Arrival In Den Haag
Trip Start
Apr 09, 2010
1
30
Trip End
Jun 22, 2010
Where I stayed
Steph's Apartment
Den Haag, South Holland, Netherlands
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Last night Anna and I were at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to board Malaysia Airlines flight MH16 to Amsterdam. The plane was nearly full and the ride in the Boeing 747 was uneventful. The seats were narrow and although we dozed off now and then, we did not have a good sleep. After a 12-hour flight we landed at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport. I found the airport relatively small but beautiful and friendly.
Clearing immigration and customs was smooth. A smiling Steph was waiting for us. After Anna's fall and the volcanic ash disruptions, the realisation that we had finally made it to Amsterdam on our third attempt sank in. There were grins all round.
Steph took us to the train station located in the Airport itself. We bought tickets for the 30-minute ride to The Hague or Den Haag as it is known in the Netherlands. The train ride was smooth and pleasant and the scenery was beautiful. We passed swathes of flat land interspersed by canals. We were thrilled to see some rows of colourful tulip fields.
It was a pleasant but cold 15-minute walk to Steph's apartment. On the way we saw many cyclists. It had been claimed that the Netherlands had the biggest number of bicycles per capita in the world. It seemed there were more bicycles here than people! Many special lanes had been built for cyclists.
Soon we arrived at Steph's 1st. floor apartment where we would be staying for most of our holiday. The apartment had a bedroom, a living room and a kitchen, all fully furnished. The rental was 1,500 euros a month. The kitchen had a small fridge, washing machine, microwave oven and even a dishwasher.
Steph went off to work, and after a short rest, Anna and I went for a walk. We loved the city, and felt very at home with its buildings and people. But even with the sun shining brightly, it was very cold (about 10 degrees C). Although I had on thermal wear followed by a shirt and a windbreaker, it was still very chilly, especially when the wind blew, which was often.
Tomorrow was Liberation Day and a public holiday and Steph had planned to bring us to see a few places, including the tulip fields.
