Den Haag

Snow early in the morning on the Kaarsenmakerstraat courtyard

Out for Italian at O' Sole Mio in Leiden

Margaret, Curtis (Sioux Falls, USA), Anna (Baton Rouge, USA), Elfa (Reykjavík, Iceland)

Windmill

Went on a day trip to the Hague, the Dutch seat of government and home of Queen Beatrix. The Hague used to be the capital city of the Netherlands, until Mr. Bonaparte rolled around and installed his government in Amsterdam. After the French were kicked out, the government returned to Den Haag, but Amsterdam remained the official capital.

Train station -
It's a short 15 m ride from Leiden Centraal

Den Haag Centre
Kata (Budapest, Hungary) & Margaret

Ridderzaal (Knight's Hall) from the 1200s in the Binnenhof, where most of the Dutch parliamentary buildings are found in Den Haag -
The courtyard outside was used for executions "back in the day"

Baller office, Beatrix -
The inscription on the golden gate seal reads: "Je maintiendrai,"
or, I will maintain

Queen's garden park behind her office in Den Haag

Environmentalist canal flags read: "Year of Green, 2009"

Dutch King William of Orange
He married Queen Mary II of England, giving him power over England and Scotland -
William & Mary was charted in their name

Canal view from the Binnenhof buildings

Mauritshuis museum in the classical 1600s Dutch mansion style

The Mauritshus houses several Rembrandts and Vermeers,
including Girl with a Pearl Earring

Andy Warhol's Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands at Mauritshus
She's in her 70s now, but she was pretty fierce back in her day, it looks