The Mauritshuis in The Hague sure is tiny but powerful. It’s been ages since we’d both been there, and for a multitude of reasons – The Hague was somewhat out of the way, the Mauritshaus was under renovation until the middle of last year, and their star attraction was out touring the world. Once it did reopen I knew it would be insane to go there so soon after and before I knew it, over half a year passed when it finally dawned on me to pay it a visit. When we got there, not surprisingly there was a line to get in but when we did make it in, it took less than an hour to scour its two floors and 16 rooms to get up close to the Dutch Monalisa.

It wasn’t too long ago that I would’ve had to think twice at paying so much to feed my soul but thankfully I’ve reached a point where I can enjoy it without being bothered by something as mundane. The beautifully-kept Mauritshuis may have been on the pricey side but seeing how 15th, 16th, and 17th century paintings can look like they were painted yesterday is worth the cost of admission.