June 05, 2002:  

From Dan Haag to Scheveningen

What a coincidence!… Last Sunday I decided to visit Dan Haag and found out later that it was the same city I was wishing to know since I arrived here: the Hague. Yes, the famous city that had influenced so much the Brazilian History.

For those who don’t remember, the Hague was the city where the Peace Conference took place in 1907, when the Brazilian jurist, Rui Barbosa, defended the equality among nations. Because of his success, Rui Barbosa was called “Eagle of Hague”. The Hague was also the city where Mauricio de Nassau, governor of Dutch lands in Brazil built his great house, that nowadays is the Mauritshuis Museum.

I’ve visited The Hague because of a misunderstanding. I didn’t know that The Hague is called Den Haag, in Dutch. The Hague, or Den Haag, is the political capital of The Netherlands (where the Parliament is located). It’s not a big city, there are about 500,000 inhabitants. As other Dutch cities, Den Haag has a typical architecture and rustic churches. It became the government house in 1585, when it was a small city around the Count’s castle. Since 1946, it has succeeded of the Arbitration Permanent Court (created in 1849), the International Justice Court of The United Nations.

Today, Den Haag has the Dutch Parliament in a beautiful building, in front of the Binnenhof Lake. When we enter in the building with its porches and walls, it seems as if we were in a medieval castle. In its centre, there is the Gothic Saloon, Riddeszal (knights saloon) with two towers. The saloon dates from the XIII century and today it is used in official ceremonies. I’ve also seen Grote Kerk Church, located in the commercial centre. It was built in 1539 and repaired in 1987.The contrast between this old church and the modern theatres across the street is really interesting. But the funniest was just  some minutes from Den Haag centre.

The Dutch Beach

I arrived at this Dutch beach called Scheveningen on a sunny Sunday, warmer than I had expected. I had heard about this beach before, a kind of Atlântida here, but I didn’t believe I would see so much enjoyment. After catching a full tram I got out in front of a luxurious hotel, located in front of the sea, called Kurhaus. The majestical Hotel was built in 1845, in Imperial French style. Its dinner saloon is magnifying, decorated with paintings.

With so much move at the beach I remembered my weekends in Rio Grande do Sul beaches. The relation between the gaucho and the coast is really funny. Every summer weekend is the same: full highway, tollgates and hot weather. All this effort to spend only 2 or 3 days at a beach with a cold and brown sea (sometimes windy). But it’s worth to relax with friends and family.

It was thinking in the beach that I decided to go to Den Haag to visit the city and Scheveningen. I was missing the fresh breeze and the waves noise… This Sunday I fulfilled my desire. And I also discovered another side of the Dutch people: they love beaches, too.

What could I expect from a small beach in the north of Europe? Cold sea…a few people…bad weather. I was surprised I didn’t find this scene. What I saw was a warm day, a sidewalk full of restaurants and hotels, lots of bars along the edge. Besides it, a calm sea.

Young groups, couples and families were walking on the sidewalk or taking sun on the sand. There were more children than adults in the sea, because it’s really cold. Our water is warmer than here. Men were wearing swimming trunks and women, bikinis. Lots of them were doing topless. The age does not matter. Thin and fat girls or ladies… there is no prejudice and men don’t disturb them. I wonder how it would be in Brazil.

 The parade of cars and motorcycles was amazing. The Dutch seemed not to care about status so far. But in Scheveningen, I could see the “other side of the coin”. Several young people from different ethnics were exhibiting their cabriolet cars. Among the brands, there were Mercedes Benz, BMW and even Porsches. Several kinds of music: Latin, electronic, hip-hop…The Harley Davidson motorcycles were crossing the streets at high-speed, making a lot of noise.

 It was an interesting afternoon. I only regret I didn’t bring my bikini to try the Dutch way of enjoying the beach and the sun, that hadn’t appeared here for a while. On a day like this, Dutch people go to the beach and make the streets, hotels and bars full of people. It seems that a hot summer is coming soon. I’m glad, since in Rio Grande do Sul the winter must be arriving.