Haarlem

Afgelopen week hadden we een weekje vrij en we zijn met zoonlief naar het Teyler's museum in Haarlem geweest waar een tentoonstelling was van de portretten van Leonardo da Vinci. Nu vond ik het aantal portretten wel tegenvallen jammer genoeg maar de rest van het museum was meer dan de moeite waard! Haarlem zelf is ook prachtig maar de treinreis zelf is een behoorlijk eindje dus lang hadden we niet jammer genoeg dus we gaan vast nog wel eens terug. Het station van Haarlem alleen is een bezoekje meer dan waard!

© KH

This England

This royal throne of kings, this scepter’d isle,

This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,

This other Eden, demi-paradise,

This fortress built by Nature for herself

Against infection and the hand of war,

This happy breed of men, this little world,

This precious stone set in the silver sea,

Which serves it in the office of a wall,

Or as a moat defensive to a house,

Against the envy of less happier lands,

This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England,

This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings,

Fear’d by their breed and famous by their birth,

Renowned for their deeds as far from home,

For Christian service and true chivalry,

As is the sepulchre in stubborn Jewry,

Of the world’s ransom, blessed Mary’s Son,

This land of such dear souls, this dear dear land,

Dear for her reputation through the world,

Is now leased out, I die pronouncing it,

Like to a tenement or pelting farm:

England, bound in with the triumphant sea

Whose rocky shore beats back the envious siege

Of watery Neptune, is now bound in with shame,

With inky blots and rotten parchment bonds:

That England, that was wont to conquer others,

Hath made a shameful conquest of itself.

John of Gaunt, Richard II act 2, sc 1

William Shakespeare

Just because I miss England so much... (and Scotland but these are photo's of England)

© KH

Binnendieze Den Bosch

It's been very quiet on my blog I know. I just had my holiday and it's been so very hot here these past weeks/month that I just wasn't in the mood for blogging much. We didn't go very far on holiday, mostly due to the very hot weather, we just sat in our garden in the shade reading. When we did go out it was a bit cooler.

Here are some pictures of our boat trip on the Binnendieze in Den Bosch, something we always wanted to do but never have for some reason. It was a wonderful experience.
Photos taken with my iPhone.

 A church built on top of one of the tunnels

 The Magician by Hieronymus Bosch

 Gothic style tunnel

 Exercise for Market Garden

 Hercules airplanes

 A garden on top of the tunnel 

 Hercules airplanes exercising for Market garden

Reflexion

© KH

Openluchtmuseum Arnhem

Last week sis and I took our mum on a daytrip to the Openluchtmuseum in Arnhem. (Openairmuseum) As they say themselves on their site; it's a museum of all stories hidden in the historic houses, mills and farmhouses you will find on the museum park. We saw how the people lived back then; back in the 1800s, or during the great war or even in the 70s. Different homes, different styles. They have all kinds of buildings and furniture. I've been there as a child but now it's even bigger and they've added wax figures to make it even more realistic.
An impression;

 A farmhouse from Staphorst

 Windmill with sheep and Wildflowers

 A home in 60s style

 A child before his Holy Communion

 Waiting on the doctor

 baby check up

 Zaanse Schans

 Candy store

 Grocery

 Windmills

 windmill with reflection

 Bridge

 Old tram

Tram

© KH

Thursday Challenge; Barrier

This Thursday Challenge the theme is; BARRIER (Wall, Fence, Gate, Door, Stanchions,...)

Hadrian's Wall Northumberland UK

© KH

Thursday Challenge; Peaceful

Time for another Thursday Challenge and this week's challenge is;
"PEACEFUL" (Calming, peaceful nature, park, or urban scenes,...)


I don't know why but this place is magical. It is by far the most peaceful place I've seen in the world even though it's an ancient burial place. It's quiet, still, peaceful. You really can come to peace there. I've been here around 4 times now and this place does that to me every time!

Read more about this place here: Clava Cairns 

 Clava Cairns Scotland

© KH

Thursday Challenge; Street

This week's Thursday Challenge is STREET (Happy, Sad, Interesting, Typical Urban Scenes or Rural Roads)

So mine is typical Dutch really, a typical Dutch tourist village  which my sis and I visited last year.  

 

Tourist shops, Volendam

 

Volendam, het Doolhof ('The Maze')

© KH

Visit to Grave

When mum turned 70 last March my sis and I gave her a card. On it were 10 daytrips to determine by herand for sis and me to pay of course. We already have gone on two because of the extreme hot summer weather we're having the third one is put off.

The last one we went to a town where we used to live as children. My dad was a military man so we moved a few times and in this old town we've lived for six years. It changed a bit but not too much.
Grave is a fortress town and the river Maas (Meuse) is streaming along side it. 

 Old canon

 Beautiful old fronts

 Doorknocker

 Meuse/Maas

 Old stuff shop with armour on top of the building

 

 canons

little angels on a house

© KH