Sightseeing in The Hague

Michelin Guides list “attractions” with stars, three stars for “must see” with one star indicating a place to see if you have nothing better to do.  Actually, there are no “must see” places.  Various people enjoy different things.  Some tourists spend all their time shopping.  That’s okay, if that is what gives them the most pleasure.  

I admire great art and go to museums as often as I can.  On my first trip to The Netherlands, Kees and I went to Amsterdam to see two of the World’s most famous art museums.  At the Rijks Museum we saw paintings by Rembrandt.  At the Van Gogh Museum Kees bought a poster of colorful boats pulled up on a beach.  It was not a typical Van Gogh, but it was his choice.  His wife Riet was thrilled when he showed it to her.

Going to museums is not what typical tourists do.  And not where the Dutch go on their holidays.  During Mother’s visit, we went to The Hague to see three of Kees’s favorite places. . 

The city is the seat of the Dutch Parliament and the home of Queen Beatrix.  The Hague is also the site of the Peace Palace, where the International Court of Justice tries war criminals for “crimes against humanity.”  We did not see any of those important buildings.  Instead, Mother was thrilled when Kees took us to the Queen’s Rose Garden, where Mother enjoyed the color and aroma of thousands of blossoms. 

David’s treat was Madurodam.  This is a mini-city with hundreds of Dutch buildings rebuilt in miniature exactly to scale.  It was great fun watching tiny cars and trains running about between churches and landmark buildings, old and modern.  In Dallas every year people go to North Park Mall to see a model train exhibit.  Everything is big in Texas, but Madurodam was ten times as big and elaborate than the Dallas train set.  .

Kees also insisted that we see what he called “the Moog Panorama.”  The Dutch language is extremely difficult for English-speakers to pronounce.  According to Wikilinks, “The Panorama Maesdag” was by Henrdrik William Maesdag.  “Maesdag” must sound like “Moog” to American ears.  In the movie “Lust for Life” Kirk Douglas played Vincente Van Gogh who, as a young man went to The Hague to study painting under his “Uncle Moog”. 

We paid our fees at the ticket booth and walked down a dark hallway and out onto what felt like a wooden pier, where we were surrounded by a beach scene.   The painting was over 42 feet high and completely encircled us.  It was as if we stepped back 150 years with women and children in 19th Century dress standing and sitting in the sands as they enjoyed a sunny day at the seaside.  

In his day Hendrik Maesdag was “one of the most famous painters of The Hague School.”  He painted the panorama in 1881, when his nephew was discovering the color and light of French Provence.  Now tourists flock to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, and only the Dutch go to Maesdag’s panorama.

People decorate their homes with pretty pictures.  My daughter-in-law fills her walls with works by Thomas Kincaid.  I go to museums to see great art.  Rembrandt’s self-portraits are superb, but I do not want that sad face in my bedroom.  

After being pushed and shoved by the mobs in the Van Gogh Museum, I thoroughly enjoyed a quiet hour surrounded by the tranquil beauty of Uncle Maesdag’s Panorama.