The Trip that was: October 5, 2016/2017/2018

2016

This was a special trip-- to a province I hadn't ventured into yet! The province of Zeeland, a series of islands and peninsulas that are as far west as you can go in the Netherlands.  Most of the land is below sea level and prone to severe flooding until they controlled it with a series of dijks and water management projects in the 1950's.  If the coat of arms is a drowning lion, I probably should not have went there. But I did! And it was dry and beautiful! 

We started in Middelburg, the capital of the province of Zeeland. 

Yes, the Civic Guardsman is wearing goggles. And No, I can't explain anything else about it.  Geen idee, as the Dutch people say.

Once voted the second most beautiful building in the Netherlands, we couldn't miss an opportunity to tour the Middelburg City Hall (Middelburg Stadhuis).

Beautiful, right?? But this building was gutted by fire during World War II.  Only the outside remained most intact.  It's all rebuilt and new, made to look like the original building. 

The "New Church".  I guess if you keep rebuilding it, you can always call it that. Ha. Originally built in the 14th century, destroyed by fire in 1568 and rebuilt.  Destroyed again during World War II, and restored again.  What's old, is new again. Over and over and over. 

Middleburg Abbey.  Also gutted by fire and World War II bombings .  Many of the Abbey buildings were destroyed.  

This has something to do with Cannons that were made in Middelburg in the 17th century by Michael Burgerhuys and his son Johannes Burgerhuys. The cannons were found by fishermen off the coast and returned to square, in tribute to the makers.  There are two of them there now, but apparently only the one found in 1986 was on display when we saw it.  The one found in 2011 was added later. Yes, I had to google this for the blog. I have NO memory of the cannon.  I tend to ignore heavy artillary. 

After leaving Middelburg, we moved on to Veere, another village in Zeeland. 

The Grote Kerk .  Except it's no longer a church, but an event center and exhibition space. 

Veere City Hall.  

Having a wee biertje in the shadow of City Hall.

If anyone ever made a statue of me and my beloved Dutchboy...

2017

I have no idea where we were. This is the only photo I have from that day. 

2018

The Fries Museum in Leeuwarden had a fantastic Escher exhibition.  They also had a set up, where you posed yourself and it took this photo and emailed it to you.  I'm goofy enough to think this is so cool. 

Again, horrible to admit, but I have NO idea which town this is.  It is possibly Leeuwarden, because of the photo of the Escher exhibit at the Fries Museum.  But it doesn't really look like Leeuwarden?? It's somewhere between there and Oudemirdum, though, because it's the same trip! The beer was brewed in Utrecht, though.  And it was good! Almost thick-- it's unfiltered.  Check out the second photo! 

Supper with the motley crew near the IJsselmeer, Oudemirdum.

Tot Ziens!

 

The Trip that was: October 4, 2012/2016/2018/2019

 2012

Ah. Rotterdam. I know we just visited there a couple of days ago on the blog, but it's worth a few more photos! The lovely tower at the Boijmans Museum.

Remember the artist, Carel Willink, I mentioned? The one who married his muse who was almost 40 years younger?? This is that guy! A self portrait of Carel Willink.

The Destroyed City by Ossip Zadkine.  This sculpture commemorates the German bombing of Rotterdam on May 14, 1940. The goal of the Germans was to break the Dutch resistance and force a surrender. 900 people were killed, 85,000 people were left homeless, when the entire city center was destroyed. Rotterdam had lost its heart.  The Dutch surrendered, under threat that Utrecht would be the next city destroyed.  

It's an incredibly moving statue, this lump of twisted metal with arms thrown imploringly to the sky, and a hole in his chest. The artist said it was, "A cry of horror against the inhuman brutality of this act of tyranny."

He overlooks part of the Harbor. 

The famous Cube Houses of Rotterdam!  Go on and click the link. It has very interesting info about the architecture, and some interior views as well. I tell myself it would be horrible to live there, with a road running under my house. Yeah. That would suck. 

Jackie Chan slide down this building in the film, "Who Am I" .  SCARY STUFF. 

I got on a boat again. This was my FIRST trip to Hotel New York, across the Rotterdam Harbor.  But this trip was smooth as silk. That's why I got lulled into a false sense of security. 

Erasmus Bridge.

The Hotel New York. Once the office for the Holland America Line.When the numbers of immigrants heading for America increased, Holland America began offering accomodations for those with tickets.  The last passengers set sail from there in 1971. After that, the building fell into disrepair and was abandoned until developers bought the property and turned it into a hotel and restaurant that celebrated the building's history. 

Euromast.

2016

Just a few more photos from The Hague.

You may be King Willem II, King of the Netherlands and Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and they may make statues of you, but birds will still sit, and shit, on your head. 

A beautiful view of the Hofvijver. 

And Het Torentje, the Prime Minister's office. 

I'm always happy when it's time for an afternoon snack.  I'm fairly certain that's the TARDIS behind me. 

A little friend stopped by while we had our afternoon tea.

2018

Dutchboy and I, along with Dutchboy's sister and her husband, headed to Friesland for a couple of days.  Like so many days in October in the Netherlands, it was cold, damp and gray. 

Our first stop was Sloten. 

Stavoren. One of the oldest, and once the wealthiest, towns in Friesland. Now it's sleepy and quaint. 

The Lady of Stavoren.  There are many different versions of the story, but they are all very similar. The Lady of Stavoren was a wealthy, arrogant widow who sent her best captains out in search of wealth.  Some returned with gold, or silks and this wasn't enough. Still she searched for and more. Finally the last captain returned with the ship's hold bursting with grain, proclaiming that wheat was the most precious thing on the planet. It would feed everyone in the village.  The Lady was greatly insulted and demanded he dump the entire cargo in the harbour.  He argued against it, warning that she could lose everything with her selfishness, and have to beg for food.  She took off her ring and flung it far into the harbour declaring she would no more lose her wealth than she would get that ring back.  The grain was dumped and the captain sent away in disgrace.  Not long after, during a lavish party. When the lady cut into her fish,  she found her ring was inside. From that day on, her fortunes changed, her fine house crumbled around her and she was doomed to beg in the streets.  The grain that was dumped in the harbor began to collect sand and silt, forming a sandbar that blocked the harbour and ruined the fortunes of the entire town. 

I didn't find a ring in my fish. And my find has brought me nothing but luck. 

Our final destination for the day, and our home for the evening was Oudemirdum.  Our happy little cabin! 

Yep. That's one of the beds! In a closet. 

Our bedroom was at the top of the ladder stairs.  Not a place you want to stumble drunk to bed. 

After settling in, we took a short walk to the have a view of the IJsselmeer.  Of which I took not one photo of! WHAT!? 

We did drive to the Ijsselmeer later, on our way to dinner. 

2019

Dutchboy was forced to go to ANOTHER museum. 

Siep the cat has zero cares. 

Tot Ziens!