Today is Den Haag day! There is so much to see and do, we know we can spend more than one day here, but have focused on the highlights for a one day tour, so to speak. Our first stop is to the Binnenhof, originally built as a count’s castle, but then changed to the location of the meeting place for Parliament as well as the offices of the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. Built in the 13th Century, it is essentially a huge – and gorgeous – castle built next to the Hofvijver lake. So picture taking is a must – it is just so stately and gorgeous perched on the edge of the lake overlooking the fountains and garden walk on the other side.

As we round the lake, we encounter a large market that takes up the entire promenade on the lakefront. there is everything here from food to statues to clothing, jewelry and lambswool. Our primary goal is the Mauritshuis museum which is opening momentarily, so we just walk through the market, sort of stall shopping, but figure we’ll come back here after the museum.

As we walk, we can’t tear our eyes away from the gorgeous Dutch architecture – it is a mix between art deco and gothic and, well, I don’t know what else. But the buildings are beautiful, including the Mauritshuis, which when translated literally means Maurits house, the house where Johan Maurits, nephew of William of Orange) actually lived. A museum since 1822, exhibits are only on 2 upper floors, but you get a really good feel of how the house was built and probably decorated and lived in while you view the art.

We purchase our tickets and head up to a temporary exhibit, which is part of a fascinating special exhibit throughout the museum called “Flash Back,” where current photographers did their take on 17th century paintings. The first display is landscapes focused on a painting called “Landscape with Strangers” the photographer photographs strangers and places them around the room. Really interesting way to present a modern take on the old. This is fascinating, and we are ready to see the main art gallery and exhibits, but get waylaid by the cafe. We haven’t had our cappuccino yet this morning and it is well past time! Warmed up and caffeinated, now it is time for the rest of the artwork.

Obviously we want to see the Girl with a Pearl Earring, so we head directly up to the 2nd floor to take in all the great masters. Up here there are lots of Flash Back artists too – some with rather bizarre takes on the masters – but also some that are stand outs. One we loved was the photograph of the current day Delft juxtaposed against Vermeer’s painting of the 17th C. The photographer wanted to take the photo from the same height perspective, so ended up shooting from the 9th floor of an apartment building. Excellent.

We finally reach the Girl with a Pearl Earring and manage to wait out a few people to get an up close view of her. So pretty and engaging and serene. Then we move on to more paintings and masters. I became enthralled with an artists who paints portraits of art gallery walls with other paintings all over. He is amazing and I could stand for hours looking at the recreated paintings. Wild.

On the first floor there are, obviously, more masters, but also more living quarter type areas – like a huge fireplace with a portrait above it, the carpeted foyer that leads to the dual staircase. All providing an avenue to understand what it would be like to live in a grand house such as this.

Leaving the museum, we head toward the Binnenhof, entering into the courtyard through some incredibly cool gothic gates. Unfortunately, the courtyard is under construction, so most of it is blocked off (which is why we couldn’t walk directly through here to get to the Mauritshuis like the GPS wanted us to do!). But there are still some great photos opportunities – the huge clock tower, sturdy round turrets alongside what looks like a church but I think is the Ridderzaal or Knights’ Hall, and I even managed to snap a photo of the main courtyard (under construction) from underneath the fencing. It is huge and will be lovely to walk around once renovations are completed.

It is still early – too early for lunch – and we don’t want to go to a couple of other museums we have earmarked yet, so we make an unexpected change in itinerary and head over to the Peace Palace where the International Tribunals are held. The 15 minute walk from the Binnenhof is filled with great scenery – passing first the Plaatz with a statue of some guy – no explanation on the plinth, just his name – in the middle of lots of retail and restaurants, then up the street past an old, ornate – now hotel – building, past the Palais Noordeinde – the dutch King’s workplace then finally to the Peace Palace – Vedres Palais – a stately palace set on a vast expanse of green lawn behind huge wrought iron fencing.

