If you follow my blog, then you already might know that one of my favourite things to do is to explore a new place as walking aimlessly and getting lost in it. I love when one discovers new and unexpected travel gems and The Hague (a.k.a. Den Haag) in The Netherlands was a great surprise. You can easily travel from Amsterdam and trains from Amsterdam to The Hague Centraal take roughly 50 minutes. It’s very easy to get around in the Hague and explore on foot (and public transportation is quite expensive). I love the Hague because it has such an international spirit, but still a vibe of a small town. The Hague doesn’t have the same scale as Amsterdam, ie, Miles of canals and multiple historic districts. The Hague’s Center City charms are impressive but concentrated in a very walkable area. Also, the architecture in Den Haag is very beautiful. I have a thing for big windows, bicycles and beautiful and big doors. The typical Netherlands picture. The Hague is such an important city in the Netherlands. The Hague is home to the International Court of Justice, a center of justice associated with the United Nations, which is located in the Peace Palace. The International Criminal Court, which is responsible for prosecuting international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes, is also located in The Hague. In addition to these international courts, the King and Queen of the Netherlands live in the center of The Hague. It’s quite an important city, not only for the Netherlands but the rest of the world. 荷兰一直是个神奇的国度,它总是不断刷新人们的认知,就像大家都知道阿姆斯特丹是荷兰的首都,但却不一定知道荷兰政府其实不在阿姆斯特丹,而是在另一座城市:海牙 (The Hague)。海牙曾是皇室贵族的猎苑,直到16世纪成为了荷兰的政治中心。这里是荷兰中央政府和议会的所在地,荷兰的皇室也在这里,因此海牙是荷兰名副其实的皇城。 虽然这座城市充满了皇家贵气和政治的肃穆感,可偏偏最令我铭记海牙的,是那一抹令人心颤的纯净翠蓝。从小到大,一直很喜欢蓝色,总希望能找到一个只有蓝色的地方,静静地徜徉其中,就像在天空中漫步一样。对蓝色迷恋至极,我的旅拍画面里时常记录纯净湛蓝的天空和深邃宽广的蓝色海洋,每次旅行,我的镜头不由自主地追寻着蓝色的影踪。这一趟荷兰旅程让我邂逅一个千年古老的蓝色海牙,一路探寻它昔日的辉煌,旅途中真正的蓝色艳遇。 我一走出海牙中央车站,映入眼帘就是一个风景如画的大公园。虽不见蓝色的海,但当沿着街道上散步,望向满眼蓝色的天空,占据了整个身心,深刻感受到所谓的蓝城之魅。如此单纯,却简单美好。 海牙火车站旁边的大楼。接近海牙中央火车站时,途径荷兰外交部大楼,造型奇特。不知道是不是我的错觉,相较于北荷兰省,感觉南荷兰省的建筑更加现代也富有创意,有更多新奇的建筑,从海牙的外交部大楼到各种雕塑,无不给人惊喜。 Somehow, it feels like a Dutch city without canals isn’t really a Dutch city. That’s based on my admittedly limited experience, but like Amsterdam and Utrecht, you can expect to find canals in the Hague as well. What’s different here is how they blend seamlessly into the city itself. While the canals feel like major, central features of other cities, the canals of the Hague don’t pull focus from all the other stuff going on. 当然,独立大街上的一大亮点当属复古电车。这个画面你一定很熟悉了。 每个广场,每条街道,都拥有自己的气氛。 The contrast between the 12th Century Den Haag and 21st century Den Haag is jarring. As you enter the Plein (above) square near the Mauritshuis Museum from the west, you see 18th-and-19th-century buildings neatly juxtaposed against the modern skyline. The layout of the Hague is curious for a city with such history, in that it’s hard to pinpoint where exactly the very centre of the city is. If it were to be a square though, it would have to the Plein. Afterall, the name literally translates to “square”. Situated just off to the side of the Binnenhof, it’s very much your traditional European square, lined with gorgeous heritage buildings. But you can also get a taste of the modern when you crane your head up and see the tops of skyscrapers popping up over the rooftops. One building not to be missed on the Plein is the Old Ministry of Justice with its little gilded touches here and there. Most of all, the Plein is a particularly good spot if you’re looking for a drink or food. 