AMSTERDAM: The Hague and the Mauritshuis Royal Picture Gallery; Tour of Leiden

Good morning family and friends! (Post for April 8) This morning we took the train out of town again. Today, we were travelling to Den Haag (The Hague), the third largest city in the Netherlands. The Hague is the seat of the government of the Netherlands. It's also home to the Royal family. It is home to numerous government ministries and embassies and is the headquarter of the International Court of Justice.

It took us about 45 minutes to get to The Hague from Amsterdam. It was quite a pleasant journey looking out the window as the train rolled toward the city. The fields were green and lush. On our way, we passed the bollenstreek (bulb growing region) which lies mainly between Haarlem and Leiden. We could see dense concentration of flower fields which appeared to be in long strips, containing tulips, hyacinths, narcissus and daffodils. I could only dream about the fragrance...

When we arrived to The Hague, it took about 10 minutes to reach our destination. We made a special trip to this city, because of one of its splendid art galleries called the 'Mauritshuis Royal Picture Gallery'

Here is a picture of the Gallery, which is famous for its Old Masters from the Dutch Golden Age.

We went straight to Room 15. There on a green coloured wall, was one of the most breathtaking oil paintings in the world. It is called "Girl With A Pearl Earring" painted by Johannes (Jan) Vermeer in 1665. We had the privilege of being alone in the room, with this wonderful work.

Beside the painting, was a brief explanation of this work (which I quote), "Girl With a Pearl Earring is Vermeer's most famous painting. It is not a portrait, but a 'tronie' - a painting of an imaginary figure. Tronies depict a certain type or character; in this case a girl in exotic dress, wearing an oriental turban and an improbably large pearl in her ear. Johannes Vermeer was the master of light. This is shown here in the softness of the girl's face and the glimmers of light on her moist lips. And of course, the shining pearl." Jan Vermeer was born in 1632 in Delft, Netherlands. He is one of the most highly regarded Dutch artists of all time. Vermeer was known for his unique style and the luminescent quality in his work.

While Vermeer enjoyed some success when he sold his works to a small number of local collectors, he was not well known outside of his community of Delft. In his final years, Vermeer struggled financially. He was deeply in debt when he died in Delft on December 16, 1675.Although he is admired today, Vermeer left behind only 36 paintings. The Mauritshuis Gallery has several of his paintings. Over the years we have learned some important things when it comes to visiting galleries, which contain art that we really want to see. The first tip is to always buy museum entrance tickets on line. The second tip is to be the first in line when the door opens. The third tip is to know the layout of the museum, and go directly to what you want to see first. You will beat the tourist hoards every time! We carried on through the gallery, looking also at some works by Rembrandt. Here are two of his self portraits. One of his earliest painted in 1629 and one 40 years later painted in 1669, the year he died.

After looking through the museum, we were back on the train heading towards Leiden to spend the afternoon with a friend of Ron's, named Robert. He was waiting for us at the train station. He was a nice looking, exuberant young man. He seemed friendly, and I liked him right away. He was happy to see Ron and vice versa.

Robert was a work colleague of Ron's in Calgary, but had to return to Leiden due to the economic downturn in Alberta. He hopes to return to Calgary. He loves the blue skies and says the people are very friendly. It's funny because we thought the Dutch people are some the friendliest, outgoing people we have ever met. He suggested that we first go for lunch. It sounded like a good idea. He told us he had a tour planned for us, and seemed proud to show us the sights of Leiden. We stopped at a restaurant called Grand Café Van Buuren. The café is named after Armin van Buuren, who was born in Leiden and is a famous music producer, DJ, remixer, musician, pianist and songwriter. We visited over lunch for about an hour. Soon Robert said it was time to start the tour. (I could tell this wasn't necessarily Robert's forte, but he was a good sport about it). I couldn't help but think of my own two sons, guiding someone else's parents on a walking tour. It made me smile. He started by explaining the story of Leiden. The coat of arms/crest of Leiden consist of 2 crossed keys. The keys are the symbol of the patron saint of the city Saint Petrus (Peter). It is a symbol taken from the Bible, Matthew 16:19, when Jesus said to Peter, "I will give you the keys to the City of Heaven". Once this was pointed out to us, we noticed the keys can be seen frequently on buildings, doors, and even on gates.

Robert took us to many of the notable places in Leiden, and although I would like to talk about the history of every place, it just isn't possible! So, first we went by the 'Molen de Valk' - a mill which was built in 1743. Up until 1925, it was used to grind grain. Now it's a museum. Then we walked by the Morspoort, one of two city gates which still exist in Leiden. He pointed out the Leiden University (Albert Einstein once taught here) and the Webster University. Next was the Hartebrugkerk, a church building erected in 1825. Then to De Waag (weigh house), a national monument, where for centuries merchants came to weigh and trade goods. It's now a high end restaurant. We walked over the Koornbrug bridge. On this bridge, corn was traded for centuries.

Next came the De Burcht - part of the old city wall which protected the people of Leiden from outside enemies. We also saw another magnificent church, called the Hooglandse Kerk, dating back to the 15th century.

We stopped off at a small pub for drinks.

We left the pub and stopped by the Heilige Geesweeshuis (Holy Ghost Orphanage) of 1583. It housed many orphans, and they came from other cities as well, such as Aachen and Liege, to learn a trade. The textile industry made good use of these children. Orphans were still living here up until 1961. Here is a picture which was posted on the wall.

We had a great time with Robert. Leiden is another really interesting city! Someday, we hope to return and spend more time looking around.

Soon we were on the train back to Amsterdam. The task of packing to leave awaited. Our holiday had come to an end. We have had the most amazing experiences over the last month! The wonders of the world that are experienced through travel. What a fascinating world we live in. So this post wraps up the story of our vacation. Thanks for joining us on our travels! Good night, and God Bless... Karen

...and one last image. The little red car that parked on the side walk every evening, just down from our apartment!