Monday, January 27, 2014

Holland's National Glass Museum, Leerdam, NL


Back in early December, one of our friends here where we live gave us tickets to the nearby Leerdam Glass Museum. The expiration date for them was Saturday, December 28, and that's the day we went.

Leerdam is a delightful city of 20K+ people just 16 km northest of us here in Gorinchem.  We've been in or near it many times in my 4 years here but this was the first time for us to visit the Glass Museum.  Leerdam's glass industry is internationally known as Royal Leerdam...also known as Royal Leerdam Crystal.  Leerdam is also known for it's Leerdammer cheese, but that's another story.

So off we went on a gorgeous, sunny, December Saturday!

We parked by the Ter Leede windmill near the Linge River.

What a delightful walk along the inner harbor...

...to the Glassworks building, where the glassblowers give their demonstrations.

BUT...that's not what our tickets were for!  
They were for the Glass Museum, back where we parked our car.
Okay, then.  As you know, we've already seen glassblowers, so we weren't too disappointed.

 We moved our car to the Glass Museum parking lot and got our first taste.

Make that Holland's National Glass Museum.
It's two connected houses with four overlapping bridges to make one continuous gallery.

 You can see it better out back, with the one house on the left...

...and the other on the right.

Now, come inside with us...for an exhibition called "A Sea of Glass."



Many things were from the sea, of course... but there were other things as well.

 I called this the Torture Chamber!

Remember those four bridges between the two houses?  Yup.

9,000 glass objects are on display there, as part of the museum.

And yes, there's a glass shop, with many items for sale.

But we went downstairs to the café and did our thing, per normal, while out-n-about.
That's where they had a fish tank with live jelly fish and a table for interactive, artistic fun. 
Something for everyone.

Totally worth our free tickets!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

On another note altogether, now that one month of a new year is almost under our belts, we've been out-n-about also in January....

...first to our favorite pannenkoeken restaurant out in the polder.
This view is across the street from where we ate.  Sister Ruth calls them "the brethren."

Down the street, in nearby Leerbroek, is a Reformed Church, ca 1500.
The pannenkoek son told us they had a new cock atop the steeple.  Indeed.
And the church chimney hosts a stork's nest.  How's that for reaching out!
In fact, not far away we found a nice stork specimen, out in the polder...

...along with a heron and some more "brethren."

Birds of a feather:  storks, herons and sheep co-existing side-by-side.
I'm sure there's a sermon here somewhere!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Today we trade in our 4-year-old Granny Towanda for a new car...but that's a story for another day.  Another day, another dollar.  :)

14 comments:

  1. Great post! Really enjoyed the glass museum and when one has free tickets it's even more fun! Granny Towanda is going away? Oh, so it ain't so!! But, looking forward to seeing the new purchase! xo

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    1. Free is free, Robin, and makes the effort almost effortless. We loved the experience.

      And, yes, Granny Towanda is now a part of our past! You'll be hearing all about it, so stay tuned.... :)

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  2. Long long long time ago I visited the Glass-museum, it was in the right building. They did a big renovation and I have to admit, it sure is a wonderful museum. The exhibition was amazing, wonderful art. It was an unexpected joyful day.
    The trip to and back to the Pannenkoekehuis is always nice. Many things to see and never a bore.
    I am sure the new car will give us as much joy as Granny Towanda, she served us well, as we took good care of her....
    Wonderful post!

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    1. I'm really glad we went to the museum, MLMA. It was pure delight. I feel like we're always hitting just the tip of the iceberg...new things keep popping up all the time. It amazes me!

      Granny Towanda took great care of us for 4 years. Has it really been that long????

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  3. I love the little glass building, and all the color of that glass stuff. My favorite pic is of you leaning on the tree. :)

    By the way, I really love these photos. I don't know if you are noticing a difference with your new camera, but I feel that you've even changed your post-processing?

    I look forward to seeing the new car too! :)

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    1. Astrid is pleased that you like the image of me against the tree. HA! We've made the decision to include ourselves in some of the pics for posterity. Just to say we did it. :)

      Interesting what you say about the new camera and the difference you've seen. There's not really a lot I'm doing different in the post-processing...maybe not as much...but Astrid thinks the images are more vivid. And the thing is, these are the j-pegs and not RAW images. Hmmmm.

      I'll show the new car soon.... :)

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  4. Another interesting excursion, but what is that strange structure that looks as if it is made of dirt an stones? A new car? What'll it be?

    Thought you might be interested in the following:
    http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/26/realestate/emery-roth-lived-here.html?_r=0

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    1. The sculpture is from Hans van Pennen in 2008, according to Astrid. It sits on the edge of the Linge river across from the museum. We can't find out anything else about it, strangely enough.

      I looked at your link and wondered if that was your father's house??? WOW! Talk about history.

      I'll do a post on the new car later but it's a Skoda Citigo in a sand-dollar or silver-leaf color. We love it.

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  5. I love glass and glass artisans...we have collected some from places we have visited. I love this glass factory and your trip. So nice to be out and about in winter...so sad we are not able to here.

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    1. When you think of everything that can be and has been made of glass, Donna, it blows the mind. How is it possible! There are so many such places just waiting to be explored. And yes, this winter here we are still able to do so. I just wish you could give us some of yours!

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  6. If I ever get to Holland I would like to go to the glass museum most of all. You will miss Granny Towando.

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    1. We will definitely keep that in mind, Mary. It's very nearby! And, yes, we will miss Granny Towanda. She served us well...and we kissed her Good-Bye. We hope she ends up in good hands!

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  7. Honestly, I would NEVER get from point A to point B. Just way too much to photograph. I'm always spellbound by your images.

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    1. Well, Margaret, you are way too kind...but there was an easy flow to the walk-through. You AND your kids would have loved it! :)

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