Westland

Westland is a municipality in the Dutch province of Zuid Holland. The municipality is located in the Westland region and has 108,603 inhabitants, on an area of 90.59 km², of which a land area of 7990 ha and an area of inland water of 1060 ha. The municipality of Westland is part of the Metropolitan Region Rotterdam The Hague.

There are two roads from The Hague to Hoek van Holland, where you can take the ferry to England. The main road runs through the village of Monster, with its typical flour mill and church.

The Vier Winden mill at Monster..

The current flour mill was built in 1882, replacing a burned-down wooden mill. As early as 1311, a mill was reported at this location. In the twenties of the 20th century, a residential area around De Vier Winden was created, which hindered the windage, to the dismay of the miller who complained about this to the municipality, but without success.

Church at Monster.

The economy of the municipality of Westland mainly consists of horticultural companies.

Greenhouse horticulture.

View on Westland from the dunes.

The second road is a cycle path through the dunes via Kijkduin seaside resort and is almost 18 km long and ends in Hoek van Holland.

Hoek van Holland, view towards Rotterdam harbor.

Hoek van Holland, at the beach.

Paleistuin

Had to visit the park in the centre of The Hague on my way to the coronatest station today.
The Palace Garden, formerly also known as the Princessetuin (Princess Garden, 1609), is a park between Noordeinde Palace and the Prinsessewal in The Hague.

In the garden are several buildings, including the Koninklijk Huisarchief (Royal Household Archive). The Koninklijke Stallen (Royal Stables) are accessible from the garden. The garden is largely open to the public from sunrise to sunset. The garden will only be closed if there are important guests at the palace.

In 1783, a balloon was launched from the Princess Garden for the first time in the Netherlands. Two years later, on July 12, 1785, a manned hot air balloon was launched for the first time, with balloonist Jean-Pierre Blanchard on board.

The garden continues to the Koninklijke Stallen (Royal Stables), the entrance of which is on the Hogewal. The eclectic Renaissance building with stables and coach houses around a rectangular courtyard was designed by H.P. Vogel and realized in the period 1876-1879.

There are 80 corona test stations in the Netherlands. After the test one is obliged to wait for the results at home. That will be my third quarantine period, partly due to the visits to Venice. My brother died shortly after Easter as a result of this virus and I advise everyone to act safely and deal with fear realistically. And take care of each other.

The smallest park in the world

The world’s smallest public park is located next to the Binnenhof in The Hague. The information board is more expensive than the construction of the mini park. The park is also abused by miscreants and needs to be repaired every time.

Here another example of promotig green, but this time it is a public effort. This cupboard is located on Koningsplein and residents with green fingers maintain the cupboard and its contents. Plants and seeds are exchanged there. Much better.

Sky high

The centre of The Hague.

Plein, The Hague. In the middle of the Plein (Square) is a statue of Willem van Oranje by Louis Royer on a high pedestal.
The statue was unveiled in 1848, just three years after the equestrian statue of the Father of the Fatherland (Vader des Vaderlands) was placed in front of Noordeinde Palace. The statue was turned a quarter of a turn during the redesign of the Plein. Since then the prince no longer looks at the Binnenhof, but at the southeast.

Reflection

Refection in the pond near Alexanderveld, The Hague.The Alexanderveld was located here in the 19th century. This training area belonged to the Alexander Barracks (1841), which was located on the other side of the Patijnlaan, but the field was also used for the fair and by demonstrators. It is now called Burgemeester De Monchyplein.

The walls of Venice

Venice is a city in decline. This is most noticeable in the decline in the number of original inhabitants and the condition of its walls. The bridge at Arsenale.

Granular wall.

Wall with ocher paint.

Brick wall.

Towards the academy.

Hatch.

Graffiti.

Venice

Rialto bridge.

Basilica San Marco.

Piazza San Marco.

Chiesa San Zaccaria. Church. Inside a wall painting of Giovanni Bellini, the Sacra Conversazione from 1505. The most beautiful Renaissance example for free. It is also cool inside and you can pray, light a candle.

The coast of Lido di Venezia

Lido di Venezia is an island nearby Venice.

The ferry. You can visit Lido with boats. One of them is the ferry, on which you can bring cars to the island, which has just one road of 12 kilometers long.

The other one is the waterbus or Vaporetto. The main station is near the centre of the island.

Walking from the camping ‘San Nicolas’ from the older part of Lido towards the centre along the lagune, fishermen. They are always present. From six o’clock in the morning, until the late hours in the night.

Fishing. Always fishing.

On the other side of the island there is the sea.

In the new part of Lido at Alberoni Pier you can view the most stunning sunsets.

Downtown The Hague

The Paleistuin is a garden downtown in The Hague.

It is a beautifull public place just behind the working office of our king and has a green field, kindergarten, a small rosarium and a shallow pond.

Just a few meters from the nice flowers, I get a grim reminder of the people who gathered here in the late 1980s. Happy times, but with a bad end.

Tourists like to visit the Binnenhof. The Binnenhof (Inner Court) is a complex of buildings in the city centre. It houses the meeting place of both houses of the States General of the Netherlands, as well as the Ministry of General Affairs and the office of the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. The first drawing of the Binnenhof dates from 1586 and 500 years later, drawings are still being made.

Three sand sculptures have been built on the forecourt of Escher in the Palace (Escher in het Paleis) at Lange Voorhout. It is not a competition like last year, but the world champion has made something beautiful.

Immer geradeaus

The default answer when a tourist asks for the proper way to go to the beach of Scheveningen.