Our arrival was a bit rocky because our host did not explain the nature of the community in which our rental house was located. We could not find a way to drive to the unit and indeed did not really understand how to find it. We were blocked by two barricades on the way to the house. In the end we had to park some distance away, walk in, and then find the house and the lock box with key and barricade pass card. It was unnerving, but we stayed calm and figured this out.
The initial challenge was not a bellwether. This turned out to be one of our favorite places on this tour of Europe.
We did several typical things. We visited the Rijks and Van Gogh museums in Amsterdam. Took a posh canal tour on a covered motor launch with early 20th century charm of beautifully varnished wood and properly served champaign and cheese and fruit. We also toured Keukenhof gardens, twice. One of my goals was to see the tulips in Holland and we came at the peak of the season. Keukenhof was a beautifully landscaped and planned large walking park filled with tulips familiar and exotic along with flowering trees and other spring flowers. The beauty and profusion of blooms exceeded my original dream of riding a bike among the tulip farms. This would have been possible but impractical. The fields are vast farms extending along the North Sea coast and not the fantasized winding country lanes. Tulip farming is modern agriculture and so Keukenhof is the place to see all the grandeur one could possibly conjure in the mind’s eye.
Two days after our arrival, just enough time to figure things out, Nicky and Patsy Danby arrived for 4 days of joint touring and bonhomie. They are our friends from Hayling Island which looks across the Solent to the Isle of Wight. We dined, drank fine wines, and shared great conversation.
On their first full day we went to Delft and had a walk around this charming University town crisscrossed by canals. The architecture in the old center is the same as in Amsterdam and it can be enjoyed at a slower pace than in the large city.
On our third walking wandering tour of old Amsterdam we strolled through the red-light district, morbid curiosity on Heid’s part and titillation on mine. The legality of the sex trade has not worked out as theorized and still relies on captive minds and bodies, on the whole. Overall, a sad slice of an ancient story. At the beginning of our trip, we saw the stone bas relief penises carved into the lanes in Pompeii pointing the way to the brothels. We are what we are as a species.
Our stay in Den Haag was lovely and revelatory. We stayed in a house within a planned beach community set behind the dunes and out of sight of the beach. There are over 500 units here from tents on platforms to lovely 2 story tile roofed brick houses, with plenty of green space providing bucolic views and privacy. It all seemed a bit too planned at first, but then we realized everyone was calm and happy and secure.
No cars are allowed into the residential area except for loading/unloading. A service center/concierge building, tennis, golf, paddle, pool, bicycle rental, grocery store, and restaurant exist in the middle of this community. Also, transportation by bus or tram is a short walk, both of which connect to the intercity rail.
Wildlife abounds, geese, ducks, songbirds, and long-haired horned sheep grazing in the dunes, and domesticated horses and dogs on the beach. The beach and water were immaculate, not a piece of trash or trace of oil. The beach is vast, looking like the bay side of Cape Cod, but on a grander scale with long long flats and tidal pools so large that half a dozen kite surfers skim the surface together. And there are lovely wide brick bicycle paths with parallel pedestrian only ways winding along the top of the dune looking down on the beach. We bicycled almost to Rotterdam and then another 5 miles towards the center of Den Haag from our mid-point start.
The beach near us also had two fun beach style summer restaurants that are completely removed, except for utility hookups, during the 4-month winter season. We spent many hours at “Blow” during our two weeks here. This was a relaxing respite from the bustle of Den Haag and Amsterdam. We were surprised to see people in the North Sea in this chilly month of April and children playing in beach puddles in t-shirts. The Dutch are hardy and healthy. No obese children or adults and 80-year-olds on bikes. A final note, the Dutch are tall, and we saw many women who were my height and of course men overtopping me. They are handsome people.
I will close saying that we found so much to be admired in the way the Dutch live and have organized their lives to provide a good life for their people. We like this Kijkduin area and our house so much we might return.
Keukenhof Den Haag 03