Great Hall floor

Inside the Rijksmuseum, the vast Great Hall ('Voorhal') leading to the Gallery of Honour ('Eregallerij') has a floor with inlaid mosaics that picture a variety of images like the four seasons, the four largest rivers in the world, and the 12 signs of the zodiac.

The face

On our way from the Amsterdam train station to the Museum Square we passed this face coming out of the wall of the Universiteit van Amsterdam (University of Amsterdam). Even though it's a bit damaged it looks almost real, don't you think?

On foot in Amsterdam

View from a sunny Amsterdam earlier today, looking out from the Prinsengracht.

Bearded iris

A photo from the same part of our garden as last Friday´s photo. A couple of days ago the bearded irises started to bloom.

I´m linking to Floral Friday Fotos.

Vacancy

Exclusive garden home in former teapot and located in a quiet neighbourhood is available NOW for starting families.

Lifeboat station

The village Egmond aan Zee houses one of the lifeboat stations of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Redding Maatschappij (abbreviated KNRM), the Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution. The KNRM is a voluntary organisation tasked with saving lives at sea. Along the Dutch North Sea coast, the Wadden Sea and the IJsselmeer are 39 lifeboat stations in total. Yearly they have about 1700 distress calls.

The station in Egmond aan Zee exists since 1824. Currently they have 27 volunteers who are able to go out to sea with their lifeboat named 'Adriaan Hendrik'.

I'm linking to signs, signs.

Sand art

 We discovered Mickey..

.. and Minie on the North Sea beach near Egmond aan Zee, last Sunday. I like Minie's eye-lashes!

Foggy beach

This was yesterday afternoon on the beach near Egmond aan Zee, a village along the Dutch North Sea coast. A cloudy day with relatively still high temperatures, which caused this fog to emerge.

I´m linking to Seasons on St Germain´s blog.

Old wall advertising

On several locations the city of Kampen has placed back old and restored wall advertisements from former retailers. On the corner of the Geerstraat and Bovennieuwstraat 2 examples can be found. The one on top is from a bakery run by the Siemerink family until 1938. The sign says:

"W. Siemerink. Brood, Banket. Kandij en Ontbijtkoek. Oudst adres voor Kamperkoekjes" 

("W. Siemerink. Bread, Pastry, Rock Candy and Gingerbread. The oldest address for Kamper Cookies") 

The sign below is from De Korenschoof, a bakery specialised in several kinds of typical Dutch bread and cookies, all first quality. The owners were Mr Stoffer and his wife, who run the bakery in Kampen until 1978.


Happy Weekend! :)

Pink and purple

In our garden earlier this week.

I´m linking to Floral Friday Fotos.

Koornmarktspoort

View on the Koornmarktspoort (lit: 'Wheat Market Gate') in Kampen, one of the city gates. It was originally part of the city wall and is the oldest of the Kampen city gates.

The central block and gate were built in the 14th century. At this side, where I took both photos earlier this month, is the Koornmarkt (wheat market square) and the other side faces the river IJssel.

Dandelion field

Photo taken recently on a sunny Sunday hike when we passed this huge field near the village of Gees.

I´m linking to Seasons on St Germain´s blog.

The View

The Ferris wheel at the Mayfair on the central square (Grote Markt) of Groningen city, yesterday afternoon.

Botermarkt

View on a sunny Botermarkt (lit; 'Butter Market') in the centre of Kampen, with the Nieuwe Toren ('New Tower') in the background.
During the Middle Ages this square was the location for a butter market, hence the name. Before that it was a cemetery belonging to a nearby monastery.

Down the stairs

Looking down from the 3rd floor inside the Stedelijk Museum (City Museum) of Kampen.

Lunchtime

Enjoying a cup of tea while my sandwich was being made, Saturday a week ago around noon in Kampen.

Have a great weekend! :)

Glass art

"The Last Supper Now" with works of Michel van Overbeeke (1942) is an interesting exhibition currently in the Stedelijk Museum Kampen (Kampen City Museum). Van Overbeeke is a versatile artist; he draws, paints, creates glass bronze and ceramic sculptures, photographs and makes videos.

All the items shown in the exhibition depict the Last Supper (het Laatste Avondmaal in Dutch), like this glass table.
The official site of Michel van Overbeeke can be found HERE.

