Back..

Back from two weeks that were well spent in Wales, the Yorkshire Dales, and the city of York (U.K.) We enjoyed ourselves very much with sightseeing, hiking, visiting historical sites etc. There is a big task sorting out hundreds of photos now :)
This picture was taken in front of the York Minster. More to follow!

From the archives #30

Helsinki, Finland (2006)

The Sibelius Monument, here seen from underneath, consists of 600 hollow steel pipes that are welded together in a wave-like pattern. The purpose of the maker, Eila Hiltunen, was to capture the essence of the music of this Finnish composer (1865-1957).

The monument is located at the Sibelius Park in Helsinki.

Valkhof Park gate

The entrance to the Valkhof Park in Nijmegen has an impressive gate, a bridge, and fences on both sides.

Linking to Good Fences #21.

Museum library

A long table with art books giving background information about the current exhibitions in museum Het Valkhof, Nijmegen.

Faces from the past

Museum Het Valkhof in Nijmegen has it's focus on art and archeology. I showed an example of art in yesterday's post, today 2 photos of historical objects. This large clay pot, found near Nijmegen has 3 (similar) faces. Pots like these were used during ritual ceremonies.

This is a reconstructed iron 'facial helmet' from the 1st century. The mask was once covered with a thin layer of silver. The three holes in the cheek represent a tattoo. Very remarkable is the clothing with a plaiting made of horsehair. The facial helmet that you see in the background contains some original parts; it was found in 1991, also near Nijmegen, on the spot where a Roman army base was located between 40 and 70 AD.

The soft chair

This remarkable chair is a piece of art named ´Mother´s Invention´, and is one of the 'Horti sculptures' by Ferdi Tajiri-Jansen (1927-1969). It belongs to the collection of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, but can now be seen as part of the exhibition ´Pop Art´ in Museum De Valkhof in Nijmegen.

Ferdi started to create Horti sculptures in 1966. On a trip through Mexico she became fascinated by the boundless vitality and the amazing wealth of colour of the nature there. The Horti sculptures radiate the spirit of the sixties: psychedelic, playful, colourful, flower power. This sculpture depicts the domain of motherhood: a place of refuge, a place of rest, and a throne for the Alma Mater. (Latin alma "nourishing/kind, mater "mother")

Painting

A different kind of mural on this wall in the centre of Nijmegen. I found it near Museum Het Valkhof.

Linking to Monday Murals.

New flat

Modern architecture behind the bus station in Nijmegen.

From the archives #29

U.K. (2004)

During our stay in Somerset we visited the historical city of Bath.

The red chairs

When you take a seat in either one of these red chairs inside the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden, a mechanism in the "lamps" is activated; on the left a voice starts reading poetry ('fersen' in Friesian language), and on the right you can hear a song ('music' is 'musyk' in Friesian).

An angry dragonfly?

I like dragonflies and I often try to photograph them. Seeing this one on the big screen of my computer really startled me though, look at it´s face!

The Three Herrings

"The Three Herrings" (in Dutch: De Drie Haringen) is the name of a house in Deventer. A man called Herbert Dapper, who had become very rich in the herring trade, bought it in 1567. He was a member of an association of merchants that used a sign with 3 crowned herrings, and Mr Dapper placed a similar sign on his home as well.
Nowadays the building is owned by the Historical Museum Deventer.

Linking to signs, signs.

The mannequin's leg

Well..what can I say about this? Someone has been very inventive here! The bicycle was parked in Deventer.

Umbrellas

I have never seen umbrellas used in the way they did here in the city of Deventer, but it looks nice and kind of festive, don't you think?

Book Fair

We visited the annual Deventer Book Fair today. With 6 km of books altogether it is the biggest book fair in Europe. Thousands of people come here every year..

.. and they buy books on every single subject you can think of..

From the archives #28

Canada (2012)

Staying in Tofino, along the west coast of Vancouver Island (BC).

Blue and yellow

The bright colours of a Summer evening in Stadskanaal.

Linking to Weekend Reflections #253.