THE END.

Before we knew it we were by the beach in Scheveningen on LF1 (click here to read my first thoughts on the place). For anyone who has read my blogs you’ll recognise the name! You’ll probably also know that it’s not so far from where I used to Au Pair. Thus for old times’ sake I dragged my sister on a detour right into the centre of The Hague in order to reminisce on my memories there (here's a little summary of the city as seen by me). A quick sprint through the fountains of the Spui and a cycle around the station's lovely zebra clock made it a fun farewell as we caught the coastalroute back to Noordwijk. Nice to finish the trip with familiarity. 

Thanks Soph for doing it with me!

They really couldn’t have placed our final photo-point better…the Noordwijk lighthouse was right at the end of the town’s boulevard. With a snappy photo on a dying phone we’d finished it. The following days were spent being utterly spoilt by our family friends in the impressive Dutch summer before flying home. One of my first memorbale experiences in NL had been in Noordwijk so it felt right to finish the adventure there. 

They say fortune favours the brave... in so many ways on the trip it felt like it didn’t- our daily bike failures made sure of that. With time, however, we've come to realise something. Actually we couldn’t have been more fortunate. We had three weeks full of challenges, experiences and beautiful sights…not to mention a fantastic music festival AND we made it back in one piece. I mean really, what’s not to be thankful for!? 

The best bit? We’re the only Brits on-record to have done it and certainly the only ones to have done it on such old bikes!

Making it to Middelburg- (18/06)

Little image of Middelburg Station here, it's a busy place!

Well and truly in the province of Zeeland much of our way was along the water’s edge. As the name suggests most of the province is below sea level, consisting of a number of separate islands as well as a strip bordering Belgium (but we cut that bit out!). With an affinity of water comes one of wind, the two being intrinsically bound, so slowly but surely wind turbines became a regular sight and our pace in the burning heat suffered. It wasn’t the only one, our camera too seemed unable to cope and ceased to work! Through too many toils to list we wound up with great relief in Middelburg, the capital of the province.

Back on Track- (17/06)

With the end of PinkPop it was time to pack up all our stuff and start cycling once more- but not before a quick scheduled train trip to take us back up onto the Ronde van Nederland route. You do have to pay to take your bike on the train in the Netherlands and it's only allowed in non-peak times but priority is given to you if you get in the designated carriage so the experience was not overly traumatic. Getting on and off the steep stairs at the platform and indeed off the platform out of the station was however. A little surprising for so bike-friendly a country. Nevertheless before the day was up we’d passed through the well-known cities of Eindhoven, Tilburg and Breda all in a westerly direction- parallel in fact to that of LF13. It felt appropriate that on our mother’s 60^th birthday we had made such definite advances toward the end of our NL adventure. Home felt on the horizon.    

PinkPop Day 3- (16/06)

If you are not a great fan of optimistic adjectives please read no further…

• Out of pure interest we headed to see a band called Puggy at the Brand Bier Stage and were wowed by their catchy pop tunes. It was lovely to see an Englishman, Frenchmen and Swede gel so well together.  
• Next up Bastille. We knew 2 songs of theirs before listening to the humble Londoners perform and now we know an albums worth. Their songs had such great beats that it was difficult not to shuffle along to them.
• At the 3FM Stage old-timers Stereophonics provided some great easy-listening.
• Following The Vaccines on the Main Stage was Ben Howard. He was fantastic. Not just another Brit with a guitar. Interestingly a women (in his backing band of 2) switched instruments for each song, playing mainly the cello, and sang beautifully to add to Ben’s rustic vocals.  
• Closing the festival with a 2 hour set were Green Day- not our usual cup of tea but I have to say they entertained. They sure know how to get an audience going and it was a lot of fun if not a little bit messy.

All in all a fantastic festival.   

