Netherlands

As straight after our work trip to Brussels in May, we were supposed to head for another meeting in Hague, Netherlands, there was no reason to go home for the weekend in between. We took a train from Brussels, spent a hot and sunny Sunday in Amsterdam and took another train from there to Hague on Monday. 

In true Netherlands fashion we slept on a boat. A boat that pretty much was turned into a hostel. Also, occasionally it had to dock somewhere new, so you had to always check where to go back to, or if you needed to leave at a certain time, check that it is not on see at the time. 

Near our docking spot was the NEMO Science Museum. The museum is shaped like a ship and on top of it there are free public gardens, with great views, fountains, lil pools for kids to play in, some elements that run on solar power and let you play with energy, a couple food and drinks stalls and steps and benches to relax on.

Went to "Vegan Junk Food Bar" for dinner. It was honestly hard to distinguish if we were eating vegan "meat" or actual chicken. 

Managed to get out of our boat before it headed to re-dock and an hour later we were in Hague. Spent four days in there for meetings and got to explore the city in the afternoons. 

Den Hagues is the administrative and royal capital of the Netherlands and its seat of government. It's also home to the U.N.’s International Court of Justice, headquartered in the Peace Palace, and the International Criminal Court.

The beautiful Peace Palace where also our meetings were held. 

The Peace Palace is the worldwide icon of 'Peace through Law' and houses the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the United Nations International Court of of Justice and The Hague Academy of International Law. These institutions are supported by the Library of the Peace Palace, one of the most prestigious libraries in its field. The Carnegie Foundation is the owner and manager of the Peace Palace.

As Hague is also a seaside town (it has 11 km's of coastline), there are plenty of beaches to choose from. The vibe near the beach is quite different from the centre and there are plenty of restaurants and bars to choose from. 

First couple of evenings we went to the quieter residential beach area Zuiderstrand. It is the quiet - 'secret' - alternative between Scheveningen and Kijkduin, directly behind the dunes.

On the last full day, went to the livelier beach. Featuring a 50 metre Ferris Wheel, a pier, shopping galleries and beach bars, Scheveningen beach area boasts over 1 km of beach, it is split into four distinct zones.

As I was headed to my choir concerts in Germany directly after this trip, I put together quite an itinerary to get to Munich and from there to Murnau am Staffelsee (to join the others and go to Wieskirche for a 10 am first cocert) by 4 different trains in one night to arrive by 8 am. I do agree it was quite ambitious, but it was doable, change times were short but still there.. BUT absolutely everything went wrong and it was quite an adventure.. Yet, after a sleepless night I somehow miraculously actually made it to Wieskirche by 10.01 am, literally for the first accords of the concert! :) To be continued..