The Alkmaar Trip: From Callantsoog Down the North Sea Coast

As you recall, this was a seize-the-weather over-nighter to see Alkmaar (last post) and then spend the night in Callantsoog, before heading back south along the coast towards home the next day. 

Once again, here's the map of North Holland province to get your bearings.

As you see, Callantsoog is right on the North Sea, a tourist town.

After settling into our hotel, we went off to the beach before it got too dark.

It was very cold and windy, just like you'd expect Dutch weather to be on the coast in March.

Eline (PT) had told me to not walk in the sand because it'd wreak havoc on my knee.

So I was a good girl and watched Astrid do her shenanigans.

The next morning we drove to see the iconic Reformed church in the center of town...

...before heading out on our way south along the coast.

Lucky for us to see these Scottish Highlander beauties basking in the morning sun.

Ten miles later we arrived in Camperduin, where Astrid spent many camping days as a child.

It was almost 50 years ago when she was last there with her family, so a lot had changed.

The Kies Voor Water (Choose for Water) was a voting prop for recent Dutch elections.

Nearby the campground, we drove into the town of Schoorl to see the sand dune

where Astrid and her brother spent hours climbing up and rolling down.

Anything idyllic along the way, like this wee church, got captured.

 Did I mention that North Holland is tulip-bulb country?

At this time all the bulbs are still underground, getting ready to be harvested for sale.

Tulip bulbs are sold all over the world from these fields.  Maybe you have some in your own yard?!

Some of the fields will grow the bulbs to full bloom within a month from now.

Maybe we'll go back to see them.....

Our last destination of the trip was Egmond aan Zee to see the lighthouse.

As we walked through town, we had fun seeing all the boats...on dry land.

The housewife of the two windows said every time they travel,

they collect another boat for their window displays.

At the end of her street, there it was:  the J.C.J. van Speijk Lighthouse. 

We don't see many lighthouses in the Netherlands, so this was a treat not to be missed.

And then, just outside of Alkmaar, before we hit the fast track home...

we happened upon this system of WWII bunkers built by Hitler's men

to combat any British planes flying in from the North Sea during the war.

Don't get me started on these bunkers all over Europe, reminders of a grim time in history.

Instead, let's think about how when Life hands us some lemons,

we can choose to make lemonade!

And that sounds like a good note to end such a splendid trip, don't you think?
Carpe Diem!

Our Parish Walk in England, 2014

"Over hill, over dale, we will hit the [muddy] trail...."  And we did!

The day before our Sunday Shutterchance meet-up, there were 6 of us Shutterchancers who went on a parish walk through the streets and fields around Bradford on Avon.  Don't you just love the English names of places!

We rendezvoused right outside the Cross Guns pub where we later ate lunch.

It's situated just off the Avoncliffe Aqueduct on the Kennet and Avon canal.

Within minutes of our rendezvous, we were traipsing across the fields.

The fun thing is that we weren't trespassing!  There are even maps for these public walks.

 As in the Netherlands, the war bunkers are still visible, especially along the waterways.
The English call them pillboxes!

 At different points we left the fields and crossed streets, going into small villages.

Here, for instance is the village parish of Freshford, Somerset, about 6 miles SE of Bath.

Population is circa 550, which tells you everything.

And in the true sense of parish, we stopped at the Freshford parish church, St. Peter's.

These wee churches have become my favorites, in spite of the grandeur of the huge cathedrals.

Parts of this church date back to the 15th century.

Before going inside, we walked all around it, while sheep and goats kept watch..

We didn't stay long inside, but at least got an appetizer for the next church on the list....

 ...which was St. Mary the Virgin in nearby Limpley Stoke, Wiltshire, built in 1001.

The Saxon stone archway inside the church was worth the entire visit.

Then we went back into the fields after St. Mary's and played.  That's Lisl, my designated Big Sister 

on Shutterchance, who also hosted us at the beginning and end of our trip, along with her husband Michael
 (who was not on the walk with us).

Chris is Astrid's designated Big Brother on Shutterchance, joining her in the big chair.

He's the one who has hosted us in years past at his partner's farm in the Bath area.

Chad and Ray had their try on the climbing wall...while Ginnie took the pictures.

What can I say:  we're all little kids at heart, brothers and sisters!

 As we walked from here to there, look at what we saw.

How can you not fall in love with the English countryside!

Then, suddenly, we were at the Iford Manor from the 15th century, known for its gardens.

It sits on the River Frome.

From the bridge, I captured this Grey Wagtail tweetie-pie with my magic camera, 1000+ mm away.

Thanks to Lisl who knew what it was.  We don't have them in America, I don't think!

