Behind the Domtoren is a small vey pretty monastic garden walled off from the street so it is a quiet haven. Further along the road is the Pieterskirk, a Romanesque church which dates back to 1048. It is a really interesting ancient church which had been badly damaged in storms in the 1600’s and has been restored.

After leaving Utrecht we drove to the tiny hamlet of Haarzuilens to see Kasteel de Haar, an absolutely stunning castle. A real Cinderella castle with turrets and towers and a moat and big iron gates. It is gigantic and is situated on a huge estate with stunning gardens.

We took a guided tour through the castle. The inside is lavish with highly decorated walls and ceilings and many stained glass windows. In one room where these huge light fittings made of wrought iron with horses and knights in armour. The fittings each weigh 500kilograms. This was the sort of lavishness throughout the castle.

The castle is privately owned and lived in during the month of September every year. It is closed to the public when the family is in residence. The castle is owned by the descendants of the Baroness Rothchild.

Today we drove to the tiny village of Doorn to see Kaiser Willhelm II’s house and museum in vast grounds in the countryside.
From there we drove to Utrecht. Utrecht is one of the Netherlands oldest cities. The 13th century canals have a wharf below street level. No other city in the Netherlands is like this. Nowadays the wharf area reached by stairs is taken up with cafes and restaurants right on the waters edge. The Domtoren dominates the skyline. It’s a 465 steps climb to the top from where you can see as far away as Amsterdam. There are 50 bells in the tower.

Monday. We left Groningen and drove towards the German border through the towns of Assen and Emmen to Kamp Westerbork. Kamp Westerbork was a WW2 concentration camp. There is a museum there where you go first. The museum is excellent. They have a large collection of personal items from the 100,000 Jews that went through this camp. They have suitcases with a few personal effects. That really brings the experience to life. They have many photos displayed on the walls, film footage of survivors talking years later about their experiences. Unfortunately that is all in Dutch but you can get an idea from it all.

From the museum it is about 3km to the actual camp. Most of it was torn down in the 1970’s but has been re-created in part. There barbed wire fence has been put back. Parts of the concrete buildings remained. The rest has been marked out to show where the various buildings were. Outside the fence the camp commandant’s house is intact. There was an area where the people were taken and loaded on the trains. There they have placed 100,000 blocks to commemorate the people who were sent to their deaths. It is very moving indeed.

We then set off into the countryside in search of Hunnebunen or Monoliths. We stopped in the tiny village of Borger to get a map of where to find the Hunnebunen. Borger is a very pretty little village with lots of thatched roof houses.

We drove down narrow winding lanes and then walked down little tracks between rows of potatoe plants on farms to find the collections of pre-historic rocks.

Our next destination was the town of Zwolle. Zwolle was much bigger than we expected. We had our trusty tom tom to assist us in navigating the narrow little lanes and one way streets into the historic centre in search of the tourist office.

It was on our way out of town that we had trouble. The Tom Tom took us up a one way street the wrong way. It was only seconds to realise we were going the wrong way but suddenly there appeared a policeman on a bicycle to tell us we were going the wrong way. He said follow me and he rode his bike ahead of us and directed us all the way through the little streets out to a main road. That was so nice of him. We have found the Dutch people to be very friendly and very helpful.

From Zwolle we went to the tiny fishing village of Urk. Urk used to be island along with Schokland who for hundreds of years eked out and existence on a narrow island in the Zuiderzee. Schokland was eventually swallowed up by the Noordoostpolder just like Urk and you now drive over some bridges to reach both places.. In Urk some of the locals still wear traditional costume. We didn’t see anyone dressed traditionally but we did see a man working on his boat wearing clogs.

This morning we left Alkmaar and headed for Gronigen. Our first destination was the Afsluitdijk, a 31km enclosing dam, a 4 lane highway dividing the North Sea and the Isselmeer lake connecting the provinces of Friesland and Groningen to the mainland. At each end of the dam are giant sluice gates to control the ebb and flow of the water between the lake and the sea.

We stopped at the viewing tower and cafe on the mid point of the dam.

Our next stop was the town of Leeuwarden. Leeuwarden is a modern city, but with a ancient mostly 16 century city centre, with many canals and city walls (looks like a diamond) and some great museums. . Leeuwarden is the capital of the beautiful Province of Friesland.

We continued on driving through a number of small villages with very pretty houses.

We then went to Lauwersoog in the Lauwersmeer National Park. Lauewersoog is a recreational area and marina. People gather here to swim sunbathe and sail on the boats.

We then drove on into Groningen where we spent are spending the night. Groningen is university town. It has a lovely university main building dating back to the 1600’s, many fine buildings and museums and for the first time in Holland no canals in the inner city, only one large canal surrounding the outskirts of the city.

