Day 6 - The Dune Climbers

Today, we started our day...WITH SPACE!! While planning this trip, we noticed that our stop in Noordwijk was inexcusably close to the ESA (European Space Agency) for us to simply bike by it. So this morning, Jessi and I woke up, and hit the road for 2 extra miles (4 total coming back) to take a tour of the ESA and see the Space Exhibition there!

The exhibition was neat! It takes you through the birth of the universe and our solar system as you walk through the beginning of it. Then you progress into the main hall, where there are exhibits about satellites, the history of space, the ISS (International Space Station) and the history of global space exploration. The exhibits featured an actual Soyuz capsule, a Soyuz capsule simulator, and life-size models of the Tranquility (with cupola), Quest (joint airlock), and Columbus modules. You could actually walk through the modules and feel like you were walking around in ISS.

They are very proud here of their Dutch astronaut, Andre Kuipers, who appears everywhere around the exhibition. They also have a national geographic film playing, which chronicles his experiences on the ISS (all via TMA mission launches). After we viewed the exhibit we took a ride in the space train....oh yeah...I said THE SPACE TRAIN! It's basically a little tram thing that takes you over to the ESA labs for a tour. We had to have our passports with us in order to enter the high security area. Our guides took us to their prototyping exhibit where we were briefed on the ESA's next planned unmanned mission to mars, which will deliver a rover to the martian surface. We saw a scale, tested model of the delivery capsule and satellite. In another building, we viewed (and actually touched) the tested prototype model of an unmanned capsule for delivery to ISS or beyond.

ESA took a while, but that was fine. We biked to ESA in the rain, spent the morning at ESA, and then continued our trip to The Hague just in time for the rain to stop. We wound our way back to the coastal bike route and got right back on the program of seeing beautiful sand dunes covered in soft green grass, moss, shrubs, and trees. Eventually the dunes gave way to hybrid woodland environments with sandy, muddy soil. Remember how we said that the Netherlands was flat? Well, maybe we were exaggerating a little bit, because....there were hills. Hills up over the dunes along the trail. Yes this is to be expected, I suppose! We climbed and fell and climbed and fell as we moved along the Dutch coastline. 

We passed through some gorgeous towns and cities on our way. In particular,  Leiden stands out. Biking along the streets of Leiden, we suddenly began to hear music! Whatever, I figured someone must have been playing music at a club or from a car, but there was no doppler effect. The music did not fade as we moved! It was just as loud and its tone/pitch was unchanged. I looked up and noticed SPEAKERS hanging in a line along the street, broadcasting music for all to enjoy uninterrupted as they walk the street! WOW! Jessi started dancing on her bike!

We also passed through the city of Wassenaar with its beautiful downtown area and square. There were sheep and cows just wandering around on the canal slopes in the city AND roosters just walking around near the bike path! I got pictures. it was so cool! Eventually Wassenaar faded behind us and we were once again in the hilly dunes of South Holland's coastal landscape. We came upon an incredibly old looking water tower as we entered the rim The Hague. The exterior was brick and it looked like a tall tower built in the 1800s. We rolled down hill from there into the city proper, passing the embassy of Iran and other embassies. If you're interested, there are some mansion-esque villas for sale in that part of The Hague. Just ask me, and I'll hook you up. If you need a miniature palace of your own, tucked away into the UNBELIEVABLE beauty of the Netherlands, this is your place!

Tired and hungry, we finally made it to our hotel for the night. We got our obligatory Dutch jab about our giant luggage, which was delivered earlier that day. We locked our bikes, and went out to dinner at a nearby restaurant. After that, we took a short walk to the Peace Palace, which houses the ICJ (International Court of Justice), the Hague school of Law, the PCA (Permanent Court of Arbitration), and a library. Outside the Peace palace is the international flame of peace, which consists of flame brought from each continent and united there in The Hague for peace. The small garden, which contains and bounds the flame, is built with stones from all contributing countries. Some are corral, amethyst, coal, igneous rock, etc. Just looking at the various specimens around that garden was really neat. There is a chart, which tells you the origin of each stone.

Tomorrow: More exploration of the Hague and on to Rotterdam! Tot Ziens (see you later!)