I'm linking to Weekend Reflections.

Sun and head

A double relief stone seen in the Oudestraat 154 in Kampen picturing a sun and a head. Where the relief stones come from and what they mean is unknown. Certain is that the relief stone with the sun dates from before 1897, as there is a photo from that year showing it.

De Bonte Os sign

Herberg De Bonte Os ("The Coloured Ox Inn") is a steakhouse restaurant at the Torenstraat in Kampen that, according to their website, is known for their love for fresh beef. I haven't been inside so can't tell you if their food is good, however I really like how they present themselves at the outside!

I'm linking to signs, signs.

Kampen city gate

Walking on the Broederweg to the Broederpoort: one of the three remaining city gates in Kampen. Built in 1465 the structure used to be part of an earth wall that was meant to defend the city.

In 1950 the Broederpoort was set up as a city museum, which lasted until 1983 when the museum moved to another spot. Then from 1983 to 1987 it was a scientific medical centre. Nowadays the gate is being used for exhibitions and as a romantic wedding location.

Portrait

Partly hidden by some market stalls is this mural on the side wall of the Stedelijk Museum (City Museum) in Kampen. A number of artists was asked to make a design, and this portrait made by Henk Neijenhuis from Zwolle was chosen because of the inquisitive look and the beautiful eyes that look right at you.

I'm linking to Monday Mural.

A visit to Kampen

The coming week I will show you photos I took in Kampen yesterday, a city and old Hanseatic city at the IJssel river in the province of Overijssel. It has a beautiful old town centre. This is a view on the Oudestraat, the main shopping street and pedestrian zone.

Happy Sunday!

Tulip

Henri, my husband, made this photo a few days ago in our garden. A new pair of glasses bought last Autumn came with a complementary box with tulip bulbs. And well, this tulip is one of them! They are called "Eye-opener". A nice present from my optician :)

I'm linking to Floral Friday Fotos.

X

One more photo of De Witte Molen, The White Mill near the villages Glimmen and Haren, as it looks so well against that blue sky (see my previous post HERE).
So, last week's cold weather with rain, snow and hailstorms have all been forgotten with the sunny and warm conditions we're having now. Hope the weather at your place is as good as ours!

I'm linking to Skywatch Friday.

Curious

We live in a rural area with a lot of livestock farming, and one of the things we always notice is that cows are such curious animals! For instance these ladies turned their heads to see who was passing them..

..while this animal just followed us with her eyes and seemed OK with the fact that I photographed her.

Both photos were taken last Sunday during our hike from Haren, Groningen.

The Teaspoon

"The Teaspoon" is a small tearoom and shop in Workum, that also sells all kinds of tea and small presents..

..and there is this huge teapot on the doorstep telling you to come in!   :)

I´m linking to signs, signs.

Stork nest

No matter how often we see this, a stork on her nest is always a special sight. This photo was taken last Sunday during our hike that started in the village of Haren, just south of Groningen city, and not so far from the white mill that I showed you yesterday.

The White Mill

De Witte Molen ("The White Mill") is a so-called polder mill near the village of Glimmen, just south of Groningen city. A polder mill pumps water from one level to another level. The mill can still be used as back-up in the Glimmen polder, which actually happens every now and then.

The White Mill was built in 1892 by P. Medendorp, in order to pump the 453 hectares of the Glimmen polder dry. In 2003 the mill was fully renovated. Nowadays the Hunze en Aa's Water Board owns the mill.
Note that if you travel to Groningen city by car coming from the south on highway A28, you can see the mill when you look to the left near the exit "Haren".

Both photos were taken yesterday, the weather was really beautiful. I'm linking to Seasons on St Germain's blog, and Tom´s Tuesday´s Treasures.

Uffing

This bronze statue by Sofie Hupkens shows the Workum monk Uffing, who lived from the year 945 to 1025. As a young man Uffing was fascinated by the stories of the monks in the nearby St Odulphus Monastery. He then became a monk himself and learned to read and write. Thanks to Uffing the village of Workum can be traced back in writing to the 10th century.

Sofie Hupkens (1952) was born in São Paulo, Brazil, and lives in the province of Friesland, The Netherlands. The statue of Uffing stands on the market square in Workum.