Saturday, September 26, 2020

The Trip that was: September 26th, 2010/2012/2014/2019

 2010

Every year, we typically have a couple of quiet (or not so quiet) days with the family getting together.  On this day ALL the kids and grandkids were there, and it got a little loud.




We left home around lunchtime to head to Egmond an Zee with friends, and their adorable daughter.  I adored this day at the beach. Is-a-Bell-ah! As she called herself taught me the words for big car, GROTE AUTO!! (said with her little hands waving in the air) and threw up in the backseat of the car on the way. She recovered and had so much fun.  In fact, I made a book of our adventures and gave it to her. 

Anyway, Egmond aan Zee! The lighthouse there is named for a Dutch Naval hero, Jan van Speyk.  During the Belgian Revolution, when his ship was blown into the port at Antwerp and he was boarded by angry Belgians, who demanded he surrender and lower the Dutch Flag.  He fired his pistol into a loaded canon and declared, "dan liever de lucht in" (I would rather be blown up).  28 of his crew were killed along with him.  They didn't really get much say in the matter. I guess that kind of bravery makes you a hero and stuff gets named in your honor. Like a lighthouse, so you don't run ashore in a gale...






So busy! So much to do!! 




Hard to say good bye to such a fun day. Especially when the days end in that glorious Dutch light. There's a certain quality to the light that I'm not used to in North Carolina. 

2012

Tropenmuseum.  I was never really sure what this was about.  They call it a World Culture museum.  But it was mostly empty and had very random objects on display.  It seems to be geared towards teaching children about cultural history more than anything.  But the building is beautiful! 








Pretty sure this was a night we had fondue at Fondue & Fondue on the Overtoom, which is why we were walking back through Vondel Park at night. 


Tram 5 stops on Museumplein, in front of the Concert Gebouw. In case you EVER need to know that. 

2014

Our last day in London.  We had spent the morning at the National Gallery and to my disappoint the room with ALL the Caravaggio's was closed for the day.  That's the way it goes with museums.  They often do work on the ONE room I want to see.  I guess it's a reason to return.  In the midst of this, I realized I had forgotten to pick up a souvenir for someone and had to go back to the gift shop at Buckingham Palace! We paused long enough to take a few shots along the way. 




Thus the sun sets on this portion of the British Empire and our journey to London.

2019

Harderwijk.  Ridiculous name, isn't it?? But we were there to visit the Marius van Dokkum museum. van Dokkum paints social commentary that isn't meant to be cynical, but to amuse as he points out the silly foibles that we all encounter in our daily lives and relationship.  

Here's an example! Haven't we all done a puzzle and "lost" the piece!? 


I loved this piece from the museum collection.  Walking through the museum, staring thoughtfully at each piece, and suddenly you are confronted by this work. You become the art, not the admirer. People would laugh out loud when they realized the intention. It's technically great, and so much fun. 

I've been told my predilection to take photos of dead birds is downright strange.  Is not, says I.  Better artists than I have been doing it for years. 



No, it's not a plane crashing.  It's a World War II memorial, dedicated to the 112 men who were killed in and around the area.  Planes would crash into the IJsselmeer and their bodies would sometimes wash shore.  Quite grisly and sad. 


Aren't they a pretty, preening bunch.

Stopping in Walhalla for a pint, and to get out of the cold rain and wind. 

Walhalla. They're a bit...quirky. 

And another random bit of quirkiness, just beyond the restaurant, there lives an alligator sculpture. I don't know-- but I like it. 

I'll leave you with a brief video of the "harbor" boardwalk in Harderwijk on a very gray and windy day  





Tot Ziens! 


Friday, September 25, 2020

The Trip that was: September 25, 2008/2010/2013/2014/2019

 

2008

The Hague! Den Haag.  Seat of Government for the Netherlands. I do love this city, a lot! Almost as much as Amsterdam and Rotterdam. ALMOST.  And this is the heart of it, the Binnenhof



This is the RidderZaal, or the Knight's Hall. Here, on the third Tuesday in September, the King makes his speech on the state of The Netherlands and opens the parliamentary sessions.



