Sand Sculptures in Den Haag

Today we took a day trip to Den Haag (’The Hague’).  This is where Queen Beatrix lives, and is also referred to as the judicial capital of the world – due to the many international courts.  After a quick bite to eat, our first destination was the Escher Museum.

I’ve always been an Escher fan so this is definitely a biased perspective when I say that the museum was awesome, but it was awesome.  The museum itself is in a former palace that once housed members of the royal family.  Throughout the museum are tidbits of the palace lifestyle, some whacky chandeliers, and of course a great deal of artwork by M. C. Escher.

Paul's grandpa???

I was a little surprised when I saw photos of Escher in his early days, because he looks a lot like a good friend of mine, Paul Hansen.  Paul is a huge Escher fan, and considering Paul’s personality, I am starting to wonder if this coincidence is somehow not a coincidence….

Our next stops were to visit and take photos of the parliament building and the Peace Palace – some very impressive buildings, but not too much to do once we got there.

We finally ended up at Madurodam – ‘the smallest city in the Netherlands’.  This is a small park filled with tiny buildings, people, cars, boats, trains, airplanes, and more.

Each of the buildings is between 2 and 10 feet tall, and represent various locations throughout the Netherlands.  From a quick scan of the other park patrons, I assume that this park is meant for little kids.

Madurodam

However, despite being over the age of 8 – Carly and I still really enjoyed learning more about each of the cities in Holland.  There were more than 100 ‘info’ spots that were marked in our brochure with some description and background history.  We even saw a bunch of buildings that we already recognize from our short trips to Maastricht and Amsterdam, and the trip today through Den Haag.

They even had the flour mill and university from Leiden represented.  Overall we spent about 2 hours walking among the little buildings and watching small mechanized activities play out – good fun.

Our cute little rental car

We’ve been in Europe for a little over a month now, and so far we haven’t seen any castles.  Thus, last weekend we rented a little car and struck out to visit Luxembourg and Germany.

Our first stop was in Maastricht to grab lunch, and we ended up at Twee Heren which had fabulous sandwiches.  We hit the Belgian border shortly after Maastricht and pretty quickly began to notice a change in landscape.  The countryside became more hilly, and we passed some gorgeous ravines and valley views.

There were a bunch of wind turbines, fields, and cute little towns along the way to Vianden.  It was neat to spot the castle in the distance before even getting into the city.  We snapped a few shots from the side of the road and then went in search of our hotel.

Checking in was a little different.  We kept looking for the entrance, but it turns out that the bar also serves as the front desk (the butcher from the shop next door ended up checking us in).  The hotel was lovely, but be warned – air conditioning or fans are not common in the area.  Isaac ended up spending part of the night sleeping on the tile floor in the bathroom to escape the heat.

Cochem Castle

The next morning we went for a walk in the forest above the city while we waited for the castle to open up for tourists.  The highlight of the castle was the view of the town below, and a room which showcased all of the old books.

Next, we set off towards Germany.   The drive was spectacular!  The rolling fields of wheat and lush countryside was picturesque (literally – we took a picture).  We had a hard time following the Google Map directions, so we just followed the signs to different towns along the way and used those as waypoints.  When looking for directions in Cochem we spotted…  ANOTHER CASTLE!

In a moment of spontaneity, we deviated from our plan in a hunt to find the road to this new castle.  Our little car struggled to climb the steep hillside, but it was worth it.  Cochem’s castle ended up being the highlight of our trip.  The castle is surrounded by vineyards, and has a fabulous view of the river and valley.

Vianden Castle

One we got our second fill of castle visiting, we set off to find our hotel in Ernst.  While the hotel lacked AC and fans like the last, the generous servings of Bitburger beer, and great food made up for it.  We spent about four hours on their patio appreciating the scenery.

On Sunday, we went off to find Burg Eltz (the final castle).  We ended up parking our car in Moselkern and hiking up through the surrounding forest.  The castle itself was under renovation, which detracted a bit from the otherwise epic view, but we still had a great time. The “Treasure Chamber” was full of neat weapons and old items too.

Overall the trip was a success (especially considering what we put our little rental car through) and now we are happily back ‘home’ in Leiden.

Our tips:
- Driving on country roads in Germany & Luxembourg is not for the faint of heart
- If it’s hot bring a travel fan or make sure your hotel has AC
- Explore.  If we had just stuck with advice from travel sites, we wouldn’t have seen the castle in Cochem

Carly in the Green Heart

We can hardly believe that we’ve been in Leiden for over a month, and so far we have been pleasantly surprised.  Although Leiden is much smaller than Amsterdam and The Hague, it’s bustling with activity.

Two days after arriving we purchased our stereotypical Dutch bikes.  They’ve definitely had some use, but they have gears, brakes, and best of all – a cuff lock (it’s a lock attached to the back wheel and immobilizes the bike with one quick lever push).

We’ve taken our new bikes on many adventures.  Holland’s fantastic cycling network is a cyclist’s dream.  Check out this map and you’ll see what we mean.  So far our cycling adventures have taken us through the dunes, to three different beaches, and The Green Heart.

Hooglandse Kirk - across the street from us

The other aspect of Leiden which we love is all the food options.  Dutch multiculturalism flourishes here with fantastic cheap food.  We’re determined to try it all.  So far our favorite joints in Leiden are:

• Jacketz – (baked potatoes with fancy toppings)
• Canteris – (pitas, doner, and fries)
• Maoz – (fantastic falafel – get it with hummus and aubergine)
• Anywhere that serves Turkish Pizza (you must try it if you ever visit Holland)
• Asia 2 Go (Vietnamese and other Asian dishes)
• Eazie (noodle & rice bowls)
• New York Pizza (fast delivery & yummy)

If you visit Leiden, you’ll realize that most items on our list are street food / fast food.  We both feel that this is where you get the best value, and usually the best tasting food anyway.  We usually take advantage of the Saturday market when we want a more elaborate dinner.  The fresh veggies, fish, and cheese are wonderful.  Plus, it’s a great way for us to practice a little Dutch.

Lakenfeest

We have one more month in Leiden, and will try to keep up with the blog.  After that we’re off to Amsterdam which will be a whole new experience.

Our tips:
- There is more to Holland than Amsterdam.  If you like biking, rent a bike from a train station and explore some of the other Dutch cities.
- Trust us… try some Turkish pizza.
- Don’t expect a waiter to check in on you like a restaurant back home.   It’s protocol to give them a polite wave to signal that you’d like something.