The People’s Friend 15
Many A Masterpiece 14
travel
FACT FILE Getting About Ask at the Tourist Information Office about guided city walks on Wednesdays and Saturdays to discover the city’s rich past and vibrant present. Hire a bike, take a ride in a TukTuk, or glide along the canals on a boat tour.
Gillian Thornton travels to the Netherlands to enjoy a short break in the Hague, surrounded by art and culture of all kinds!
Photographs by Gillian Thornton.
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ALKING up the grand staircase of the Mauritshuis museum in the Hague, I can’t help feeling apprehensive. I’m about to come face-to-face with a portrait that has inspired the world and I don’t want to be disappointed. Painted by Johannes Vermeer around 1665, Girl with a Pearl Earring has been the subject of a best-selling novel by Tracy Chevalier and a film starring Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth. Now after a two-year world tour, this enigmatic young lady is back in Holland at the newly refurbished Mauritshuis. It’s my first visit to this charming city, home not only to the famous Vermeer portrait and a wealth of other fabulous artworks, but also to the Dutch royal family, and seat of government for the Netherlands. In addition, the Hague is the location for the International Court of Justice, the only judicial organ of the UN outside New York, and to 100 embassies and consulates. I flew into Amsterdam, picking up the train at the airport station for the half-hour journey to the Hague. Less crowded than the Dutch capital, the Hague is becoming an increasingly popular alternative for a relaxed short break, offering cultural attractions, tempting shops and cafés within its compact historic centre. And if your short break isn’t complete without a breath of sea air, the Hague is just a 15-minute tram ride from the city centre to the twin resorts of Scheveningen and Kijkduin – the only city in Holland beside the sea. Most first-time visitors, however, head straight to the Mauritshuis, which closed in 2012 for a major refurbishment, opening to the public again in June 2014. This delightful classical property was built as a private house in the mid-17th
century for Count Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen, Governor of the Dutch colony in Brazil. With a unique lakeside location in the heart of the city, the Mauritshuis was bought by the Dutch state in 1820 to house the Royal Collection of paintings, and is today hailed as one of the most beautiful small museums in the world. The exterior has been repainted in its original colours as part of the refurbishment, but the major focus has been the opening of the new Royal Dutch Shell Wing next door which provides temporary exhibition galleries, a café, shop and other visitor facilities and releases valuable gallery space. The museum’s collection of Dutch paintings is ranked one of the four best in the world, with more than 250 on permanent display here and a further 150 at the nearby Prince William IV Gallery. Almost 200 more are on long-term loan to museums across the world. But it’s that anonymous girl with her blue and yellow headscarf who has really brought this enchanting museum to a world-wide audience. And when I suddenly find myself standing in front of her, I can immediately see why – with her direct gaze and intense expression, she is utterly compelling. Vermeer’s enigmatic study is not, however, the only gem on show here. I head off to find the Goldfinch, one of a few known works painted by Carl Fabritius in the 17th century. This intricate study inspired another bestselling novel, this time by American author Donna Tartt. There are Rembrandt portraits here, too; another glorious Vermeer – this time a tranquil view of Delft – and a huge painting called the Bull by Paulus Potter that captivates me with its tiny details.
Statue of William of Orange.
Something Different Enjoying the café culture.
The Hague offers many different styles of art and architecture, so I also head outside the historic centre to visit the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, an extensive Art Deco complex that is home to a large collection of works by contemporary artist Mondriaan. The bold blocks of colour aren’t really to my taste, but I just have to stand beside the famous Victory Boogie Woogie and emulate US President Barack Obama, who attended an international summit here last spring. More my thing are the fabulous displays of Hague silver and blue and white Delft ware elsewhere in the museum. Back in the town centre, I am taken, too, by the monochrome drawings of Dutch artist M.C. Escher, who experimented with the portrayal of time and space. I clearly remember the first time I saw Escher’s work in an encyclopaedia as a child and being fascinated by the optical illusion of an endless staircase. Decades later, I am equally spellbound at Escher at the Palace, a museum housed in the former winter palace of Queen Mother Emma. On the top floor, visitors can become part of the illusions with a series of interactive exhibits, and in every room, information panels show archive photos of how the palace looked in its royal heyday. The Escher museum stands on the
Lange Voorhout, a delightful avenue at the heart of the Hague’s historic centre. A thick canopy of trees shades the stalls of the antiques and curios market every Thursday and Sunday from mid-May to September, a great place to browse and enjoy an alfresco coffee. Amongst the many elegant façades that line the avenue is the Hotel des Indes, one of many reminders throughout the city of the country’s colonial past in the former Dutch East Indies. Indonesia was a colony of the Netherlands until 1945 and many 19th century Dutch citizens who worked there kept houses in the Archipel district of the Hague in streets such as Javastraat and Sumatraplein. Many others stayed at the Hotel des Indes, which was built in 1858 by a wealthy baron as a private house with stables, servants’ accommodation and a ballroom. In 1881 it was converted to a luxury hotel and today it is still one of the city’s most prestigious places to stay, its flamboyant staircases trodden by a Who’s Who of celebrity guests that range from Bing Crosby to the Spice
Girls, Dwight D. Eisenhower to Desmond Tutu. If you can’t afford to stay, treat yourself to high tea (our afternoon tea) in the grand lounge.
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ORK off the calories with a stroll along the avenue towards Parliament Pond, overlooked by the Mauritshuis and the historic parliament building. Then head towards Noordeinde for a spot of window shopping. This luxury shopping street is dotted with fashion boutiques and galleries, as well as the working palace of King Willem-Alexander. The public gardens behind the palace are a pleasant place to relax before taking in historic streets such as Hofkwartier and Haagsche Bluf. For an authentic edible gift, pick up a box of coffee-flavoured Hague Hopje sweets. Or head back to the lovely new shop at the Mauritshuis Museum where you can take home an image of the anonymous Girl with a Pearl Earring on stationery, suitcases, fridge magnets, posters – even a duck for the bath!
Want To Know More? For information on holidays in Holland and the Hague, visit www.holland.com. Gillian stayed at the Hotel des Indes – www.hoteldesindes.nl or telephone +31 (0)70 361 2345; (High Tea, €39; check the website for the latest accommodation deals).
The Louwman Museum – the Dutch National Motor Museum – is packed with antique and classic automobiles from across the globe. Highlights include the Aston Martin DB5 belonging to James Bond and Prince Bernhard’s old Ferrari. Visit www.louwmanmuseum.nl for more information. The Bull by Paulus Potter.
A Taste Of The Orient The Hague still has strong connections with Indonesia and nowhere more so than in its restaurants. Order an Indonesian rice table for a real flavour of the Far East. Fish is also popular, especially at restaurants around the harbour, with salted herring being a big local favourite.