On that note, it was time to eat lunch back at the Cross Guns pub where we had started our day.

Were we ever hungry! A perfect place for a typical English lunch with a local hard cider.

Astrid and I were in heaven.

Look at all the wild flowers we saw on our walk.

And the weathervanes!

And all the sweet impressions throughout the day.

Lisl and Chris had been planning this parish walk for weeks, if not months.

Do they know their little sisters or what?!?

Out-n-About Again

This week, Wednesday - Sunday, we have friends Bob and Peggy coming from Atlanta to stay as our very first houseguests. Astrid is working today but will take the rest of the week off so that we can give the big tour, packing as much in as possible to show where we live.

So, after our Apeldoorn trip 3 Saturdays ago, we've basically stayed put these last two weekends, except for backyard trips near home...like our favorite pannenkoeken restaurant out in the polder, 15km away...to see things through their eyes. It's been fun to plan each day.

Many of the canals right now have a carpet of kroos (= duckweed) growing on top.
Parents have to make sure small children/dogs don't accidently walk in!
But the ducks are in heaven because it's highly nutritious for them.
As Astrid says, they just open their mouths and vacuum it up!


If it's not kroos, it's wonderful sections of lily pads. This is that time of year!


Every once in awhile we see llamas...just like we do in America.
But look at the buck teeth on the right-hand fella! A face only Mama could love. HA.
I'm guessing they've learned not to walk into the kroos.


I love the polder. What is it about all that gorgeous space away from the city?!
Actually, some of the wealthiest homesteads are there....


...along with their weathervanes, of course.
This is the second windmill vane we've seen since I've been here.


Bob and Peggy will be intrigued by all the war bunkers around the area.
Some like this one are national heritage sites and cannot be torn down. They're Dutch reminders of both world wars and are called groepsschuilplaatsen (= group hiding/safe houses).
The steel hooks strengthen the concrete and held camouflage nets.


The Leerdam water tower from 1929 is down the street from the above war bunker.
I took its picture over a year ago but this time I was up close and personal.

All of that was two Saturdays ago...15km away from our back door.

This past week there was every bit as much to see within walking distance here within our city! You really do just have to get out and look, right?!

I wonder if this is the same fella from a couple posts back?
Can you imagine carrying your house on your back every time you go out-n-about?


I love the hollyhocks in bloom everywhere.
They grow wild here and are called stokrozen = stick roses.


I'm still trying to figure out my macro lens. Lots of experimentation!

It so happens this past week was the last week of summer vacation before the kids start school today here in the Netherlands (grandson Nicholas started 6th grade last week in Atlanta!). In many cities, the last week of summer vacation is day camp, as it was here in Gorinchem where we live. And that meant TIMMERDORP (= Hammer Village).

Ik hout van Holland on the above banner is a play on words.
Hout = wood. Houd = love. Both pronounced the same: "I love/wood Holland."

Besides all the water activities, the kids get to build houses out of wood supplied by lumberyards (like where Astrid worked last job). Every child brings their own hammer from home and helps build their fort,
often with a loft, supervised by adult leaders.
I didn't take pictures of the forts because I had the wrong lens (macro), but here's a video.


By Thursday, the kids were "over" their forts anyway, having too much fun with everything else.


All this took place at Buiten de Waterpoort (= outside the waterport) on the Merwede River.
It's where the war memorial stands...remembering those who never came back from the wars.


It's also where the water taxis come to ferry people from here to there.

Lots of nice benches to wait on till the right taxi comes!

Right there, over the shoulders of the family eating lunch, is the gate that enters the Lingehaven harbor into Gorinchem from the Merwede River (the same entrance for Sinterklaas on 5 December each year). Remember, this is a citadel city. Again, I watched through Bob and Peggy's eyes as a boat entered from the outside (top row of images below)....

...and then came through into the harbor (bottom row above).
There's a holding place big enough for 2-3 boats while one gate is closed and the other is opened.
And you can stand on top and watch the whole thing!


Talk about the life of Riley!
(click any image to enlarge, of course)

And then I came back home to almost as much excitement...a week of repairs to our sidewalks here inside our Lindeborg courtyard. See, sometimes you don't even need to leave home!

I told a British blogger the other day that all our brick/cobblestone walks/roads are "cemented" with sand.
It means they can always be pulled up very easily and repaired.
I love to see how things work here. Bob and Peggy will, too!

One last thing: did you notice that I tweaked my template a little bit? I decided to to give my Shutterfly photo book some shameless exposure on my sidebar. The only way I could get it to fit properly was to widen the sidebar.

So....there you have it. Enough out-n-about till another week!