PinkPop Day 2- (15/06)

Another day full of music. Here are some of them…

• Passenger on the Main Stage. Having only really just hit the big time, with his song Let Her Go, you’d understand if he was a little nervous. Well if he was he didn’t show it! Absolutely note perfect. Just him and his guitar and a dumbstruck crowd. What a unique voice. He made us proud to be from South East England.
• Ellie Goulding on the Brand Bier Stage, a large marque next to the Main Stage, created an electronic bubble. Having heard a lot of her in the charts, in a lot of collaborations, we wondered whether it would work live. Well, it did. The stage effects were awesome and her voice, played back at points as an echo, didn't disappoint. 
• Thirty Seconds to Mars, who we’d actually never heard of, were a great warm up to the Kings of Leon on the Main Stage. Being a massive fan of the Scottish rockers, they (and The Script) were who I’d come to see, it was an hour of my life I will never forget. Utterly mesmerising. They played a load of great new tunes which we both vowed to look up and download on return to Britain! 

PinkPop Festival- (14/06)

After a quick 6km we were at PinkPop! 

It’s an annual 3-day music festival held in Landgraaf and it’s actually the oldest annual pop festival in Europe! PinkPop 2013 was its 44^th edition. It’s had some pretty insane line-ups in its time and this years was no exception yet still hardly anyone in the UK has heard of it. Of A,B,C and D (in order of proximity to the festival terrain) we were happy to get our spot in Camping B right by it’s food court and party tent. Once we’d safety put our bikes in the bike lock and stocked up at a local supermarket we walked the 30 minutes to get to where the music was at…

• First up Paramore on the Main Stage. We were surprised by how many of their punk-style songs we knew and lead singer Hayley Williams’ energy was contagious.
• Then off for a little bit of Jimmy Eat World at the 3FM Stage towards the back of the fielded area to hear some more Americans.
• Leaving them early we got prime spots at the front of the Main Stage for one of my favourite bands, The Script. The music was even better than on their albums and the atmosphere as we all jumped and sang along at the top of our lungs was incredible.  
• Then to finish the evening off, The Killers. An hour of pumping rock classics like Mr Brightside and When We Were Young. It was a great first day. 

Nearly there...- (13/06)

A bike-failure induced stop in a wet Valkenburg.

We felt very much at home in Maastricht so it was sad to say goodbye but it was more than consoling to know we were edging closer and closer to PinkPop. What’s PinkPop I hear you ask…? More on that later. 

The aim of the day was simple: to camp out the night before PinkPop in nearby Heerlen before setting off early the next morning. With the weather taking a torrential turn, the surface a steep one and our wheels a waning one that aim proved extremely difficult. I mean we passed through a place called, when directly translated, Mountain. Certainly not the furthest we've ever had to cycle but at 10pm we’d made it.    

Maastricht- (12/06)

Now to roam off the Ronde van Nederland track. Instead of heading west we continued to the very tail of the Netherlands and the capital of the province, Maastricht. It’s a lovely historical city with a mountain of shops, buildings and parks to look around. Being home to a thriving international university we really enjoyed people watching in the central square (squares being an integral part of a Dutch city). 

We’d booked into a Stayokay hostel for the night, well known in NL for their good basic accommodation, which was such a luxury after 2 weeks of sleeping in a tight-packed 2-man tent. Speaking of luxury.. the unlimited breakfast of the next morning was decisively pushed to its limits :)

More Maas- (11/06)

Continuing along the Maas we entered Limburg, the most southern province of the Netherlands, and it was noticeable how differently they spoke- distinctively German in sound. Within the province they actually have their own local dialects so with my amateur level of Dutch it was no wonder I was confused. Fortunately no spoken Dutch was required to reach our campsite! Interestingly from the previously vast nature of the Dutch landscapes there was a definite feeling of density and vegetation as we made it to Roermond. Our campsite was again surrounded by water, a very familiar but nevertheless welcome sight on the tour.

The Maas- (10/06)

To kick of the day we had a look around the city of Nijmegen. A bit of a climb up the high-street led us to a good many market stalls which were lovely to look at. Yet further uphill brought us to a park with great views along the canal that was to join the river Maas. Exiting the city we started our southerly descent right along this beautiful river. Following LF3 we, perhaps unnecessarily, hopped back and forth across the water throughout the day making great use of the little boats that make the journey non-stop on demand. 