We then went to see Bergen aan zee. Being such a beautiful day thousands of other day trippers were doing the same thing and there wasn’t a parking spot to be had anywhere so we ventured on further to Egmont and Egmont aan zee where we managed to find somewhere to park and were able to see the town of Egmont and then the beach which was packed with people swimming and sunbaking on the vast sandy beach.

We then drove to Bergen. Bergen is a very pretty village not far from sea. Today there were two markets. One market selling flowers, fresh foods and clothing stalls and another market in the grounds of the ruined church. This was quite a bizarre market. To our surprise this market was selling coffins and elaborate cloths to drape over them. Religious candles, clothing for the deceased and film companies to make videos,.presumably of the funeral. Couldnt quite work that out.

We drove to Hoorn, once a sleepy fishing village. It is located on the Isselmere, a huge sea that is connected to the North Sea but controlled by tidal gates as the town is below sea level.

Driving through the countryside along tiny one lane roads where there is nearly always a narrow canal alongside you. The richly fertile vibrant green pastures are criss crossed with tiny canals. Cows, sheep and horses graze together. The landscape is dotted with windmills. Larger canals carry a stream of boats. Families and couples out enjoying this very warm and sunny weather.

We took a trip to Edam, another famous cheese town. It is a very compact and pretty town with the river Ye. The houses that line the side of the canal are exceptionally pretty. Some were once merchants houses and are very grand with long neck gables or stepped gables. The town began in 12thcentury and was originally called Yedam after the river Ye. It became a prosperous town from it’s shipbuilding.

Walking along the old streets and quiet canals where boats sail lazily by, it is easy to imagine what it might have been like in centuries past.

Friday. We arrived in Alkmaar. Alkmaar is THE cheese town. The town square is transformed every Friday morning into an ancient cheese market. Great wheels of cheese are laid out in the square, the Waagplein. The are collected and taken to the Waag (the weighhouse), The cheeses are sold by dealers on a clap of hands and strong men carry these wooden “slings” full of cheese at a running pace with staps on their shoulders.

Around the outside of the cheese market are many little stalls set up selling many Dutch specialities, cheese of course, Stroop wafels, dutch pancakes and hering. Hering is eaten smothered in raw onion.

After the market is gone and all the stalls have packed up the Waagplein is transformed with sidewalk cafes, where patrons sip coffee and snack on broodjes (sandwiches on rolls) to the sound of church bells.
There are more than 400 monuments in Alkmaar. The Grote Kirk (cathedral) is no longer a church. It became too big and too costly so it is now a museum/art gallery with ever changing exhibitions. The Waag weighhouse is a beautiful turreted building with the figure of a soldier standing guard almost at the top of the tower. There are many other beautiful old buildings dating back to the 12th and 15th centuries

Today we went to Gouda. Gouda of course is famous for cheese. We saw the cheeses laid out in the market square, people dressed in traditional costume and cheese wheels being loaded into horse drawn carriages and in the Kaaswaag weighhouse they were weighing cheese on gigantic scales. In the old days, the cheese farmers brought their cheeses to the market. The cheese was weighed and the weighing master gave the farmer a note that read the weight of the cheese. The farmers and tradesmen did business by clapping hands. We saw this re-enacted today.

We visited the De Sint Janskerk or St John’s church. The church is especially famous for its stained glass windows “the Gouda Windows”. They depict scenes from biblical and national history. They date from 1555. There are more than 65 windows and they are stunningly beautiful.

The outside of the church has a clock and under the clock is a series of figures and a door when the hour strikes the door opens and two figures slide out bow to each other and then disappear back behind the door.

Gouda is also famous for syrup waffles, or Stroopwafel. About 3 centuries ago the first syrup waffle was baked in Gouda.

There are a number of museums, churches, the beautiful town hall, a working windmill and some Almshouses or hofje (houses for the poor) all within easy walking distance, making a very compact and pretty town to visit.

After Gouda we went to visit Leiden. Leiden is Rembrandt’s birthplace. It has the Netherlands oldest university. It is also where the Pilgrims first sailed to America aboard the Mayflower.

Orange coloured water in fountain.

Yestereday we took a tram ride from Delft to the beach at Scheveningen which took about 15 minutes. The beach itself is a nice sandy beach. There are loads and loads of cafes and restaurants right on the beach.

During WW2 the word Scheveningen was used as a code word because the Germans could easily learn Dutch but there was no way they could pronounce Scheveningen like the Dutch.

We then took a tram ride from Scheveningen back to den Haag. We saw the Palace and the Dutch Parliament and numerous monuments and buildings. It is a prettier city than I expected. It is full of flowers. There are huge pots everywhere filled with bright flowers.

The dutch are obsessed with everything orange for the World Cup, they wear orange clothes, orange flags are draped everything and in den Haag the fountains were spouting orange water.

