Day 27 - mauritshaus

We’ve had a wonderful last day of our trip though it didn’t start as planned. We’d intended borrowing bikes for the 2km to the tram stop but I just didn’t fancy the one available - the handlebars were so high up and I’d have had to back-pedal to brake. That and the narrow cycle track by the single track road made me decide I’d rather walk so that’s what we did.

This meant we were a bit later in getting to the tram stop where we had to go one stop then change (step over, we were told) to get to The Hague. Once there it was a 10 minute walk to Mauritshuis the art gallery with old Dutch Masters. €39 for two. When I first visited the National Gallery in London where I was staying on a teenage school holiday job, I had no time for old masters and was drawn to the Impressionists, in particular Cazanne. Now I do appreciate these old works much more. I must thank Paula for blipping her visit and recommending the Laura Cumming book “Thunderclap” about Dutch painters and in particular Fabritius. We spent ages there - most people were going to see Girl with the Pearl Earring and getting photos taken with it. So we had plenty space to see other wonderful paintings.

We loved the detail and humour in “Ice Scene” by Avercamp, the beauty and small details of caterpillars or shells in the flowers paintings by Bosschaert, Hulsdonck, De Ghyne and de Heem, the landscape of Delft by Vermeer, the lascivious intent of the couple eating oysters by Van Meiris, the creepiness of Judith Leyster’s ‘Man offering woman money”, the simplicity of Rembrandt’s “Two African Men”, colour and composition of his “Saul and David”, the beautifully peeled lemon and complex pocket watch of Pieter Claesz’s still life, Frans Hals sumptuous portrait of Aletta Hanemans in her wedding finery, - but in the end the picture that touched me most was “Tronie of an Old Man” by Jan Levens (1630). It’s in the eyes I think.

So nothing could beat that. We had a very poor tuna focaccia and a small Hoogarten then got the train (€7 for both of us) to Delft. We thought a canal boat ride (€ 25) would be a good way to see it but that was a mistake. The young man told us lots about beer, student accommodation and parties and very little about the rest, thought the Dutch east India company and the churches got a mention.

Then it was a short walk to get the 19 tram back to our nearest stop and the 2km walk along the canal to the campsite.

During our trip we have found the Dutch people the friendliest. As we walked to and from the tram everyone we met said good day. People in Germany were jolly and we enjoyed their humour and repartee. Further east it just didn’t seem to be acceptable to speak to strangers.