Went to the Hague a couple of times. So far the weather have always been with me and every time I had an amazing visit there. And the sunrise by the pier is quite memorizable! 😊
Morning walk by the beach in The Hague is something one wouldn’t really expect in March, but who cares, right! Yet haven’t seen much of the city, mainly travelled in the area.
Keep seeing windmills all over the Netherlands has stopped surprising me a long time ago. And I always thought they are electro-generators. As funny as it sounds, I have just assumed that the old, typical looking ones are real mills. Have even been amazed to see some of them working.
It was an astonishment to realise (with my guide’s help) that most of them are actually pumping stations. Suddenly everything came in place! And it’s so logical if you think about it. Jusf IF… 😁
There are amazing places where is clearly visible that the water is much higher than the land. Not really good example on the photo below, but when you are part of the trafic, it’s a bit complicated to stop and search for the camera.
At some point there was a hill on our left. As I was watching around fully enjoying the spectacular view, suddenly an yacht mast popped up behind the dike. I just couldn’t believe my eyes – usually I look down to the water, not up…
Finlay realised that quite large parts of the Netherlands needs dykes and delta works to stay dry – approximately 40% of the nation’s land lies below sea level.
After all that, it was still a surprise to see the scale when we went to the lowest point in the Netherlands (Zuiderplaspolder at Nieuwerkerk aan den IJssel). This point is 6,76 meters below. So damn impressive!
It has also answered my question about the insanely high housing prices and rents, and the fact that it’s a miracle to find something available… Transport services are also quite seriously priced, but when you think about what it costs to maintain a really good quality road network in these conditions. Oh, my… what roads are we talking about, that’s just amazing!
All the windmills at Kinderdijk (near The Hague) are surely not less impressive. We have just passed by, but it was more than enough.
At some point we got hungry. We have been to a few McDonalds, which I really hate, but turned out to be quite conveniente for a coffee stop. Yet, not for a food. NO! So, my guide wanted me to try some local food.
Maybe the first really Dutch food I have tasted (except the cheese, which I eat everywhere and all the time, LOL). Unexpectedly we had a hard time finding it around and ended up in a small Fish-stand (Vistent) by the seaside.
Do you think any of us regretted not having it in a restaurant?! It was even better – really simple and so delicious!! We had to stop ourselves overeating, as we still needed to get back on the bike… 😆
All the trips around The Hague were really amazing and full of emotions and impressions. Sure, don’t have lots of photos, but once again, it’s because every time we should find time and place to park and get off…
For the next tour, there is GoPro already waiting in standby… 😉😁
I remember the feeling, the atmosphere and the wind (you can never forget the wind here LOL). All I felt was happiness and freedom…
Rest of the photos could be seen in the gallery page.