The Seven Provinces

This is 'De Zeven Provinciën', a new office building located in the Lange Voorhout in The Hague, named after the ship you see here, one of the most famous Dutch merchant ships ever built, who plied 'the seven seas' collecting wealth and booty for the original seven provinces which comprised the Batavian Republic way back in the 15th century, the Golden Age of Dutch commerce, trade and expansion, when the kingdom was at least 10 times the size of the home country and included cities such as Jakarta (Indonesia) and New Amsterdam (now more commonly known as New York). In fact, Farishta and I had spent the better part of the afternoon together, bemoaning the fact that it was cold and wet and planning the next 4 to 5 meetings including which restaurants and cafés we want to try out.

Thanks, dear friend, for a fab and cozy afternoon!