Delft, The Hague, Rotterdam -- Netherlands (South Holland)

5-7 Jun 2017

The Netherlands!  Our ninth country visited on this tour.

Delft
Delft is known for its historic town centre with canals, Delft Blue pottery, the Delft University of Technology, jurist Hugo Grotius, painter Johannes Vermeer and scientist Antony van Leeuwenhoek, and its association with the royal House of Orange-Nassau.

On the left below, barge dining on the canal.  On the right, our neighborhood for three nights.  We toured Delft the first afternoon/evening, then took the train to The Hague and Rotterdam for day trips out of Delft.

​The Hague (Den Haag)
​
The Hague is the seat of the Dutch government, parliament, the Supreme Court, and the Council of State, but the city is not the capital of the Netherlands, which constitutionally is Amsterdam.  Most foreign embassies in the Netherlands and 150 international organisations are located in the city, including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, which makes The Hague one of the major cities hosting the United Nations along with New York, Geneva, Vienna, Rome, and Nairobi.

The city suffered great damage during World War II, including Nazi V-2 rockets launched from here, but with many crashing right down back onto the city.  Major construction happened post-war, and continues to this day.

​Below, examples of amazing architecture.

Awe Gerri, you're not on the Pacific Crest Trail anymore!  Click on the right picture below - see the Golden Arches on the left, and the Colonel on the right side of the street (Gerri only let me eat McDonald's once in four months).

Vestiges of the former old city.  On the right, bicycling for transportation is huge in the Netherlands - this parking garage at the train station stored them in the thousands.

Rotterdam

A major logistic and economic centre, Rotterdam is Europe's largest port and is the second-largest in the Netherlands, just behind Amsterdam.

Rotterdam is known for the Erasmus University, its riverside setting, lively cultural life and maritime heritage. The near-complete destruction of the city center in the World War II Rotterdam Blitz has resulted in a varied architectural landscape, including sky-scrapers, an uncommon sight in other Dutch cities, designed by renowned architects.

On arrival it was raining and windy, but by the time we left the Sun came out brightly.  This photo was just before departure, from the train station, after the Sun came out.  Like something out of a Star Trek movie.

Green grass in the city!  On the right, this combo apartment building and business center actually has a permanent market at the ground level in the center section.

Pickled herring - yum.  This was even a bit exotic for even Gerri - she's not smiling nearly as much as that Hollander girl.

Wooden shoes, too bad they didn't have her size today.  Shipyard crane at a maritime museum.  And another weird sculpture - I guess that's a Christmas Tree, please don't imagine anything else.

We almost rode this ferry, but walked 7 miles around town instead (at least it felt like 7 miles).  Interesting condo complex - crazy city living.

Old shipyard facility, still in use for restorations.  Who released the Kraken?!   Not the lobster, please don't Kraken-handle the lobster!

Old boats, still very much seaworthy.