A Meet-Up with Ayush in Utrecht, NL

For those of you who have followed this journey, you may remember that Astrid and I have a fellow photo-blogger from our Shutterchance blog who just happens to fly over to the Netherlands from time to time for work.  He's from India but lives and works in Singapore for OCÉ, a Canon printer company, with a branch office in Venlo, NL.

That's Ayush.  We first met up with him in February, 2016, in Venlo.  Then a month later, in March, he visited us here in Gorinchem.  He wasn't sure he'd be called back to the Netherlands but...lo and behold...he's here now again for almost a year.

So, yes, we jumped on the opportunity and met up with each other in Utrecht this past Saturday...150 km by train for him and 43 km by bus for us.

Both the bus and train terminals are at the same location, with our arrivals 10 minutes apart at 11 a.m.

It was like we picked up from where we last left off!

And we couldn't have picked a better day.

From the train station we walked into town...past one of my favorite scenes of the city...

past the flying saucer (top-center) and the peanut butter shop (bottom-center)...

towards the Dom Tower of St. Martin's Cathedral.

Remember here's the church, here's the steeple; open the door and here's all the people?

The Dom Tower is the tallest church tower in the Netherlands at 368 ft.

It was completed in 1382.

However, it so happens that the church was never finished, with its nave collapsing in 1674.

Since then, the tower has stood free-standing, apart from the cathedral.

It makes a great walk-through to the cathedral.

Since Astrid and I have been there several times, we sent Ayush off on his own,

while we also wandered around on our own for this, that and the other.

You know me and "impressions."

Of course, we often crisscrossed paths with Ayush, keeping track of him.

Astrid loves to talk to Ayush because he's such a good listener.

It's like he hangs on to her every word.
(At age 35, he could be our son!)

From the cathedral we walked next door to the Gothic cloister's Pandhof garden...

known for it's delightful fountain with a bronze statue of the 14th c. writing priest, Hugo Wstinc.

The statue was made in 1915, designed and manufactured by the Brom brothers.

If that doesn't whet your appetite...yes, it was time for lunch.

Astrid decided we should go to the Winkel van Sinkel, since cafés everywhere were overflowing.

This, too, was crowded outside, but no problem....

because we wanted the inside experience, away from the sun (for moi).

"Winkel van Sinkel has become a general term for shops where everything is for sale."

And of course...you can also eat there.

We then walked along the Oudegracht (old canal) that runs through the center of the city.

Many of the warehouses lining the canal have been converted into restaurants and cafés.

How's that for a bachelorette party!

We headed towards the Jacobuskerk, or St. Jacob church, to see if it was open.

It wasn't.

But we enjoyed the sculpture outside, wondering what it was about.

We knew De Ster (The Star) windmill would be open, so off we went.

It was built in 1739, restored in 1999, and is a working saw mill.

Lucky for us, it has a café inside, where Ayush treated us to a cold Witte Trappist beer.

Definitely a "thirst quencher."

THEN we were ready for a tour of the mill.

Our guide knew everything about everything!

What a way to end the day!

Others had come by bike.

For us, the leisurely walking was more than enough.

So much to see; so little time.

But it was enough and we were home by 6 p.m. that evening.

THANK YOU, Ayush, for another great memory.

You are such a gentle man!

VENICE 2017: The San Simeone Piccolo Crypt

Here's your chance to connect some dots!  HA!

Astrid and I knew we were traveling by train from Venice to Verona on Friday, March 31, a week after we arrived in Italy.  And because we don't like travel "surprises," we decided to make a dry-run to the train station the day before (since we'd be dragging our suitcases)...and buy our tickets.

Here's the trusty map again to give the lay of the land:

The red X marks our B&B; the red circle marks the crypt in the church across from the train station.

It was an easy 10-15 min. walk from our Cannaregio district to the Santa Croce district.

The train station on the Grand Canal is the point of entry for most visitors to Venice from the mainland.

If your back is to the train station, you look straight across to the San Simeone Piccolo church.

Completed in 1738, it's one of the last churches built in Venice,

and is the only church in Venice where the Mass is still celebrated daily in Latin.

But speaking of the train station, which is why we were there, we did figure things out.

Notice the dome of the church from the tracks, seen from behind the station.

 With our train business done, we were able to concentrate on the church directly opposite us.

We had no clue about it and just decided, on the spur of the moment, to check it out.

And OMG, are we ever glad we did because we believe it's one of Venice's best-kept secrets.

(Crossing the bridge to this side of the canal, you can look back and see the train station., top-left.)

A sign said no photos were allowed in the church but I managed to sneak in a couple of the nave.

The bottom images were below the nave on the way to the crypt...

whose passage was pointed out to us by a kind church keeper, for €2 per person.

Equipped with flashlights, included in the price, we entered the crypt, alone.

Later online we discovered the crypt is laid out in an octagonal shape, with 21 small chapels,

8 of which are still walled up and unexplored.
The altar stands in the center and meets you immediately upon entering.

But talk about feeling like we were in a maze of blind alleys!

The lights you see ahead in some of the images are from Astrid's flashlight.

We both ended up going our own way, believe it or not, without it feeling eerie.

It's hard to describe such a place, but surely the images speak for themselves.

It was a damp and cool space but, surprisingly, not musty.  We could see our breath.

I actually had the feeling some of the handiwork had just been painted yesterday.

The parts that looked macabre actually made us laugh.
How is that possible...but we both felt the same way, like someone was having fun.

There was even a vase of flowers (bottom-left) which I wish now I had inspected.

And at the very end, it was even ethereal.

Don't you wish these walls (and ceilings) could talk!

Interestingly, this crypt was not mentioned once in our two travel books.

Nor can you find much of anything about it online because...it's still a bit of a secret.

Don't you wonder why?

As we left the church and turned right, we saw our B&B landmark churches in the distance.

It was time to head home for lunch...across the street from our B&B.

Lasagna, seafood spaghetti, schnitzel, and grilled salmon, all shared...with beer.

It was our last meal out in Venice!

The method to my madness in choosing first the Verona cemetery and now this Venice crypt,

is because of Holy Week...the celebration of death and resurrection.

HAPPY EASTER

The Other Side of Ayush's Visit

What?  Well, in that last post when Ayush visited us here where we live in Gorinchem, NL, I also took lots of pics without him in them, of course.  THAT other side.  That's what this post is about as we went here-n-there around our backyard.  Just for the record, you know.

So, remember the train station in Geldermalsen where we picked Ayush up?

It was full of goodies...like the Star of David, for one.

The snail weathervane was on a house in the neighborhood nearby.

When we crossed the big Merwede river by car ferry to the Loevestein castle,

we spotted a cow in the thicket and a ram guarding the gate.

That's what I mean by "goodies."

Inside the castle there were plenty of photo ops.

These places cater to photographers!

Once in Woudrichem, next door to the castle...more goodies.

In fact, while Astrid and Ayush were climbing up to the top of the windmill,

I stayed below with the sheep, watching them graze nearby.

Over hill, over dale....

Woudrichem has one of my favorite Dutch harbors.  It never disappoints.

The next day, when we took our Gorinchem citadel walk...more goodies.

Even the English narrowboat was in our inner harbor, a frequent visitor throughout the year.

To finish the weekend at Kinderdijk was the crowning touch, of course.

How can one place have so many faces, so many sides....

You know me. I can never get enough...or too much...of these goodnesses everywhere we go.

By now you should recognize all of it, but it's never the same two times in a row.

For those of you who also follow me at my Shutterchance photo blog,

do you ever guess which of the images I show here will end up there with a few more tweaks?

HA!  Just asking!  :)