The Celestial Vault, The Hague
This was one of the stranger things we have gone to see while here in the Netherlands. It is only 20 min away from us though so we figured we needed to go check it out.
Artist James Turrell designed the Celestial Vault to showcase the sky just off the North Sea. It is essentially a bowl built into the dunes with special benches at the bottom allowing you to lay down and enjoy the sky as if it were a dome. There is a secondary structure that is raised with the same benches.
We brought a picnic and being the only ones there set up our blanket inside the vault on the grass. The kids loved running around inside and on top of the dome. We all laid back on the grass and watched the clouds float by. While we were inside the vault it really felt like we were the only ones at the dunes.
You can walk up the stairs and circle around the vault taking in the dunes and the North Sea shore off in the distance. We were amazed by how far back the dunes go from the sea shore.
There are some other walking paths through the dunes to check out as well. There were plenty of people enjoying them with their families and pets. There is also plenty of free street parking available. We also saw several restaurants within walking distance, so you could make an afternoon of the vault. If you are close by, it is worth checking out.
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What an amazing place to visit, it sounds really interesting but quite difficult to imagine what it is. The kids look like they’re having a great time looking up at the sky from the bottom of the vault, it’s great that they were so interested in learning about it. It’s great that you were the only ones there so the kids could really enjoy themselves. Thanks for linking up with me on Country Kids.
The boys loved laying down and looking at the clouds! They love doing anything outside so this was the perfect place to run and climb under the sky. I do agree they need a place where you can see the whole thing from above!
My boys really want to go back to the Netherlands so I shall try to find out how far this is from the camp – sounds really interesting.