Our first day in The Hague gave us the full sights and sounds of the city. Taking a break from professional touring for the day because of the weekend, we took advantage of the sun and walked around both the historical and modern parts of the city. After taking the train to a new part of the country, we landed in the Den Haag HS station and walked to the Mauritshuis museum, home to many famous Rembrandt originals among others. We walked the halls of what used to be the private home of Count Johan Maurits of Nassau-Siegen, and which is now home to the Royal Picture Gallery. From Rembrant’s self portraits, to his famous Homer, and even Vermeer’s famous Girl With A Pearl Earring, the museum was an incredible sight. After touring there for a time, we ate Indonesian food from a local restaurant, a testament to the over 1,700,000 people with Indonesian ancestry in the Netherlands, a result of the Indonesian colonization by the Dutch East India Company in the 1600s.
Our next stop was the Peace Palace, home to the International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Here is where international affairs are settled according to international laws and opinions are given on legal matters. This is an international court with justices serving for nine year terms and three being replaced every five years in order to make sure the representation is sufficient for the changing countries. This court has no technical power of enforcement and can only give advisory reports and opinions on legal matters. It is, however, very widely respected since its inception and is widely regarded as a respected source of legal information. We also learned about how the building was almost entirely funded by a gift from Andrew Carnegie, someone who is a very familiar face in the Pittsburgh area. It was a nice reminder of home being so far from it here.
We wrapped up our day with an adventure to Scheveningen Beach, and a train ride back to the hotel! Our first day in Rotterdam was an exciting time, and we can’t wait to see what else we can do here!
