Herring In The Hague

Hello again everyone! I am sorry about this posting the day after and stuff. It is just very hard to catch up when you get even one or, in this case, two days behind. I will be all caught up by the end of the night though. I pretty much have to. I only have two more days left to post about (Friday and Saturday) and then I won't blog anymore. So sad. Let's not think about that. Let's try and figure out what the heck I meant by the title of my post.

I did not sleep well last night. I had a lot on my mind so I did not fall asleep right away. Eventually, I did fall asleep but I woke up at 4 am and two guys (one above me and one next to me and above) were snoring. I swear I am a snoring magnet in hostels. It is annoying. I listened to music and fell back asleep after over an hour. The other problem was the emergency light. So darn bright. Oh well. I woke up at 9. That was later than I wanted to. I showered and got ready and left to catch the train. I took the train to The Hague (Den Haag in Dutch, pronounced den haHHHH). Locals say that the money is made in Rotterdam (biggest port in Europe), divided in The Hague (seat of government and office buildings), and spent in Amsterdam (you know what is in Amsterdam). I thought that was funny. I got to The Hague and went to the Tourist Information place. They gave me a map and some ideas of what to do and see.

Random thought: What is with the "The" in The Hague? It can't just be Hague? I don't get it.

My first stop was the Mauritshuis or Marits House (picture 1). This is an art gallery similar to the Wallace Collection in that it is in a period building and was started from the donation of a guy named Marits. It is different because they keep adding to the collection. I loved the place. They had a free audio guide (thank you Museumkaart) which was awesome. I toured the museum going into each room and listening to info about any painting with a headphone symbol next to it. The stars of the museum are Vermeer and Rembrandt. I saved the Vermeers for last, like dessert. The most famous Vermeer of all is at Maritshuis. That is The Girl with the Pearl Earring (picture 2). I loved the painting. I wish I could describe more what I was thinking or the painting more but you really have to see the painting to know it. There were two other paintings by Vermeer in the museum. These are Diana and her Nymphs and View of Delft. Both were stunning. Vermeer was the master of painting light. As I said, there were also some Rembrandts in the museum. One was a self-portrait, probably his last self-portrait before he died. Another Rembrandt is the Anatomy of Dr. Nicholas Tulp. It is a painting of a bunch of guys watching Dr. Tulp cut up an arm. It's a cool way of doing a group shot, very original at the time. There was some Jan Steen as well. Those raucous families were at it again. Quite a few Rubens and Holbeins as well. The museum was awesome because of the art but also because the size was so manageable. It wasn't too big and wasn't too small.

I left the museum and it was raining (boooo). I walked over to the Palace Gardens. Pretty average garden. I tried to find the International Courts of Justice but they were off the map and I couldn't find them. I walked back down to the Binnehof. This is a big palace that is in the shape of a rectangle in the middle of the rectangle is a big church (picture 3). You have to take a tour at a designated time to go in so I couldn't do it. Just outside the courtyard of the palace was a stand selling herring. That's a big specialty of The Netherlands, raw herring. Yup, raw. I figured "I'm here, I have to do it". So I did. I got a raw herring sandwich (picture 4). Just bread, raw herring, and onions. The guy at the counter called it the Dutch Hamburger. Haha. It wasn't so bad. I had to choke down the last few bites (I actually looked at it which made it harder to eat) but I got it all down. Now to be too disgusting but I burped up the taste of it for the next couple hours. Not too pleasant. I ate the sandwich in the courtyard of the Binnehof. I took the tram to the other destination of my day, Delft.

Delft is the birthplace of Vermeer and where Delftware (the blue and white pottery) comes from. The tram ride was pretty boring. The Hague TI gave me a map of Delft earlier so I knew where to get off and where I was going. I walked around part of the Old Town first. Very pretty (picture 5). It is like a mini-Amsterdam without the sleeze. I went into the Old Church. Vermeer is buried here (picture 6) along with some other Dutch notables (I had no idea who they were though). The church had some really cool stained glass telling Bible stories. It was fun to see the stories told through the glass. The church was like most other churches in The Netherlands: white walls, a wood roof, and graves stones all over the floor. That is not to say that it was not impressive. It was really cool but still, kind of boring. I walked over to the Market Square (picture 7). It was a market day which made it much more exciting. It is fun to imagine this same scene with all of the same buildings happening 400 years ago. I walked around the market and bought some bakery items (I couldn't resist, they looked so good). All of them were delicious. I went into the New Church next. It has a HUGE spire (over 100 meters tall) that towers over the Market Square. I did not climb the tower even though you can. William of Orange (a prince, kind of big deal to the Dutch but I don't know much about him) is buried inside the church along with other royalty from the House of Orange (the Dutch Royalty). The stained glass in this church was pretty weird and hard to understand. William of Orange has a big mausoleum with statues of his four virtues at each corner (picture 8). It is an impressive mausoleum, I will say that. After walking around the church, I took a stroll through the old town on my way back to the tram stop (picture 9). Extremely pretty and would be nicer if it wasn't so cloudy (at least it wasn't raining I guess). I took the tram back to The Hague.

I had to walk from the tram station back to the train station. I walked through the business district (picture 10). This is what The Hague is known for. There were quite a few big office buildings. I liked looking at them. It was about 5:30 at this point so I was part of the commuter crowd. The train was pretty full but emptied as we went along. The train ride was only about 50 minutes both ways, fyi. I walked back to the hostel so that I could move my stuff to my new bed. I got a new bed because I reserved a bed for three nights but asked to stay a fourth when I arrived. Why I couldn't just stay in the same bed for the last night is beyond me but whatever. I have a bed and it is my second to last night in Europe. Plus, it keeps my streak (since I left London) of not sleeping in the same bed for more than three nights alive. I got some fruit salad and a slice of pizza for dinner. Not exactly a memorable "last dinner in Amsterdam" but what can you do? None of my meals in Amsterdam have been particularly memorable which is fine. Then I came to the library where I am now.

Tomorrow I ride a plane to London at 9 am. Then get my extra luggage. Then hang around London for a while. Then sleep. Then, on Saturday, take the plane HOME!! While I was riding the train back to Amsterdam, I thought about how today was really my last "sightseeing" day of my trip. It was a bittersweet moment. I never really knew what people meant when they say that but I think I do now. Bitter because I want to keep traveling and keep meeting new people and keep trying new things but sweet because I get to go home to my BED and some home cooked MEALS and my favorite people in the world. So yeah. Talk to you again soon!

Buh Bye!