Keeping our outdoor annual tradition – for a healthy, Dutch, diplomats-only day
In a typical Dutch weather day, a group of diplomats came to Leonardo Royal Hotel early on a Saturday morning of September, responding to Diplomat Magazine’s invitation to participate in our traditional Diplomats Biking Spree.
Well prepared to confront cold, rain, and winds, they arrived one by one to form a brave group ready to follow their guide to a special tour in the nature – which turned out to be the most successful and relaxing biking tour we have organized to date.
Not only the weather, expected to be inclement, suddenly changed to good; but biking out of the city – bordering canals and fields, looking to farms, gardens and extraordinary landscapes – made everyone forget about the long days spent indoor and the previous week full of web meetings.
The first step of the tour was the Haagse Bos, an extensive 100 acres forest in the center of The Hague, where the group stopped to listen to the guide’s explanation about the forest’s rich history during the Second World War. The tour continued along the old Wassenaar canals, passing by an incredible network of cycling paths unknown for many, and traversing the woods and fields. Finally, we arrived in Leiden, where we toured the old part of the city and concluded the day at Michelin star restaurant De Knip for coffee and pies. We couldn’t believe that we had made almost 23 km!
After nice talks among colleagues coming from Romania, Ukraine, Burundi, and Iran among others, out guide took again the stage to explain the story of Leiden’s Outer Canal, lined by docks and picturesque bridges, and designed in the seventeenth century to protect the city. Then, we learned about the historical trails between Leiden and Wassenaar, we saw the large productive farms, beautiful houses with amazing gardens, and absolutely green fields connecting the two communities, and eventually we arrived without notice at the Rosarium in Westbroekpark, at The Greens restaurant to enjoy sitting for the rest of the afternoon, tasting fresh salads, sandwiches, and fruits.
It was an amazing day, for which Diplomat Magazine would want to thank all the diplomats who attended!