We are actually early for the visitor center opening, spending our down time outside the gates snapping pictures. There is quite a crowd gathering by the time the gates open, but we manage to be one of the first visitors in the gates (who is surprised?) and meander through the displays that chronicle the the history of the International Tribunal. A fascinating display of all sorts of different eras and tribunals, but a little over my head as I’m not so up on The Hague history – and now figure I’ll need to do some research to understand all the different exhibits. Ah well, they are all interesting to look at – particularly the map that shows all the different locations of the international justice buildings around the city. Did you know there is an entire building just for Iran-United States claims? Yeah, neither did I.

Ok. Now it is time for lunch! Passing the Haag Herdenkings monument 1940-1945, a monument to the Dutch who died during the 5 year German occupation during WWII, we head back toward the Binnenhof, when we spy O’Casey’s Irish Pub. Dino, our host, had raved about an Irish pub somewhere near the apartment, so we figured this must be it (turned out it was not – but still). They have a lovely outdoor patio and a good menu – all the typical Irish food along with Dutch specialties, so yeah, we’re going the artery hardening route and ordering the fried Dutch delicacies again! Ok, so not actually Dutch, but yummy fried cheese sticks as well as fried cheese and chorizo balls. Thing the “everything fried” is the Dutch thing!

Next up, we visited the Museum de Gevangenpoort, the prison gate museum housed in a 700-year old building. Originally the main gate of the Binnenhof, it become a prison around the 15th C. This place is totally wild – and brutal! Talk about inquisition!  The rooms are dark and dreary, oak walls were built in cells to deter escape, massively thick cell doors, and displays of torture tools, including the punishment table – oh so creepy. And it is this huge, confusing rabbit warren of rooms, up these little stairs cases and around narrow corners. Really scary, but in a fun sort of way. We took far too many pictures, only some of which I’ll add here. A couple of the more interesting ones are the letters of the days painted above the cells that helped hostages tell which day it was and the original carvings in the wood posts in the cells. They are pretty amazing in a sad sort of way.

One interesting factoid we did pick up though, we learned who is memorialized in the statue on the Plaatz – Johan de Witt, a political prisoner who had controlled the Dutch political system but was brutally murdered, along with his brother, right outside the Prison Gate. The statue is placed just about in the exact place he was murdered!

Completing our gruesome tour, we then visited the Prince William V gallery, right next door to the prison. It is actually accessed through the prison museum! This is where the prince kept his personal collection of art. Specifically built for him in 1774, it is literally one large room with art covering the walls from floor to ceiling. There are some wonderful pieces of art – including Jan Steen and Peter Paul Rubens – and also another painting of a gallery of paintings that fascinate me. But why next to the prison? Who knows? Supposedly to put some beauty next to ugliness?  Sounds reasonable I suppose, but still a tad odd if you ask me. 

Back out on the street, we are directly across from the Binnenhof, so we head back to the market to buy a pair of sheepskin and wool booties that I fell in love with earlier. They look so warm, I can’t wait to try them out on these cold nights here in Den Haag.

Our last stop of the museum tour day is the Haags Historisch (history) museum which had an interesting temporary exhibit on protests and “The disaster year,” which encompassed every year there were protests from the 1600s to today. But the highlight for us was the dollhouse exhibit. The entire attic of the building is filled with the private collection Lita de Rantiz, a noble woman, who collected, furnished and actually built a famous dollhouse in the 1910. That was fab!

Walking back to our abode, we make our own walking tour, passing the old Rennaisance style Old City Hall and enjoying all the different architecture of the buildings lining the streets and canals throughout our walk. It is such a beautiful city.

Back to the apartment, we catch up on emails, do some laundry, and try to decide where to go and what to eat for dinner. We come to no conclusions, so we just head out onto the streets and start perusing menus. Nothing really strikes our fancy, and we end up in the grocery store where we find a frozen pizza on sale for like $2 – don’t judge us! It’s going to be a “home” cooked meal tonight – what the heck? We are just as happy staying in and hanging out as we are going out for a bite. We have more than enough snacks on hand if we get noshy later. Plus this way I get to try out my new booties!

All works out well – the pizza was actually delish – and the booties, well, what can I say? I’ve found my new favorite foot warmers. Great buy! And that is the end of our first full day in Den Haag.