A Dutch New Year's Celebration

While this first week of 2014 is still with us, let's have some fun!

First of all, the Dutch are allowed to legally shoot their own personal fireworks between 10 a.m. and 2 a.m. on New Year's Eve.  Of course, that doesn't stop them from starting a few days earlier and going at least a day later.

And because these personal fireworks are shot by every Tom, Dick, Jane and Harry all around us (here in Gorinchem, NL), we don't even think twice about going to bed till after 2 a.m.

So, the best vantage point where we live is across the street at our parking garage, 3 floors up....

...and out of the light rain and gusty winds.

Look how the wind affects the fireworks!

It was my first time to check out the Fireworks setting on my new camera,

as well as my wired remote control, using the tripod.  This is still very new for me!

And look at how even our Grote Kerk 2 blocks away got in on the action!

She took it all in stride.  What a happy camper.

Of course, I had to try out the camera's video setting, first against the sky...

...and then with the Grote Kerk (Great Church) peeking in.
(The white steeple to the right of the Great Church is the Catholic Church on our street,
which has been turned into apartments.)

Astrid says the Dutch spent €69 million on personal fireworks this year.
Sadly, there was one death and 8 eyes lost, plus other injuries and arrests.
What a price to pay for...fun?!

But there you have it...a grand Dutch entrance into the 2014 New Year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Gorcums Hippie Festival 2013

In case you thought Gorinchem, NL...where we live...couldn't get any better, look at this:  Gorcums Hippie Festival 2013.

BTW, Gorcum (2 syllables) is the shortened version of Gor-in-chem.  True Dutch say it in 2 syllables:  GOR-cum.  That beginning 'G' is not hard.  It's a guteral 'g' much more like an 'h' sound.

Now that we've settled that, this was the first year Astrid and I decided to go down to the waterfront of our Merwede River to take a look.  Buiten de waterpoort is outside the water port, which specifies exactly where we're talking about.

What do YOU think of when you hear "hippie?"

They actually camped out there for the entire weekend, yes!

There were plenty of porta johns available, of course, as well as urinals.

Guys are so lucky!  And they have no shame!  Four of them can do their business at the same time!

It so happens the weekend of July 5-7 was glorious, weatherwise.

And when the sun is out, the DUTCH are out, young and old alike.

I bet you think of Smurfs and snails when you think of hippies, right?

You definitely think of mushrooms, I'm sure!

Did I mention they had a concert stage with scads of gigs all weekend long?

Oh, yes.  I bet some of you want to be hippies again?!

And if the crowds get to you, go jump in the lake river!

Neighborhood Demolition: Part III

Just when I thought it was basically done and over with, NOOOO, they weren't done.  In fact, after sending Jeroen (a.k.a. Hoomer, the demolition man, not Astrid's son) the links to my last demolition posts, he wrote back and said, "Please don't stop taking pictures.  Did you see the big machine out there now?!"

That machine spits out the metal, crushes the concrete, and grinds it down to gravel.

 It's then sold to companies that use it, for instance, to build the surface layers of roads.

See, my education was not finished!

Another steam shovel came in to do this part of the job.

Another steam shovel; another company; another process.

 See how it keeps that gravel-crusher moving.  Garbage in, gravel out.

And that's our senior apartment complex in the background...our back side.

In fact, some of these pictures I took of the bulldozer from our 2nd-floor balcony.

Our parking garage is there in the background, just a stone's-throw away.

Talk about a front-row seat!

I'd walk back-n-forth from our apartment and the garage to get different perspectives.

And yes, that's Hoomer/Jeroen visiting the bulldozer driver.

That little bulldozer was a little workhorse.

As soon as one huge truck was filled up with the gravel, another backed in to take its place.

Day in and day out for over a week!

Now, here's a treat for you from Astrid, who took all these following images:

During the week, Astrid works, of course, so she was the one who took the night shots.

Apparently that gravel-crusher is expensive to rent, so they worked late.

She took these from the parking garage, looking back on our aparment complex and city.

See our Grote Kerk there in the background (middle right)!

She even caught them changing the crushing blades.

Those steam-shovel operators can pick up toothpicks, I think!

Then on a Sunday Astrid went "trespassing."

She told me she found an opening in the fence...just like someone else, apparently.

That gravel-crusher is humongous.  It's a beast!

As compared to this cutie-pie bulldozer, at rest on a gorgeous day.

Thank you, Astrid, for your fabulous addition to this photo-journalistic project.

And NOW I think the demolition is done.  

What's left is the leveling, grading and grass-planting?

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

After all that, it's my turn at Vision and Verb again, following the Thanksgiving weekend.  It's about what I do when I can't be home for the holidays!

For one thing, we drove to Antwerp, Belgium, an hour away, and spent an overnight there to see the city up close and personal.  But more on that next week....  

