"Something Different" a Madurodam Travel Page by hquittner

This is a different touristic experience. In ways it is like going to the Wax Works. 50 years ago my father regaled me with his delight in a visit here. He was an inveterate traveller and had visited a large amount of Holland. He was also a perennial child and a successful entrepreneur with an intuitive streak that centered on creating manufactures. I, as a scholarly scientist was only mildly entertained. I too am a seasoned traveler but with little experience in Holland. I was frustrated by what I could not "see", and pleased by the craft involved in depicting what I could recognize ( of Amsterdam and Haarlem).

Certainly the children running about enjoyed the Lilliputian fantasy and the mechanical simulations (moving boats, cars and drawbridges, trains and amusement park rides (coin fee to operate). There are places to rest , food areas and a gift shop. Of couse children who had experienced the real objects expressed their enthusiasm in the recognitions (even as I did). It would be a lot less interesting to a naive viewer beyond the experience of the size adjustment, today's children are bombarded by working models and creative television images and may quickly loose interest unless they are searching for (or lead to) objects of reference. (In other words you may have to study up before you come here).

This may be a reason for visiting den Haag or a reason to go elsewhere in Holland.