I made a commitment to familiarise myself with the other highlights of the Netherlands whilst I am here and the city that was a 'must-see' for me was the coastal city 'Den Haag'. Whilst Amsterdam is the official capital of the Dutch, Den Haag is the political capital and is overall highly rated by the Dutch and tourists alike. It's only an hour train ride from Amsterdam and the weather forecast for the first time showed dry signs, so I had to take the day to see the city for myself!
I was greeted with a lively and modern city centre, filled with bustling markets, friendly locals and beautiful architecture. I scouted around the city at my own pace and found it was easy to get around on foot. If I were to describe my first impressions of the city I would say it is a nice mixture of the traditional Dutch architecture with modern infrastructure. Not as traditional as Amsterdam nor not as modern as Rotterdam, it was a nice middle ground between the two which has been blended together nicely.
The main attraction of Den Haag that tourists and locals speak of the most of course is the beachside, so a 30-minute walk later I entered the pier of Den Haag and I enjoyed what I saw. The beachside was as nice as I expected but perhaps my highlight of the beachside was the sculptures near the beachside. For me it wasn't just about the way the sculptures were done but also the choice of setting. The sculpture in particular that grabbed my attention was a broken face sculpture alone in the grass with nothing but the clouds in the background. It was so simple yet so satisfying to look at and I thought it was a lovely touch to Den Haag's main tourist hotspot.
It was lovely to see the seaside after almost 4 months away from any sea. Compared to traditional beachside cities and towns in England where the architecture is solely designed to fit the setting of a seaside location, Den Haag does nicely in blending 3 elements of traditional Dutch architecture, traditional seaside locations and modern infrastructure. The additional art around the beachside made Den Haag a truly unique seaside city.
