End-of-Year Gifts

Christmas had already come and gone, leaving one week before the New Year celebration.  Things were slowing down, I thought, getting us ready for 2017.

But 2016 still had something left in her to give.  And did she ever!

First, Astrid called me from work last Friday to tell me there was a rare occurrence in the weather pattern that created an incredible display of frosty art.  When the temps are below freezing and there is fog, BINGO.  She then made me promise to take a walk for her to capture it in photos.  In fact, she was that close to telling them at work she was "sick" so she could come home to join me.

I promised, of course, and this is what I saw:

You may recall that we can access the citadel walk just meters outside our backdoor.

This was around 8:45 a.m., just as it was getting light.

Already, dogs were out walking their "masters."

It was another world.  Magical.

Those who have taken this walk can almost guess what comes next.

You climb the hill, round the corner, and there she is:  the outer harbor.

That was when I saw the sun starting to rise.

Leaving the outer harbor, you see the church, the toll house, the Brainwave.  

And then buiten de waterpoort:  outside the water port.

After crossing the inner harbor and climbing back onto the wall,

the water port is viewed from a different perspective.

And then, De Hoop windmill...my favorite place on the entire walk.

You round the next corner and get the salmon fisher and the Dalem Gate.

 Looking back on De Hoop and looking ahead to the last part of the citadel wall,

even the birds were in heaven.

If you can't have snow, what better gift than to have FROST.

Thank you, Astrid, for making me promise.

I was back home by 10 a.m.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

That was Friday and Saturday, the last day of the year, promised to be foggy, but without frost.  Astrid and I had already decided to drive out into the polder as long as there was fog.  So off we went, once again around 8:45 a.m.

The fog was so thick you could cut it.

At first, we couldn't find the sheep and cows we were looking for.

Astrid said they were probably still in the barn because of how cold it was and still early.

But a few minutes later, we found them...the sheep, that is...far off in the polder.

Did you know that swans pair up and mate for life?

Almost every farmer's plot has a pair...coexisting with the sheep and cows.

This time, however much Astrid whistled, the sheep did not run to us.

Fine.  We just cuddled them from afar.

We had one last goal before driving back home:  capture the polder gates.

When I finished with my captures, I then concentrated on Astrid!
She is, after all, the Lady of the Polder from our Shutterchance photoblog.
I am often reminded that that's where we met, on the Internet, via our photography.

And believe it or not, the only weathervane that spoke to us that day

was one I didn't already have.

How timely for the end of the year, don't you think!

So, see what I mean by GIFTS!

2016 wasn't all that bad, you know, no matter what anyone else says.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Enough Excitement for a Week!

Before I get started (don't you love that we can start before we start!)...

CONGRATULATIONS are in order for my "little sister" Ruth
becoming a g'ma for the first time this past week:


James Lawrence Robinson was born on his due date, January 18.
Can you see G'ma Ruth's pride in how she took this image less than 24 hours later!
Hopefully Astrid and I will be able to meet him in May when we fly to Michigan.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

In my last post I mentioned that my laptop broke at the hinges and had to be taken to the shop. I had never heard of such a thing but it apparently happens a lot, according to the techie. Lucky for me, I had 4 more days on my 24-month warranty. Lucky also that they will do the annual maintenance gratis. I think they really felt sorry for me...or embarrassed.

So my new learning curve for 2-3 weeks ("I'll tell the Chinaman to rush the parts," the techie said) is to work the internet "like normal" from Astrid's laptop...including her Corel PaintShop for image manipulation. Almost all the images below, the ones in the collages, are from her program. I'm indebted to her, of course!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Winter here in the Netherlands still has not arrived!
Temps for the most part hang around 40-45 F, with lots of rain.


See how full our Merwede river is!
On my daily walk around our citadel city, I say HI to our "sister city" Woudrichem.
I love seeing her main church and windmill waving back from across the river.

In spite of all the rain, once in awhile the sun does shine,
so I enjoy seeing where I live with new eyes.


With my 300mm lens I can zoom in on Sister Woudrichem
to see how she's really doing.


But it's usually my side of the river I want to see, like the Dalempoort.
Some of this you have seen before...but I never tire of it.
And see, there's our water tower in the background.

There's a bridge on the river side of the Dalempoort crossing a wee canal.
I love to see the dog-walkers out there...and the seagulls when someone brings bread.


Same bridge, and if you look up, you see De Hoop windmill.
Same place, same station...but different music.
I love it here!

It so happens it's in this area that our Poort 6 housing authority is building
a huge apartment complex overlooking the river....


See the Grote Kerk in the center image way in the background?
That's the church that's only 2 blocks from where we live,
so that gives you a feel for where this is.


Did I ever tell you how much I love cranes?

Construction cranes, that is!
They've been going at it non-stop for several months now.


When I posted the above collage at my Shutterchance blog,
a friend thought I'd like this YouTube.
OMG! It's hauntingly beautiful!

Over by the Linge Harbor around the corner, I smile every time I see this British canal boat.
I'm not sure what it's doing here but if I ever find out, I'll let you know:




I imagine it swam over from the UK, right?
It looks so different from the wider Dutch canal boats.
Did I ever believe I'd know the difference?

But not to be confused with the myriad barges that go back-n-forth every day....


...not only along the Merwede river, where I started above,
but along our bigger canals passing through our city
where all the drawbridges stand up and salute.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

And yes, we finished another Jan van Haasteren jigsaw puzzle yesterday!
This one is De Storm (The Storm), 1500 pieces (image from JvH's site).
The details, let alone humor, are amazing.
No wonder we're hooked.

Now, until next week, let's see what other excitements are in store....

