

Rozenburg Honda dealer with a wide porch roof just in time.

Another icon begging for a picture. The second major downpour found us in Ter Heijde. This time it hailed so the garage roof we were under at the time was more than appreciated.

The river itself .

Our ferry ride across the river. Those shadows are just to tease us.

We've seen a lot of herons in the past month but these are the first ones that didn't fly away as we approached.

At least 5 miles of greenhouses....as far as we could see.

Into the sand dunes we go. We just hope that dark cloud keeps moving north faster than we do.  We climbed almost 2000 feet over the course of the day in a country that everyone says is flat.

These wild roses had huge rosehips, about the size of a quarter.

We didn't have reservations for the night in Den Haag, so were quite pleased when Frederique said she had a vacancy. She also helped us find dinner and gave us a draft walking tour brochure that she was developing. She was a lot of fun and a great introduction to this city. Thank you!!!

Day 78 - Monday - August 29
Last night we decided we needed a day to warm up and dry out. This seemed like a great place to do it.

The Hotel Petit fits right in with the other elegant brick buildings.

Using Frederique's guide, we took the bus to the central part of the city. Raining men?? All this time Donna thought it was water!

The Ridderzaal (The Knight's Hall) which was built in the 13th century. It is part of the executive offices of the national government and a popular tourist spot.

We decided that there must be an ambassador or 2 in the Prime Minister's Office for these motorcycle police to be just hanging out.

We ignored them and continued our tour.

The backside as it borders the Hofvijver pond.

The building on the left is a museum of fine art. The small round tower to the right is the office of the Prime Minister.

We got back to the square just before noon and figured we would watch the impending action. Lots of people in black suits came out and chatted a bit more then most of them got into 3 black cars and these guys got to ride.

We were on a hunt for watch batteries as both of our watches had slowed to  Pacific Standard Time.

We did find a jeweler with the right tools and the right batteries. We just had to wander for a half hour to get the watches back.

China Town, Den Haag-style

We had seen this statue from the bus earlier in the day. We decided it was worth the walk to see it up close.

It was one of 10 giant sculptures by Chinese artists on display in this park. This was by far the best and a great place to watch people's reactions.

Lots of other people found it intriguing. Oh to be the mouse in the corner listening to this conversation.

He really isn't dancing on the table. He was just trying to close the window.

Den Haag.....s'Gravenhage......The Hague. Who knew that the city with 3 names would be one of our favorites of the whole trip. And we did warm up and dry out.