"Den Haag"(The Hague) has a reputation for being very international owing to the many institutions located there. The city is always in the news in connection with the International Court of Justice or International Criminal Court.
While in Hague, I realized that the international nature of Hague was different from that of Amsterdam. Amsterdam is exciting, highly touristy and inviting. In stark contrast, The Hague is a sleepy town without the toursitic pomp of Amsterdam.
We reached Hague after a few hours drive from Brussels. We fumbled a bit on finding the entry point to the city from the highway. We got some brochures outlining the attractions in Hague from the tourist office.
We walked around the city for sometime observing the architecture and lifestyle in Hague. It looked like a cosmopolitan city with many expatriates in town for work purposes (not for tourism).
In the centre of the town, there was an enclosure with sand sculptures of the buildings in Hague...nothing spectacular but interesting indeed.
The Dutch government buildings are based in The Hague although Amsterdam is the official capital. This complex of buildings, called Biennhof, houses the Parliament and the Prime-Minister's office of Netherlands.
The Government complex had an ancient castle-like look with beautiful architecture and canals all around.
The fountain in the inner compound of the complex had lovely carvings of golden colour.
I found The Hague to be only mildly interesting as I didn't feel that there was much to see there compared to all the media attention the place gets.
However, I must say that the architechture is impressive and the city is green and picturesque. The tram lines cris-cross the old and cobbled streets lined with cafes. This gives Den Haag the feel of a picnic spot rather than that of a genuine tourist destination.
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