Happy Konigsday.

We managed a good sleep and woke to another ‘all you can eat’ breakfast. We managed to calm our eating habit a little.

Pancake and waffle! I must mention the shirt was borrowed from a friend because it was orange and because Dutch people wear orange on Konigsday.

We were quickly off the ferry and completed our entry biometrics for Europe without a delay.

We were quickly on the cycle paths, soon conquering our first and only hill of the day!…

…only to get up some steps over a bridge.

The cycle paths are amazing in Holland. Loads of them and so well maintained. We had coffee in Maassluice where we saw the first street fair of the day.

On to Delft which is famous for its blue pottery. The Konigsday party was already in full swing.

A Mary Hopkins lookalike was performing. It reminded us of ‘Those were the days’. She was followed by a great band doing stuff like Bruno Mars.

We got a nice seat at an outdoor bar and soaked up the atmosphere (and more energy drinks).

It’s a great small city with traditional buildings and churches. If there was one place I would recommend to combine the best of Holland, in a small manageable place, this would be it.

Plenty of orange going on.
David got a bit confused about where the cheese came from! He thought it was self service. He’s been living in Yorkshire too long!

We could have stayed in Delft all day. The party was happening all over the city.

First windmill of the trip.

We moved on to Den Hague for our overnight stay. We knew there would be plenty to see and do.

We found our hotel and went to explore.

The Binnenhof, parliament buildings were being renovated but they had built a viewing platform to see into the parliament area.

Of course we climbed for the view.
The Dutch are great at combining the old town with modern buildings.
This was a lively drum band playing opposite the Binnenhof.
The Mauritshuis Museum building was closed today. It houses Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ painting.

We wandered around enjoying the atmosphere. Very importantly we found the ice creams were deserved after a day in the saddle.

We had double scoops. The flavours were a bit bizarre…. They included Chocolate Cookies, liquorice, Bailey’s, Guinness!! Johannes de Witt is the statue behind us.

We had our first technical problem of the trip…hopefully the last.

David got his bungy caught in his back cog! It isn’t a common medical problem. We carried the bike to the hotel but thankfully managed to untangle it without any damage.

The accommodation is good. Three single beds is always preferable to doubling up.

We found a lively area of the city with outside music for our evening entertainment. Followed by a Greek style meal.

Overall, we had a grand day out. Maybe it has been a big highlight that will be difficult to beat.

I thoroughly recommend a visit to Holland over the period of the King’s Birthday. It seems to be a great celebration of national pride….something we could do with more of? Long live the King!

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