Scheveningen is a beautiful old port town with unobstructed views of the North Sea. It reminds me of any other sea town you might find in New England. There is a relaxing feeling here. The homes are compact but look comfortable and offer welcoming gestures such as a bench next to their front doors or a seating table that is within inches from the brick-lined streets.
The restaurants are fish markets that have tables. Their entrances share the road with all of the delivery trucks, transporting the goods/fresh fish to their next destination. I ordered Herring on Toast last night from a local market. This meal served whole and raw, as the fish was most likely earlier in the day. It is a traditional food in The Netherlands, and while it might seem odd to visitors, it is delicious and tastes as fresh as it looks. Eating something as pure as raw herring without any seasoning was quite enjoyable. I found out later that this is a common offering and has been a traditional meal for over 600 years.
After dinner, I saw the Bark Europa pulling into the harbor. The masts, taller than most of the surrounding buildings make the ship's presence magnificent.
You can compare watching the ship pass all of the modern boats to watching George Washington heading to Fraunces Tavern in 2018. As he walks past the financial professionals dressed in their fashionable clothes, all of the people stop to stare and wonder where someone clothed from 200 plus years ago is going.
Everyone around the port stops in their tracks and takes out their phone to photograph the boat. They stop going about their day to watch an old way of the world. It's truly a majestic view. I get closer to the ship trying to study all of the intricacies, and it is overwhelming.
I'm looking forward to calling the Europa home soon.