Time was very well spent at our campsite relaxing our ragged limbs on the grassy river-bank.      

De Hoge Veluwe Park- (09/06)

Having set up camp in the outskirts of Arnhem we found ourselves perfectly placed for a day at the Hoge Veluwe Park. It’s the largest privately owned nature park in the Netherlands with 5,000 hectares of woodland, heathland, drift sands and peat bogs.

With 1700 free white bikes, visitors can make use of the 43km of bike paths to explore this extraordinary place. Happy to ditch our bikes for the day we loved cycling around the park load-free! The weather was naturally windy but with the sun out we spent a relaxing hour or so sunbathing by the many helpfully placed picnic benches. 

The 13km to the Visitors Centre from the entrance was worth it for the information about the animal habitat, methods of maintenance and history. From there the Kroller-Muller Museum and Sculpture Garden satisfied my artist interests. A great day out for the family. I highly recommend.   

A bit of history- (08/06)

Getting around the river Ijssel we intended to spend the day in Arnhem but with yet another puncture we were forced to stop in the city of Doesburg. As we tried to enter the high-street we were (and I kid you not) stopped by medieval guards who informed us that bikes were not allowed. Having explained the situation we were then escorted by guard to the bike shop beyond the gate. Turns out the town was having its annual medieval celebration, the Doesburgse Hanzefeesten. Well we thoroughly enjoyed having a look around the craftsman stalls, antique market, and traditional venders, listening to the folky live music and observing everybody’s medieval fancy-dress.  

Eventually we made it to Arnhem. A place I’ve always wanted to visit, being a bit of a history lover. We wandered through the city streets on the way to the Battle of Arnhem Museum situated intentionally within sight of the John Frost Bridge (named after the Major-General who led British forces in defence of the bridge). The museum was really interesting, mapping out the movement of Allied and Enemy forces chronologically with clips from the infamous film A Bridge too Far (although that is of course fiction). I really liked the walls displaying the feelings/accounts of German and British soldiers as well as Dutch eye-witnesses (both young and old).

If you really don’t know what I’m on about I suggest you read up on your WW2 history. Be warned though, there's no happy ending here.  

Ijssel Reunion- (07/06)

Navigating ourselves was never too difficult, we followed the LF signs and if they weren't there then often bike checkpoint numbers (or ‘knooppunts’ if you’re Dutch) were. Failing that, red-lettered signs for nearby villages or towns, with the number of km to go, could also be found. In some cases navigation was made EVEN easier by the fact that there was only one possible path. As our long day of cycling entered its final quarter this was certainly the case. Courtesy of the river Ijssel. 

The 113km river flows all the way to the Ijsselmeer* from its origins in the German Lower Rhine. By simply following the water we made it our campsite which was conveniently located along its edge.


A bit of a risky place to put a campsite if you ask me, I'm guessing the path in the photo was once accessible....

*remember that?... the area by the Afsluitdijk up in the North

Overijssel delivers- (06/06)

Making further strides through Overijssel we met its largest city, Enschede but not before a rather bizarre find. We’d been working our way steadily through a pretty dense area of forest until suddenly it completely opened up and we found ourselves encountered with something more at home in the landscapes of Africa or Asia, the Lutterzand. Dismounting our bikes, advised for your safety, we walked along the steep edge following the meandering river until the forest appeared once more. 

It was amazing to think that not a few kilometres back had we found the Denekamp. Stunning in a different way with its bustling pavilion complete with an encasing lily-clad lake, traditional watermill, lock and blossoms...      

 

No glitches- (05/06)

Another day for the landscapes. A pleasurable 90km took us to our campsite in Den Ham, now in the Dutch province of Overijssel. 