The Fountain in the foreground of this shot is dedicated to William II of Holland.  He first built his palace in this spot in 1248!



When you exit the Binnenhof, you come out into a large open square, dominated by the Hofvijver!  A large "pond".  You're in the Buitenhof (Outer Courtyard). 



See the wee little tower ?? It's referred to as Het Torentje, That's the Prime Minister's office



If you continue on a bit, you'll come to Mauritshuis, home to the famous Vermeer painting, Girl with a Pearl Earring.  It''s also home to one of my favorites, The Goldfinch, by Carel Fabritius!  Mauritshuis offers a lot of virtual tours and museum programming. You can find it here. 

While we DID go to Mauritshuis, I sighed over my perfect little finch, I didn't take any photos.  We ventured further into the Hague and visited the Gemeente Museum, Den Haag. Apparently they have now changed their name to be more friendly to foreigners who cannot pronounce the Dutch "G".  It's now the Kunstmuseum Den Haag.    Well, doesn't sound much better to me. Whatever you call it, it's a beautiful building designed by our old friend and favorite Dutch architect, HP Berlage.  Just look at all these gorgeous lines and angles!! Fantastic!! The building is a work of art that houses a fantastic collection of art. 





Is he though?!?

Direct from the catwalk!?!?!? Is that a trip from the litterbox?

Ah. This explains how he became ideal! We fell down the rabbit hole and into Wonderland.  I'll just go have a chat with the caterpillar now. 


2010

Ah. Our old friend the Teyler's Museum in Haarlem.  This time, from the inside!  This day has VERY special memories for us.  Dutchboy and I decided to go to Haarlem early that day.  We arrived and started strolling the Teyler's.  It's a very old science and natural history museum, and filled with artifacts, bones, castings and scientific devices. Dutchboy is in paradise in there with all that equipment!  But I have to admit, I was getting a bit bored. We were lagging in the first section, and look up and who do we see walking towards us?! Dutchboy's eldest sister! We were both so surprised to see her! Totally unplanned. We all yelled, "hey!!" and burst out laughing. She joined us on our ramblings that day.  We still talk about the joy we felt, being surprised by a familiar face appearing so unexpectedly.  

Since I was bored waiting for Dutchboy to exclaim over old technology, I took quite a few photos of the interior.  Lucky you!  Who knew I was doing you a favor??! 



This is the floor ventilation covers. Yes, they are ALL this beautiful.





We wandered around Haarlem for a bit, and decided to have dinner together somewhere before heading home.  None of the Family Dutchboy are Foodies-- food is fuel not fun.  We had no idea where to eat! So we looked around and choose at random a place called Specktakel.  Little did we know that this was an experimental restaurant that was getting a lot of attention! Very positive attention. And the food was spectacular! We all opted to do the three-course tasting menu. We were feeling happy and content and wanted a celebratory evening and it was such a cozy place. 


Dutchboy's sister opted to start with dumplings! 

Bougie lil moi headed straight for the caviar! 

Dutchboy got a salad. Booooooooooooooooooooring.

Except.  He whispered: "Is this SUPPOSED to be in my food?"  

Yup.  Checking the menu we laughed and laughed and laughed.  He ate around them. Though he ate some and didn't even know it.  I guess the legs weren't as hairy as they looked.  The rest of the meal was delicious, but really uneventful after Dutchboy's bugging out. 

We all ordered the same dessert! And it was PERFECTION.

It was time to head to the train station and part ways.  We took a longer way back and enjoyed the brish autumn evening.  This is why you fall in love with Haarlem. Gorgeous. 

Autumn canal reflections


2013

This photo is almost panic-inducing to me! One of my favorite places in Rotterdam is Hotel New York.  It's the gorgeous building that used to be the sail point for the Holland America Cruise line. It is still a hotel, but they also have a wonderful cafe. It's across the harbor from the city, and a bit out of the way. Unless you take their water taxi.  I hate boats. I hate small boats most of all.  This was a VERY small boat. It would hold about four people and the captain, that kind of small.  We are in a harbor and a barge had just passed by and we were crossing its wake.  So the water was very rough.  I was terrified. I was freaking out. I took pictures because life isn't frightening through a lens.  But all I feel is anxiety when I look at the photos. For anyone who cares about such things, Erasmus Bridge is in the background. 



