I'm About to Become a Hermit. But First, Den Haag.

So I just enjoyed my last out-of-Belgium adventure: The Hague, Holland (or, more correctly, The Netherlands. However, writing "The Hague, The Netherlands" seemed to contain an unnecessary number of "the"s...but yet also led to an unnecessarily lengthy explanation in parentheses, so perhaps I should have just written it in the first place).

It was a great time! I went with my ISA group and we saw some neat things. I'm afraid I was quite a slacker on taking pictures this time around, and I apologize! And, as it's getting late, I won't be able to go into terrible and agonizing detail about the trip.

I hope bullet points suffice!

• The Mauritshuis: Our first stop was an art museum, the one where the famous painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring" is housed.
• But there were quite a few Rembrandts at this museum, as well, including this work that really got his career started (a gruesome start...but whatever). It is of a doctor dissecting a prisoner's body for the sake of science.
• Yet, strangely, this little piece, "The Goldfinch" by Carel Fabritus, was my favorite.
• In conclusion, I really, really like the Dutch painters! Not so much Van Gogh (saw his stuff in Amsterdam), but Rembrandt and the like. I'm not sure why it's so appealing to me, but that's the story and I'm sticking to it!
• The Biennenhof: A neat tour through the places where affairs of state happen (traditional stuff that I won't go into detail about), and later to the parliament building. Go legislation!
  
• Escher Museum: Okay, now THIS guy is neat! Find below a few of his works! He's a genius! The top two were designs carved into wood, after which point ink was rolled over the wood and the design stamped onto the paper to make a print, and the bottom three are...drawings, I think. Not sure which medium he used, but still - the talent!
  
  
  
  
• The Hotel! Not a hostel - it was so exciting to be in such a nice place for the night! There were chocolates on the pillows and there was a rubber ducky (which I adopted) in the bathroom! Not to mention "Welcome Drinks" (I got a nice dry white wine) and the best breakfast I've had in a long, long time!
• Dinner: Went to an Indonesian restaurant out by the coast - delicious! Afterward, those who wanted to headed out to gaze at the water at night. It was neat! Laura, one of my fellow travelers, described the beach as being made up of brown sugar. We played near the water (not it - too cold!).
  
• Mini-Holland: In a put-putt golf style set up, all of the highlights of the Netherlands were summed up into one - it was too much fun. Watch the following movie for proof.
  

• Delft: A wee little town that was made magical by snow falling! We visited another art museum - not very spectacular. I was art-ed out at this point and didn't give the place the attention it probably deserved. I was tired! Interesting thing about Delft, though - the blue and white porcelain that the Netherlands are famous for? Started here!

All in all, it was a very fun trip! It takes me a while to open up and be...well...me, and I feel like I finally arrived at that spot today! Just in time to...study for finals (upcoming).

So, my train-faring adventures have in all likelihood come to their conclusion. There's plenty to do around Brussels - the Christmas markets are up and running and they're awesome! But more on them later - time for this tired traveler to go to bed!