Den Haag

Since we were in the Netherlands, we decided to go to the Hague so that I could see the International Criminal Court. It was only about an hour train ride from Amsterdam so we ended up just going for a couple of hours. I have never been so cold in my life! This was probably worse than Antarctica. It was ridiculous, but amazing nonetheless.

The city was not what I was expecting at all. It looked like a city in the United States. It was very modern and very metropolitan. Plus it was huge! We walked about 2 miles from the train station through the city to the ICC. The city was so beautiful. The streets were tree lined, and the homes were so beautiful! They looked like the brownstones in Boston. The best part was that there was still bike paths everywhere! I swear you could bike from the Hague to Amsterdam on one path. It was incredible! I loved it.

The international criminal court security was crazy! There was an electric fence all the way around the building with the poky fence on top of that. It was a skyscraper and very well done. Once you walk inside there was security like you would be going to the airport. This place would definitely intimidate anyone who would be tried there!

After visiting the ICC, I still couldn't get warm. I was shivering and I swear my lip was turning blue. Instead of walking the two miles back to the train station we tried to call a cab. This city has no cabs! Since they speak a different language, and Jake isn't fluent in Dutch, it was a little difficult to call one. However, once we found one we got right back to the train station and headed back to Amsterdam. The only problem was, I swear the AC was on in the train because I still couldn't get warm. Jake was finally able to get warm, but since I couldn't this is where I started to get sick.

Jake, however, thought it was the worst waste of a day. His impressions of it were that it was much cleaner than amsterdam, and a big city with lots of high rises. (clearly not a fan)