​From June to early November this year Jolanda and I have been based in The Hague, on the western coast of the Netherlands. From here we have travelled within Europe – to Scotland, Ibiza, Portugal and Spain. And of course we have visited friends and relatives within the Netherlands. But so far in these blogs we haven’t properly talked about our home base – the Hague.

The Dutchies have opinions about most things – such as tourists on bikes in Amsterdam (hated), queuing (ditto) and beating the Germans at football. In terms of The Hague, its inhabitants are generally thought of as being slightly toffee nosed.
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Like anywhere, the city is home to all types. People from Surinam (a former Dutch Colony), Morocco, Turkey, Poland, France, New Zealand (ta da) and various other ethnicities from just about everywhere. There is a large expat community – with even an “Expats in The Hague” newspaper, expat focused real estate agents and a large (and vocal) Hague expats facebook group.

The Dutchies of course are in the majority and you can usually spot them by way of their bike riding skills. If you see someone signalling their intention to turn left or right, gripping the handlebars with both hands, wearing a helmet or generally obeying the road rules – they definitely AREN’T Dutch. Dutch people are raised from an early age to ride bikes and they do so with consummate ease and panache. I do have to say though, at the risk of sounding like a fuddy-duddy, I’m really not at ease with the not wearing helmets thing – particularly when you see a Mum or Dad biking in heavy traffic with toddlers in front and at the back and not a helmet in sight. Nah that isn’t right . . .
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​Jo and I have been based in the Statenkwartier, generally thought of as one of the more toffee nosed of the wider toffee nosed Hague. I love the area. Its close to the sea and the working harbour, enjoys many parks and dunes and has great shopping – a wander up the Frederik Hendriklaan on a sunny Saturday is just a whole lot of fun. There is actually a real mix of types – from your doctors, dentists and lawyers to the more working class back streets. Years ago the area was strongly focused on the sea where many earned their living from fishing or from the busy docks.

One of my highlights was riding our bikes in the dunes along the dedicated bike paths to some spot where we would clamber down to the beach and have a coffee or beer (yes ok it was usually a beer) in one of the beach tents. The beach tent idea is very cool and a big logistical exercise as dozens of substantial looking bars and restaurants are constructed for the summer season and then simply taken away again in around October time when the cold starts to set in. In the summer weekends they are packed and it’s quite a business getting served sometimes.

Like most places on our big adventure, art has figured highly. The Dutch have a system whereby locals can buy a museum card for next to nothing – and with that you get free access to just about every museum and art gallery in the country. We borrowed cards from Jolanda’s sister Carole and her husband Frits.

We saw some fabulous exhibitions in the Gemeentemuseum (Mondrian and Anton Heyboer) and the Museum Beelden aan Zee in Scheveningen. I think my favourite was a photo exhibition by Tadao Cern in Panorama Mesdag, which featured a series of people lying on the beach in all their “imperfectness” – blissfully unaware of the camera.

If anyone is visiting the Netherlands, maybe don’t confine your visit just to Amsterdam. Check out The Hague – a cool little city with a great feel, fabulous art, a diverse and friendly population and miles of beach.