左边那栋建筑物是司法部(Departement van Justitie),新文艺复兴式的风格。 While I can only imagine how splendid the whole place is in spring or summer, the bare winter trees somehow added to the dignity of the area. It also meant I was actually able to see all the buildings, given how many trees there must be blocking views in warmer months. Best of all, the park leads to the following attraction. 广场中央的雕像是威廉一世,奥兰治亲王(William II, Price of Orange)。他是尼德兰革命中反抗西班牙哈布斯堡王朝统治的主要领导者、八十年战争领导人之一,曾任荷兰共和国第一任执政。 I am a museum person who also likes free-form wandering around. In Den Haag, you can have both. But you simply cannot not go to the Mauritshuis Museum. This is the anti-Louvre, a manageable collection of the finest Dutch masterpieces in the world, all in an intimate, elegant 17th century mansion with its small rooms and alcoves still in place alongside large galleries. You could easily spend a couple of hours admiring the art as well as the extravagant building. This is a must visit destination if you are interested in classic art. 在欣赏蓝色的天空的同时,我喜欢艺术漫步。除了作为政治中心,海牙的艺术氛围也相当浓厚。这里的博物馆和美术馆聚集了五个世纪以来许多著名画家的顶级作品。莫里茨皇家美术馆(Mauritshuis)的内部十分古典华丽,一幅幅陈列在墙上的画作就像昔日宫殿里的装饰,和谐到让人感觉不像是在逛美术馆,而是在逛一所富丽堂皇的17世纪宫殿。美术馆里收藏了800幅绘画、50件微缩模型、20件雕塑和各种版画素描,全部都是名家之作。在海牙,你可以很政治,也可以很文艺。这就是“海边皇城”的独特魅力。 Most tourists came to see Vermeer’s “The Girl with the Pearl Earring.” And it is amazing to stand six inches away and be struck by how completely modern she is. Unlike the Mona Lisa in the Louvre, you can actually get really close to the painting without struggling to catch a glimpse. All the more bizarre because she’s a tronie. A conceptual image of a stock character, not a portrait of an actual person. Clearly, idealized beauty has not changed radically since the 17th century. 荷兰著名油画《戴珍珠耳环的少女》也收藏在这里。很多人来莫里茨博物馆就是为了看一眼 “北方的蒙娜丽莎” 迷人的笑容。就是这样一幅看似不起眼的油画,却引得许多文人墨客、游人看客在此驻足不前。画中女子闪烁的目光流露出殷切之情,嘴角的弧度流露出一种脱俗的气质,让人很轻易就融化在这含情脉脉的凝望之中。比蒙娜丽莎更亲近,维米尔笔下的少女,与珍珠一样散发着光芒,让人挪不开眼踱不开步。 The Passage is a vestige of the days when shopping really was glamorous. A covered shopping district that’s an UNESCO protected site and the oldest “mall” in the Netherlands. But there’s nothing at all mall-like about the Passage. Like its cousins in Amsterdam, Paris and New York, the Passage was created as a place to linger, and there is a terrific De Luca cafe where you can sit and sip your cappuccino either inside the covered area, or outside on the parallel walking street. The essential European experience. All around the Passage are shopping streets, squares, and the best in urban hubbub. 海牙市区的长廊 (Passage) 令我想到米兰著名的景点伊曼纽尔二世,同样都是顶棚的拱廊街,并有一堆商店进驻。作为海牙的购物天堂,怎能不到独立大街走一走?长长的步行街两边的店铺鳞次栉比,各种名牌店应有尽有。 Shopping is certainly a fun activity to do while spending a day in The Hague. Not only will you find many international brands, but especially a lot of still small, but intriguing shops. The shops vary in function of the neighborhoods. 有富丽堂皇的古老宫殿和艺术殿堂般的博物馆。 I think no itinerary for the Hague would be complete without a trip to the Binnenhof. Try taking a stroll through and take in the architecture. The Binnenhof is a cluster of buildings which include the Prime Minister’s office. The Binnenhof supposedly started as a small 12th-century lake house. Today, the Binnenhof houses the Dutch parliament as well as the offices of the prime minister. Also, the current king arrives at the Ridderzhaal in a golden carriage to give speeches on his throne. The mental image of which blows my mind. So this is literally the center of power in the Netherlands. 在海牙众多政治机关之当中,国会大厦(Binnenhof)是最引人流连的地方。