the glove

Looking up in the main shopping street (the 'Steenstraat') in Bruges.


Linking to signs, signs.

the dog

in Bruges.

Onnerpolder

A picture from last Saturday while hiking in the Onnerpolder, a wide nature area in the province Groningen.

train station

Amsterdam main train station.

from the archives #14

Finland (2007)

Watching reindeer watching us, while impressive clouds were promising rain and wind in the Urho Kekkonen National Park, in northern Finland.

round reflection

The reflection in one of the chandeliers inside the Nieuwe Kerk at the Dam square in Amsterdam.

Linking to Weekend Reflections.

stained glass window

Ter Apel Monastery.

the swan

Seen in Bruges.

Linking to Lesley's signs, signs.

Spring fun fair

Blue skies above the Ferris wheel on the Dam square in Amsterdam, last Saturday.

World Press Photo 14

Last Saturday I visited the World Press Photo exhibition at the 15th century Nieuwe Kerk ('New Church'), at the Dam square in Amsterdam. The exhibition features over 150 remarkable photographs in 9 categories.
Somehow the setting of a church adds so much to this photo exhibition, like the Der-Aa Church in Groningen that hosted the WPP last November. (click HERE to see a few images from my visit there).
If you happen to be in Amsterdam, it's recommendable.

safety door

This is inside the Beurs van Berlage, in the centre of Amsterdam. The building was designed as a commodity exchange and constructed around 1900. This was no doubt the entrance of one of the vaults, currently used as exhibition room displaying '100 years of advertising' with famous people from the Netherlands.

from the archives #13

Norway (2009)

A view to the shore seen from the car deck of a ferry, somewhere in northern Norway.

Happy Easter everyone!

De Oude Remise

The renovated building that you see here is known as 'De Oude Remise' ('The Old Roundhouse'). It was once in use by the National Railway for servicing locomotives here in this town Bad Nieuweschans. The building dates from 1877 and had enough room inside for 12 locomotives.
From 1948 until 1980 the local bus company used it as their garage. Nowadays it's officially a heritage site and is home to a grand café, a tourist and archeological information site, and the (see and do) Lego Museum Bricks Art.

Monastery garden

Walking through the herb garden of the former Monastery in Ter Apel.

De Koetse

Signs like these are everywhere in Bruges, so hope you like them as much as I do as I will continue to post them the coming Wednesdays :)
This is another one from a hotel in the city centre, from 'De Koetse'  (more or less literally 'The Carriage')


Linking to Lesley's signs, signs.

sculpture and fountain

I'm not sure I have seen a sculpture with bicycles before, so I had to stop and photograph it! ;)  It is one of four groups of large and impressive sculptures circling the fountain.

The location is 't Zand, one of the biggest squares in the city of Bruges, Belgium.

Monastery mural

Following up on yesterday's post about the former Ter Apel Monastery, nowadays a museum, I would like to show you another photo that I took. This is one of the rooms that was used as an infirmary.

Can you see where the room ends and where the mural starts? Only the bed in the front is real, the rest is a wall size mural.

Linking to Monday Mural.

choir stalls

This is a detail of the original choir stalls used by monks in the former Monastery in Ter Apel. Some of the chairs have decorated faces, picturing both human virtues -the nun at the left stands for devotion, as well as sins -the ears stand for curiosity.

The Monastery, start and end of our hike today, was built in 1465 and is located along the ancient trade route from Münster (in Germany) to the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. It was once a place of hospitality and dedication for passing travellers and pilgrims. Nowadays the historic building is a Museum for Monastery, Church History and Religious Art. 

from the archives #12

Finland (2007)

Pyhä-Luosto National Park, northern Finland.


Linking to Weekend Reflections #237

gaper

The Zuiderzeemuseum in Enkhuizen has a nice collection of 'gapers'. A gaper is a stone or wooden head on the front of a building in the Netherlands, indicating that this building is a pharmacy. The literal translation would be 'yawner', as the figure is always displayed with an open mouth, and sometimes you can see a pill he has taken resting on his tongue. In fact he wasn't yawning, but opening his mouth to take medicine.

looking down..

.. from the top floor in the Chocolate Museum in Bruges.

hotel sign

'Oud huis Amsterdam' ('Old house Amsterdam') is a hotel in Bruges.

Linking to signs, signs.

paddling

Suppers (stand up paddlers) in the canals of Bruges.

skipping ropes

Old fashioned jump ropes -or skipping ropes- for sale at the small outdoor market, in the Zuiderzeemuseum in Enkhuizen.

women's caps

We visited the Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen today, and learned all there is to tell about the people who once lived on the shores of the Zuiderzee. The exhibitions focus on the themes of water, craft and communities. One of the rooms in the indoor museum showed a variety of folk costumes that people from several fishing towns used to wear in the past, and in some cases even wear today. The caps on the photo are made of lace and belong to the traditional folk costume for women. In Dutch a cap like this is called 'hul'.

from the archives #11

Harz - Germany (1995)

When searching for a photo for today I found this one from nearly 20 years ago, taken during a trip we made by motorbike in the Harz in Germany. This food truck (most likely a former army field kitchen) called 'KUKKI'S' was on a parking place, serving 'Erbsensuppe mit Bockwurst': pea soup with German sausage.

Can't remember if the food was good, but I'm sure it tasted great :)

city tour

If you would like to try something different, why not do a city tour by Segway? These 2 tourists and their guide were exploring Bruges.

shadows

Late afternoon shadows in the village Schiermonnikoog, on the island Schiermonnikoog.

silence please

The béguinage ('begijnhof' in Dutch) in Bruges is a lovely and peaceful place, and is visited by many tourists each day.

The collection of small buildings around a courtyard was used by Beguines. These were  sisterhoods of the Roman Catholic church, and the women who lived here could serve God without retiring from the world.

Signs like these, and there are many (!), ask you to respect silence in this place.

For more signs go to signs, signs.

25 years at the office

Today was a special day: I celebrated my 25th anniversary at the office! My colleagues had decorated my desk abundantly and together we enjoyed eating this cake. On it is (or should I say: 'was') an edible photo made in the early 1990's with my colleagues at that time.  :)