 If
you ideas are vague,
head for
The Hague
If
you want to explore Holland, you can spend half an hour walking
round the country looking at it’s major attractions before
finally deciding where to go.
That
is not as impossible as it sounds. Madurodam,
at nearby Scheveningen, near Den Haag,
is a
park full of scale models. It was the highlight of
our Dutch visit. The
miniature magic at Madurodam
included towns,
castles, and windmills. You will find that it is conveniently
located just 17 miles from Rotterdam and
40 miles from Amsterdam.
It’s a place that can help you plan your holiday,
for there you can see all of the Netherlands tourist
attractions in minute detail.
 Being
able to peer down at the Cheese Market at Alkmaar or a simple
wedding at a small church at Allingawier
was fascinating.
Young children appeared like giants as they looked in at
the end of streets that were inhabited by miniature model people.
These could be sitting at cafes or taking part in parades. There
were active models of boats, which moved through working canals
and an airport busy handling planes from different airlines. Over
two thousand cars ran along a busy model motorway and twelve
trains travelled on over two and a half miles of track that snaked
around the park. It was all very realistic and nearly five
thousand miniature trees add to its beauty.
 The
Hague (Den Haag), is Holland’s
parliamentary city and the neighbouring attractive seaside resort
of Scheveningen are particularly easy to reach.
You do not need a car. A regular rail service gets you out
there in just half an hour from Rotterdam.
When we stepped out of Den Haag Central Station we found a
sea of parked bicycles with hundreds of handlebars gleaming in the
sun. (We tried to
imagine how clogged up the streets would have been if that number
of people had tried to use their cars.)
For a small country with a sizeable population the Dutch
really need their efficient public transport system.
They
certainly have one and you can depend on their being a tram every
seven minutes to take you to the sea-front at Scheveningen or to
or to the much loved Madurodam park, (The Dutch Queen is the
‘Mayor’ of this ‘miniature country’ within a country.)
If you hop on a tram and visit
The
Panorama Mesdag, it is really like doing a bit of time travel back
to the 1880's. 
You enter through a dark space and up a spiral
staircase to a
viewing platform on top of a huge sand dune.
It
is huge, and
very realistic, There is a circular canvas painted of Scheveningen in 1880 by
the renowned marine painter Hendrik Willem Mesdag. Sloping sand
and objects like fishing nets and an abandoned clog help to give
it a realistic 3D effect and fool the eye as the scene before you
merges imperceptibly into a 360 degree view of life a century ago.
It is intriguing to pick out the places that you have visited and
see how they have changed.
We
also visited the International Palace of Justice at Carnegieplein. The imposing building was funded
initially by Andrew Carnegie. The gardens came from Holland, the
gates from France, and the clock in the tower from Switzerland. (I
wasn't able to wait around to see if they had included a giant
cuckoo.)
You
can take a guided sightseeing trip. 'The Royal Tour' leaves
from the tourist office at 1pm.
( look for the blue and white VVV
sign.)
It takes two
and a half hours and costs £6.65
There
are two Royal Palaces, one is Queen Beatrix’s residence set in
what remains of an old hunting forest at Scheveningen and the
other ‘Palace Noordeinde’ in The Hague, she uses as her
'office' in town.
It is from there that she will rides out in an
ornate golden carriage to the Dutch equivalent of our
'State Opening of Parliament' or as our guide put it "She
reads the new laws and our taxes go up!"
Every
Sunday and Thursday there is an antique market at a wide tree
lined street called Lange Voorhout. This leads you round towards a
wide boulevard where I found the smallest house in the city and
many imposing Embassy buildings. We were able to stroll along and
admire an exhibition of statues while  street musicians playing
soulful music on a saxophone and double base, amid the Lime trees
and the dappled light, it
was all very atmospheric. There was music too in other squares; an
ornate motorised barrel organ seemed to follow us around pumping
out cheery tunes. It
all felt typically ‘Dutch.’
It
is a charming country and an early visit to Madurodam will help
you locate the best of it.
Fortunately it is all easily reached by ferry from Harwich
or Hull.
Factfile
Web
page www.denhaag.com
Madurodam:
entrance adult £ 5.90, child £4.25.
Netherlands
Board of Tourism PO
Box 523, London SW1E 6NT.
www.holland.com
Tel:0906
871 7777
(recorded information costs 60p per minute.)
P&O North Sea Ferries
www.ponsf.com Tel: 01482 377177.
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