Mushrooms

More signs of Autumn.

Both photos were taken in the Loenermark nature area, near Apeldoorn.

For those who celebrate Halloween: enjoy! I'm linking to All Seasons.

Watch and be watched

Now let's see...who has come to watch me today?

Oh no, it's her again! ... Sheesh!

From our visit to Burgers' Zoo in Arnhem, earlier this month.

Nationaal Ereveld Loenen

The "Nationaal Ereveld Loenen" ("Loenen National War Cemetery") commemorates all people from the Netherlands who died during wartime as a result of war operations. The cemetery was opened in 1949 by princess Wilhelmina. Almost 4,000 Dutch war victims are buried here.

Each grave has a lying square white tombstone. The graves are in rows along paths that meander through a wooded area of 17 hectares.
We visited the cemetery on an early morning earlier this month. A very peaceful place.

Palace park

 The palace park is part of Het Loo Royal Estate and lies adjacent to Het Loo Palace. It is open all year and with 650 hectare it is ideal for strolling and walking. Traditionally this park was for the relaxation of the royal residents of Het Loo and their guests. The origins of the palace park can be traced back to stadtholder Willem II, who purchased hunting lodge Het Loo in 1684 together with 200 hectare land. (more info from the palace's website HERE)

We followed the orange trail, which is one of eight walking trails in the park.

I´m linking to Weekend Reflections.

Chapeaux!

One of the things we enjoyed during our visit to Het Loo Palace was the temporary exhibition 'Chapeaux! Hats of Queen Beatrix'. She was our queen for 33 years -from 1980 to 2013- and she always wore a hat at special occasions like state visits, receptions, openings and ceremonies. It wasn't allowed to photograph at the exhibition so I can't show anything, but some of the hats that were exhibited can be viewed on the palace's website HERE.

The red hat on the photo is a delicious piece of pastry that we treated ourselves to after a walk in the palace park, together with a cappuccino. Doesn't it have a royal look?  :))

Looking up

My husband took this photo from one of the many chandeliers inside Het Loo Palace.

Inside Het Loo Palace

Since 1984, after a thorough restoration, the former royal palace Het Loo has been open to the public. The furnished rooms and chambers have all you would expect to see in a palace: high ceilings, thick carpets, sculptures, paintings... 

...and beautifully decorated ceilings like this one.
The last residents of the palace were Princess Margriet and Professor Pieter van Vollenhoven. Together with their 4 sons they lived in the East Wing from 1967 to 1975.

From January 2018 the palace is going to be renovated again, for essential maintenance. I´m glad we were able to visit it now, as the museum buildings will be closed until 2021.

Silver Sleigh

 Another exibited item at Paleis Het Loo was this Silver Sleigh, constructed in 1885.
"The Silver Sleigh was mainly used by Queen Wilhelmina for trips through Het Loo Royal Estate, often accompanied by het mother Queen Emma. She generally took the reins herself. The coachman sat on the driving seat at the rear; he operated the ice-scrapers..

..The metal runners converge in the front into crowned griffin heads. The mesh metal screen protected the passengers from any snow flying up around them. The upholstery was made of hand-woven rugs. A fur throw kept the passengers warm." (info from Paleis Het Loo)

This last photo, that was placed next to the sleigh, was taken during a rare demonstration of the Royal Stables Department around Het Loo in 2009.

I´m linking to All Seasons.

Austin 135 Sheerline Princess II

In the coach-houses belonging to Het Loo Palace, a number of royal carriages, cars and sleighs was presented, and all of them treasures!

"This luxurious and representative court car was made at the orders of the royal family. The Austin Sheerline is a composite car: chassis and engine are from the British Austin factory, the body-work was built by Pennock & Son in The Hague. Construction date is 1950-1952.
The "waving car" was frequently used for official visits. In 1955, the Austin Sheerline was used for the visit of Queen Juliana and Prince Bernhard to the Dutch Antilles. Three years later it was used again, this time for the visit of Princess Beatrix to Surinam." (info from Paleis Het Loo)

Getting wet..

Detail of a fountain in the garden of Paleis Het Loo. Het Loo Palace, meaning 'The Woods Palace', is located in Apeldoorn. The former royal palace is now a state museum, but more about that later.

Saturday's Critters

We passed these cows during a hike near the village of Loenen..

..and the herd had an impressive bull!

I´m linking to Eileen's Saturday´s Critters. Enjoy your Saturday :)

More mushrooms

We found -and photographed- so many mushrooms the past week! They came in all kinds of shapes, sizes, colours; alone or grouped together. Apparently the conditions for them this Autumn are good. So, more to follow!

Loenermark nature

Both views were taking during our hike in the Loenermark nature area, just outside the village of Loenen. And it's easy to fall in love with lovely country houses like these! :)

The area has dense forests and large heather fields. Even though it belongs to the Veluwe it was totally new for us.

Morning sun

We came back this afternoon from a wonderful short holiday in the Veluwe, a large forest-rich area in the Dutch province of Gelderland. We enjoyed summer-like temperatures, unusual for this time of year and it felt like a real treat! This photo shows the golden glow of an early morning sun, near Loenen.

Garden mushrooms

Aren´t they sweet!? They reappear in the back of our our garden each Autumn and grow on wood chips..

No sight of little elfs dancing around though... I guess they were camera shy ;)

Beach view

View on the beach and North Sea from one of the beach restaurants near Callantsoog. I like the birds that were placed there next to the tables, all shaped from wire. And how about that rain shower in the distance! We kept it dry though - the rain didn't come ashore.

Low tide

I really liked this reflection pattern on the North Sea beach at low tide. Photo taken a few weeks ago near Callantsoog.

Contributing to All Seasons.

View from the dike..

..near the village of Petten, along the Dutch North Sea coast.

In the country

The country side between the villages of Borger and Bronneger, not so far from where we live. A photo from last Sunday.

Sneek Waterpoort

So this is the Sneek Waterpoort (Water Gate) I mentioned in my previous posts. I stood on the middle of a bridge taking this photo to include some of the pretty flower baskets that were still hanging on the side. There on the left is the same bridge that you saw on yesterday's photo -here opened as well as you can see. The Waterpoort was built in 1613, after a defensive wall had been built around Sneek in the 15th and 16th century. The gate formed a part of the city walls, but when large parts of these were taken down in the 18th century, it was decided to leave the Waterpoort as it was.

Above the gate, which originally would have had wooden fences, is a gallery, and above that were the quarters of the gatekeeper. On each side is an octagonal tower. (info from Wikipedia)
The gate is listed as a National Heritage Site, or Rijksmonument in Dutch.

I'm linking to Weekend Reflections.

Canal view

View onto a canal named 'De Kolk' in Sneek, seen from the monumental Waterpoort, or Water Gate.

And while we were standing there the bridge opened to let several boats pass. I will post some photos of the Waterpoort tomorrow.

Sneek maritime museum

The Fries Scheepvaart Museum is a maritime museum in Sneek, offering collections of old sailing ship models, naval paintings, and silver pieces.

This larger model was exhibited in a glass display, have a look at the details!

Lunch location

Here we are inside the former court building at the Marktstraat in Sneek, now a restaurant. Justice was rendered here from 1839 -the year in which the building was built- until 1877. After that it became a cantonal court until it closed in 2013.

It was a nice location to have lunch!

I'm linking to Tuesday Treasures.

The entrance..

..of a home in Sneek.

Waterpoortsgracht

A street called Waterpoortsgracht, seen from the Waterpoort ("Water Gate"). in Sneek. It was still dry here!
Sneek is a city in the province of Friesland and well known for its canals.