THE END.

Before we knew it we were by the beach in Scheveningen on LF1 (click here to read my first thoughts on the place). For anyone who has read my blogs you’ll recognise the name! You’ll probably also know that it’s not so far from where I used to Au Pair. Thus for old times’ sake I dragged my sister on a detour right into the centre of The Hague in order to reminisce on my memories there (here's a little summary of the city as seen by me). A quick sprint through the fountains of the Spui and a cycle around the station's lovely zebra clock made it a fun farewell as we caught the coastalroute back to Noordwijk. Nice to finish the trip with familiarity. 

Thanks Soph for doing it with me!

They really couldn’t have placed our final photo-point better…the Noordwijk lighthouse was right at the end of the town’s boulevard. With a snappy photo on a dying phone we’d finished it. The following days were spent being utterly spoilt by our family friends in the impressive Dutch summer before flying home. One of my first memorbale experiences in NL had been in Noordwijk so it felt right to finish the adventure there. 

They say fortune favours the brave... in so many ways on the trip it felt like it didn’t- our daily bike failures made sure of that. With time, however, we've come to realise something. Actually we couldn’t have been more fortunate. We had three weeks full of challenges, experiences and beautiful sights…not to mention a fantastic music festival AND we made it back in one piece. I mean really, what’s not to be thankful for!? 

The best bit? We’re the only Brits on-record to have done it and certainly the only ones to have done it on such old bikes!

Why Ypenburg? A new start.

Perhaps you may have thought upon reading my blog, does she actually work?

The reason why I’ve been able to do so much travelling over the last month is because I haven’t been working! The joys of the internet and non-contract based jobs were unveiled to me after 2 weeks in Wassenaar. The family decided they no longer needed an Au Pair. With 2 weeks to find something else before I had to leave the house I returned to the search and moved in with some amazing family friends. After many conversations and visits to potential families I found one in Ypenburg and here’s why I’ve been living here since 17/09...

• Just outside The Hague (only 20mins on the tram) it is a larger, more cosmopolitan area than Wassenaar.  It’s also on the doorstep of Delft, a place I fell in love with. 
• The family had just had a vegan Au Pair and so were used to preparing meals to cater for vegans! They are fitness and health freaks which suits my aims for the year. They are Christians with links at an International Church in The Hague and so having visited them for the interview and spoke with their former Au Pair in depth I felt more secure in offering them my services so here I am! 

A new start. 

A Day in The Hague (10/08)

After a 12km cycle ride into Den Haag (The Hague) I was all too happy to sit and enjoy the beautiful view of the Binnenhof from the benches adhering the Hof-vijer. The sun caught the water of the central fountain beautifully and the flags of the Dutch provinces blew proudly in the breeze. An even better view was enjoyed from the window of the Haags Historisch Museum appropriately situated nearby. Inside which multitudinous paintings illustrated the development of the city into the centre of government that it is today. In fact the Queen resides not in Amsterdam but, as my trip to Koninklije Stallen and their associated gardens proved, a mere walking distance from the Binnenhof. This compelling mixture of old and new was further evident in the interior differences between the Grote Kerk and the Nieuw Kerk.

Luckily for me Den Haag was hosting ‘The Rainbow Nation’ which meant that contemporary South African sculpture was being exhibited on Lange Voorhout free to the wondering eye of the international crowd. The sculptures tracked the creativity of generations of such artists once freed from oppression and particularly the intrinsic importance of the South African identity, found in the subject matter and the materials used. Indeed the theme of identity was unavoidable as a seemingly endless stream of foreign embassies pervaded my map as I made my way to the Vredepalais where the International Court of Justice operates. It was interesting to think that each embassy I walked past had its own stone on the world peace pathway that stood outside the gates of the palace.

Last but not least I visited the Panorama Mesdag, the largest painting of the Netherlands. A total must see. The paintings great size, 360 degree complexion and sheer attention to detail created the illusion of reality. The Scheveningen landscape of 1881 which it depicted seemed tangible. The long dark corridor and stairs that made the way to the viewing hut and the central positioning of the hut itself, so that you couldn’t see the top or the bottom of the painting, undoubtedly played their part but all credit to the artist. Just wow. No photos were allowed so you'll just have to take it from me!