Our last day in Den Haag was topped off with a trip to Madurodam, a village of models depicting the Netherlands, incorporating many of the engineering wonders around the country, such as the Deltaworks protection barrier; an excellent cross section of the infrastructure that keeps the Netherlands moving, such as Schipol airport and the massive port at Rotterdam; along with models of great public buildings and smaller humbler villages on polders, drained by windmills, all set in their unique and typically Dutch locations.
This turned out to be a really extensive display that was very accessible, understandable for kids, who were having a ball with the interactive elements of the exhibits. Mind you, their fathers were equally involved, so the whole site screamed toys for the boys. A shame that the graphic and interactive elements were not multi-lingual though, as so many of the tourists were not able to decipher the Dutch, and likely missed out on a lot that what was meant to be conveyed.
The tourists were so thick on the ground that at times it was hard to move, which gave rise to the sudden realisation that this was the first time we had encountered anything like that number of tourists at any time and in any one place in Den Haag.
Moving around this small city you don't get an impression that this is a tourist city at its heart. There are not a heck of a lot of specific tourist attractions for a start. Its function is governmental and it has an air about it that Canberra has: a focus. Its tidy buildings and upright demeanour make it feel a little bit stately and possibly even a little bit staid. Tho' I think this would be more so in the dreary winter than on a sunny day.
After a lovely lunch at a suburban cafe we headed out to the Japanese Gardens on the massive Clingendael estate once owned by Lady Daisy, a wealthy local, who personally travelled to Japan on many occasions to acquire the ideas and art she wanted to display in her version of a Japanese garden.
She brought back plants, pretty pagodas, delicate bamboo water features, along with lanterns and statuary that now decorate the park. The garden is small, fragile and gorgeous. It has twisting little paths around tightly mossed garden beds which edge the pond and streamlets. You follow these over finely arched red painted bridges. There is a peaceful pavilion for contemplation, shoji screens for privacy, and slatted windows that cry out for a camera to come into view.
Small and perfectly formed: this was one of my absolute favourite things to do in the entire city.
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| Madurodam model |
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| Stately Den Haag |
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| Pavilion with arched red bridge |
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| Lovely from anywhere |
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| Colours only alive for six weeks |
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