Perhaps it is worth saying that the day was actually our first since starting the trip where we suffered no bike failure. By that I mean… no long detours to find bike shops, no carrying our bikes for kilometres, no forking out for new inner tyres or frames and no relying on the good will of others. In a celebratory mood we found a nearby restaurant and treated ourselves whilst hoping against hope that it would be the first free day of many... 

Dolmen Day- (04/06)

With the turn of the week it was time to start the descent of the eastern border, stop heading north and start going south. The rays of sunshine heightened the beauty of all the flower fields and forests that we cycled through. We happily photographed them all. 

There were, however, a few points at which photographs played a more important, less leisurely, role. Along the entire route were 6 photo-points. Basically points where a photo of us and our bikes were needed to prove that we had actually completed the Ronde van Nederland properly- no cutting corners. The day heralded one of our favourite photo-points of the trip... the largest dolmen in the Netherlands. Don’t worry I also had no idea what one was before we saw it but hopefully the picture will help! Pretty impressive, no? 

Going to Groningen- (03/06)

With probably over 300km cycled we were very happy to have a day where more time was spent sightseeing than cycling. A brisk 40km under the sun bought us to the city of Groningen, the largest town of the North but definitely not what Brits would consider large. Our cycle route took us straight from the countryside into the central square with its town hall, tourist information and church all in immediate sight. 

It was really refreshing to see some youthful faces as the rural cycle routes were very much dominated by quick middle-aged professionals or meandering elderlies. Let’s just say I wasn’t at all surprised to hear that students make up around 25% of Groningen’s population! With the weather still warm we plucked up enough courage to take an evening dip in our campsites lake to top off a great day. Yet another stunning natural campsite to add to the list and not a stone's throw from a bustling city.   

Day #5- (02/06)

We’d been following LF10 since leaving Den Helder and it bought with it a noticeably greener scenery than that of our first few days. More and more wind turbines began to penetrate the increasingly flat horizons. The undulation of the coastal routes was certainly not missed! All along the Dutch western border were further opportunities to hop off to one of the Dutch islands but having already more than halved the suggested speed for completing the Ronde van Nederland we thought that 1 was enough this time.

Onward we skirted a beautifully enormous man-made lake, the Lauwersmeer, and enjoyed a free pedalo around the considerably smaller lake surrounding our secluded campsite later that day. With the setting sun came thoughts of our grandmother (our 'oma') who was born in the very province of Friesland. It's nice to know that we can now say we've been there... 

The Day of the Afsluitdijk- (01/06)

It’s no secret that the Dutch are proud of their water management and the Afsluitdijk, constructed between 1927 and 1933, is the jewel in their crown. With its completion the damming transformed the ‘Southern Sea’ into the fresh water lake of Ijsselmeer so with that on our right and the North Sea on our left we set off down it. The dyke/motorway is 32km long and it helpfully bought us from the province of North Holland to that of Friesland. It was certainly the toughest day of cycling with heavy winds and rain bringing us to frequent stand stills with little place to shelter. Once the dyke was behind us a hot chocolate in Harlingen proved enough to get our ragged selves the last 30km to our campsite. What a way to start the month.

- Due to weather conditions no photos of ours truly represented its outrageous length so here's a nice one from Wikipedia!

 

Texel- (31/05)

What is Texel (or Tessel if you're Dutch)?

It's 1 of the 5 inhabited Dutch Wadden Sea Islands, by far the largest and the most touristy (hence all the Germans!) of them all.


Our campsite was on the west side of the island in the village of De Koog where the beach is what draws the crowds. Awaiting on a bike repair we took full advantage of it's sunny coastline and soaked up some sun whilst wandering around the town. It was then with reluctance that we headed back to Den Helder for an afternoon crossing, making some progress along the borders of North Holland before setting up camp for the night.  

To Den Helder- (30/05)

The aim of Day 2 was to complete the 65kms to Den Helder in time to cross over to one of NL’s best kept secrets…but more on that later. Still hugging the coast (LF1) we made it through yet more dunes and thankfully the paths were a little more bike friendly. However having arrived on the island of Texel after a 30 minute boat journey our bikes seemed determined to create problems of their own making. These were to plague us for the rest of the trip. That said, with the help of a German couple we still made it to our campsite before dark. Germans were a-plenty on the island and boy were we glad of it this time round.  

