ENGLAND 2016: Cornwall's Roche Rock and Parish Church

So, now I start a new set of posts on our 10 days in England, from September 23-October 2.  There will be no rhyme or reason to it...just what strikes my fancy for the time allotments I give myself each week.  I may even post irregularly, just to get it done.  HA!

Our main base while there was with Lisl and Michael in Bath, with whom we have myriad memories.  But in between their bookends, we spent 4 days in Cornwall with other mutual friends, Pauline and Chris (like last year).

Today I start in Cornwall with the village called Roche, just 2+ miles from where Pauline and Chris live.   Roche means "rock" in Norman-French and gets it's name from the outcropping of rock we went to visit that day.

OMG!  You see the Roche Rock from the road, just sitting there, 20 meters high (66 ft).

At the top is a ruined chapel dedicated to St. Michael.

To get the lay of the land, this was where we walked to get there, just off the side of the road.

And then we walked around it, taking in its various faces.

When we discovered you could actually climb to the chapel, yup...up she went!

Not to be outdone, of course, I had to follow suit!

(Thanks to Pauline below who documented the veracity of the event, both up and down.)

But at least I was smart enough to not follow Astrid to the upper level,

where she was able to take in these breath-taking views.

Once at the first level, I wasn't too proud to admit my legs were shaky.  HA!

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Once down off the Rock, we drove into the village to visit the parish church dedicated to St. Gomonda. 

The 85 ft. tower is medieval, 15th century, but the rest of the church was rebuilt in 1822.

You know I always want these big views of the nave first.

And then come the details, the impressions.

The cushions in particular keep my interest in the English churches/cathedrals, large and small.

But what Pauline most wanted us to see was the "pulled tongue" on the ceiling (bottom-center).

Can you imagine that up there in the middle of a church service, staring down at you???

Short and sweet, Roche...the Rock and the Church.

But what a memory to start off with, right?!

Germany and Luxembourg Border Skirmish

HA!  Well, not exactly a skirmish but we wound back and forth between Germany and Luxembourg so many times, it was hard to keep up with ourselves.

It was the third day of our long weekend to Luxembourg and because our B&B was over the border in Germany, we started out that day in Neuerburg...Germany.  With a population of only 1500, we knew it would whet our appetite for the rest of the day.

What a delightful little town in the Eifel with something for everyone!

We parked right outside the old Gothic parish church of St. Nikolaus, from 1492 (top-left).

Its free-standing tower sits next to it (bottom-left and center)...both not open, sadly.

The Castle Neuerburg (left-center) is the city's symbol, from the 9th century, now a youth hostel.

The look-out tower (top-center) from the 16th century was open for climbing.

Which we did.  And that was our overview!

See what I mean about whetting our appetite!  A nice YouTube here gives more of what we didn't see.

But we didn't need any more than that while on our way to...Vianden, 20 km away.

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Vianden, Luxembourg, was our main goal of the day.  At circa 1800 inhabitants, it's not much bigger than Neuerburg but much more well-known.

What is it about European signs!  

Not much different than going from one city or state to another in America, right?

So, another charming town, with lots to see...

...and wonder about.

Victor Hugo, for instance, was a famous French author who stayed in Vianden often between 1862-71.

Oh, yes, and the Our river runs through it.

In the city center is this precious little church of St. Nicholas, from 1256.

It was the first church where I've seen an "ALARM" sign before the altar.

Perhaps that's why they can keep it open all the time?

But it's the Vianden Castle that is its main attraction, as you'll soon see.
It's one of the largest fortified castles west of the Rhine, built in the 11th-14th centuries.
And you can see it from all over town, as well as the Hockelstuerm tower nearby.

Lucky for tourists, there's a chair lift that will take you to the top to see it all better!

Look at that!  It was a perfect day to be there, though hot.
An iced coffee was just what the doctor ordered at the café with a view.

Going down was even better because we could see the castle without obstruction of the chair lift.

