Friday, February 10, 2006
Netherlands Trip 08/02/2006 - Den Haag
Den Haag is where the parliament of Netherlands sits so, naturally, I expect it to very well-maintained.
The VVV Tourist Information counter was shifted from the station to the city center but I had no problem finding it. Signs were almost everywhere to guide tourists to the counter. The Binnenhof, the parliament complex, is next to the counter and it was very convenient to get there and bask myself in the courtyard of the majestic building.
I hopped onto the tram to the Panorama Mesdag which houses the oldest 19th century panorama painting by Hendrik Willem Mesdag. This panorama painting has got a very special significance in a visit to Den Haag, because the painting is a scene from the Scheveningen beach in a page from history. And later, I was going to visit the actual beach live! It’s expensive to visit the small gallery but this one panorama really made my day. I bought a quiz for EU0.25, answered the questions and even won a prize for it. Even though the prize was a piece of brochure of the panorama painting, it meant a lot to me. Mesdag was a brilliant painter: his scenes of the sea struck my emotion hard. The storms, the life of fishermen and the ship-wrecks along the old days of Scheveningen beach… This is the first time I could really feel from the painting.
The next visit was to the Museum of Communication. Modern art is not my cup of tea. The Dutch-only explanation made the visit to this museum worse. Following, I made a trip to the Peace Palace which is now the International Crime Tribunal. Well, too bad there is a special event going on and visitors were not allowed. Photographs from outside then…
Next, I went on to the Museon, which is like a science centre. Great for kids but not for me. But interesting enough, there was a wild-life photography exhibition going on and I enjoyed it. Some other more interesting stuff are the exhibits of extinct animals replicas. It was really enjoyable seeing the Dodo bird in a life-size replica. It looked really silly and funny. Didn’t spend much time in the Museon…
The GEM/ Hague Museum of Photography was the next stop. Being a photography fan, how could I miss it?! Too bad, the gallery is being prepared for an exhibition and, again, no visitors. Sigh, a bad day for tourist in Den Haag.
Finally, I made my way to the coastal area. It started to rain and very strong winds blow. It was so strong that I had difficulty walking up a slope. Originally, I had wanted to visit the Museum Beeldenaan Zee but the price of EU7 for the small gallery really put me off. So I made my way to the beach instead. Beautiful beautiful sunset! The waves were huge and the sea breeze was super strong. Took lots of photographs. Come here during summer and it would be even better.
Dinner was at KFC. Tell you: this is the best KFC I have ever tasted; so much better than in Singapore. It was ok-priced at EU1.70 for one piece chicken. The original flavor was very rich and the crispy flavor was spicy enough to rival any KFC branches in Singapore. Perfect!
The night was spent touring the infamous red-light district in Amsterdam. Ok, it wasn’t that sleazy at all. Loads and loads of tourists were touring the place and I think the whores didn’t have lots of real customers and were just exhibits for tourist. They were knocking on the glass panel attracting attention of the passers-by. Live nude and sex shows abound the street.
Got a 1-for-1 beer at the hostel's pub (last nite in The Netherlands)...
(08/02/2006 Wed nite in the bed @ Stayok Stadsdoelen Amsterdam. Manual transcripted notes only in pen and paper.)
The VVV Tourist Information counter was shifted from the station to the city center but I had no problem finding it. Signs were almost everywhere to guide tourists to the counter. The Binnenhof, the parliament complex, is next to the counter and it was very convenient to get there and bask myself in the courtyard of the majestic building.
I hopped onto the tram to the Panorama Mesdag which houses the oldest 19th century panorama painting by Hendrik Willem Mesdag. This panorama painting has got a very special significance in a visit to Den Haag, because the painting is a scene from the Scheveningen beach in a page from history. And later, I was going to visit the actual beach live! It’s expensive to visit the small gallery but this one panorama really made my day. I bought a quiz for EU0.25, answered the questions and even won a prize for it. Even though the prize was a piece of brochure of the panorama painting, it meant a lot to me. Mesdag was a brilliant painter: his scenes of the sea struck my emotion hard. The storms, the life of fishermen and the ship-wrecks along the old days of Scheveningen beach… This is the first time I could really feel from the painting.
The next visit was to the Museum of Communication. Modern art is not my cup of tea. The Dutch-only explanation made the visit to this museum worse. Following, I made a trip to the Peace Palace which is now the International Crime Tribunal. Well, too bad there is a special event going on and visitors were not allowed. Photographs from outside then…
Next, I went on to the Museon, which is like a science centre. Great for kids but not for me. But interesting enough, there was a wild-life photography exhibition going on and I enjoyed it. Some other more interesting stuff are the exhibits of extinct animals replicas. It was really enjoyable seeing the Dodo bird in a life-size replica. It looked really silly and funny. Didn’t spend much time in the Museon…
The GEM/ Hague Museum of Photography was the next stop. Being a photography fan, how could I miss it?! Too bad, the gallery is being prepared for an exhibition and, again, no visitors. Sigh, a bad day for tourist in Den Haag.
Finally, I made my way to the coastal area. It started to rain and very strong winds blow. It was so strong that I had difficulty walking up a slope. Originally, I had wanted to visit the Museum Beeldenaan Zee but the price of EU7 for the small gallery really put me off. So I made my way to the beach instead. Beautiful beautiful sunset! The waves were huge and the sea breeze was super strong. Took lots of photographs. Come here during summer and it would be even better.
Dinner was at KFC. Tell you: this is the best KFC I have ever tasted; so much better than in Singapore. It was ok-priced at EU1.70 for one piece chicken. The original flavor was very rich and the crispy flavor was spicy enough to rival any KFC branches in Singapore. Perfect!
The night was spent touring the infamous red-light district in Amsterdam. Ok, it wasn’t that sleazy at all. Loads and loads of tourists were touring the place and I think the whores didn’t have lots of real customers and were just exhibits for tourist. They were knocking on the glass panel attracting attention of the passers-by. Live nude and sex shows abound the street.
Got a 1-for-1 beer at the hostel's pub (last nite in The Netherlands)...
(08/02/2006 Wed nite in the bed @ Stayok Stadsdoelen Amsterdam. Manual transcripted notes only in pen and paper.)
# posted by William : 10:21 PM
