Eat, Sleep and See Sculpture

Our room at Guy's cousin's house in Den Haag, shown here from the door ...
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After navigating Gatwick's mass-hysteria-stampede of an ordinary Monday morning, and taking our cheerfully uneventful EasyJet flight back to Schiphol, plus train ride to den Haag, plus tram ride back to Valkenbosplein, and following walk with luggage, we were back in our room with just enough time to unpack, freshen up, quaff some afternoon tea with the good gentlemen and relax with books before dinner.

A favorite occasional tradition of our visits to Chuck and Kees is to indulge in an Indonesian feast at Palembang, a pleasant family-run restaurant nearby on Thomsonlaan. A rijstafel for four includes more than enough nourishment for four grown men, especially with a few delicious cold beers poured into the mix, but despite nearly bursting bellies we forced ourselves at least not to leave behind any of the saté skewers, which our hosts strenuously advised us is just not done. Nor is asking for a doggie bag. That would be mortifying. Which we of course do not wish to be.

We made it to breakfast and even late morning coffee and cake only to eat more when lunch rolled around

... and here from the window. It's small.
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We followed dinner with part one of La Belle Helene, having finished the previous opera and chosen to follow Felicity Lott's career a little farther, from German marriage-plot comic opera all the way to late 19th century satirical French operetta. Part two is tomorrow, and the final part upon our return next week from Amsterdam.

On Tuesday we slept in more than ever before or after on this trip, the way we would sleep in during our early, more exhausting short trips five and six years ago. We made it to breakfast and even late morning coffee and cake in between sleep and naps — only to eat more when lunch rolled around at about 1 pm. Despite brimming bellies and seemingly rainy and variable weather we persuaded ourselves to check out one more local museum, the Beelden aan Zee out in Scheveningen.

A view of Toussant Kade on a drunken... erm... rainy night.
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This sculpture museum in the seaside resort area encompassed by the Hague is a somewhat crisp, even sterile, concrete bunker in the dunes beside and beneath a beautiful brick supercottage the Dutch king of a few hundred years ago built for an ailing queen. The halls and galleries are tunnels, sunken courtyards, decks and terraces reaching up and sideways in an angular interconnecting layout. On display were major exhibits by three modern sculptors, which we could go on about in much greater detail if anyone posts a question about it. The bottom line though was that the museum's sterile design dampened the impact of, and accessibility of, the art. We left feeling a bit off-put. Furthermore, the weather had cleared up, leaving us at the beach in street clothes on a beautiful day, out of time before dinner and without our swim suits. We strolled through the village shopping streets, including an outlet store, but the offerings were a bit beach-trashy and we didn't find anything worth spending precious dwindling trip-budget money on.

The outdoor (and free!) sculpture garden depicting fairytales at the Beelden aan Zee.
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Another tour of our cozy Hague nightlife follows before after-midnight stolen moments in the garden. Tomorrow, seeing a chance to seize on a long-delayed ambition, we're taking a spontaneous day trip to a new city ...