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And just like that, we were on the road again!  Still on a mission...

...and always with something for which to stop at a moment's notice.
Talk about older than dirt.

As I recall, this old DDR firetruck was on sale for €1,000.

You'd think a museum would want it, right?

Which reminds me...we're now back in Germany.

And this is Bollendorf, a town of circa 1600 inhabitants.

A river runs through it, of course...the Sauer, with the Bollendorf Castle/hotel at the bend.

Did I mention it was a hot day!

St. Michael's Church, built in the 1830s, stands tall not far from the river banks.

I love that so many of these churches are open during the week at odd hours.

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And at that point we went searching for the Irrel waterfalls where we ate our picnic supper before heading back to our B&B!

I told you I was going backwards!  

Next up...Luxembourg City.

A Sunday Joy Ride

When we found out IKEA was open last Sunday, a week ago (the first Sunday of the month), we decided to drive the 35km to go buy a new lamp.  The one Astrid had brought to the aprtment was from 30 years ago.  Kaput!

So, off we went to do our business...knowing we would then take a round-about joy ride on our way home!

At the IKEA entrance was this lovely group of tennis ladies having a party.

Who knows why they were at IKEA but they are students at the University of Utrecht.  

Girls just wanna have fun, you know!

From IKEA Astrid drove off the main roads along the Lekdijk...(the Lek river on the left with us up on the dijk)....to start our joy ride.

We weren't the only ones, as you'll soon see.

This alone made my day!  How's that for a joy ride!

Everyone was out-n-about...and the sun wasn't even shining.

One thing I've learned about the Dutch:  they have to be outside whenever possible.

And the farmhouses we passed were older than dirt!

It was about this time that Astrid mentioned we were near Schoonhoven.  We were here before, she said, back when I first arrived in the Netherlands.  Really?  I had no recollection of anything!  The name didn't ring a bell.

So, once home I opened my Schoonhoven-Oudewater-Nieuwpoort file from May 2010 and...no wonder I didn't remember.  I hadn't processed most of the images I took that day!  That was back before I was doing collages.  So guess what I decided to do this past week....

1.  SCHOONHOVEN, pop. 12,000:

Actually, this isn't Schoonhoven per se but out in the polder before getting there.

THIS is Schoonhoven and reminds me of a smaller-scale Gorinchem where we live.

This, too, is Schoonhoven, in May 2010, remember....

...with one of the most ornate water towers I've ever seen, from 1901.
(click any collage to enlarge)

2.  OUDEWATER, pop. 10,000.

Just as charming as can possibly be!  

St. Michael's church is on the right (above), from the mid-13th century...

...and here's St. Franciscus church from 1882.

 Oudewater is famous for its Heksenwaag (witches weigh house--bottom right above).

So it didn't surprise us when we saw this parade of witches with school children that day.  HA!

 Every town has its icons, of course.  Some are unique.

As we left Oudewater on our way to Nieuwpoort, we passed hundreds of sheep tending their wee ones:

I can never get my fill of sheep!  So adorable, especially in the spring...which is coming soon.

And out in the same middle of nowhere, we had to stop...

first for the water tower near Polsbroekerdam and Lopik, and then the free-range chickens.

3.  NIEUWPOORT, pop. ca. 1500.

 You may recognize this small town by now because it's where we go for spareribs 2-3 times a year.

We were there back in November when the Christmas lights were over the canal.

That's when we went to see Adrie, the wood turner, at his exhibit, remember?

Gotta love all that charm!

And speaking of Adrie, that drive home from Nieuwpoort always takes us by the windmill and church in Goudriaan where he lives and has his shop:

 

This, Folks, is Holland as I know and love it!

I stop for every weathervane I possibly can.

...and every gevelsteen.  You know me:  I want to see it all!

All in a Sunday's joy ride...and an added trip down Memory Lane from almost 3 years ago!  Now I need to go to my other files and see what images I never processed!  Stay tuned....