Where do I begin!?- (29/05)

After flying solo, meeting some friends and sorting out what was going where in our bikes and rucksacks I was ready for my twin’s arrival. Starting in Noordwijk along LF1* it wasn't long before we met what was to become our trip's third companion, wind. The in your face kind. Journeying in and out of the dunes that run along the North Sea we passed through the beautiful Zuid Kennemerland (Nature Park) and spotted a fair few animals up close who didn't seem at all fussed by the conditions! Setting up our tent for the first time proved surprisingly easy and sleep was not an issue, after our first 60km we needed it. Not a bad start to the adventure...        

*LF = Langefiets (ie. the long cycle paths!) 

Back in Britain

I know I haven't been blogging for a while but don't worry I've not vanished... 

<

Here I am in beautiful Warwick.

Honestly though I’ve been back in Britain for a good few weeks now so what have I actually been up to? Sharing is caring so I’ll keep adding to the bullet points...

• A trip to UCL, the university that my twin attends, was long overdue. Apart from the prison-esque accommodation the grounds were great. A great location too, not far from the British Museum which I visited for the first time with a friend. A must see.
• A lovely home-made pesto with spaghetti for all the sisters was a thoroughly enjoyable evening. At home a couple of days spent with my brother ensured I’d caught up not only on my family time but my cooking too. 
• A trip to Warwick University for a long weekend didn’t disappoint. Nice to spend time with my best friend, enjoy the beautiful countryside in the sunshine, go to an outstanding Noah and the Whale gig and bake for the fun of it. An all-hours snapshot of Uni life.   
• A sleepover at a friends’ was full of laughter and chatter.  
• Celebrating my twins’ end of exams in London was followed by an afternoon of football at Vicarage Road which I will never forget. Absolutely phenomenal. The result? Watford are going to Wembley with a shot at the Premier League! A lovely affordable South Indian lunch was had with all the siblings in Wembley before the big match but for Watford it wasn't to be.
• It was great to have a cafe catch up with a youth leader and friend. Followed by another cafe coffee catch up with a different friend. 
• A successful application for a job as a waitress with a London agency also meant a good number of shifts. I even got to serve at FC Dortmund's Champions League after-party underneath the dinosaur at the Natural History Museum- not bad, shame they lost! 

In truth most of my days have actually been spent in my room. I've found and booked campsite spots, budgeted, done what seemed like endless amounts of route planning and organised the 3-week itinerary. Why I hear you ask? The Ronde van Nederland is my answer. A just over 1300km cycle tour around the Netherlands is what I've been busy with. With everything finally sorted all that needs to be done now is...well... it.    

Ready to go- (21/04)

'I’m surrounded by my packed-up room that was once sufficiently accessorised to feel like a home from home. The silence is making my mind wander and it’s wandering back to the very start of my time here...

I’m remembering the feeling of summer, the hope, the sun, the beach, the hopelessness, reunion. Then the new start. The anticipation, the nights out, the friends, the bike, the festivities, returning. 

Then the New Year. The optimism, the snow, the routine, the injuries, the questions, exploration. Then going home. There my mind rests. It stops fluttering and it makes peace. It relaxes. It knows that it’ll be ready.'

Just something I wrote 2 weeks ago...

I’m back in the UK now but I’m not finished with NL just yet ;)

Watch this space!!     

Back to the Capital- (13/04)

It was only fair to give Amsterdam another whirl for my last weekend in NL. I and my 2 closest friends here even booked a hostel for Saturday night to make sure we didn’t miss out on anything in order to get back for the last train! We spent the Saturday walking around in the lovely weather (just as I did on my first visit to Amsterdam!), having a look at the street performers of Dam Square and relaxing. We’d also booked ourselves an hour long canal boat tour of Amsterdam which was awesome. Unlike last time I wasn’t in control of steering the thing so I could really soak up the canal atmosphere from the outside seating area. We even managed to catch an odd word or two from the boat’s automated guide which was unfortunately only playing inside!

