Floral Friday

This flower grew from a bag of mixed flower seeds that we sowed on several spots in our garden this Spring. I don´t know the name of this particular one (if anyone of you does I would be happy to hear it), but it appears to be very attractive for tiny wasp-like insects that..

.. like to hang upside down ;)

I´m linking to Floral Friday Fotos.

41

I have no idea why one tree is marked '4' and the other '1'.
What I do know that together they make 41 ;)

Fresh eggs

.. and jam. A nice and friendly looking advertisement sign found at a home near the village of Eelde.

I'm linking to signs, signs.

Boathouses

These are the backsides of a row of boathouses along the south side of the Paterswoldsemeer (Lake Paterswolde).

They have an old and weathered look, and I like the combination of colours as well as the wooden decorations on the rooftops.

Monday mural

A faded mural on an abandoned house near Lake Paterswolde. It was a real mess around the building, and I wonder if maybe squatters had occupied it.

.. and apparently the mural wasn't enough as some trees in front of the house were also painted on.

I´m linking to Monday Mural.

Eelde Autocross

It was unplanned but near the end of our hike last Sunday we happened to pass a local race track. The next race was about to start and we stood there for a while. The track surface was sand and mud, and with all the bumping into each other it was fun and spectacular to watch.

The race was stopped several times to clear the track after a crash. One of the cars ended up in a ditch there on the right.

A lot of dust came from the dirt track!

Lake Paterswolde

Our hike last Sunday passed the south side of the Paterswoldsemeer (Lake Paterswolde), a popular leisure area southwest of the city of Groningen. The building and view tower on the left are on a small peninsula and belong to restaurant De Twee Provinciën (The Two Provinces), as the lake is right on the border between the provinces of Groningen and Drenthe.

Lemferdinge Estate

This is the Lemferdinge Estate, the most popular wedding location in the municipality of Tynaarlo, south of Groningen city. The house originally dates from the 15th century, when the estate included several large homes, a canal with a draw-bridge, gardens, a forest and meadows. Nowadays it is this (in 1996 renovated) beautiful house and the gardens that form the estate.

Model balloons and Sesame Street

Supporting act at the TT Balloon Festival were a number of 'model hot-air balloons' that made a ride. The baskets were obviously not meant for humans, but we spotted one in which Pino (the Dutch version of Big Bird), Bert (who seems to balance dangerously on the edge there), dog Tommie and the Cookie Monster from Sesame Street had a fabulous time! :)

This photo gives you an idea of the size of these model balloons. Besides being smaller they operate exactly the same as normal balloons, including the burners. They can however only be controlled from the ground so the owners kept them on a long rope like a kite.

TT Balloon Festival #2

Today a few more images from the TT Balloon Festival last Sunday evening. On this photo a lot of balloons were preparing to lift up in the air.

A spectacular sight was this really HUGE Oriënt Express-balloon from Germany. Because of it's immense size and unusual shape the balloon was quite unstable however and was 'just' meant for show-effect on the ground.

This photo shows 16 of the about 25 balloons on their way at 9:15 pm.

TT Balloon Festival

It's MotoGP time again in Assen! In the week prior to this event, known as the Dutch TT that will be held this coming Sunday, all kinds of activities are organised. One of them is the TT Balloon Festival that we visited last Sunday evening. About 25 hot-air balloons went up in the blue sky in still tropical temperatures. The special shapes were spectacular! How about this Nissan Micra..

 .. and this happy lady..

And of course the lucky ones on board did a lot of waving to the people left behind on the ground.
A few more photos tomorrow.

I'm linking to All Seasons.

Tunnel mural

Apart from the nasty graffiti this mural shows quite some things that can be found in the Lappenvoort Polder that I told you about earlier: the White Mill, cows, ducks, and the green landscape with the Drentse Aa river. We found the mural in a small tunnel going underneath highway 28 near the village of Haren.

I'm linking to Monday Mural.

Refreshments

This small though elegantly decorated cabin near De Braak estate in Eelde offers coffee/tea and refreshments.

Lappenvoort Polder

It was the third time we did this 13 km walk, starting from the Postillion Hotel car park in the village of Haren. Standing on this bridge we crossed a small river called Oude Aa. Just visible between the trees is the Witte Molen (the White Mill) that I showed earlier HERE and HERE. The landscape belongs to the Lappenvoort Polder.

And from the other side of the bridge is another view of the polder, that is also a designated flood storage area with the city of Groningen only a few km north. I took both photos last Sunday.

