May 16th 2019
Today we took the train to The Hague for our dentist appointment. We had booked first class train tickets, which proved to be a smart move. The local soccer team had won the national championship and today there was a tribute event to celebrate their victory. There were warnings everywhere to avoid traveling by train to Amsterdam this day because of the expected masses to come to the capital for the celebrations. When trains in the Netherlands are crowded there is usually still space in the first class compartments, so hopefully we’ll still have a seat on our way back. Public transport in the Netherlands is on average more expensive than driving a car and less reliable. For the both of us to travel from Amsterdam to The Hague by train and tram was €55,60. In comparison, if we go by car it costs us €16,60. Even if we would take separate cars it would cost €33,20, still less than two train tickets. No wonder most people prefer a car over public transport here. It’s more convenient, cleaner and a lot cheaper.
After the dentist we had lunch with Jeroen’s mother who works in The Hague, and made use of the opportunity to get some Asian supplies in one of the many of The Hague’s Asian stores.
There was no sign of the forecasted mass of people when we took the train back to Amsterdam. We only saw one forlorn fan on the train platform donning the club shirt. Apparently the soccer team wasn’t as popular as they thought it would be.