The evening was spent at a number of clubs and bars in Amsterdam’s Leidesplein (a square I’d already been to before and loved!) because it was where our hostel was located. Very convenient! It seemed like so long ago that I was chilling in Amsterdam with my sister and friend. Back then I was thinking about coming to Ypenburg to start with the host family I’d just been invited to join. 7 months later and there I was again but this time thinking about coming home to start afresh in the UK...

Efteling (06/04)

Officially opened back in 1952 the Efteling is one of the oldest theme parks in the world, one of the highest ranked parks in Europe and the largest in the Netherlands. Needless to say the trek of 3 hours tram-train-train-bus to Tilburg (in the South of the Netherlands) was worth it. I was amazed by the sheer size of the fantastically designed buildings and the 30 odd attractions as we followed the map around the park: everything was designed to be in keeping with the theme of fairy-tales. I really felt like I was in a different world!

We managed to seek out all the red marked rides on the map since they were ‘Only for daredevils’ and surprisingly I didn’t feel the desire to scream in fear or close my eyes on any of the roller-coasters. I’ve definitely toughened up. That said, the swinging ship was just too much for my poor stomach. I did weep through that.

Once arriving it took the rest of the day just to get round the park. We were very fortunate that the queues were never too long, though we could see that the park facilitated for a summer hype. Slightly tired we stopped for an ice-cream at the appropriately named Happiness Station where we could pick our own toppings and flavour ice cream. Stroopwaffel, speculaas, white and milk chocolate and caramel all whipped up together in a strawberry and vanilla cream made me one happy girl. 

Once all the rides had closed around 6pm we headed to the large free water show by the entrance to the park. It was a breath-taking interpretation of the Princess and the Frog with hundreds of amazingly shaped jets of water, fireworks, fire (on the surface of the water!) all set to beautiful music. A great way to end the day.  

      

Easter in NL (29/03-01/04)

A Good Good Friday:

Having shown my twin sister around the main sights of the Hague by Thursday evening it was time to see them all, and all the other sights of the Netherlands, in miniature! Madurodam, an enormous miniature village, was a great day out for us and my host kids. Lining almost every section of the park were interactive kids games or toys to keep them entertained and card-activated informative videos for the adults. As we weaved our way through the traditional mills, wind turbines, boats, bridges, castles, churches, houses, cities, flowers, cheeses, stadium and airport I was thrilled by how much I recognised and how much I’d seen in real life.

I didn’t get to stop and observe as much as I would have wanted to as a lengthy stop at the incredible kids playground proved necessary as did a stop at the café for a quick muffin and hot chocolate :) Once back home Sophie and I got ready for a night out to celebrate my friend’s birthday. That ticked off another attraction off the list.

Saturday:

Midday called for a relaxing bagel and tea at one of my favourite cafes in the Hague, Bagel & Beans with Sophie and friends. Then a stroll along the Scheveningen promenade- still astoundingly cold for the time of the year!- and it’s pier with its great view across the beach (more on Scheveningen in summer here). A trip to the cinema there rounded off a lovely relaxing Saturday. Simply ‘lifting’ Sophie to all these manner of places was enough to warrant this day of rest. What’s ‘lifting’? The word refers to the carrying of another on the back of one’s bike. Very very common in the Netherlands.

A Sisterly Sunday:

On a day celebrating new life I celebrated having my twin physically back in mine. I couldn’t resist showing her all around Delft and I was really pleased to hear some Easter tunes in Delft’s central square. The cheese tasting in the Henri Willig shop and the visit to the Royal Delft official shop just next door ensured that I completed all that I wanted to in this lovely little town.  