2014


Tower of London.   You can't visit London and not go see the Crown Jewels!  We started with a tour.  Do that. Because there are so many better things about the Tower than  the jewels.  As a jewelry loving lady, I don't say that lightly. The Beefeaters/Yeoman are absolutely fantastic storytellers who bring history to life. 



Traitor's Gate.  Infamous for being the entry to the Tower for people who committed treason, such Sir Thomas More and Elizabeth I (when she was Princess Elizabeth), and supposedly Anne Boleyn (though is now greatly disputed), it was really the water entry built by Edward I in the 1270's so he could gain access to St. Thomas Tower, a royal residence at the time. However, it's name was changed in the 1500s when it's purpose changed. 




The Jewel House. 



Life behind the Tower walls.  The living quarters for the people who protect and serve at the Tower! 

Did you know the Tower of London used to house the King's menagerie!? In honor of that past, artist Kendra Haste created wire sculptures and showcased them at the Tower.  They're intricate and exquisite!

The poppies. 



After the doom and gloom of the Tower, we headed out for an afternoon tea.  Who doesn't prefer clotted cream to tales of clotted blood and mayhem?  Though I have to admit, I felt rather like a country bumpkin, when Dutchboy dropped a napkin and reached for it on the floor, only to have a waiter "tsk" him and hand him a properly folded clean one.  




The madness of Piccadilly Circus.  Looking back with my "2020" vision, seeing all these people crammed so close together makes me claustrophobic!






And above the chaos, The Three Graces (The Daughters of Helios) reign. 


Then it was away from one form of madness to another! Harrod's. Shopping mecca and home to the Dodi and Diane shrine.  You disappear inside the door to a paradise where anything is possible, if you have enough money.  There is no day and night. Time stops.  Apparently, even history can be re-written and a summer fling that ended in tragedy can be retold as an epic love story of the ages.  






Not really wanting the night to end, we wandered back toward St. James, and found ourselves at Buckingham Palace and Victoria Monument.  Big Ben chimed and we just didn't want to leave. 



2019

Breda.  I decided to go here, on a whim. I looked at a list of ten must-see places in the Netherlands and this was the only one I hadn't seen.  Dutchboy didn't want to go, it was quite a train trip and it wasn't cheap (it was $70 round trip for both of us. We should have rented a car.)  I knew NOTHING of Breda and I still don't.  It is very beautiful and very walkable.  It's lovely. But I don't have much to share in the way of commentary. So sit back and enjoy the photos.  

I do know that this is the Nassau Monument.  There was a plaque near by that told me that. I looked up the text, so you don't have to!: "On July 3, 1905, Queen Wilhelmina unveiled the Barony or Nassau monument at the entrance of the Valkenberg on Willemstraat. It was that year exactly five centuries ago, that after his marriage to Johanna van Polanen, Count Engelbrecht I of Nassau held his “Blyde Incomste” as Lord of Breda. With that, the dynasty of Nassau, later Oranje Nassau, settled in the Netherlands."




This was some type of military academy? Military training center? 




The Oude Stadhuis (old City Hall).




Apparently the people in Breda have very strong feelings about cake. 

Yep. Swimming in sprinkles.


Bringing skatin' back. 




Grote Kerk Breda, or Onze-Lieve Vrowekerk (Church of Our Lady). 





Supper time! It was pouring and this cafe was our refuge in the rain.

Ordered a starter.  We decided on the bread.  I didn't know it was a whole LOAF. 

They had really great carpaccio.  It's one of my favorite things about our yearly trip.  I can eat carpaccio that I can't eat in North Carolina.  Serving raw meat isn't allowed, no matter how thinly you slice it.


Until tomorrow!
Tot Ziens!