The Hague and Rotterdam

July 4, 2012

We spent four lovely days in Den Haag with our friends Ineke and Jaap. What hospitable and generous hosts. Benjamin Franklin reportedly said, guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days. I hope we didn't overstay our welcome.

Some of the time we spent sightseeing and dodging rain showers.

We went to the Gemeentemuseum which is exhibiting highlights that are normally in the Mauritshuis. The Maurithuis in presently closed while being renovated and enlarged. Equally interesting was the 750m2 wing of the Gemeentemuseum dedicated to Mondriaan & De Stijl, one of the most important Dutch contributions to the European Avant-Garde and modern art.

The Gemeentemuseum is home to the world’s widest collection of works from De Stijl and the world's largest Mondriaan collection.

In a garden filled with hydrangea, we had wonderful meals prepared by Ineke and Jaap and talked into the night until the occasional rain shower chased us from the table. We also spent one lazy day in these cozy surroundings doing nothing but writing in our journals and making plans for our bicycle tour.

View through the hall to the kitchen to the garden behind the house - Many Dutch houses are narrow with the rooms more lined up from front to back than next to each other.

One day our friends drove us to Rotterdam for a look at its innovative, new architecture, best seen on a harbor boat tour. Although it was rainy and overcast when we set out, it cleared up in the course of the day and we had sunshine and a lovely blue sky with puffy clouds, just perfect.

By the time Sunday rolled around, we knew it was time to get on the road, rain or shine. And rain it was, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

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