On Firetrucks, Military Vehicles, Gardens and Such

So, now that the London Summer Olympics are in full swing (YES YES YES), how about  a sweeeeet little commercial.  One of the best I've seen:

Yup.  Astrid and I are gluttons for the Olympics.  This year I'm rooting for 3 countries:
USA, Netherlands, and Great Britain.  Well, add Canada, too.  :)

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Now, a bit of my own olympic mish-mash of this, that and the other....

First, a bit of nostalgia when one recent Saturday the nearby Stoomspuit Gorkum ("steam-spout" firehouse museum) displayed their goods.

  We heard the clanging bells and ran to our balcony off the kitchen.

We almost didn't get the shots in as they quickly passed one floor beneath us.

Notice the old geezers...having so much fun (click any image to enlarge).

I still pinch myself when I see such things!  (Here's a YouTube.)

(And yes, those are the apartments behind us, ready to be torn down.)

Speaking of museums (and old geezers), they're all over the place here in the Netherlands.  If it's not one thing, it's another.  One of the "others" is a walk away from us here in Gorinchem:  the Rijdend Unifil Museum (military vehicles).  It's open every weekend and we decided to finally go visit it, on the day they also had a flea market on the premises (yup, you heard that right).

From the outside, it started to make sense...the juxtaposition of the flea market with these dinosaurs.

Once inside, it was a photo op for these old geezers.

Thank God for the Red Cross.  But don't you wish they weren't necessary!

And as regards the flea market (which I didn't shoot, for some strange reason), I bought a new orange polo shirt for €1.50 (important for those important Dutch holidays!) and together we found 18 DVDs for €25.  Crazy, you say, but it's one of our favorite pastimes...watching movies together.  We now have over 400 in our library.  :)

I won't call Thelma and Siem old geezers, at age 75 and 76 respectively (since I'm too closely following suit!), but we went to visit them in their lovely home last weekend, giving me another photo op with my macro lens:

 Oh yes, and I took the oculus with me (bottom right), just in case!

 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

This past Saturday we drove 100 km north of us to Wijk aan Zee to meet up with new bloggers for us, from Sweden:  Mr. and Mrs. Lifecruiser!  So my week is cut out for me, processing those images with the TV screen in front of me.  

I LOVE THE OLYMPICS!

GIETHOORN: Venice of the Netherlands

One month after my 67th birthday and two months after we celebrated it, I am finally ready to tell you about Giethoorn, the Dutch Venice of the North.

As with the Moses Bridge back in April, we first heard about this Little Venice from my daughter's father-in-law in California.  Imagine that.  And ever since, I've been dying to visit it.  So THAT was what Astrid gave me for my birthday this year!

First things first, we drove straight to our Fam. Groen B&B...approx. 90 miles from home.

We LOVE B&Bs because of all the stories and personal touch:

She (sadly) has cancer; her mother had just fallen and she was on the phone with her daughter;

both she and her husband had owned a café in town for years and traveled around the world during vacations;
 their other daughter is gay and in a loving relationship; now they are retired with this darling B&B.

Our hostess recommended a place for lunch which was on our walk to our reserved boat.

Hollands Venetië = Holland's Venice.

Astrid had reserved a small motor boat for 4 hours, starting at 1:30 p.m.

It was a nice walk from the B&B with the café in between.  Perfect timing.

Astrid did all her research ahead of time and chose 't Zwaantje (the Little Swan).

 And thus began our 4-hour tour of one of Holland's best-kept secrets.

Actually, it's not a secret, which is why we went in mid-May before tourist season.

During high season (now!) there can be 700 boats at a time on these very narrow canals.

But while we were there in mid-May, all the boating was leisurely.  

So much so, the kids were able to do their thing after school!

 Did I mention only residents are able to drive cars in the town center?

Everyone else gets around on foot, bike or boat.

And if you want to go visit someone by boat, just pull up and dock yourself!

That includes going to the restaurant or grocery store.

You can see the pride of ownership here, can't you!

One reason why we chose 4 hours instead of 2 was because of the nearby Bovenwijden Lake.

A loop including the lake would take us through the town, out onto the lake and then back into town.

It's a man-made lake only a meter deep, 2 km long and 1 km wide...another playground for the kids.

The house out in the middle (top-left image) is the Kraggehuis, a place you can rent.

And yes, that's a windmill (left-middle) without its sails!  Lots of windmills, as you see.

 As we rode back into town, these friendly cows greeted us.

 And then just like that, before we finished saying "MOO MOO,"

we happened upon this wedding photo-shoot!

 Astrid stopped the boat's engine and docked nearby so we could watch and shoot.

Listening to the photographer's instructions was half the fun.

At this point, he was having them run back-n-forth across the bridge.

And yes, that's the one church in town as the backdrop.

Of course, they ended up in the Love Boat!

All before our very eyes.

Truth be told, they probably got married in the Gemeentehuis = Town Hall,

which we passed as we returned the boat.  Not in the church.  Or maybe both?