Roaming Rotterdam:

An early start for the train to Rotterdam is how Sophie’s last full day in NL began. Locating a different Tourist Information from my first visit (more here) proved to produce a gem. A free walking tour of Rotterdam’s architecture. The absurd mix of modern and old, simple and complex, curvaceous and jagged, monolithic and bright, opaque and transparent, functional and decorative, dense and sparing, towering and plane. Just wow.

The sun even ventured out as we caught a bus to take us around Rotterdam by water. You read right. A bus. Starting at the Southern point of the harbour we were driven to the Northern point and with an almighty splash (thoroughly enjoyed by all the kids on board) we entered the water. It was a lovely hour long tour, with a perfect view over Rotterdam’s eccentric skyline. Nice to see the Euromast Tower and Erasmus Bridge from an unobstructed vantage point.  

Tuesday morning Sophie and I took the kids to school, then straight to Schipol and then it was back again for me to pick them up. It was a lovely Easter, while it lasted. Love you and miss you Soph x 

A Day of Discovery (23/03/13)

It’s fair to say that I have learnt a lot about myself over the past few months but last Saturday I actually learnt a lot about my self ; my body. Appropriately by one of the University of Leiden’s faculties the CORPUS is certainly an eye-catcher. 
A humongous copper-coloured human figure sits within the CORPUS’s modern framework of glass and grey. We truly unveiled the extent of the building’s size and indeed the extensive intricacy of our human body in the arranged audio tour. Starting at the entrance you can amazingly go step by step (physically) through each major part of the body with the occasional stop to watch a 3D video. The trip of the sperm to the egg was certainly a 3D experience I won’t forget any time soon. My favourite part was jumping on the springy nature of the tongue! We even journeyed with the red blood cells on a sort stationary roller-coaster experience to the heart! 

The tour was expertly organised and all the information was simply explained. Within an hour we were finished and free to wonder the interactive section of the museum where the focus was on diet, exercise and general health. Exercise bikes, optical illusions, quiz shows all stood side by side in each room until we had travelled all the way back down to the ground floor. Apparently the average person will spend 12 years of their life talking! 

Definitely a day of discovery!   

Royal Delft (16/03)

Now it’s safe to stay that Delft is a place I have been to before: one of the first places I really fell in love with (click here) and one that I loved sharing with my sister when she came to stay (more on her visit here) and just recently, the lovely IKEA Delft with Ma! However one thing I hadn’t yet seen was one of the Delft Blue pottery factories. A short walk from the centre The Royal Dutch Delftware Manufactory seemed the perfect choice...

Included in the price of admission was an audio guide and mini tour to get us started. An initial introductory video taught my 2 friends and I of the Chinese origins in the pottery design and of its rise and then decline in popularity. Indeed at one point the Royal Delft in which we sat was Delft’s sole producer of the now world renowned pottery. The next room took us through the making process, in which automated machinery followed the guide’s voice and video screens seamlessly. It was fascinating to hear that some pottery was still produced using the traditional methods and indeed all pieces are signed using the original trademark signature. We were even able to observe up close one of Delft’s master painters at work!

Following the audio guide round the museum, its beautiful courtyard, working industrial factory and shop (where the prices were astoundingly high, a mark of how highly it is held in esteem!) was truly an experience. Thankfully photos were allowed! There's even a Miffy in the Delft Blue style...

   

A Mum for Mother’s Day (09/03)

Why are the previous blog posts only coming now and not after they happened? Well that is because I have been without a laptop for 5 weeks. A laptop brought by my parents and delivered by my Mum just last week (5-10th) has meant that I can blog once more and also regain a couple of shreds of my sanity! We spent 3 evenings together in IKEA Delft sipping on free tea and coffee and munching on their lovely food selection and the other available 2 and Sunday with our Dutch family. Saturday, however, was a day for my Ma to meet my friends! Dropping by Wassenaar we picked the best of the bunch for a day sightseeing!

