On Monday (7/27/15) we biked as a group to the city and had a presentation at city hall. More free breakfast and coffee! After the presentation we broke off into groups and had a walking tour of downtown Den Haag, lunch, and then a biking tour of Den Haag. I got to see much more of the city than I did the last two times I was here. And it was interesting receiving these tours from city officials. One of the guys leading the bike tour was an older man who has worked at the city for over 30 years. He was very friendly and talkative. He told me quite a bit about the city and the area in general.
The inside of Den Haag city hall. It looks like something out of I Robot.
The main shopping district of the city.
An old city street that has been converted into an enclosed shopping mall.
The Parliament Building. Where the Dutch government does it's magic. I learned that besides the Parliament Building, most of the government agencies, the international embassies, and the home of the royal family are all located in Den Haag. But technically the capital of the Netherlands is still Amsterdam, not Den Haag. Who knew?
View of the Plein (Square in English) and the Den Haag skyline in the background.
A traditional old neighborhood.
The International Peace Palace, home of the UN's Court of Justice.
Apparently the Peace Palace was built in 1913, the year before WWI started. It didn't do a very good job at first.
According to our tour guide (the city official) the Netherlands was chosen as home to the Peace Palace because it was a "small, neutral, and not powerful country"
After the tour we all met up at the Grote Markt and soon headed home. For diner I ended up having fondue with Tiffany and Anna. It was really good! They gave us bread and vegetables to dip into the pot of cheese. I was happy. In the evening a group of us hung out in the common room of the girls' dorm. It felt like freshman year all over again!
On Tuesday (7/28/15) we were off again to Den Haag. This time we had a morning presentation at the main office for Dutch sustainable safety. We had a presentation and then another bike tour of the area (am I sensing a pattern?). The tour was interesting though. After the tour we had free time to have lunch in the Plein and then had time to do some fieldwork for an assignment we have about redesigning a roadway in Den Haag.
Another beautiful day in Holland!
View of the elevated tram line in the Beatrixkwarter of Den Haag. The city decided to make the elevated train tracks into a piece of art. I approve.
Red Light!
Green Light!
Our tour of Americans looking at a freeway.
The royal palace! This is where the royal family usually lives! Unfortunately the royal family does not live there at the moment, as the house is currently undergoing renovations. Too bad, no tea time.
Will they let me in?
Our lunch location on the Plein. I didn't realize how many people were staring at me when I took the photo.
This is what happens when 8 people split the bill. Who wants all of those dollar coins anyways?
In the afternoon we still had some free time to see Den Haag. A group of us decided to tour the Prisongate Museum! This is the facility that originally was the city gate in the 1200's or so, and then later became the prison. We saw the prison chambers and also the torture dungeons. Those were a little creepy.
The tour was in Dutch, so we had to use audio recordings in English. Can you tell that we're Americans?
This is a device used for public executions hundreds of years ago. Someone would be tied down and then the bat underneath would be used to crush all of their limbs. After that the person would be stabbed to death. Could there be a better way to go?
Outside of the prison chambers.
The inside of the torture chamber. I'm not going to go into any explanations.
Such an innocent looking building from the outside.
After that uplifting experience I went home to Delft for the rest of the evening.
I went grocery shopping at my local grocery store, Jumbo. I feel like such a local. I went through the whole check out experience without the cashier having to switch from Dutch to English, like a pro.
Found some sleeping ducks in old town!
Wednesday (7/29/15) was a quieter day, in terms of the program. We had a lecture in the morning about public transit and train scheduling and then had all day to work on outstanding homework assignments. I finished up a couple of assignments, but also managed to sneak in a three hour lunch where I went back to the old town. I'm never there to experience it during the day and most of the stores close at 6! We had a quick lunch and decided to climb to the top of the tower of the New Church. Over 300 steps on a narrow spiral staircase to a beautiful view, but it was not for the faint of heart at the top. It had a very narrow balcony around the top of the tower and the winds were quite strong. I'm not afraid of heights, but my heart was pounding by the end! We also got to go inside the New Church and the Old Church as well as part of the combo ticket.
Looking up from the base of the New Church. That's about 350 feet to the top. The lower balcony is above the scaffolding where the building transitions from four sides to eight. The upper balcony is above the clock face.
Sarah on the narrow staircase
View from the lower balcony with the Old Church on the left.
Me on the lower balcony.
Me and Garrett on the lower balcony.
Garrett pondering life.
View over the rooftops of Delft from the lower balcony.
Obligatory selfie from the lower balcony.
This is how wide the balcony is. Very narrow, especially when passing someone. And it's a straight drop down from the side.
The view from the upper balcony.
TU Delft building in the middle and the skyline of Rotterdam in the background.
View of the Markt Square from the upper balcony. The Town Hall is in the foreground and the new train station is farther back on the right.
Another obligatory selfie.
Looking down on the Markt Square.
View inside the New Church. The New Church was originally built around 1400, but has been rebuilt over time. The current tower was built in the 1800's. The Old Church was built around 1200.
A stained glass window in the New Church.
In the evening I worked on some more assignments and then had dinner in my dorm. In the evening a group of us went out for a drink. We went to a place that had tables right alongside the canal. And they had board games. We ended up playing Clue (in Dutch of course) while sitting next to a canal. Not a bad way to end the day.
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