(click any collage to enlarge)

 After returning the boat, we walked back to town to see it on foot.

It was totally different, of course, from another POV (point of view).

Is it enough to whet your appetite?

It's a birthday present I'll never forget!

And with enough weathervanes to put frosting on the cake!

Happy Birthday to me!  :)  Thanks to Astrid!

Glassblowing: Eyes of the Beholders

Two weekends ago I was "on assignment" at the glassblower's new-shop Open House.  HA!  On assignment.  I quite like that.  :)

Truth be told, I've been spending almost every spare minute for a full week, plus 2 weekends, processing 500 images.  The processing is done...and now comes organizing them and getting a YouTube ready for Mart Martorell.  Remember him?!

In the meantime, here's something to whet your appetite.  Impressions.  Impressions of old and young alike, all mesmerized by the glass blower!

 How can you resist the kids who are in wonderment!

Did you ever see a glass blower at this age??  

Neither did I.

Did you ever blow glass at this age?

Neither did I.

Boys and girls alike got the chance of a lifetime.

The thing is...Mart is MADE for this.  He is soooo good with the kids....

...as well as with the adults (like with Astrid in February).

During the 2 weekend days, 3 other glassblowers were also helping out.

If you wanted to blow glass, you really could!

Did I blow glass, you ask?  No.  

I was satisfied with watching everyone else, just like these fellas.
(click image if you want to enlarge)

And besides, I was the photographer, on assignment...remember?

I asked Mart what he expected from me those two days.

He wanted expressions amd impressions from and of those who came.
EYES OF THE BEHOLDERS.

And that's what I hope he'll get once I put the whole thing together this week.

I have my work cut out for me....

Open Harbor Day in Gorinchem, 2012

So quickly on the heels of Queen's Day exactly 2 weeks ago (last post), we had another festivity here in our Dutch city this past Saturday, celebrating the 25th anniversary of our renovated harbor.  And this after having just returned from England on Thursday!

Sharing England will just have to wait!

Our lovely city Gorinchem has 2 harbors:  an inner and an outer.  The inner harbor, Lingehaven, was what was renovated 25 years ago and from which there is now every year an open havendag = Open Harbor Day.  Think big flea market (a real "professional" one, not like the street set-ups on Queen's Day) with a party.

First of all, this martket runs along the main canal of our city center

just 2 blocks from where we live near our Nooit Volmaakt windmill (hiding).

Sails are unfurled for the celebration and big boats come from all over.

Everything under the sun can be purchased at this market!

We went early enough to get first-grab on used DVDs, buying 13 altogether!

We watched "Moonstruck" that night, one of my favorite movies of all time.

Did you notice how close Astrid is to the edge of the wall-without-railing?

The drop-off to the wharf below is about 6 ft, something that still shocks me

(and scares the bejesus out of me every year!).

AND we found 2 (TWO!!) old Jan van Haasteren jigsaw puzzles for €2 each:

Ice Hockey (1500 pcs.) from 2001, and The Wedding (1000 pcs. from 1998).

In perfect condition with all pieces, or so she said.

 It so happens that for 3 years running now, we have bumped into Coby.

And we all remember each other every time!

Three years ago we bought a lovely picnic basket from her that we still use.

This time she asked me for my photos, which I gladly e-mailed to her.

Actually, Coby's table was at the harbor where all the main attractions took place,

like these water balls.  One of these years I may just have a try at one, with my camera inside.
Now THAT would be a different POV (point of view)!

This is also where the salmon fishing boats dock and you see the fishermen demonstrating

how they fry up the fish (which they sell) and mend/make their nets.

Activities took place all day long related to this harbor art.

For instance, there were 2500 rubber duckies released into the harbor

by the Lion's Club as a fund raiser to eradicate polio!

Even though I had polio as a child and would have loved to be there, 

we decided we couldn't do everything.  Besides, it would have been too crowded by then.

 But we DID see this Eght Herrie (= real loud) band that is well-known in the city.

We followed them right to the center of the festivities...

...where Dries, the newspaper photographer from here where we live (remember?),

and the town mayor were ready to kick off the celebration.

We had met the mayor 2 years earlier at the newcomer's welcome.

We were clearly in the right place at the right time:  11 a.m.

In honor of the 25th harbor-renovation anniversary, these bubbles were uncorked!

Can you imagine being these children of one of the band players (a trumpeter),

 in on all this action, so up close and personal!

(The little boy, top-right image, did finally figure out how to hold his trumpet upright!)

What great fun for all us kids!  Here's to next year!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Now, just a wee appetizer of our trip last week in England, which a couple of you may have already seen:

 We had our 3rd annual Shutterchance meet-up, this time at Blists Hill Victorian Town in Ironbridge.

There were 13 of us...a nice baker's dozen.  We had a Blists Blast!

It would NOT have been the same without Bill's Mr. Pig!

To be continued....