Arriving in The Netherlands on a grey Sunday morning in May, we were ,as always, pleasantly surprised by the frequency of the Dutch railways, and caught a train to the outskirts of Rotterdam, and on to Den Hague HS sation with a minimum of waiting.
Following the excellent directions of the man in the ticket desk, we found the youth hostel, seeing the Stayokay flags flying over a canal first.
We were able to leave our packs in the luggage room and set out for a day exploring Den Hague.
What a varied place it was - even in overcast conditions it was a pleasure to wander around the different areas of the city centre.
Following the traffic - bikes, canal boats, trams, and even a few cars - we hit the modern quarter, with skyscrapers and wacky sculptures scattered around the squares.
Next we found the refined, consular section, based around a grand open area, part park, part marketplace, edged with the luxurious Hotel des Indes, and the Escher museum - appropriately decorated.
Next we found the refined, consular section, based around a grand open area, part park, part marketplace, edged with the luxurious Hotel des Indes, and the Escher museum - appropriately decorated.Close by was the Binnenhof, the traditional heart of the Dutch government, and still containing the Prime Minister's offices today. 
It sits along the bank of a large canal. with fountain, looking like the royal palace it once was. You can wander in through the courtyards - we came across a local policeman parked up and chatting to an ice cream seller - strangely modern in such stately surroundings.
It sits along the bank of a large canal. with fountain, looking like the royal palace it once was. You can wander in through the courtyards - we came across a local policeman parked up and chatting to an ice cream seller - strangely modern in such stately surroundings.Having wandered for several hours now, we decided to start heading back to the youth hostel. This wasn't quite as easy as we thought- we found ourselves on the rough guide map but couldn't quite orient ourselves as the youth hostel was off the end of the map! We headed through the main shopping area - old department stores with tramlines running within inches - very disconcerting. Crossing the road involved looking out for bicycles an
d trams from all directions!
d trams from all directions!We gratefully drank free samples of Lipton's Iced Tea, and headed through Chinatown.
We were back into the residential area, canals lined with houseboats, and teenagers completing a series of activites in a park, raising money for something as far as we could tell.
Finally finding the hostel again. we claimed our room and collapsed for the evening!
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