These days, it is harder and harder to organise places and times for families to meet up. With only a single adult visitor allowed, and only a single house that you can visit per day.... well, it is next to impossible for family friends to meet up easily in a house. Of course, it is no problem if the kids are just dropped off... but sometimes (on rare occasions!) the parents are also friends in addition to the children.
... and so, today we met up with some friends at the large Clingendael Park in Den Haag. In warmer months, it is a great place to meet up for a picnic, with a lots of space for the kids to play around in and more than enough space to have a nice socially distanced picnic or just to lie down and soak in Sun whilst reading a book.
However, in winter, it is decidedly less fun... it is cold and overcast, but at least it wasn't raining! Unfortunately, the ice-cream van (yes, kids will still have ice-cream in the cold freezing months!) was missing from the entrance, and it was impossible to get a coffee as the kiosk and cafe was also closed due to the coronavirus restrictions.
Despite all of that, The Clingendael park is still a fairly popular place during these times. Situated relatively close to the city centre of Den Haag, it is a large outdoor space within easy biking distance (or short car drive)... making it incredibly popular for families who need to get their kids out of the house to burn off energy... or with people who just need to get out and have a walk or do some excercise.
In addition to the walking paths and the open areas, there is a large playground for designed for older kids (not for toddlers...) which tends to be quite packed. So, we opted for a bit of caution and avoided that area on this occasion.. you could see how full it was with kids and families from quite some distance away, so we steered our children away to a more open area where they could just chase each other around and kick balls.
In warmer and happier times, I would drop by regularly with my younger child. She would finish school earlier than the older one, and so we would often have a few hours to kill between pickups. There are areas with sheep, horses and cows that she can look at... and lots of space to walk and run around in. However, the highlight of the visits would be the beekeeper. A chance to pick up some really nice honey and of course, a little honey lolly for the little one!
Even in these bleaker times (partly the normal weather for this time of the year, and partly the Corona times..), it is nice to be able to get out have a walk under the denuded trees... or to walk in the forest paths.
Hopefully in the spring, some of the restrictions will have eased off a bit. There is a nice Japanese Garden that is open for only for a few weeks in the year, and it is has been a while since we have found the time to visit it... I suspect that this year, in spring, we will have more time on our hands than in previous years!