De Wetering

"De Wetering", as this building at the Church Square in Meppel is called, was built in 1921 as a transformer station, to transport electricity from the power station to the end users. Not what I would have expected at first sight, it must have had a thorough restoration.

Designed in Renaissance Revival style the building nowadays serves as a centre of the Dutch Reformed church. It is listed as a National Heritage building.

De Vlijt mill

Today's photos were taken from the Steamboat Quay in Meppel  -the boat you see on the right is (yes, once more :) ) the pancake ship. The mill in the background is called "De Vlijt" ("The Dilligence" in English), a smock mill in Meppel. It was rebuilt in 2002 on the octagonal brick base of a tower mill from 1859 that had been taken out of use in 1933.

In Dutch we call this type of mill a 'achtkante stellingmolen'. While googling for some more information I read that the base of the mill is used as living accomodation and office space, so it's not open to the public. The official De Vlijt website (in Dutch) can be found HERE.

A girl from Staphorst

Near the Steamboat Quay (you can see the pancake ship from yesterday's post in the background), I found this sculpture picturing a girl from Staphorst, a village near Meppel. The sculpture was created in 1967 by Dutch sculptor Theo van der Nahmer (1917-1989) by order of local publisher J.A. Boom, on the occasion of their 125th jubilee. It was a gift to the town of Meppel.

As Van der Nahmer's wife had a close friend from Staphorst, she most likely inspired him for this art work. The people from Staphorst are known for wearing traditional costumes, which can still be seen today.

Pancake ship

The Liberté was built in 1901 and has been a cargo vessel in the European waters for over 75 years. In 1993 restaurant owner Jan Vrielink bought the ship and brought it to Meppel, where it was transformed into a restaurant ship specialised in pancakes.

It's a real eye-catcher now at the Stoombootkade (Steamboat Quay) in the centre of Meppel.

Meppel centre

Typical houses that can be found in the centre of Meppel. This is the Grote Kerkstraat.

Meppel canals

I visited Meppel today, a small city in the south-west of the Province of Drenthe. Meppel developed in the 16th century as a transport and distribution inland harbour. Nowadays there is only one main canal left. I took this photo on my way from the train station to the centre, at the point where the canal is divided in two.

Linking to Weekend Reflections.

3:40

View from the back of our house, taken at 3:40 pm today. I'm linking to Skywatch Friday.

Starck pavilion

This photo was taken when I was about to go downstairs and leave the Starck pavilion, one of the exhibition rooms of the Groninger Museum. The interior of this large room, with many round shapes, was designed by French architect Philippe Starck.

Mosaic stairs

The Groninger Museum is partly underground, from the lobby on the ground floor you take the colourful mosaic concrete stairs down to arrive here in this hall, from where the exhibitions can be reached. The spiral stairs were designed by Italian designer and architect Alessandro Mendini.

And looking up..   
For another photo taken from a different perspective, posted on this blog a few years ago, click HERE.

Dark romanticism

This dress made by Marga Weimans (1970) was created from polyester, satin, tin, and plastic. It is part of the Groninger Museum's current exhibition "Romanticism Today!". This particular dress was presented as "Dark romanticism in fashion and design".

Marga Weimans graduated as a fashion designer in 2005. Her collections were presented in Paris and in several exhibitions in Dutch museums. In her work she uses themes like identity, technology and beauty.

Spot for lunch

One of many places to enjoy coffee and/or lunch in the city centre of Deventer.

Sunday hike

 Enjoying a walk in the Molenveld nature area earlier today.

Don´t you love the sound of rustling leaves when you walk on a path like this?

Manatee

One of the most remarkable and interesting animals living in Burgers' Zoo in Arnhem is the Manatee, or 'zeekoe' in Dutch. These large, fully aquatic mammals have an average weight of 500 kg and measure up to 4 metres. They are plant-eaters and known as peaceful animals. Each day the 3 'sea cows' in Burgers' Zoo eat about 25 kg of endive each.

To breath, they hold just their nostrils above the surface. (read more here).

I'm linking to Eileen's Saturday's Critters and James' Weekend Reflections. Happy weekend!

Gloomy day

Happy to see the sun today after a few gloomy days with drizzling rain every now and then. I went for a walk yesterday and took this photo, with a houseboat on the left and a drawbridge just behind it.

Woeste Hoeve wildlife crossing

A wildlife crossing is known here as an 'ecoduct', or 'wildlife viaduct', or 'wildwissel' in Dutch. We have over 65 ecoducts in our country. The photo shows the 'Wildwissel Woeste Hoeve' that crosses highway A50 in between the junctions Waterberg and Hoenderloo. Built in 1988 it was the first wildlife crossing in the Netherlands.

Louise

A pretty and elegant sign from the Smedenstraat in the city centre of Deventer.

"Louise" is a ladies' fashion store. I'm linking to signs, signs.

Autumn red

A beautiful tree in Emmen. I'm linking to All Seasons.

River view

View on the river IJssel from the quay in Deventer, with the railway bridge in the background.

Huys Ricmode

Huys Ricmode (Ricmode House) originally dates from 1612 and is located at the Rijkmanstraat in Deventer. It is a national heritage site. The detached home has 4 floors and is a former warehouse. If you like to see more, Huys Ricmode can be found on Facebook.

Blue and golden

This sweet little duck seemed to be sleeping while standing..  luckily it had found a quiet place.
Photo taken last month in the indoor mangrove of Burger's Zoo in Arnhem.

I'm linking to Saturday's Critters.

Deventer streetview

One more from the old city centre of Deventer.

Birches

Photo taken last weekend during a walk in the nearby nature area Het Schapenpark.

Painting blue

Above the entrance of a building at the Graven in Deventer is this sign of 2 dark blue hands and a blue cloth. (Once) a launderette maybe? I had no idea..

Back home I googled and learned that the sign pictures the hands and the profession of 'Blauwverver Barthold van Ophuijsen'. This 'bluepainter' named Barthold van Ophuijsen lived here around 1600. His profession was painting people's clothes blue, a deep dark blue until they almost turned black. His customers were mainly people who were in mourning. Being a widower or widow meant wearing dark clothes for a long period, and having your clothes painted dark blue or black obviously costed a lot less than buying new clothes.

I'm linking to signs, signs.

Autumn streetview

Another Deventer streetview. Even though trees are colouring nicely, red flowers on the sidewalk also still catch the eye.

I'm linking to All Seasons.

Wall decoration

I spotted this painted decoration on the facade of a house in Deventer, which seems to have had something to do with the electricity supply (?) in the past.

Anyway the owners made a nice creative wall decoration of it. I'm linking to Monday Mural.

Pastry shop

View on some of the buildings along the river IJssel, that runs on the other side. As the road there was closed due to roadwork, cars were directed through the city streets.
The word `koekbakkerij´ means 'pastry shop,' or literally: 'cookie bakery'. It must be something from the past, the buildings seem to be used now as homes of offices.

The river IJssel

The city of Deventer is mainly situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, from where this photo was taken. Only a few houses are on the west bank.

Church alley

View into the Kerksteeg (Church Alley) towards the church Bergkerk, in the centre of Deventer.

A Deventer street

Streetview in the city of Deventer.

Furniture maker

Always on the look out for special signs I found this one saying 'meubels op maat' ('custom-made furniture') in the Walstraat in Deventer.

The owner, Mr Frank Dewever, was an educated chemist, though at some point switched to his real passion: the trade of designing furniture.

I'm linking to signs, signs.