Leiden

Leiden was a center of medieval weaving and is home to Leiden University, one of Europe's oldest and most prestigious universities.

The Oude Rijn and numerous canals run through the city.

Leiden is home to the Netherlands national archeology museum, the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden. The Temple of Taffeh was given to the Netherlands by Egypt for helping preserve antiquities at risk due to the construction of the Aswan High Dam.

Decoration from the Mastabas of Saqqara from sometime between the 2500s and 2100s B.C.

A mix of Roman, Greek, and Egyptian culture

A Greco-Egyptian owl that advertised a fortune-teller's shop in Rome from the 2nd century A.D.

Artifacts from the Middle East, including a Persian lion's head ornament from 400 B.C.

Carthaginian gravestones of young children dedicated to the goddess Tanit. The children may have been human sacrifices.

The heads may be a little to big on the Etruscan cinerary urns from Volterra.

The Jutphaas sword, a mysterious ceremonial sword from between 1500-1350 B.C., of which similar swords were found in Brittany, Burgundy, Norfolk, and another part of the Netherlands.

The Wieuwerd treasure of Frisian Kings from 640 A.D.

The Dorestad Brooch, a masterpiece similar to other jewelry made during the time of Charlemagne in the 800s A.D.

The Dorestad Mint, located in the present day Netherlands, was the center of Carolingian coin minting for 100 years.

The Viking Hoard of Wieringen, a silver hoard suspected to be from a Danish Viking settlement in the Netherlands from 850 A.D.

Belt dividers brought to the Netherlands by Roman soldiers

The golden helmet of a Roman cavalry officer found in a peat bog

The Hague

The Hague is the administrative and royal capital of the Netherlands. The Binnenhof used to be the residence of the counts of Holland, and is now the home of the Dutch Parliament

It is also very close to the Atlantic Ocean.

There is an excellent seafood restaurant, Simonis aan de Haven, near the coast.

There are a lot of repurposed financial buildings in The Hague, including our hotel.

Noordeinde Palace is the workplace of the King of the Netherlands.

The weather is finally getting better!

The Mauritshuis is an art museum next to the Binnenhof. It was built in the 17th century by the Governor of Dutch Brazil. 

The most famous painting in the Mauritshuis is Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earing.

They also have a surprising amount of painting of people eating oysters.

The Ridderzaal is the 13th century hall of knights at the center of the Binnenhof.

The Hague is a pleasant home for the center of international law and arbitration.

 

Efteling

Efteling is an amusement park in the Netherlands.

It has a great combination of thrill rides and thematic atmosphere.

There are many life-like animatronics in the park, similar to Disneyland.

The park is famous for its "paper gobbler" trash cans that yell at you.

They are kind of disturbing.

You can even throw away your trash in Chacmool's mouth!

There are many dark rides as well. This is the Ottoman version of Pirates of the Caribbean. 

Some older parts of the park are quiet and peaceful.

There are also some highly stylized themed lands.

The centerpiece at the pancake restaurant

Not bad!

The park is most famous for its Fairy Tale Forest, which opened in 1952.

Some of the fairy tales are common in America, and some are extremely Dutch/German. Like Langnek.

I don't really know what The Wishing-Table, the Gold-Ass, and the Cudgel in the Sack is about, but I do know if you put 50 cents in this machine this donkey will shoot a plastic coin out of its rear end.

Oh Great Deku Tree...

 

Antwerp

Antwerp is the second biggest port in Europe after Rotterdam. It became a center of European trade in the 15th century after Bruges access to the ocean silted up. Its Cathedral of Our Lady was built from 1352 to 1521.

Much of the church was destroyed by Protestants during the Beeldenstorm, an episode of iconoclasm in 1566.

Antwerp became the center of the international economy during the 16th century, and grew incredibly rich from the trade that developed from the Age of Exploration. Antwerp accounted for 40% of world trade. It was said Antwerp earned the Spanish crown seven times more revenue than Spanish colonization of the Americas.

During the 80 Years War, Antwerp was viciously sacked during the Spanish Fury. Later in the war all Protestants were evicted from the city. Most went to the Netherlands and helped start the Dutch Golden Age when the war ended in 1648. Antwerp became part of the Spanish Netherlands, and its access to the ocean was closed.

Cute

Antwerp City Hall

Het Steen was built in the 13th century by the Duke of Brabant.

Lange Wapper, a Flemish giant and trickster, stands outside Het Steen.

Belgium is filled with places selling "Australian Home Made Ice Cream" with waffles.