Falcons in the Cathedral
Brussels cathedral has a nest of peregrine falcons in the tower.
They also have a viewing cabin in front of the building.
Falcon Viewing Cabin by Brussels Cathedral
You can also see the webcam from this link, so you don’t need to go to Brussels.
Wandering Around Brussels
I spent about five hours in Brussels and for quite a lot of the time, I just walked around taking photographs. It was rather cold, so I used shopping malls, the cathedral and the Metro for warmth.
A Coloured Police Horse
I was walking around the City of London last week and saw a coloured police horse. Coloured in the UK and Ireland includes both piebalds and skewbalds.
A Coloured Police Horse
It’s funny, but years ago you never saw big coloured horses, except for those with perhaps a lot of Shire in them. Now there are quite a few and I suppose it wasn’t surprising that one would be used by the Police. This report in Horse and Hound says that the City of London Police horse is called Ken and is a skewbald Irish Draught.
There is a link here to another horse in the Merseyside Police. Their horse came from Ireland and is actually tri-coloured. I’ve owned a tri-coloured English Setter, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a tri-coloured horse.
A Nice Old Rover 3500
This Rover 3500 was parked in a street in Den Haag.
Rover 3500 in Den Haag
What is surprising now about this car, is how small it is. It is a lot smaller than my Jaguar X-Type.
The engine is also a 3.5 litre V8. So for their day, they went very well. It should also be remembered that the structure of the car was unusual with a strong steel frame covered in aluminium panels, which gave great strength and a lot of protections in accidents.
Princess Grace of Monaco was driving one of these cars when she had the accident that killed her.
The Binnenhof in Den Haag
The Binnenhof is the complex of buildings in the centre of Den Haag where the Dutch parliament meets.
Note the really high security of two officers in a 4×4.
The Evil of Gravel
It seems to me that councils are increasingly setting nice gravel on paths.
Here’s some in Den Haag.
Gravel Path, Den Haag
It may look good, but try wheeling a case over it!
Melville Hotel, Kings Cross
I booked this hotel on Late Rooms before I went to Holland.
Melville Hotel, Kings Cross
The hotel was cheap and was best described as a building site. My room was comfortable though and this would have been fine, except for the fact that there were doors banging all night.
Breakfast looked appalling and I chose the option of eating in St. Pancras at Carluccios.
I shall not be staying there again.
London to Den Haag by Train
I was in London last Wednesday and as I was going to Den Haag for the Bank Holiday weekend, I decided to take the Eurostar to Brussels and then take a train direct from there to Den Haag. You can go by Thalys from Brussels to Rotterdam and then take a local train, but it’s actually easier to do what the man in Seat 61 says and take the Belgian/Dutch Intercity train direct from Brussels.
Or it should be?
The problem is that I didn’t have a ticket for the Intercity train and it left about twenty minutes after the Eurostar arrived. Or at least mine did. And it took thirty minutes to buy the ticket in Brussels. They have no automatic machines to do this! Grr!!!
But the Intercity train was comfortable, especially as I took the option of First Class for about 90 euro instead of 60.
Remember that there are two stations in Den Haag; Centraal and HS. The fast trains only go to HS, but you generally want to go to Centraal. On Thursday, it was just a walk across the platform. But I got seriously lost at Centraal, as I couldn’t find the bus station. It’s actually on the top, but the signs are discreet to say the least.
Spot the Sign to the Buses
Coming back was easier, in that I’d decided to spend a few hours in Brussels. So I got an early train to Brussels, dumped my case in a locker and then got a day ticket for the public transport.
The latter should have been easy, but the automatic machines were all broken and it took me about fifteen minutes to queue for a ticket. What is it about Belgians and selling tickets.
The Eurostar got me back in to London on time and in fact I was able to get to Whittlesford Parkway on an earlier train. But my excellent taxi driver, Michael, from Sawston Taxis was there to take me home in comfort. He is to be recommended.
They Still Can’t Get the Project Management Right
Summer is coming, although you wouldn’t believe it yet. But it will come and the new Cambridge Busway seems as far away as ever.
According to this article, they can’t even get reports on what is to be done, delivered on time.
The Anonymous Widower 