Work in progress

The train station area in Assen has been a building site since 2016, but it is all going to be finished later this year. This photo was taken from the temporary bridge that takes train passengers to the other platforms...

...and this is the new roof construction from underneath.

Daffodils

Did you know that yellow is the most luminous of all colours?

This field with daffodils from Assen is my contribution to All Seasons.

No 11

From our walking path near Assen we noticed each nesting-box had its own street number.

Train station

A photo taken through the (not so clean) train window during a stop in Assen; a bit of a quiet moment in the end of the afternoon.

The American Dream in Assen

The current major exhibition at the Drents Museum is Assen is "The American Dream", about American Realism in the years 1945-1965. This painting called "Morning Sun" from 1952 by Edward Hopper (1882-1967) is on the cover of the exposition's information leaflet. The model is Hopper's wife Josephine, bathed in the morning light, sitting on her bed gazing out at the city. It is one of Hopper's most famous paintings.

This piece from 1963 by Andy Warhol (1928-1987) pictures Ethel Scull. She and her husband Robert Scull were American art collectors. Ethel was also the subject of Warhol's "Ethel Scull 36 Times", a large work depicting Scull in 36 different poses.

The exhibition can be seen until the end of May.

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.

Self-portrait

From one of the smaller temporary exhibitions that I viewed in the Drents Museum last year is this self-portrait by Dutch painter Henny van der Vegt. It's called "Self-portrait with Anna Karenina", which is a truly beautiful name for a rabbit I think :)
The portrait is an oil painting from 1996 on a camembert cheese box.

Self-portrait

One of the current smaller temporary exhibitions in the Drents Museum in Assen is ´Self-portraits'.
About 95% of the portraits were painted, this piece of Dutch artist Flip Drukker (1949) stood out because of its originality.

The flying mill

Photo taken at the TT Balloon Festival in Assen last month. "Anno 1990" means "Of the year 1990".

More spectators

Looking left, looking right..    lots of things were happening around them.
Photo taken at the balloon festival in Assen last weekend.

I'm linking to Saturday's Critters on Eileen's blog.

Concentration

Missing not a thing of the stunt rider's demonstration, last weekend in Assen.

Bird show

Prior to the balloons getting up in the air (see previous posts) we enjoyed a bird show with birds of prey like this eagle owl..

.. and a fish eagle. Impressive!

Walk-in balloon

This old hot-air balloon at the TT Balloon Festival was open for visitors: a "walk-in balloon", or "inloopballon" in Dutch.

The pirate and the clown

 More from last weekend's TT Balloon Festival in Assen with the pirate and the clown, just after take-off.

Flying motorbike at the TT Balloon Festival

We visited the TT Balloon Festival in Assen yesterday evening. About 15 hot-air balloons, among which several special shapes, went up in the air next to the TT circuit. The biggest and most spectacular special shape balloon was this really HUGE motorbike! Here the balloon is still being filled with hot air..

Slowly slowly getting up..

And there it is! The bike is 46 meters (150 ft) wide and 37 meters (121 ft) high.

And there the balloon is taking-off! A banner hanging down from the basket advertises for the Dutch TT, a major motorcycle event that will be held at the TT-circuit in Assen next Sunday 26 June, as part of the MotoGP World Championship.

Watching it lift up in the air, slowly getting higher.. 

I will post more photos from the event in the coming days.

Window of my Eyes

"Window of my Eyes" was the biggest hit of Cuby and the Blizzards (or: Cuby + Blizzards) and it is also the name of the current exhibition at the Drents Museum in Assen. C+B were a Dutch blues group, founded in 1964 by vocalist Harry Muskee and guitarist Eelco Gelling. Their music included blues and rock and roll, with a sound that was completely different from any other Dutch band in the same period.

Harry "Cuby" Muskee would have celebrated his 75th birthday in 2016 (he died of cancer in 2011), which was enough reason for the Drents Museum to honour the Dutch blues legend. The exhibition shows his youth, his music, performances, travels, album covers, and much more.
I am or was not a fan of C+B, but I really enjoyed seeing the exhibition. Both photos give a small impression.

The Maya exhibition in Assen

Sunday a week ago we visited "The Maya - Rulers of the Rainforest" exhibition, currently in the Drents Museum in Assen. It is a fascinating exhibition telling about the the Maya's high civilisation, the mysterious world of their gods, and their knowledge of the universe.

Among the objects displayed are beautiful jade ornaments, large and small sculptures, and pottery. The photo shows the upper part of an exceptionally large incense burner in Teotihuacan style, proving the influence of the Central-Mexican metropolis Teotihuacan on the Mayas.
More about the exhibition HERE.

18 Legs..

..posing at the weekly market in Assen :)