Good morning from The Hague in The Netherlands which is not the
capital but it is where Parliament and the Royal Family live and right now I'm
outside Parliament. This weekend is the UN's international day of peace and I'm spending the
weekend here exploring the city, not just discovering the democracy and the royal side of the
attractions here, but all of the International organisations that operate here
such as the Peace Palace and the International Court of Justice.
So on this weekend every year a lot of places will open to the public that aren't
normally open so it's a really interesting time to visit, but the city so far
look beautiful, so let's go explore!
Walking into the Peace Palace is truly humbling just as the architects
designed, but especially knowing what's taking place here since it was built so
really try and join a tour if you can.
The funds were given by one man to build The Peace Palace but the rooms and courts
have decorations donated from countries around the world and to actually step foot
inside the courtroom is truly incredible.
One of the things that's really quite surprising about The Hague is just how open it is
right now this is Parliament and there's no doors to the Inner Court of
Parliament and you can walk in 24 hours a day, have a walk around. This is where the chamber
sits. This is where the king makes his speeches.
Anytime of day or night its open to the public, the Prime Minister's office is just around the corner.
It's kind of fascinating being from the UK and everything's behind security and
police and it's fascinating how different it is here.
One thing I didn't realize is The Hague has such a beautiful beachy
coastline hidden behind leafy sound dunes, and it's just outside the city
centre and you can get here by tram or bicycle.
There's a super funky vibe here with loads and loads of cool beach bars, clubs
and even beach huts you can sleep in alongside grand 5-star hotels and I
really didn't expect to find this in The Netherlands
nor the sun to be shining this much.
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The most emotional experience today was going to
Humanity House and I couldn't even film so much, it was so emotional and kind of
encompassing. Really well done but the stories you read from the people that
now call The Hague home who fled their home countries, and the way it's laid out
is is excellent. I really really recommend it, its a big dose of reality check.
The prison was tough as well, I mean being inside the cells where the
prisoners had etched into the wall the messages was heartbreaking
and most of the people there were the resistance against the Nazi forces
that invaded and it's a brand new museum that has just opened.
This building here used to be a palace but now it's one of the most famous
museums in The Netherlands and The Hague, it's called the Mauritshuis.
I'm gonna go in and have a look around especially at one of the most famous
paintings in the country, The Girl with the Pearl Earring.
From the grand architecture of the city to the miniature version, built for
a very special reason and continue to raise funds for charities is Madurodam.
A miniature version of the Netherlands which can be found right here in The Hague.
The Hague was definitely not a normal city break, specifically on the
weekend I went with the Peace Weekend and all of these events open but
to me it's one of the best city breaks in Europe I've ever been on. You've got
the beach, you've got great food, you've got all these galleries and museums
ranging from the peace and justice side of the city to the more
child-friendly and more fun ones but it's just a great city break - you could
spend a long weekend here and do so many different things and honestly, I'm quite
surprised because I thought when I was coming to The Hague there might not be that
much to do here because I didn't know much about the city but really if you're
looking for a European city break that kind of ticks all of those boxes I think The Hague might just be it.