Nicholas in The Netherlands, 2018 Review

After our time in Atlanta for Nicholas' high school graduation (last post), we flew back to Amsterdam, bringing Nicholas back with us as our graduation gift to him.

You may remember that he was here for 2 weeks back in 2015, when he turned 15.  How 3 years can make such a difference is beyond me, but at his age, that's 1/6th of his life.  HA!

So, for those of you who have watched him grow up, here you go:

Our first full day after arriving was Monday Market day.

Astrid began this stay by making a Dutchman out of him, eating herring the Dutch way.

More Dutch you cannot get.  [Even I have not done that!]

To be honest, this time we didn't try to cram everything in, going all over tarnation.

But we DID do something almost every day, even it it was just a citadel walk.

One goal was to find the 27 Memory Bricks that are hidden around Gorinchem since his last trip.

 Nicholas helped us find 25 of the bricks over several days.  

[Astrid and I are still hoping to find the other two.]

On his last Saturday, Astrid and Nicholas climbed the church tower of our nearby Grote Kerk.

I stayed below to capture them once they reached the top.

There were also times of meeting up with friends and family close to home, 

where Nicholas could share in the life we live here.

He said those times were some of his favorites.

We DID go out-n-about, of course, even to Germany,
giving him another country-notch on his belt, like Belgium the last time.

We drove to Monschau, Germany, 218 km southeast of Gorinchem.

OMG!  Half-timbered houses, a castle and a river running through it all.

This was actually a birthday gift to me from Astrid!  Can you see why?!

So many wonderful memories in that idyllic tourist town.

I even collected a few weathervanes while there!

We then drove to Düren for an overnight before driving to Cologne, Germany, the next day.

We wanted Nicholas to see a HUGE European cathedral!

It doesn't get much bigger or better than the Cologne Cathedral...

and it's neighboring promenade along the Rhine river and it's bridge of love padlocks.

A shorter trip to nearby De Haar castle in Utrecht gave Nicholas another castle experience.

We took him last time to the Loevestein castle (from 1368) across the Merwede river from us.

De Haar is from 1892 and hosted many movie actors over time because of the Rothschild family

who funded the rebuilding of the castle that had gone to ruin over the years.

Then it was my 73rd birthday on June 13 and Astrid took us to the Rotterdam shipping port

for a 75-minute cruise of the 3rd largest shipping port behind Shanghai and Singapore.

Guess what!  On your birthday you get the cruise for free.  Lucky me.

Seeing monstrosities like this gives new meaning to the word 'shipping.'

Rotterdam is one of the cities destroyed during WWII

whose rise from the ashes gave new meaning to quirky architecture.  We love it.

We then drove 30 km west to the world's largest lock/storm barrier in nearby Hoek van Holland.

The Maeslantkering is part of the Dutch Delta Works and closes when flooding is a threat.

You know me.  I have to play around.
The top of this hill was our vantage point for seeing the storm barrier.

And because we were so close to the North Sea, we continued on to the beach.

Just had to touch the water...and eat an ice cream!

One last trip was to nearby Wijk bij Duurstede, 53 km from home.

Can't believe we didn't take him last time to the only drive-through windmill in the world!

The castle isn't available for inside viewing apart from event venues.

I bet you can imagine getting married there, right?!  

We even picked up fresh cherries along the way.

It's one of our favorite short-trip visits.

And like the Memory Bricks in Gorinchem, Nicholas helped us find the windmill tiles in the road.

They must be new since our last time because it was our first time seeing them. 

That was our last outing before taking Nicholas back to Amsterdam on June 17.

Two delightful weeks of just BEING together before he goes off to Oregon in the fall.

Nicholas Joseph Grannan.  Class of  2018.

We're still pinching ourselves because we feel so lucky to be his g'mas!

Tecklenburg, Germany, with Philine and Mechtild

So, finally, we come to the end of all the posts from the end-of-November and early-December trips to Koblenz, Germany (3 days), and  then to Vasse, NL (four days)!  I knew I'd eventually get here but didn't know when.  HA!

It was during our Vasse trip that we took a day to drive the 85 km to Tecklenburg in the North Rhine-Westphalia area of Germany, on the western side of the country.  

You may recall that we have had several delightful visits with Münster friends, Philine and Mechtild, over the last years.  Once we realized how close we were to their neck of the woods, while in Vasse, it was a no-brainer to figure out a visit.  Philine has always wanted us to see the quaint town of Tecklenburg.  So the trip was scheduled.

You know how the journey for us is always an important part of our destination.

We already knew that Tecklenburg was a town of half-timbered buildings...and hills.

From our parking spot, we immediately saw the church tower, hallmarking the town's center.

As we entered the center, it was a sight for sore eyes.

And because we had an hour to "waste," before meeting up with Philine and Mechtild,

we headed straight to the tourist center to get our bearings.