We left Amsterdam this morning and drove to Delft. Delft is a picturesque little town famous for the blue and white pottery, Delftware. Also famous for Johannes Vermeer the artist born in Delft and buried in the Old Church, Oude Kirk along with all the kings and queens beginning with William of Orange.

We visited the 13th-century Old Church, the 15th-century New Church and browsed the many shops selling Delftware. We wandered around the town through the market squares and along the canals to the Botanical Gardens.

Say cheese!!!

Our last day in Amsterdam. We walked to the Anne Frank house Museum, and hooray hardly any queue. We have checked it out every day and the queues have been horrendous. We thought we might have to miss it. I am so glad that we went though. It was very moving indeed. We were able to see the secret annexe and all the rooms where the 8 people hid for several years. We saw Anne Franks real diary or diaries, she wrote several. We watched several short films with interviews with the people who helped hide them andtghe lady who had cared for them and had saved the diaries. a Anne’s father who survived returned in the 1950’s to the house and he helped to set up the museum and publish her diary. The secret entrance behind the bookcase, the room where Anne lived and decorated the walls with posters and postcards, some of which are still there.

We then went to the floating flower market on Singel. There are many shops selling tulip and other bulbs as well as fresh flowers.

We did a lot of walking today. We saw the narrowest house, barely wider than the front door. The reason so many of the old houses are so narrow is the tax that was imposed based on the width of the house, so the houses were as narrow as possible to pay less tax.

We visited a cheese shop and tasted some of the hundreds of cheeses on offer. The variety, shapes and colours amazed us.

We wanted to go and see the Old Church which dates back to the 12th century and is the oldest church in the Netherlands but it was closed today. Instead we visited St Nicholas church.

We also visited the hidden church. It was a Catholic church during the time of the Reformation when you weren’t allowed to be a Catholic. The church was hidden, a bit like Anne Frank’s house, behind another dwelling and reached by a secret staircase.

We went for a walk through the VondelPark Amsterdam’s equivalent to Central Park NY. It is very picturesque. It has many lakes and waterways and a large rose garden. Today was the sunniest day since we’ve been here so the park was full of people enjoying a lovely sunny day.

I took a lot of photos today of the stone tablets that adorn the entrances to a lot of the old houses. The stone tablet is in picture form and most are dated in the 1500’s and 1600’s when few people could read and write so a picture tablet told visitors what your business was.

We took the hop on hop off canal boat tour today.

We also spent several hours in the Van Gogh Museum. The museum houses about 200 of Van Gogh's painting from his earliest paintings right through his lifetime. There are also some Monet's, Henri Toulouse Latrec and many more. It was exceptionally good.

We then went on the various routes of the Canal boats finishing with the orange route and the worst boat driver of them all.

He banged the boat into the dock several times when trying unsuccessfully to park, hit the sides of the canal and at one stage another boat.

At one point he tied the boat up at an unofficial stop and went to the toilet.

I was very glad to get off.

We are in Amsterdam. We are staying in the de Jordaan area in a houseboat on the canal. It is really lovely. It is everything I had hoped for and more. There are lots of houseboats moored along the canal. It is so peaceful here. Leafy and green. The occasional boat sails past and there is a family of ducks making a nest in a tyre on the boat next to ours. They are building the nest out of twigs and bits and pieces foraged from the canal. It is interesting to watch them collect the things for the nest. The de Jordaan area is very pretty. Narrow streets alongside the canals and little lanes with houses whose windows have boxes of pretty flowers and the doorways have climbing roses draped around them.

A lot of restaurants, cafes and bars line the streets spilling out onto the sidewalk. Planter boxes line the streets filled with flowers and shrubs.

Minature cars and bicycles are the main form of transport. There's more than 600,000 bicycles in Holland.

Thursday. This morning we went to the Frites Museum. The museum tells the story of the fry from its humble beginnings as a wild potato in South America to the fry of today which the Belgians claim they invented. It has been discovered that potatoes were cultivated 8000 years ago. Potatoes were at one time, just like chocolate, reserved for the very rich. Then of course, they were food for the very poor. The museum was very interesting. We learnt that potatoe juice is very good to drink if you have a tummy upset and is also very good for gout and arthritis. You finish off your visit to the Museum with freshly made Frites and mayo or mustard.

We visited Gent today, a beautiful medieval city with cobblestoned streets and crisscrossed with canals. The historical centre is an easy walk with all the sites close together. There is the Castle of the Counts, an imposing medieval fortress right in the middle of the city. Nearby is St Michaels Bridge where you can stand and see all three towers in a row.

The magnificent Belfry with it’s golden dragon atop and four gold topped turrets towers over the city. The carillion once announced important visitors to the city and executions. Now it chimes every ½ and on the hour and also announces festivals throughout the year.