Kinderdijk

Kinderdijk is a village just outside of Rotterdam and is home to a stunning 19 windmills set against a beautifully water-ridden landscape, now a National World Heritage Site. The wind blew ridiculously hard and the rain fell ridiculously hard the whole day long but it didn’t stop us having a walk around what has become an epitome of the Netherland’s battle but also affinity with water. The well- known saying here that ‘God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands’ sprang to mind as we learnt of its long history. Of course all the windmills were once homes so it was interesting to go inside the Museum Windmill and discover how the mill itself worked and how the miller and their family lived in such a tight space. An electric pumping station on site was also interesting. It has an astounding capacity of 1500 m3 of water per minute, surprisingly quiet for such a tremendous workload!      

Noah’s Ark

Kinderdijk rests between Rotterdam and Dordrecht, the later plays host to perhaps one of the stranger things that I can now say I have visited in this wonderful land. Noah’s Ark. Not the real one but a replica. Made using original materials and measurements by Johan Huibers. It is approximately 30m wide, 23m high and 135m long and with a size of 20,000m2 it truly is mind blowing. The life sized polyester animals that stood alongside many real ones demonstrated this effortlessly. Ma and I happily re-read the story of Noah, that of creation, the little facts about all the different animals mentioned in the Bible and particularly the details of how the Ark was perfectly possible to build in the time of Noah and how it could easily facilitate all the different ‘kinds’ of animal of the world as outlined by God. In fact 36.5% of the Ark was more than necessary to accommodate the animals, the rest was used for food storage, Noah and his family.

It was amazing to discover that the building of the Ark was inspired by a dream in 1992. Johan Huibers dreamt that waves from the ocean washed over the Netherlands during a storm. The dream was followed by even more signs, meaning he had to rebuild the Ark. This Ark is not meant to save people from a global flood as Noah did 4,000 years ago, but to tell people that there is a God who loves us, and that He has a plan for our lives. A fact that I’d somewhat forgotten over the past testing weeks.      

Rotterdam, not just anywhere (09/02)

Rotterdam is around 26km south-east of The Hague, that’s merely 30 minutes on the train, and is the 2^nd most populated city in the Netherlands (only Amsterdam sits above it) so a visit there was well overdue. The dawning of the Chinese New Year and the annual China Light Festival in Rotterdam’s biggest park, the Euromast Park, which proceeds it provided the perfect push. A very busy city by Dutch standards there were endless amounts of things to see. We took some time to simply soak it all up with a walk through its many high-streets, side streets (bursting with creativity!) and last but not least its harbour.

Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen:

Along the way we simply had to stop by one of the most well-known art museums in Rotterdam. You can travel from the Middle Ages to the 21^st century passing masterpieces by none other than Van Eyck, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Magritte and Dalí. Their special exhibition on Van Eyck, The Road to Van Eyck, was of particular interest to me as, to this day, he is seen as the progenitor of realism in painting. The exhibition is literally centred on 7 pieces known to be by Van Eyck and the surrounding works are those of his predecessors. A delightfully simple way to outline his revolutionary development.  

Seeing the development of Impressionism, Modernism and Surrealism in the main section of the museum was also interesting. My favourite find was Little Dancer of Fourteen Years by Edgar Degas as I’d studied the piece at school. I was fascinated by the use of mixed media, a wax figure with real clothing, but also by the tragic story behind such girls at the Paris Opera of the time. The sculpture was smaller than I’d imagined but her primitive features and dutiful poise had as bigger effect as any in real life! Another section of the museum explored the way that everyday objects have changed over the last 800 years, quite the undertaking and one of the reasons why the museum itself is so huge!

China Light Festival:

With the onset of snow we made our way to the Euromast Park to walk around over 35 wonderfully colourful light sculptures depicting a variety of subject matter. From flowers to temples to gods to animals to a 100 metre long dragon floating on water…they really had everything required to make you feel like a part of the festivities. Traditional Chinese dancing and cuisine were also on show! The view from the top of the Euromast Tower, some 185 metres tall, although slightly weather impaired, showed off the lights with great drama especially as night began to close in on us. Looking out across the skyline of Rotterdam, and indeed further, I promised myself a return visit.