- Our View from the Train to Den Haag (The Hague)
- Classic Countryside
This part of our trip was a little bit of an intermission of sorts in the best way possible – family time and some much needed R&R. The Hague is the capital city of the South Holland province, less than an hour train ride from Amsterdam. The city is home to the Dutch government and over 150 international organizations and the International Criminal Court. I ended up reading a book recently that was partially set in this environment which gave me interesting perspective as I could imagine the scenes with relative clarify. As we set off toward the Hague, I peered into the countryside through the window of our train to find fields of tulip beds and the iconic windmills that you find on nearly every postcard of the the Netherlands. It was peaceful, easy, and gave me a time to reflect on how blessed I am to be on such an amazing journey.
Speed Bump
Travel Tip >> Use the Google Maps app to download offline maps, then use them to navigate around the area you are exploring. Even when your phone is not using data, you can still see where your location is in relation to the map.
- Walking the Streets of the Hague
It was a perfect break between Amsterdam and our voyage to the Baltic Sea. My brother gave us perfect directions to his house in The Hague, from Central to Statenplein “After the Big Museum,” pretty simple! But our heads were foggy from the Beer Tree and we forgot to tap out at the train station then jumped off the trolley too early, venturing on about a three mile walk through the city. Thank you offline GPS tracking and apple maps for the save! Lugging our bags behind us this little error forced us to slow down and really take in the city. The Hague is very metropolitan but definitely has its quiet spots. Like Amsterdam the different buildings connect and form huge walls that frame the streets and people on bikes race around, some with a clear purpose and determination, and others roll leisurely to their destinations.
After finally making it to the correct trolley stop by foot rather than rail, we were happy to throw our bags aside and use the remainder of our energy finding a local spot to eat. Although my family wasn’t coming in for another day, we were greeted with a generous welcome basket, note and recommendations for restaurants that can fill our bellies. I’ve heard this a few times on my various travels, but food is generally not the best in the Netherlands so we were relieved to have this list. We decided on Dim Sum and settled at an outside table at Chinees Indisch Restaurant Walong, which was a perfect recommendation, of which I pass right along back to you! It was definitely worth the trip. From there we retired with our basket of goodies, bottle of wine, and enjoyed a much needed chill movie night.
Foodie Finds
Travel Tip >> Try the raw herring. If you down this delicious fish in three whole bites you can basically consider yourself a local!
- Pastanini Pizza
We spent much of the time resting and enjoying time outside of the exciting but busy wedding festivities the previous week. My new nephew and adorable niece had to adjust back to their time zone after a long flight from SoCal so we went off to explore briefly between nap times. Our time there actually fell within a governmental holiday so many of the shops were closed in town. We did however find the BEST pizza I have had since my trip to Italy when I was 18. If you are ever in this area GO TO PASTANINI! Just think of pasta and panini and combine to help you remember. It’s on “The Fred,” or Frederik Hendriklaan street, like almost all establishments in this part of the Hague. Although the menu isn’t featured online, I had a pizza made of a spicy meat that was utterly to die for. I rarely eat crust (yes like a child) and that was even great at this restaurant. I’m not a food critic so it’s difficult to find the words to describe how amazing this pizza was, but believe you me, its pretty mind blowing!
Although it’s not surprising when I think about it, I was surprised to find Indonesian food available in the region. My father was raised in the islands and actually speaks dutch, gained from when he was a child and the country was colonized by the Netherlands, so another meal consisted of authentic grub from a
- To be Dutch you must consume the whole herring in 3 bites! I came mighty close…
local shop. An added bonus was the fact that my sister-in-law Amanda Darby had the chance to cook for us that evening and as a nutritionist made a fantastic ramen noodle soup. We were simply getting spoiled right and left, add in a wine night and we’ve got ourselves a fabulous time.
The final full day we decided to venture out to Scheveningen Beach on the North Sea, a short bike ride away from us, which is where I was introduced to the local favorite: Raw Herring. Often served straight with onions, or sometimes sandwiched between a simple piece of bread, its told that to be a true Dutch citizen you can eat the entire thing in less than three bites. I came pretty close and had just a little bit of the tail to finish. Taste-wise it was good. Very fishy of course and overall I’d say quite buttery. I love exotic foods though and loved adding it to my weird foods list right below alpaca and guinea pig yum! When in The Hague right? Life goal: eat with Andrew Zimmerman.
Scheveningen Beach Resort
Travel Tip >> Rent a bike but don’t be timid. Two wheelers often have the right of way in this town. Fake it to Make it baby!
- Scheveningen Beach – The North Sea
Unlike many places in the U.S. the main transportation vehicle is the bicycle. Mind you, bike-riding has never been a great talent of mine, I’ve tried a slick rock trail in Utah, mountain biking at camp, and beach cruisers in SoCal and none of these experiences went particularly well. It absolutely sounds ridiculous but let me just say its very difficult for a short person to fit perfectly on a bike, we’re generally too small for adult bikes, and too big for children’s bikes. – Rant complete – So this part of the adventure definitely involved a learning curve. All I can say is to try to go with the flow of traffic, if you go too slow you can feel the wind of others whip past you and a little wobble and you might cause a collision. Just live the American dream: Fake it to Make it!
- Delicious Mint Tea
It is Holland’s most famous seaside resort towns and is the go-to weekend escape for many citizens in and out of the country. The icon for luxury travelers is the Kurhaus hotel which looks like a huge palace sitting on the sand. There are also options for family hotels with magnificent views. It was off-season while we were there so the vast shore was surprisingly empty and seemed to stretch for miles and miles. During peak travel months there are huge pavilions that are set up along the boardwalk where people can eat, drink, watch the ocean and simply make the most of their vacation. We set up shop at one of them where we enjoyed a tea made of two ingredients – hot water and a full bushel of mint. Although it may seem silly, but I nearly fell in love with it, as I heard my cousin did as well when he visited my brother on a previous trip. It was just so refreshing and pure it was absolutely perfect. I love how in many places in Europe they focus on quality sourcing which you can tell just by each simple sip of the tea.
- Eleanor and the Seaside Pavilions of Scheveningen
Another strong suit of the region is that they are extremely family-friendly. I loved that we could sit and enjoy some quality adult-time while easily watching my niece hang out on a nearby playset with other young children. They make it so easy to enjoy quality time with those who are most important in our lives. Just look at that smile! Its addicting! After a while we moved on, stopping briefly to wonder in some of the local shops. I didn’t find anything that was much different than what you can find in my local comparable cities like Newport Beach and Huntington but it was nice to browse before facing my bike-riding fears on the trail back toward my brother’s home. Fake it to Make it! Fake it to Make it!
All Aboard the Silhouette
Travel Tip >> Maximize your time and take advantage of an excuse to take, or extend, your vacation. Got a friend for family abroad? Go visit! #YOLO right?
- Farewell Holland. All Aboard the Party Cruise!
The short few days was a perfect calm before the amazing madness that was soon to come on our 12 night Celebrity Cruise through Scandinavia and Russia. It was awesome having the extra time to spend with my family after the wedding festivities subsided and it was nice to have an excuse to extend our trip abroad. After our farewells, we hopped back on the trolley (the correct stop this time) and went back to Amsterdam. Thanks to the guide we snagged from Lumas, we had a few hours to kill so we went to find a few more art shops to look around and a quick bite to eat. We soon realized that the amount of Sheeple seemed to double since we were last there so we decided it was time to board our vessel and wave goodbye to the Netherlands. Our adventures had already taken us so far already and we couldn’t wait to see what was next!
Read on. Catch my previous blog piece “Amsterdam Adventures | From Mainstream to Microbrewed.”