We were there on a Tuesday, between two weekends of the Christmas Market.

We didn't have to walk far to get a feel for the town and it's hilly levels.

Remember that this was the second week of December, so Christmas was everywhere.

Have you ever seen so much mistletoe in one spot?

Or how about a witches' path?

Impressions everywhere.

Then Philine and Mechtild showed up and, because it was time for lunch,

we immediately went to the Three Kings hotel where Philine had already reserved a table.

It doesn't get better than that:  good God, good friends, good food.

Even lots of photo-op goodies inside the hotel.

Back outside, we continued "looking and seeing"....

...being good tourists that we all are!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Astrid and I still had another hour or so to kill before heading back to Vasse for dinner,

so the 4 of us took the short drive to the nearby Haus Marck, 2.5 km away.

It's a 12th century castle/mansion that is still a family home.

A young fella inside the courtyard graciously allowed us to peek.

Then we walked alongside the moat towards the back of the property...

and enjoyed the view as the sun was setting.

What a way to end our day with friends who have become dear to us!

Thank you, Philine and Mechtild.  We should do this more often 

(as daughter Amy loved to say).

And what a way to end these two trips, one week after the other, from last year, 2015!
Now it's this year, 2016, already February...and miles to go before we sleep.

England 2015: Day 6--Salisbury and Its Cathedral

This was our day to see churches much grander than the parish churches we had seen up to this point, specifically...the Salisbury Cathedral.  Sometimes you have to see both in order to appreciate either!

So, we headed out to Bradford on Avon to catch the train to Salisbury, not quite an hour's ride away.

Chris joined us for the ride and once we arrived in Salisbury...ALAN joined us (bottom right).

What a great surprise.  Another Shutterchancer to make our day!

And as we walked through the city to the cathedral, we started spotting the Barons,

celebrating 800 years of the Magna Carta (more on that later).

 Since our goal for the day was the Salisbury Cathedral, we wasted no time getting there.

Its main body was completed in only 38 years, from 1220 to 1258.

 It's spire is the UK's tallest at 123m/404 ft.

You could spend an entire day studying the outside only.  Seriously.

How can you resist these fellas?  But who are they trying to scare?

 True to English form, we first went to the cathedral's café for coffee break.

It's so Dutch, too.  So European, I guess?

Then Astrid and I were off to the Cloisters, 

following the signs to the Magna Carta in the Chapter House.

What is it about cloisters?

And there it was: The original copy of the Magna Carta from 1215, 800 years ago.

If you don't know the history, this is where the Barons come in!

You betcha that we both signed the book saying we saw it.

But even apart from the main attraction, the Chapter House is its own delight.
Notice how the NICHOLAS cushion grabbed my attention.

 Now we were ready to enter the cathedral proper, at the west front.

Those first moments always take my breath away.

Almost immediately you see all the fuss at the new baptismal font from 2008,

celebrating the cathedral's 750th anniversary.

Talk about a work of art!

Along the long nave towards the altar, it was easy to get distracted

by transepts, vestries and chapels...

 ...and statues and tombs,

and more tombs.

But by the time we reached the quire/choir, we knew we were close.

Actually, for me the quire is often the most soulful place in a grand cathedral of this size.

Was that because I sang in church choirs all those years ago?

Here you see the long stretch from the entrance to the altar,

through the quire (top and middle left).

All the way back to the entrance we found the world's oldest working clock, from 1386.

It has no face and no hands but strikes a bell at precise times.

And guess who made it?  3 clock makers from Delft, NL!

You know I found cushions, of course.

And plenty else...

...as well as people watching.

How's that for an overview!

 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

 Then it was time for lunch near the Poultry Cross (market cross).

"Open your mouth wide and I will fill it!"

And we did.

How fun, then, to see another church but on a much smaller scale.

This is the St. Thomas Becket church from the mid-15th century,

most known for its Last Judgment or "Doom" mural filling the chancel arch.

And of course, the old wood.  The chairs.  The hymnals.  The cushions.

  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

 Walking through town was a smattering of impressions, as always.

You know me and architecture, especially the half-timbered/Tudor buildings.

And the weathervanes, of course.

Eyes wide open.  Short of eyes.

 It was a day from beginning to end, shared with fellow friends who are important to us.

Who knew this would happen when I first joined Shutterchance in 2006!

It's become quite a community of friends, sharing our love of photography.

THANKS TO FRIENDSHIP:  Lisl, Chris, Alan...and Astrid, who became my wife because of SC!

 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

I put this up on Facebook yesterday:

"15 years ago today he came into my life and world and changed me forever. 

And on Friday he comes from Atlanta to visit us here in the Netherlands. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Nicholas J. Grannan. You're the man!"

There's only Day 7 left to get done before he comes.

I'm off-n-running.....