Wall advertising

I photographed this (newly repainted?) wall advertising in Apeldoorn:

"meubelfabrikanten (1901) 

D.N. van Heerden 

ontwerpen voor 

woningsinrigtingen (1923) 

Davoud (1972) 

in English: "furniture makers (1901) - D.N. van Heerden - designs for home furnishings (1923) - Davoud (1972)

This address at the Hoofdstraat used to be the location for Davoud Perzische Tapijten (Davoud Persian Carpets) - hence the advertising on the wall. I haven't been able though to find any information regarding the name 'D.N. van Heerden' and/or the dates that are mentioned. Maybe they also had a store here once?

Tricycle

This carrier tricycle was parked in front of 'WAAR', a shop in fashion and lifestyle accessories in Apeldoorn.

Roof tile walls

The roof tiles on this building are commonly used here in the Netherlands, though I have never seen them applied on walls like it was done here in this street in Apeldoorn.

It seems quite expensive to me, though practical as well in terms of weather-proof and I think it looks rather neat.

Paper art

One more from the CODA museum Paper Art exhibition: a paper sculpture with colour pigments by Korean artist Jae Ko (1961). She works with rolls of paper that are used in calculators and cash registers, and experiments with traditional pigments. She then rolls it up and shapes it.

Jae Ko considers the art she creates as works without a meaning, and therefore the objects are nameless. I enjoyed viewing her website HERE.

Apeldoorn mural

This mural at the Stationsstraat in Apeldoorn pictures several scenes: people cycling towards the horizon, and -as the city of Apeldoorn is located near the forest-rich Veluwe National Park- a variety of animals such as a deer, a wild boar, and a fox.

The mural was painted by local artist Stephan Peters. You can read more about him and his work HERE (in Dutch).

I'm linking to Monday Mural.

Paper pulp drawing

Another impressive piece at CODA Museum's current Paper Art exhibition is this drawing from paper pulp called 'Refugees', by Colombian artist Miriam Londoño (1955). With this she draws attention to the refugee crisis, a topical matter obviously.

Looking at a detail it is clear what a remarkable and precise work this is, and the shadows on the wall emphasize that even more.

Faces

We visited the 'Paper Art 2017'-exhibition in the CODA Museum in Apeldoorn today. This was one of the pieces. Can you see the faces?

The Old Alley

A rainy day today so I chose 2 photos with blue skies taken recently: this former sheep shed in the village of Gees is named after the alley it is located at: "De Oude Steeg" ("The Old Alley"). Inside antiques/vintage items are sold, or "brocante" as we call it.

The barn seen from the other side.

Voldersgracht

This canal is the Voldersgracht, dating from the 14th century and one of the oldest canals in Delft. With houses at the right, it has a street on one side only. It is located near the central square.

Bicycles

Near the central square in Delft.

Flowers and a lane

Two more views taken during our hike yesterday near the village of Ter Apel, in Westerwolde. These lovely little flowers attract bees and can be found everywhere now, especially on roadsides. I think it's called knapweed, or 'knoopkruid' in Dutch.
Update: I was kindly informed by several of you that this is not knapweed but clover. Many thanks for correcting me! I appreciate that :))

I love the sight of these old and grand looking lanes. It´s the kind of lane that would lead to a castle, or a manor maybe, and you wouldn´t be surprised to see a horse and carriage appear. This photo was taken near the Ter Apel Monastery, and it must be one of the older access roads.

Linking today to All Seasons.

Ruiten-Aa canal

On a bridge crossing the Ruiten-Aa canal, earlier today. This region is called Westerwolde and it is located in the south of the province of Groningen.

The canal exists for about 100 years: at the end of the 19th century plans were made to dig a canal in order to relief the area of superfluous water, and in 1920 the Ruiten-Aa canal -including 8 locks- was finished. Nowadays the canal is in use for recreational boats only.

Another scene..

..from the old centre of Delft.

Delft centre

The historic town centre of Delft, seen from the central square..

..and shops selling typical Dutch items like Delft Blue pottery and cheese.

Where to?

This vase was attempting to hitchhike out of the Prinsenhof Museum in Delft  ;)

NB. You may notice written names on the vase. Visitors to the museum were allowed to write or scribble on it with blue markers. But only on this one!

Book chest escape

In the primary school history lessons of every child in the Netherlands is told about the escape in 1621 from Hugo Grotius (in Dutch known as Hugo de Groot) in a book chest, from Loevestein Castle where he was imprisoned. Lawyer, poet and politician Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) laid the foundations for international law. He served a controversially imposed life sentence from 1619 in the castle.
As he was still allowed to read and study, the necessary books were regularly brought to him in a book chest. In 1621 his wife hid him in this book chest and helped him to escape from the castle.

Apparently both the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Prinsenhof Museum in Delft claim to have the original book chest in their collection. On the photo is the one we saw in Delft. What do you think, did we see the real book chest? ;)