After a nice breakfast at the hotel, we checked out and took a taxi to central station. We found the ticket counter and then the appropriate track. Captain Dan did the research while I minded the bags. At the last minute we had to dash a long way to get to the right car. We worried our luggage into the inadequate storage area. The train left at 10:27.
The Hague is the capital of the Netherlands. It is located about 40 miles south of Amsterdam, near the coast of the North Sea. The train trip takes about an hour. We took a taxi to our hotel, the Meerdervoort, which is away from the center of town and closer to the beach. The ride seemed to be excessively long. Like the Hotel Beethoven in Amsterdam, the Meerdevoort is part of the Hampshire chain, a Dutch corporation. It has a pleasant bar in the lobby. Our room was very large, with a sitting area, but the distance between a corner of the bed and a corner of the desk was barely wide enough to wiggle through, which was very annoying.
After we got settled in, we went looking for lunch, umbrellas at the ready, as rain seemed imminent. We found an Indonesian restaurant called Java around 1:30 p.m. We had a fine lunch there: rice and beef and chopped up long beans. We then walked in light rain a few blocks to a large plaza called Prins Hendrik Plein, which had grass, trees, and mobile market stalls. It was too cold to explore the stalls, so we slipped into a little cafe for a cappuccino.
After that, I returned to our room for a nap, but Captain Dan went out exploring in a light rain. Later he returned and took a nap as well. By 7:30 the sky had cleared. We went out for a walk and a Thai dinner at Curry and Cocos. The food was okay but the wine was off.
