Today was our seventh day in the Netherlands, and I got up around 8. We had our first breakfast at our new hostel, and the choices were pretty similar to the last place. I had a hard-boiled egg, strawberry yogurt, sliced meat, some pancakes, and a latte. The breakfast buffet also had an automatic pancake making machine, which I thought was neat. The pancakes were pretty good as well!
After breakfast we walked to the Rotterdam Central station, and on the walk, I learned that the Netherlands gives pedestrians many more rights than other countries. In fact, even jaywalking is legal. In hindsight, this makes a lot of sense. By giving pedestrians more rights, you are incentivizing people to walk places rather than taking cars. Since biking and walking is woven into the culture of the Netherlands, it makes sense that they have strong pedestrian rights.
Once we got to Rotterdam Central station, we took the train to The Hague. The train was very clean and modern, and we gently glided to our destination. Upon arriving at The Hague, we wandered around and saw a pretty canal and church before visiting the Mauritshuis museum. The collection started in the early 1800s, and it consists of around 850 artworks. Its main attraction is Girl with a Pearl Earring, which I was very excited to see. While at the museum, I also saw a group of artists working to restore a very large artwork. They were working to remove old retouches and correct the varnish, which had yellowed. I never really thought about the work a museum must do to preserve its artwork, so it was neat to see this process up close.
After visiting the museum, we went to the top of a 10-story lookout tower in a local park. I found it very neat to see the skyline from so high up, and I enjoyed all of the unique architecture. We then had some Indonesian food for lunch before visiting the Peace Palace. I learned that before the 19th century, war was glorified and people thought it was honorable to die in battle. However, after photography became popular, people realized that is not the case. The Nobel Peace Prize also contributed to the public’s declining perception of war. The Hague held the first peace conference in 1899, where delegates signed a peace agreement. There was then a second conference a few years later to draw up the rules of warfare. Andrew Carnegie donated a lot of money to help construct the Peace Palace, and his only condition was for the palace to have a library. Construction started in 1907, and the palace opened in 1913.
The Peace Palace houses the International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Throughout our tour, I learned about the differences between these two. For example, the International Court of Justice settles disputes through judges, while the Permanent Court of Arbitration uses arbitrators. Additionally, the International Court of Justice is the main legal court for the United Nations, and it solves disputes between two nations. Despite the world changing a lot since the palace was established over a century ago, the two courts are both still popular. Furthermore, The Hague has grown into the legal capital of the world, with the Peace Palace at its heart.
I concluded my time at The Hague with a visit to the beach, which was pretty chilly. I then took the train back to Rotterdam, where I am writing this now. I look forward to sharing more updates soon!