Wassenaar and Boerderij Meyendel

Wassenaar isn’t exactly anything to write home about.

But the route there from The Hague is actually pretty nice.

And there’s a very good chance you’ll come across some ducks along the way. With only two legs.

There you go.

This article will therefore be based on slightly outdated French expressions and jokes that are probably just as old.

On the road to Wassenaar

To get to Wassenaar from the centre of The Hague, you first cycle through some rather posh neighbourhoods.

Embassies.
Villas behind large gates.
A golf course.
Parks.

It’s chic. It’s flat.

And all of it on fietspaden!

I’ve only been here a few days, so I’m going to keep being amazed by that for a while.

So, Wassenaar

You get to Wassenaar pretty quickly. And to be perfectly honest…

Well. It’s clean. It’s pretty.

There’s a windmill.

But we didn’t exactly find it wildly exciting either.

Wassenaar didn’t exactly blow our minds.

We had a burger on a terrace. And in the end, the most daring thing in Wassenaar that day was right there on the table:

With the fries: ketchup. Mayonnaise. And… apple sauce.

So apparently, a small breeze of madness does blow through Wassenaar after all.

Back through the dunes

We could have gone back the same way.

But if you’re already on bikes, you might as well make a little detour.

A very small detour that just happens to go via the sea.

Swim.

Then back on the bikes through the dunes.

And that part is really beautiful.

Kilometres of cycle paths through the dunes, the sea never far away, and this slightly strange feeling of being somewhere completely different even though the centre of The Hague is only about half an hour away by bike.

Boerderij Meyendel

Right in the middle of the dunes, you’ll also find Boerderij Meyendel.

And with kids, I’m putting this one straight into the category: definitely coming back.

It’s a sort of large farm café / pancake house in the middle of nature.

Not particularly chic, with a bit of a cafeteria/self-service vibe.

But really very nice.

There are big tables, children wandering around, a small play area for younger kids and a little museum about the dunes.

Basically, it’s the kind of place where your children can get on with their lives while you eat something and keep a vague eye on them.

It must also be pretty perfect in winter.

There’s a big open fire in the middle of the room, and I can already picture myself coming back after a walk through the dunes, cheeks red from the cold, to eat a slice of apple cake.

To be confirmed.

In short

If your only goal is to visit Wassenaar, I’m not sure it’s exactly the outing of the century.

There’s a nice windmill.

It’s very neat.

The apple sauce with fries is still worth mentioning.

But if you have bikes, the ride from The Hague is absolutely worth it.

Go out through the fancy neighbourhoods.

Come back via the beach and the dunes.

Stop at Meyendel.

Have a swim if the Dutch weather decides to cooperate.

And keep Wassenaar as a very good excuse to do the whole route.

It’s not the destination that matters, it’s the journey.

And the three-legged ducks.