And that’s that!! Cruise 1 over, Netherlands here we come. Disembarkation is simple – we’re out the door, grab our luggage and head to the taxi line. Didn’t take more than 10 minutes to make our way to the front of the queue and we’re off to the airport, which is super close – even though the standard taxi fare is 49 Euros. Yeah. Literally a 10 minute drive, but what can you do? We’re not walking into town and taking the airport bus, so 49 Euros it is.

Before you know it, we’re checked in and sitting at in the airport lounge, waiting for our flight to colder climes! Puffy coats in the carry-on! This will be a shock to our systems, for sure. The flight is uneventful, but beautiful as we fly over the alps (unfortunately there is a woman in the window seat, so I can only get a few pictures – but I wish we could have shared contact info – she was snapping away and probably has some excellent shots!).

Two and a half hours later we are in Amsterdam – well at Schiphol – praying our bags will make it (they’ve had a nightmare here with flights and bags recently). We’re in luck, both roll off the conveyer and we are off in search of the train that will take us to Den Haag. The station is found easily enough, but purchasing the correct tickets is a bit of a challenge. There isn’t anyone to ask, and the train we think we should take leaves in 10 minutes. Crossing our fingers, we push the ticket buttons and make our way onto the platform to wait for the appointed train. We had thought it was a direct train, but the ticket shows we have to transfer in Leiden. Weird. I ask another conductor and he says yes, we must transfer. Oh well. Whatever, as long as we make it there.

Our train pulls in and we manage to find the first class section – which we purchased for the extra space for our luggage. Once there, we ask our conductor how to get to the Den Haag and he very sweetly pulls up the information on his phone showing us the track number for the Den Haag train in Leiden – telling us to take a picture to remember! So sweet! Hauling our luggage off at Leiden, we find that the track we need is just an extension of the track we are on – weird, but nice since we don’t have to drag the bags up and down escalators. There’s a 20 minute wait before our train arrives, and now that we are pros, we easily find the first class section and hop on (well, ok, drag on and drag the bags down the 4 little steps to our seats).

Twelve minutes later we are deposited in Den Haag. Easy Peasy. An easy 10 minute walk into the historic section, along the Bierkade canal, we find the appointed cafe, De Pakschuit, where we need to pick up our keys from Corine, the owner (our hosts won’t be home until late today, so Corine is our contact person). Corine is delightful, full of smiles and energy, taking us outside to show us the apartment across the canal. So lovely. And then we troop across the bridge to our home for the next 4 days, which turns out to be even more adorable than the photos!

Located on the ground floor of the building (the owners live upstairs), you enter into the living area – a very spacious living area with sofa, dining table and open kitchen – fully renovated. There are antique furnishings everywhere – and a bookcase filled with books and tons of interesting memorabilia. The bedroom is up a step and quite large with a big double bed, huge dresser and armoire, plus French doors that lead out onto the enclosed patio area. In the next room – almost a dressing room is the shower and separate toilet. The decor is superb – just lovely and homey and really well done. We couldn’t be happier at this point!

And of course the view! When you step outside – you are right on the canal with all the lovely restaurants and cafes across from us.

Fantastic – and fantastic location as well! We are within easy walking distance of just about everything we’d want to see or do. And right now, our first mission is to find a grocery store for supplies. Which is easily accomplished a short 10 minute walk away in the shopping district. Which also allows us to peruse all the restaurant and bars along the route.

Stocked up and ready for our next few days, we head out across the canal for our first dinner in Den Haag, settling on an outside table at Kaai 13, a lovely little bistro on the canal. Ed was craving a hamburger, which was prominently featured on the menu and I decided to go all in Netherlands cuisine with the Bittergarnituur – the fried snack platter. clog up those arteries! All were delicious, including the bitterballen, a Dutch form of croquette that is quite yummy. Couldn’t have asked for a better meal, a better setting or better weather for our first night in Den Haag. We had a lovely time sitting on the canal, sipping our beverages and sampling the cuisine.

Then it was a short stroll across the canal to hang out in the fabulous apartment. We were settling in, getting organized when our hosts showed up to greet us. A lovely couple, Marjan and Dino, they had just returned from a family dinner but wanted to make sure we were settled and happy. Which of course we were. We complimented them on the beauty of the place, and Dino explained that everything in here are pieces they’ve collected throughout their married life of 36 years. He gave us a brief history of the house, telling us it was originally built in 1650, and while it is a joint project, per se, the house has mostly been his focus. The furniture and the art are pretty much the things he likes to collect. It was a wonderful conversation getting to know them both better. We have really lucked out with our rentals and Marjan and Dino being a prime example of great hosts.

Once they left – to go meet another friend for drinks – we organized ourselves, had a night cap and completed our first night in Den Haag.