KINGDOM OF NETHERLANDS -THE HAGUE AND KINGS BIRTHDAY
Part 2
I split our Netherlands trip in two blogs, the first was just all about tulips and lots of friends had wanted to see the tulips photos, so I wrapped that up quickly. This blog covers the rest of our trip to Netherlands.
A bit about Netherlands
The capital of The Kingdom of Netherlands is Amsterdam and the Government seat is The Hague. It is a parliamentary democracy with a monarch.
Map of Netherlands
Their King and Queen
Amsterdam is a wonderful city, you can spend a couple of days. It is supposed to have a ton of museums but we have explored a lot of museums across the world and now like to explore the outdoors more than the museums.
ECONOMY OF NETHERLANDS
Tied to most European economies.
The Netherlands has better jobs, work-life balance, education, environmental quality, social networks, civic engagement, safety and life satisfaction. It is a happy, safe country where the people have a good life.
One of the major cities is The Hague, which is home to two major UN institutions the ICJ and ICC.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ)
The Court is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It was established by the United Nations Charter, signed in 1945 and began work in 1946 in the Peace Palace, The Hague (Netherlands)
Its mission is to settle legal disputes between Countries in accordance with international law.
April 23, 2025
THE PEACE PALACE, THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS
It was cloudy and rainy that day and it was 5:30pm when we got there so couldn’t go inside
WORLD PEACE FLAME
The International Criminal Court (ICC)
The ICC is very different from the ICJ, although it is easy enough to confuse the two courts. The ICC was set up in 1998 and only began operations in 2002. Its purpose is specifically to judge individuals accused of committing serious crimes, namely: genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
I would really like to have attended a hearing at ICC and ICJ, which are both open to the public but couldn’t do so because both institutions were closed for Spring Break.
April 25, 2025
WINDMILLS
It is a cold day today, like 4 degree C.
HEINEKEN TOUR
Went on a Tour of Heineken factory. I thought Heineken was German beer but learnt it was started right here in Amsterdam. It was a good tour. Heineken Corporation is still in the family, currently 4th generation, that is so impressive. There was a video segment of Charlene talking about Heineken founded by her great grandfather, super cool. She talked about the firms values that has guided them all these years - focusing on good quality beer, respect for its people and sustainability are qualities that define them. With these strong principles to guide them, I can see how they are successful.
Four generations and 150 years on from the founding father of Heineken, the Dutch brewing family still controls the firm.
It was founded in 1864 by Gerard Adriaan Heineken at the young age of 22 with the purchase of a brewery in Amsterdam. The company now has more than 165 plants in over 70 countries and is the world's third-largest beer maker and his great-granddaughter Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken is still wedded to the firm. They employ about 88,000 people worldwide, what an amazing feat.
I admire entrepreneurs, it takes guts to start something but even more effort to sustain it for four generations, while keeping the spirit of the founders alive, wow
Founder
I really enjoyed the tour and learning about Heineken family.
Museum, impressive architecture.
Like Venice, Amsterdam has lots of canals, so had to do a cruise.
The terminal was so crowded with boats there was no direct place to get down, we had to cross into another boat to get to the street!!!
Beautiful buildings with this unique architectural style in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam is a city where everyone bikes. Wish I could bike, both my kids did their best to teach me to bike, they were so insistent that I learn to bike, Sree bikes too, so all 3 of them go on long bike rides. But I never did learn to bike !
April 26, 2025 KINGS DAY
KING’S DAY 2025 — FORMERLY KNOWN AS QUEEN’S DAY
King’s Day (not Kings day or Kingsday) is an annual national holiday in the Netherlands in honor of the Dutch King, Willem Alexander. Until his mother, Queen Beatrix, abdicated in 2013 it was known as Queen’s Day. The tradition actually started way back in 1891.
WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE WEARING SOMETHING ORANGE?
The throngs lining the streets and canals wear orange, the national color, after all, the King hails from the House of Orange.
Morning 1 mile walk to Saravanan Bhavan for breakfast . We were expecting a big celebration for King’s Birthday, there were a lot of people out wearing Orange, and there were lots of small bands playing music in different street corners.
Shops along the way, lot of them selling orange gear
Desis celebrating
April 27 2025 Sunday
After the celebration of King’s Birthday yesterday today was a quiet day. Not too many people in the streets. We spent a relaxing day walking in Amsterdam.
Had breakfast at 10am in Saravana Bhavan, they only open at 10am. After breakfast we walked to the King’s Palace and took an audio tour, was good to learn about Netherlands history and Napoleon.
Breakfast
Walking around town
Palace stock photo
Palace currently under renovation
By then we had already walked 10,000 steps, and it was 2pm, we had bought a Vadai Sambar as take out and also had a smoothie, so we sat by a canal and had a picnic. We walked around town some more and came to Anne Frank’s house and the tickets were sold out for next 4 days!!! It was 4:30pm already, There was a coffee shop right on the canal. So we decided to relax and chill in the warm sunshine sitting at the cafe as local Dutch folks do. We got a cappuccino and carrot cake and sat here for hours watching the boats go by.
Beautiful buildings and canals everywhere
Picnic like a local
See the lovely row houses, typical of Amsterdam
Take a break like a tourist
Anne Frank House
Didn’t realize Anne Frank’s hideout was in Amsterdam.
Anne Frank was born in Frankfurt, Germany, in 1929. In 1934, when she was four-and-a-half, Frank and her family moved to Amsterdam in the Netherlands after Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party gained control over Germany.
She kept a diary documenting her life in hiding amid Nani persecution during the German occupation of the Netherlands. A celebrated diarist, Frank described everyday life from her family's hiding place in an Amsterdam attic.
Beautiful display of the Amsterdam houses
Another beautiful house
Last day in Amsterdam a leisurely walk of 18,782 steps today.
Checked into Sheraton Hotel in Schiphol Airport. We came at 8pm to this hotel since we gave an early morning flight tomorrow for Jordon.
We have finished two parts of our six country trip, done with Iceland and Netherlands, now off to Jordon, Botswana. Zimbabwe and Zambia. This will be our first trip to the continent of Africa.