Dutch Summer

This is the kind of weather we are having lately: a mixture of sunshine, clouds, rain showers, an occasional thunder storm, and (most of the time) comfortable temperatures - a typical Dutch Summer I'd say :)
Photo taken near the village of Ter Apel, near the German border.

I'm linking to Skywatch Friday.

More from our Sunday hike

Two more photos taken last Sunday near the village of Ter Apel. Here our path passes a farm / B&B...

...offering a place to sit and rest.

Sunday hike

We had a lot of views like this during our hike today in the Westerwolde region: large fields with potatoes. This is near the village of Ter Apel.

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.

Monastery herb garden

View into the Ter Apel Monastery courtyard with the herb garden, seen from the first floor. Not much to do there in Winter obviously other then waiting for Spring. Still a pretty view I think..

Monastery hallway

The interior of the Ter Apel Monastery is a mix of history and modern days, which makes it so interesting as a museum. Originally dating from the 15th century the monastery has been beautifully renovated. This photo is from one of the hallways on the ground floor, showing an arch and very old floor tiles, as well as modern glass doors and ditto ceiling.

Monastery window

From yesterday´s visit at the Ter Apel monastery: I really liked this view through one of the higher (partly stained-glass) windows into the monastery garden.

The Spine 2.0

Following the symposium ´Danish Experiments in Architecture and Industrial Design´ in the Ter Apel Monastery last month, a number of Master Students of the Aarhus School of Architecture made this construction inside the Kanunnikenkerk, the church belonging to the monastery.

The Spine, as it is called, explores the material qualities of artificial straw and the potential of the historic building techniques of thatching. The Spine 1.0 was part of the Aarhus School of Architecture´s exhibition in Milan 2016; the Spine 2.0 was especially made for the exhibition here at the Monastery in Ter Apel.

The Spine can be viewed until March 8. For more information (only in Dutch) click HERE.

Domus Novae Lucis

A small stained-glass window with the words "DOMUS NOVAE LUCIS" meaning "House of the New Light" (or "Huis van het Nieuwe Licht" in Dutch). This was the name given to the monastery when the building process started in the second half of the 15th century.
Nowadays we know it as the Ter Apel Monastery ("Klooster Ter Apel" in Dutch), see also my previous posts by clicking on the label below.

Wedding day

A photo-shoot was taking place when I visited the Ter Apel monastery recently. A wonderful location for wedding photos! I couldn't resist taking a photo myself ;)

Ter Apel Monastery (3)

Two more views from inside the Ter Apel Monastery, where I passed this window with its, well kind of, mysterious and romantic look...

...and then had a look in the vaulted supplies cellar. Nowadays a number of very special ´Crosier Beers´ ('Kruisheren-bieren') as well as wines can be tasted here and brought home as a souvenir.

Ter Apel Monastery (2)

This is in one of the wings of the Ter Apel Monastery. Even after several renovations (note the central heating on the right wall underneath the windows) it's not hard to imagine that this has existed for centuries. As the monastery is located along the ancient trade route from Münster to Groningen, passing travelers and pilgrims once found a place of hospitality and dedication here.

I chose B&W for the first photo, though very much liked the kind of mint-green that this part of the arched ceiling was painted in.

Ter Apel Monastery

The ´Klooster Ter Apel´ or Ter Apel Monastery is a former monastery in the village of Ter Apel, in the northeastern Dutch province of Groningen. It´s the only remaining rural monastery from the Middle Ages in the Netherlands. The convent buildings house a museum for monastery and church history and for religious art, as well as 2 contemporary art galleries. The former lay church still functions as a reformed church.

A detail from the other side. I visited the monastery this morning and also took some photos inside, so more will follow in the coming days.

stained glass window

Ter Apel Monastery.

Monastery garden

Walking through the herb garden of the former Monastery in Ter Apel.

Monastery mural

Following up on yesterday's post about the former Ter Apel Monastery, nowadays a museum, I would like to show you another photo that I took. This is one of the rooms that was used as an infirmary.

Can you see where the room ends and where the mural starts? Only the bed in the front is real, the rest is a wall size mural.

Linking to Monday Mural.

choir stalls

This is a detail of the original choir stalls used by monks in the former Monastery in Ter Apel. Some of the chairs have decorated faces, picturing both human virtues -the nun at the left stands for devotion, as well as sins -the ears stand for curiosity.

The Monastery, start and end of our hike today, was built in 1465 and is located along the ancient trade route from Münster (in Germany) to the city of Groningen in the Netherlands. It was once a place of hospitality and dedication for passing travellers and pilgrims. Nowadays the historic building is a Museum for Monastery, Church History and Religious Art.