Our Gorinchem Citadel Walk

We had intended to be out-n-about this past weekend for a new photo hunt, but after a week of heavy rain, and more forecast, we stayed home and relaxed.

That's when I decided to take you on my citadel walk where we live in Gorinchem, Netherlands! It's been something in the wings for a long time, so here it is, with pics from the last 1-1/2 years.

Gorinchem's city center is surrounded by water and walls, making it a perfect, fortified city center. There is even a tour you can take around the citadel, explaining all about the walls, which you can see here. We have yet to take it but "most of the town walls from 1600 are in more or less original shape."

See that big red dot near top center? That represents where we live here at De Lindeborg, inside the citadel. At least 4 days a week I walk around one half or the other, cutting back through city center: 40 minutes to the left, 30 minutes to the right. If I walk the entire loop at a brisk pace, without my camera, it takes 45 minutes. Sometimes Astrid and I do that together, as we did yesterday.

And what a walk it is! I still pinch myself because of what is here at our fingertips.

First of all, there are 4 main landmarks, all of which I have shown from previous posts, but here they are as seen from the citadel walk: two windmills, the Grote Kerk, and the water tower.

First off, and only a block away from our back door, is the Nooit Volmaakt (Never Forget/Never Perfect) windmill, from 1718. That top-left image is my laptop's wallpaper, so soulful with a light dusting of snow.

Today, let's turn to the right towards the windmill and follow the citadel wall clockwise.

On the backside of the windmill is a staircase that takes you down to the canal that runs through city center and where all the old-timey houseboat barges are. I almost feel like I'm trespassing because I'm in their front yard as I pass by. Then I climb another set of stairs to cross the bridge before continuing on along the wall.


Then I pass Old Sannie on the left, sitting on his own little island in the Paardwater.
(See how this comes together from past posts?!)


Then starts some of my favorite views along the city wall.
See the ice skaters? They were there my first year here, early 2010.


This is the part of the walk where you can find the little "munchkins" from the artist Erik Buijs. All these fellas sit on poles at eye level, at regular intervals along the walk.
Each one is about 7 inches tall.


About this same time, off to the right, is when you see the water tower from 1886, now an apartment building.

It's at this point, on my short walk, that I turn into the city center to go back home, with the second windmill straight ahead. I don't pass it on the short walk, but I see it and that's enough.

Now, since it's too much like craziness to continue clockwise around the citadel (isn't it strange how our brains work!), please go back to the big red dot on the map and go left with me counterclockwise to finally meet up where we last left off and complete the loop.

I always think of last December's Santa Run (remember?) when I start off on this longer of the two walks. This was where we went then, through the huge, over-arching trees.


This is also where I start seeing the cannons because the huge Merwede River is before me, with freighters passing daily back-n-forth to Rotterdam. Remember, this is a citadel and the cannons remain as reminders of a rich history of defense.


And there she is, the Merwede River and bridge in the background, with Gorinchem's outside harbor (outside the citadel wall, that is) in the foreground.
See the walkway? That's what the whole walk is on...like asphalt.
And see how raised it is? That's the city wall, on which we're walking.


It's in this neck of the woods, looking inside the city, that you see some of the best views of the Grote Kerk.
It's only two blocks down the street from where we live (with its tilted tower).


Then, within minutes after the boat harbor, you come down off the wall to the Merwede River where the water taxis are ready to take students, workers, and visitors from one city to the next.
Sometimes cheaper than owning a car!
There's also a huge grassy area for all kinds of activities and festivals throughout the year.
A great meet-up place. Even a beach for swimming.


See the gigantic "munchkin" on the pole there at the waterpoort?
Yup, it's done by the same artist, Erik Buijs, as along the earlier walk.

Right after you turn left at the waterpoort, and then follow past the restaurant (top-left image of the collage before last), you turn right....

...and cross over the Linge Harbor to the left...the city's inside harbor, as in inside the citadel wall. It's the harbor where Sinterklaas enters the city on 5 December every year from the Merwede River.
No boat can enter until the sluice is opened, so it's totally protected.
It's also fun to stand there and watch the boats come through. In fact, if the sluice is open on the walk,
you can't cross over til it's closed to continue!


After passing the inside harbor, with city center there on the left, you climb stairs up to the wall again and see the Merwede River continuing on the right.
Across the river is where you can see the church and windmill of our sister city, Woudrichem.
And also, in the distance, the Loevestein castle (all with my 300mm lens).


This is also the stretch where I see the most dogs running around.
I actually see them all along the citadel wall. What a great place for exercise!
It was on this walk when I first met Ernie and his beautiful dog, Laika.


And then you see her, De Hoop (The Hope) windmill from 1764.
Magnificent. Majestic. There for the world to see not far inland from the Merwede River.


You actually pass the Dalempoort first, before you pass the windmill, continuing the walk.
See the water tower behind in the top-left image? Everything is really that close.


One of Gorinchem's most famous scuptures sits there at the Dalempoort: the salmon fisher.
It's a reminder that years ago the Merwede was full of salmon. Sadly, no longer.


Often in the area of the Dalempoort and De hoop windmill there will be an art symposium.
Art displays come and go throughout the year. But other pieces around the citadel are permanent, as testament to a rich culture full of surprise and intrigue.


And there you have it!
I head back home into the city center, having seen a little bit of everything.
In the center image above, way back at the end of the road is De Lindeborg's back door.
Home Sweet Home after a nice walk to die for.

When YOU come to visit us, this is one of the first things we'll do: go for a walk! There are plenty of benches all along the loop. No hurry. No rush. We can take as long as you'd like.