The entrance to the Mauritshuis is underwater. The irony wasn’t lost on us as we dashed inside during a heavy downpour that lasted for the best part of the morning. We were not alone. The museum was packed with people who had sensibly decided that this was an indoor activities day. This included a Dutch hen party, identifiable in matching clothing and suggestive headgear. It lent itself to the sense that we were all in this together.
When we moved to The Hague in 2014, the gorgeous 17th century palace that houses the Mauritshuis Museum was was still closed as part of a two year renovation. When the it did reopen in June of that year, it quickly (and rightly) gained a reputation as one of the finest museums in the Netherlands. Its permanent collection is a literal treasure trove of mostly, but not exclusively, Dutch Golden Age paintings
Here, in the small number of rooms, are Vermeer’s iconic Girl With a Pearl Earring and View of Delft. There are three Rembrandt self-portraits, sitting alongside works by Jan Steen, Frans Hals, Hans Holbein and Peter Paul Rubens amongst others. The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius, made famous by the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Donna Tartt, faces Vermeer’s girl. Paulus Potter’s painting of a massive cow, The Bull, was being restored.
No visit to The Hague is complete without a trip to the Mauritshuis, rain or shine. The weather finally improved though and, sun shining, we headed to the beach. One of the most surprising things about the city is its magical coastline. Wide sandy beaches are backed by nature reserves of sand dunes and woods, and stretch for many kilometres in both directions. Walking here is an absolute joy.
We set off along the beach from Kijkduin to the harbour. While most of the boats are of the pleasure variety, this is still a working port. Today, fishing boats rub shoulders with ships that service offshore wind farms. The area around the harbour, once a rough and ready working district, has been redeveloped and gentrified – although if the warning signs are to be believed, no one has told the seagulls.
On the other side of the harbour we walked down the brilliantly executed waterfront behind the beach – a wide boulevard and cycle path next to a cluster of beach bars. As we approached Scheveningen, we stopped at Museum Beelden aan Zee: a sculpture park in the dunes with a special exhibition of work by Catalan artist, Joan Miró. The exhibition brought together fifty five Miró sculptures.
In the four and a half years we lived in The Hague, I never visited this museum. The ticket price made me wish I had done so when I still qualified for the Museum card, which would have got me in for €5.00 instead of €22.50. Still, it was a good exhibition and the space was fantastic. Afterwards we took advantage of the dry weather and strolled back into town to do a bit more reminiscing.
Fittingly, we arrived into Zeeheldenkwartier, or sea heroes quarter. This was our area when we lived here and it remains one of The Hague’s most fascinating districts. Full of interesting bars and restaurants, independent shops and plenty of history, it appears to have kept itself off the tourist map. We stopped at Sint-Joris en de Draeck, a nice bar on pleasant Koningsplein.
These were our last hours before catching the train back to Brussels. A stroll down Piet Heinstraat brought us to Noordeinde and the royal palace. We found ourselves back in Oude Molstraat, and my all time favourite Hague bar, Proeflokaal Het Gulle. The Hague is a small place but cosmopolitan beyond its size and fame, despite our regret at leaving we decided our next visit shouldn’t take another six years.
Wonderful.