作为海牙的地标建筑,这座有着哥特式教堂建筑风格的国会大厦与蓝天空融合得更加彻底,不论你是在外或入内观赏,都将沉醉在一片蓝色的世界中。国会大厦是用来举行重要国宴和典礼的场所。每年9月第三个星期二的亲王日,荷兰君主会乘金马车到这里发表王座演说。 The Binnenhof is beautiful and down to earth, a perfect courtyard to stroll through in the Hague. 我漫步在宽广的内庭与外围的河畔,仿佛置身于中世纪的荷兰,依稀看见英勇俊俏的骑士与尊贵的皇室。我走进去惊奇地发现在古朴的城堡建筑中穿插着落地大玻璃、扶手电梯,钢筋水泥等等现代建筑丰富。试想想在里面工作的人该是有多么幸福。 国会大厦建筑一边是Hofvijver 庭湖,沿着湖岸取景内庭是海牙经典风景之一。 内庭北面的外侧是一个大型的人工湖 “Hofvijver“,这里是拍摄的经典角度之一,内庭百年历史的建筑群一字排开,十分威严气派,仿佛置身在中世纪的荷兰。隔着湖看国会大厦可以感受到古堡的庄严古朴。 One of the most amazing complexes in the Netherlands is the Binnenhof on the Hofvijver Lake. It also has to be one of the most photographic spots in this oh-so photogenic country. Normally, Government buildings aren’t exactly the most riveting of places but there is a definite historic charm here. Strolling along the side of the Hofvijver you can appreciate just how large the Binnenhof really is, as well as spy many other of the Hague’s most impressive landmarks. 湖中的深蓝景色以及倒映在湖面中蔚蓝色的天空非常优美,我被这样的蓝色惊艳到。 这一波波清澈宽敞的湖水,不时还有阵阵鸟群飞过,这样的情境又为古典与现代间增添了些许浪漫情调,不仅引得游客驻足取景,当地人更爱沿着湖畔漫步,享受这份历史自然结合的雅致情调。 I must admit I’m a bit jealous of the Prime Minister’s swanky office environment, just look at the picture! Spend some time walking by the nearby lake, Hofvijver, and also explore the inner courtyard of the building cluster. In the middle you have The Ridderzaal, a gothic hall where the Dutch monarch delivers the Parliament opening speech on Prinsjesdag. If you’ve seen photos in Dutch newspapers of the royal family or major politicians, this is mainly where they were taken. 海牙不大,市中心的地方用步行就大致可以游览完,在逛的过程中我神奇地发现,这里不管是古典、摩登或是现代的建筑,混在一起并不互相冲突,反而呈现出融合协调的特殊景观。 和平宫(Vredespaleis / Peace Palace)是海牙另一个地标景点,很多人都因为国际法庭才知道海牙的。这座宫殿之所以被命名为和平宫,是为了表达它对解决争端和维持世界和平的重要性。和平宫是联合国国际法院、国际法图书馆和国际法学院所在地,很多国际战犯都是在这边受审。恰好蓝色调,象征和平与稳定,给人信任,令人安心。和平宫象征着用司法维护之蓝与和平之蓝和谐共存,使这里成为国际和平与正义之都。放眼望去,和平宫宏伟的建筑与蔚蓝色的天空构成和谐画面。 Outside the palace, the gardens feature a number of memorials and monuments honouring its mission of peace. To learn more information about the United Nations organisation, you are able to freely enter the Visitor Centre by the gates. Just by the visitor centre’s entrance there is also a tree covered with messages and wishes of peace contributed by all those who visit this site. The Peace Palace was actually an idea that a Russian and a US diplomat came up with, to provide a home for the Permanent Court of Arbitration. I’ve always thought the Peace Palace was one of the best places to visit in the Hague – this building is so unique and beautiful, and of course, meaningful since it stands for peace all over the world. For countless others, affected and touched by the international decisions taken here, it’s a place of hope, it’s a place of truth, and most importantly, it’s a place of justice. I can’t think of a more positive note to end my trip on than this. While there are a few canals and the occasional tulip shop, the Hague is undoubtedly very different from what most visitors to The Netherlands imagine, which is surely the postcard-perfect image of Amsterdam. If you’re as interested in the Peace and Justice side of the city as I am, here is everything you can do to get under the skin of this side of The Hague, with these attractions.
蓝,让我联想到浪漫与梦幻。如果置身蔚蓝大海,我会感慨它的神秘莫测。如果四周环绕着蓝色小屋,随着阳光的照射,那些变幻而跳动的蓝色尽收眼底的时候,我会相信这是一个真实而美丽的梦。 不知不觉,蓝调之旅进入了尾声。拍照、漫步,或仅仅是找一个角落静坐,皇家的雍雅气质与绿色的宁谧气氛包围着整个帝王城市,尽情沉醉在这诗意而醉人的蓝色中。海牙古城里融合了我能想到的各种蓝色:天蓝、湖蓝、深蓝、水蓝、钴蓝、浅蓝。我终于遇见比天空更蓝的城市。我不远万里而来,虽然在蓝色之城里只停留了短暂的一夜和上午时光,不到20小时,我已心醉神迷,我把海牙旅途中邂逅的所有蓝色风景,打包成最温柔的回忆,带回国。
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