Hamster Balls, Bunkers, and Horses

This weekend there were tons of the things going on in the area. There was a festival in Leidschendam and Voorburg, it was Open Monument Day across the Netherlands with many participants in the Hague, and there were preparations for Prinsjesdag on Tuesday. Prinsjesdag is similar to the State of Union address given by the U.S. president.
On Saturday I met up with Melissa, another au pair who also lives in Voorburg. We went to the festival in Leidschendam and it was raining so much! We got some food and decided to go in these huge inflatable hamster balls on the water. They were so much fun but it's really difficult to stand up in the them so you just keep falling down...
I also got a delicious cupcake with a salted caramel frosting. It's a good thing I bike so much here or I think I'd gain weight from the food here! Later in the day I had a huge Stroopwafel which is definitely my new favorite sweet thing and I've eaten so many of them the past few weeks.

On Sunday I went into the Hague to go to some sites for Open Monument Day. The first stop was an old Nazi bunker. It was really cool to see it still preserved so well and they had a lot of artifacts on display

One of the rooms

Even the sheets had the NAZI insignia!

The bunker

 

An interesting grave in the old section. It's a
skull and crossbones at the top and I'm
pretty sure that's a skeleton at the bottom.

Then I went to an old Jewish cemetery that's near the Peace  Palace. It was a really calm, quiet place and it was nice to walk  around and look at all the old graves.

The grave of Solomon Leonard Verveer,
a 19th century artist, and the most ornate graves
 in the cemetery. Most of the other graves are
 just flat stones laid on the ground.  

  

The horses entering the courtyard.
That's the Ridderzaal in the background.

On my way to the Binnenhof to go into the Ridderzaal (Hall of Knights) I got stuck behind a procession of horses practicing for Prinsjesdag. Finally they took a left and I took a right so I could actually cycle instead of walking my bike. Once I  got to the the Binnenhof the horses were entering it  from the opposite side. I stayed there for a bit and  watched part of the run-through for Prinsjesdag. It was really neat to see!

All the horses and soldiers lined up. 

The inside of the Ridderzaal. The King will
sit on the throne on the right.

Then I went to the Ridderzaal which is where the King will give his speech to the Staten-General (Parliament) outlining the government's plans for the upcoming year and is also where they have special government events throughout the year.

Alter of the church

Next up was the Jacobus De Meerdere Kerk which was was built between 1875 and 1878. The church was gorgeous inside, especially the alter.

This weekend was my cousin's wedding back in Maryland that I unfortunately missed but I'm so happy for Nicole! And congrats to my sister for catching the bouquet!