Horse drawn Sleighs

There is a large park with a horse racing track close to our apartment.  During the summer they have horse drawn chariot races.  This winter they had enough snow to do horse drawn sleigh races.  The event was canceled once this year because there was too much snow! There were all sorts of horses and sleighs.  Most of the drivers had on traditional dutch dress that was related to the function of their sled. Some sleds were basic and others were quite fancy.  

L:  Miniature horses pulling a basic sled R:  Big horse pulling a little sled

 

This sled and horse won best in show.  The horse also was acting up a lot at the end. 
  

The end of the event concluded with horse races.  It was quite fun to watch them race. 
 
here's a couple of videos that I took with my cell phone:

  

Kinderdijke

John and I visited the Kinderdijke with his aunt, sister, brother-in-law, and their kids, Joost and Evelien. The Kinderdijke is a UN world heritage site. The windmills were used to remove water from the swampy land.  People still live in some of the windmills. 

These are some of the windmills along the canals:

 

L: John swinging Evelien around  R: Acting like a statue pointing out the sights. 
 

John and I showing the windmills.  It was rather chilly and damp on the day we visited.
 

Madurodam

Madurodam is a amusement park in Den Haag  that started in 1957.  It consists of scale models of dutch buildings and other structures.  You can visit all of The Netherlands in just one stop. Most of the buildings are all mixed up.  There a buildings in Groningen right next to buildings from Amsterdam. Here's a link to the website if you'd like more information:  http://www.madurodam.nl/?page=1 

L:  John by the biggest cathedral in the Netherlands.  R:  I'm pointing out the Gold building in Groningen
  

An example of how all the buildings are mixed up.  You can see the gold building from Groningen next to buildings from other dutch cities. In reality the gold building is next to the groningen city hall and more modern buildings. 
 

A couple views of the Binnenhof and Buitenhof (I mentioned the Binnenhof in the post of Den Haag).
  

Some other buildings at Madurodam.
  

 

  
A duck getting some water by a typical Friesland farm house.
  

L:  Proof that UFO's have landed next to the Groningen Art museum. R:  The Eramus bridge from Rotterdam
  
And John rocking out to an outdoor concert.  They had video screens playing a song from a dutch rock band.  The little figurines moved to the beat. 
 

Den Haag

John and I spent a couple hours in Den Haag a couple of weeks ago.  Den Haag is the dutch center of government.  It was a lovely sunny day to walk around. 

L:  A family of geese along a pond  R:  Flowers!  and the background of houses

 

The outside of the Binnenhof (binnenhof is translated to inside courtyard).  This is the Buitenhof (or the outside of the courtyard).  The Binnenhof is the collection of government offices and where the dutch parliament is (pictures of the binnenhof later in this post).   
 

We came upon this square just across from the Binnhof.  The tram runs right through the middle of the square. 
 

We decided to enjoy the sun and get a cup of coffie in the square. In the background of the picture of John you can see the buitenhof. 
 

A drug store (hypotheek) in Den Haag.  I liked the clown face. 

These are all pictures of the Binnenhof.  Unfortunately, we had to leave before the guided tour, so I don't really know what these buildings are used for, other than for government stuff.  
 

  

  

Schevening

John and I spent a couple days at the small coastal resort town of Schevening.  Schevening is a part of the Dutch city, Den Haag (aka The Haag).  Schevening is very difficult for non-dutch people to say.  There's a story that the dutch figured out who was a dutch impostor (aka german) by asking them to pronounce Schevening durring WWII. We were there during the off-season.  

Here's a picture of our hotel (white house-like structure directly to the right of the spire).  It was a older family-owned hotel.  The lobby was decorated in the "old" style and was crammed with stuff. 

 

The view from our room looking right and left.  On the right is a big pier that has some little shops.  At the end of the pier is a casino, bungy jump tower, and a profetjes shop.

  

A view of the beach from the top of the dunes.  There were lots of beach side restaurants to choose from.  John on the beach.  It was pretty windy, but not too chilly. 
 

During WWII, the germans built a lot of forts along the coast.  We came across several in the dunes by Schevening. They were all bricked up and closed, so we couldn't get inside. 

L:  You can make out some of the forts in the dunes R: John on top of a fort
 

L:  A close up of one of the forts  R:  The dunes and you can see 2 of the forts. 
 

L:  A view of the top of a fort looking towards the pier R:  and a view towards the pier and hotel area
 

L:  A fishing boat that seemed too close to the shore R:  a view of the dunes with the German Forts
 

A view of the pier.  The big part at the end is a casino.