I’ve been in The Hague, Netherlands all week doing some work with a client in nearby Zoetermeer and speaking at a conference which was in Utrecht. While I have been to The Hague before, this is the first time I have had a weekend to explore the city. The Hague is the home of Holland’s Queen, the seat of government, home to the World Court and a beautiful city of trees, museums and good restaurants.
I am staying at a fantastic 5-star hotel, thanks to the client, called Des Indes. this hotel started life as the residence of a baron and since becoming a hotel has housed most of the world’s Kings and Queens and well as many movie stars (Omar Shairf, Audrey Hepburn) and musicians (Bono).
Very close by is the M.C. Escher Museum. Escher, if you don’t know, was a famous graphic artist who created some most unusual pictures. His pictures seem to illustrate reality, yet when examined closely are clearly showing impossible things. For example one of his most famous pictures portrays a never ending staircase with no apparent starting or ending step. I am sure you have seen some of them. 
Anyway I spent the entire afternoon today in the museum thoroughly enjoying seeing the real prints and reading more about Escher’s life. He was much closer to our time than I thought. He was born in 1898 and died in 1972. For some reason I thought he was much older than that.
My favorite lithograph, although not his most popular by any means, is his first in a series of illustrations he called Metamorphoses. I think you’ll realize why when you see one. 
Click on this image and you’ll be able to see a larger version.
The other print I find fascinating is one he did during World War II, although I think it still speaks to us in many ways.
After the museum I took a long walk through small streets filled with little shops and cafes. Today was a lovely Autumn day with sunshine and crisp air and people here are already starting to get ready for Christmas, which they begin celebrating on December 5th.
A great way to end the week and get ready for a new week where I have to do 3 workshops and 2 keynote presentations before heading back to the U.S. for the Kennedy Recruiting Conference in Florida.
