The Netherlands by Trains, Buses, Bicycles and Boats (Part 2)

By: Bob Boyer

 

I concluded PART ONE of this series, which appeared in October, with a serious misspelling. The correct spelling is the Hague, NOT the Haig. Actually the Dutch spell and pronounce it as den Haag. By way of apology, I open this December column with the Hague.

One of the attractions of the Netherlands for my wife and me was the chance to visit the International Court of Justice there, formally established during World War I. The Netherlands was neutral in that war. The hope was and remains that the International Court would help avoid future wars. While that hope has not been fulfilled, the existence of the Court is still a symbol of the hope for peaceful settlement of disputes.

The Court is in a quiet part of the Hague, away from the city’s bustling center. It is large, rather solemn and with numerous turrets. It reminded me of the early brick Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. A number of visitors, fewer than we encountered in most places in the Netherlands, strolled around the outer gardens. A locked and guarded gate kept visitors out. But a small, inviting museum and store quickly minimized our disappointment.

It contains large photographs with historical accounts of the origins of the Court. It also has a continuous video to supplement the photographs. I took away two memories from the exhibits. One of the statements I read on the walls, the first or second one in order, stated that the Court clearly has had little tangible effect, but it carries on. The other was about Andrew Carnegie. The planners approached Carnegie for a donation. He gave a huge amount, enough to begin the building. His only condition? It had to contain a library.

Filipinos and other East Asians will be happy to know that the International Court has played an important role related to China’s recent aggressive moves in the South China Sea. I quote the following from my blog (anamericaninmanila.com). “Favorable news for the Philippines regarding its confrontation with China over the South China Sea appeared recently in The New York Times, twice no less. One of the Times’ editorials of Friday 30 October noted that “Finding a solution that protects freedom of navigation and avoids a military clash is essential. One path is the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. On Thursday, the court ruled against China and asserted its right to hear a case brought by the Philippines, which has competing claims to islands and reefs in the South China Sea.”

The Permanent Court of Arbitration is a branch of the International Court. China, of course, disputed the right of the Court to hear the case, but even one of their chief spokespersons said that they had hoped that the Court would refuse to hear the case. He went on to say that he hoped there could be discussion between the two countries. Score one for the International Court at the Hague. And my wife and I had been there, or at least at the little museum and store.

After our visit to the Court, we returned to Delft, the nearby town where we were staying for four nights after our initial stay in Amsterdam. We had come from Delft earlier in the day by that same tram line. Mass transportation in the Netherlands is incredibly efficient. It is both environmentally friendly and on-time. Our first destination in the Hague had been its memorable art museum.

The name of the museum, prominently displayed in gold lettering over the main entrance, is “Mauritshuis,” which I presume means the house, a palace in fact, of a family or person named Maurits. Don’t quote me on that translation, however. We started off with a most pleasant experience at the ticket counter. Rick Steves, author of our travel guide, had said that our museumkart, in which we had invested back in Amsterdam, was not accepted at Mauritshuis, but I always try anyway. It was accepted, prompting my wife to tell the woman who gave us our free tickets that “we will be able to have a really good meal tonight.” The Dutch do not undervalue their art. We save about $20 each.

The centerpiece of the museum is Vermeer’s “Girl With the Golden Earring.” My wife gets credit for the best line when we finally came upon “Girl” after rooms and rooms filled with paintings by the likes of Van Gogh and Rembrandt. “Seems almost anticlimactic.” Stay tuned.

Boyer welcomes your comments at Robert.boyer@snc.edu or his blog <anamericaninmanila.com>.