Den Haag Hollan Spoor Train Station

I’ve been in Den Haag for a little over 26 hours and it’s been a very interesting journey so far. I’ve come to love this place even though I don’t understand Dutch at all.

My flight path was from Cincinnati to Philadelphia to London to Amsterdam. Upon arriving Amsterdam I was to purchase a ticket from the train station located directly under the Airport. There are multiple yellow machines that dispense tickets. However, they only accepted Chip + Pin card or Euro coins. As fate would have it, I only had cash so a wonderful person guided me to a booth where I could use cash. I bought my tickets for €9 and headed towards the platform.

At the platform I initially took the wrong train because I was supposed to go to the station called “Den Haag Holland Spoor” (HS) instead of “Den Haag Central”. Luckily I stepped out at the right time and was able to get on the correct train. After about 40 minutes I reached Den Haag Holland Spoor and my directions were to call the pick-up service and then head to the pick up spot near the train station. After dragging my main bag (51 lbs.) and carry on (25 lbs.) for about 1/2 a mile and struggling to use a pay phone for 30 minutes I realized it wasn’t my fault at all. Apparently the new number was sent out to all the students and I somehow either didn’t receive it or missed it. Despite having to walk around with my luggage for an hour, I finally found the building where the wonderful people from InterAccess made things so much easier. Dennis drove me to my apartment along with Romina.

A few things that I’ve noticed so far:

• People in The Hague love beer, are kind, and very helpful.
• They also drive on the right side of the road, which isn’t something I was expecting.
• Almost everyone rides a bike regardless of whether you’re a 5 year old kid or a business woman in her 40s wearing a suit.

At this point I’m all settled in and am slowly starting to find my way around the city. I got a new Dutch sim card and the OV-Chipkaart which is used to pay for trams, trains, and buses in the Netherlands.

I’ve also decided to rent a bike so I can explore the city a bit faster!

Check out the few pictures I’ve uploaded so far here