Description

This is Oude Haven.

Back to Blaak.

Next to the Oude Haven (Old Harbour) is the Witte Huis (White House in English, no, not that one). It was the first hoogbouw (literally: high-rise building) in Europe and one of the few buildings to survive the German bombing in WWII. At the Oude Haven used to be a really nice restaurant where the ceiling was painted with a map of the famous cartographer Willem Blaeu.

Also at Oude Haven is the Dutch Marines Museum. They have a number of special exhibits, including one on the Raid on the Medway; a successful and daring attack conducted by the Dutch navy deep upriver targeting the largest English naval battleships.

Quote by a former US soldier:

I'll never forget being at a mock-UN checkpoint manned by the Dutch marines... the excercise called for a small band of civilians to approach the checkpoint, demand food, and to then riot when they were denied the food. 9 times out of 10, American, German, British... whatever troops would relent and give them the rations (which is against the rules). The Dutch stood their ground, were polite but firm. When the civilians started to riot, the Dutch "locked and loaded." The civilians were stunned (it seems no one had ever reacted that way to them before). End result? The civilians went away, and the Dutch arranged a food drop-off at their village later in the day.

The Dutch Marines are a class-act, and of all the plaques and coins I received during my years working with and within the military, my plaque from the Dutch Marines remains one of my most cherished. As an American, I am glad the Dutch Marines are on MY SIDE.

View attached image.