This ride was filled with several awesome highlights.
Leaving Delft I noticed many people had set out chairs along the side of the canal, as though they were saving seats for something. Later I came upon a big group of people sitting by the canal and saw what was happening. A Dutch parade – aka a parade on water – was underway! It was pretty cool (and weird) so I sat and watched for a while.
Next, I had an real engineering field day. I saw the Europoort Rotterdam, The Maeslantkering (Sea gates – storm surge protection), the Hook of Holland, and the Zand Motor (sand engine). The sea gates and the sand engine are innovative water management measures.
I rode along the beach and to the pier in Scheveningen. As I was riding, I was attempting to pronounce Scheveningen properly. Don’t think I managed to do it.
Finally, I reached my hostel in The Hague after my circuitous route and quickly got ready to head out to the soccer game I had tickets for.
The game was at a stadium about 9 km away and I was planning to take the train or tram, but in the end it was faster to cycle. When in Rome…
I could hear the stadium before I could see it. Crowds of raucous Dutch football fans were piled outside the stadium chanting and waiting to be let in. Plastic cups and crumpled cans were littered about. This is going to be fun, I thought.
I went to my gate – luckily, more tame than where the fans were all going crazy – and showed my ticket on my phone. I was then informed it needed to be printed to get inside. Great. It could be done at the registration I was told.
After searching extensively for this elusive registration area, I came to the main entrance for fancy club ticket holders and someone was kind enough to print it for me there. I ran back to my gate, made it in, got a beer, and was in my seat just as the teams were shaking hands and getting into line up!
The game was really fun. The fans were more lively than I thought, as far as Dutch football goes. The visitors section was enclosed by two layers of glass. When Utrecht scored the visiting fans banged mercilessly on the glass toward The Hague fans in the next section.
Utrecht beat den Haag 4 – 2, but it was a great game. After, I rode my bike to an Irish pub (my Irish friends would be mocking me), and had dinner.
The next ride would take me from Den Haag to Utrecht!
GOTD
An Idiot Broad Abroad 