HYDERABAD: The history of the Kingdom of the Netherlands started with The Hague in 1813 when the first king of Netherlands, William of Orange arrived from England and settled in the city, making it the government centre and the royal residence of Holland.
The royal allure of The Hague can be found in many palaces and stately buildings in the city with the royal traditions playing an important role at international level. The Netherlands recognises some 170 ambassadors from friendly countries, almost all of who are based in The Hague.
City by the sea
The Hague is the only large Dutch city by the sea with more than eleven kilometres of the beach from its historic city centre. Take the tram and fifteen minutes later you will sniff fresh sea air. Take a long walk along the sea or take a bike ride through the dunes. Stroll over the renovated Pier or walk across the boulevard to the Scheveningen harbour. Enjoy the panoramic view – it is always a holiday by the sea with buzzing nightlife in the city centre or at the seafront in summer. This is the place Ocean’s Twelve was shot.The medieval architecture, stately mansions and top-class museums are among the many charms of the city. With fewer canals, the reconstructed town (after World War 2) offers more space and parks than any other Dutch city.
A celebrated hotel
Hotel Des Indes is an iconic hotel ideally located in The Hague city centre. It has a tradition of 136 years of welcoming guests, including royalty and celebrities, and offers elegance and grandeur coupled with a superb culinary tradition.Just as I checked in, there was a bridal shoot that was happening in the hotel. A bride with her long train spread over the staircase was posing on the historic steps trodden by famous people: Kings, Emperors, state citizens, artists, scientists and former Indies. Thanks to the majestic ambience of the building and a large number of famous guests, many myths and anecdotes about the impressive building exist.
By 1900 this hotel had all the rooms equipped with a phone (some sort of intercom system connected with the reception), a bath, and washing stands with hot and cold running water; a hydraulic elevator which worked on the pressure of the waterworks. At one point in time, this progressive hotel even had a gigolo – a male dancer, performing for a female audience who were not escorted by men.
Among the hotel’s legendary guest list were the former Empress Eugénie of France, Mata Hari, Sheik Feisal of Saudi Arabia, Emperor Haile Selassie and Josephine Baker, who rented a separate room for her monkey. I took pictures with the painting of Mata Hari, the notorious spy who hailed from the city and ensnared statesmen of many countries with her beauty. One of the many memorable stories is about the famous ballet dancer Anna Pavlova. In 1931, she arrived from Paris by train. This train had been involved in a severe accident and while Anna offered assistance to her wounded fellow travellers, she caught double pneumonia. Two days later, she died in Hotel Des Indes.
The story of the Indian Maharaja is hilarious: he arrived at the hotel with 45 staff members, two removal vans and rented an entire level and stayed for two months. Over thirty servants slept on doormats in front of his room every night. One day he announced his need for extremely good cattle for milk. The story goes that farmers gathered on the Lange Voorhout from all over the country with their cattle.
Mauritshuis – Maurice House
Originally, the 17th-century building was the residence of count John Maurice of Nassau. It is now the property of the government of the Netherlands and is listed in the top 100 Dutch heritage sites. The museum houses the Royal Cabinet of Paintings, which consists of 841 objects, mostly the best works of Dutch artists from the Golden Age.
The compact, yet world-renowned collection is situated in the heart of The Hague, right next to the government centre. Masterpieces such as Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring”, “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicholaes Tulp” by Rembrandt, “The Goldfinch” by Fabritius, and “The Bull” by Potter are on permanent display in the intimate rooms of this seventeenth-century monument.
Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” is an oil painting – a tronie of a European girl wearing an exotic dress, an oriental turban, and an unusually large pearl earring. The painting has been in the museum’s collection since 1902. Supposed to have been painted around 1665, it was voted as the most beautiful painting in the Netherlands.
Later, at the marketplace, I saw a cut out of the famous painting – “The Girl with a Pearl Earring” with photo options for passersby… I put my head into the cut out face and posed for a picture, which I later posted on Facebook: thought it’s the only way to get into the frame of the most beautiful painting!
Useful links:
www.jetairways.com
www.holland.com
(The author is a documentary filmmaker and travel writer; she blogs at vijayaprataptravelandbeyond.com)