The fascinating geography and history of The Hague. The forest you see in the foreground was a couple of thousands of years ago; the coastal dunes and the North Sea started just at the end of the forest, where you see the first buildings. More of these still slightly elevated areas of former dunes are in the city, known as beach walls. You notice them, for instance, when cycling through The Hague; when you have to push a bit more because the road is going up a little, you likely cycle up what was once a much higher dune landscape. If you take a closer look once you are on such a higher point (we talk about just a few meters, sometimes even less), you often notice that the buildings look nicer, are older, or more important. The same is true for the trees: older and bigger on slightly higher ground.