Den Haag Trip

A couple of weeks ago, I went to 's Gravenhage.  's Gravenhage is the original name of Den Haag or The Hague.  's Gravenhage means "the Duke's hedge/wood/hunting preserve" (kind of like "Pennsylvania").  The name dates from hundreds of years ago (I gather) from the period in which the Netherlands were the ducal possession of the Spanish Hapsburgs.  The " 's" is an old-style, archaic article/preposition which is only used, really, for old names and a few phrases that have just stuck around such as " 's morgen" (the morning/in the morning/A.M.) and " 's avonds" (the evening/in the evening/P.M.).  There are also a few place names which still use it but a lot of them have shortened their names like Den Haag--'s Hertogenbosch, for instance, is now known as Den Bosch.  Den Haag is the official Dutch name but The Hague is used almost as much because it is such an international city.

This is the map of what I went to see but if you want to see an interactive map where you can click on the sites to see them closer, you can click here.

Den Haag is the capital of Zuid Holland, which is the province in which I live.  It is also the de facto capital of the Netherlands as a whole.  Although the official capital of the Netherlands is Amsterdam by virtue of the Dutch Constitution, the Dutch Eerste and Tweede Kamers of the Staten-Generaal (respectively, the Senate and House of Representatives of the Dutch Parliament) are located at Den Haag, as is the official royal residence.  It is also the site of major international courts including the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, and the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which makes the area full of internationals and very important for U.N. functions.  In fact, Den Haag is the site of the only organ of the U.N. (the courts) not located in New York City.

I went many interesting places (which I will post about separately, later).  I didn't see everything because, by the end of the day, it was pretty wet and miserable out.  However, since they have updated the metro system in December, I can now get on the Metro at the stop by my house and then get off at Den Haag without ever having to change over, which makes the trip pretty cheap and super convenient.  I thought that Jael might enjoy seeing Den Haag when she gets here but even if she doesn't or if we run out of time, I can still get back for an afternoon sometime pretty easily.

In the late afternoon, it got pretty wet and cold.  I stopped at the VVV (Vereniging voor Vreemdelingenverkeer--literally the "association for the regulation of the movement of foreigners" or, in a more friendly translation, "tourist office").  The Den Haag VVV is inside a book store/library and they had a little coffee shop and people were singing karaoke.  So, I decided to stay in the warm, dry inside and have some coffee.  Unfortunately, I either ordered wrong or interpreted the menu wrong.  I thought that I was ordering a flavored coffee.  What I got was warm, extra sweet, chocolate milk with lots of whipped cream and coffee flavored sprinkles.  I am pretty sure I almost died of a diabetic coma.

De Oude Kerk, 's Gravenhage
(The Old Church)

De Oude Stadhuis, 's Gravenhage
(The Old City Hall)