2003-06-17 - 2:29 p.m.

Original Date: 2003.05.29 :: Constant Buzz

So yesterday we visited Den Haag, the capital city of the Netherlands. It easily is the city that I've explored far less than I should. Located only a matter of mere minutes from Delft (my Netherlands headquarters) getting there is no major outing. In fact this is why I should spend more time there.

We only had time to visit two places in Den Haag. The reason much of the city is undiscovered to me is because it is so close to Delft that I only go on nights when I have dinner plans with Cricket and Smurf [meaning I need to cut my trips short].

First we saw Madurodam, the miniature city. It is my dream to transform my folk's backyard into a giant toy train yard. The Queen started to do this here. You walk through tiny ... no that should be rather large miniature buildings of famous places in the Netherlands. What I really loved besides seeing a clean place (Amsterdam is kinda smelly and dirty in places ... though other places are way nice, including the canals) where grandparents and grandchildren or handicapped people can easily travel the country in one stop, is the often overlooked attention to detail the Dutch gave this city. When you walk over major rivers, you do so over scale replicas of famous Dutch bridges. But more importantly, the layout is set up in a temporal, not physical representation of Dutch architectural achievements.

It is funny that few Dutch realize that when you start your tour that the first buildings you see are the oldest, and the last things (airports and ports) are the newest. Clever!

We also visited my favorite music store: La La Land music. It is hidden in Den Haag's shopping quarter, but has the best industrial music selection I've seen anywhere. Keep in mind that I'm talking about new releases and I do know industrial music better than many people. I found an old Dive album, and a Monolith and Sonar album that I was hunting for. Yay!

Cricket and Smurf took us out to a medieval restaurant where you eat with your hands, they tell old medieval jokes, dress in period garb, and chickens just walk around on the floor. I had a few glasses (mugs) of mead. It was great fun and I'm stuffed still this next morning.

Then at 11 PM (which is only dusk) we had more drinks in one of Delft's squares under the new Church's clocktower. [Actually I was still drunk at this time, as it wasn't the new Church, but rather the city hall.]

I was drinking a Belgian beer called Delerium Trimuvet or something. Everybody else was grading it by numbers, but I gave it four ghosts. [Hmmm, I think I was still drunk. That means when you get a goth boi like me drunk, instead of math, I start talking about undead. Go figure!] Don't ask ... I'd have to kill you. [But see, I'd probably like that.] But guess what? No hangovers here on this good beer. [No hangovers, but I'm now positive I was still drunk the next day!]

-=-

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