St Bavo’s Cathedral is Gent’s oldest church. It has magnificent stained glass windows and it’s interior is mostly marble and very dark oak. Lot’s of statues and lavish Tombs of Gent bishops. There’s a Rubens painting and also The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, a famous painting I haven’t heard of.

We weren’t able to see inside St Nicholas’s church. It is undergoing renovation which I later read began in 1960!! And they are still at it.

Belgium chocolate shops adorn the city and it wasnt long before we gave in to temptation and bought some chocolate.

Bruges is also famous for lace making and there are lots of shops selling handmade lace and I took this photo of a lady creating a lace doiley.

Last Sunday we stayed in a hotel right opposite St Pancras station and the following morning we caught the Eurostar to Brussels. The train departed England and in no time we were in the tunnel. About 20 mins later we popped out into the French countryside. The train whisked us to Brussels and we arrived there in about 2 hours. Very efficient. We changed to a local train and were soon at the airport to collect our lease vehicle.

A little over an hour later we arrived in Bruges and checked into our B&B, Maison Printaniere located about 3kms from the old town of Bruges.

Bruges is beautiful. In the 5th century waters from the North Sea submerged the whole town. 200 years later when the water subsided the land was crisscrossed with canals. The town itself dates back to 892.

Bruges has 25 churches and 47 almhouses, houses for the poor which date back to 16th century. The almhouses are grouped together with a pretty central courtyard garden.

The city has narrow cobblestoned lanes lined with beautiful old buildings, houses, churches and lots of statues and monuments. Horse drawn carriages take visitors through the streets.

We took a boat ride along the canals and under the many low bridges, some so low that even in the low electric boats we had duck our heads.

Swans and ducks glide by as you sail silently along the canal looking up at the buildings, shops and step roofed houses lining the canals.

We've been to London to see the Queen!!

Today we went to the Trooping of the Colour ceremony. I just love all the pomp and ceremony.

The actual Trooping of the Colour is a ticketed event but if you can get close enough you can watch for free, but we werent able to see very much but we got a great spot along the Mall to watch all the royals in their handsome Landau carriages. First came Camilla waving and smiling to everyone. Leading each carriage was either soldier/guards on horses or on foot. The second carriage had Eugene & Beatrice and the final carriage had the Queen looking very glum. She didnt wave or smile at the crowd at all.

Following her carriage was Princess Anne and Prince Charles on horses.

Hinton Abner.

Where do people get the money from I wonder for these vast estates with magnificent gardens, enormous houses stuffed with, in this case Georgian and Regency furniture, fine art and a vast collection of crockery and glassware.

We also visited Hinton Ampner, a stately home built by the last Lord Sherborne. The house is young by standards of other stately homes, only dating back to 1898. It was extensively remodelled in the 1930's and there was a huge fire in the 1960's which necessitated more remodelling.

Hinton Ampner is best known for its magnificent garden with stunning views.

Chest containing bones of Saxon kings.

We visited the city of Winchester and of course Winchester Cathedral.

This magnificent cathedral dates back to 1079. Jane Austen is buried here, her grave is marked with a commemorative plaque. Also, chests contain the bones of many Saxon kings and the remains of the Viking conqueror Canute and his wife, Emma. The son of William the Conqueror, William Rufus (who reigned as William II), is also buried at the cathedral.

Old fashioned roses, Mottisfont Abbey

Today we did some sightseeing and visiting pretty villages and stately homes and gardens.

We went to visit Mottisfont Abbey in Romsey. The house is built on the Gothic remains of the original 13th-century Augustinian priory. The River Test which runs through the extensive grounds is one of the finest chalk steams in the world and is teeming with huge trout. It is the most expensive river to fish in England. The walled gardens house the National Collection of old-fashioned roses and is the oldest rose garden in England.

Me at a folly in the grounds of Shugborough.

Yesterday we visited Shugborough Estate, a vast 900-acre estate with an 18th century mansion and a Georgian working farm. Today, as the ancestral home of the Earls of Lichfield, it was lived in by the 6th Earl until very recently. It is better known as the home of the late photographer, Patrick Lichfield whose photographs are displayed in one of the rooms of the house.

An enima type machine.

A 1940's kitchen at Bletchley Park.

We have been been visiting family and friends as well as doing some sightseeing.

We went to Bletchley Park near Milton Keyes. It is the historic site of secret British codebreaking activities during WWII and birthplace of the modern computer, the Colusses. They have rebuilt Colusses and the Bombe (Polish) enigma machine and lots of other enigma machines. They had displays of memorbillia from WW2 and that era. There were a lot of people there in dress from that era, historical re-enactment society members. There were historic cars and WW2 jeeps and machinery. We spent the entire day there and did not see everything. We will have to go back one day.

The gold medal Australian Garden.

I shall put some more photos on Picassa.

On Thursday we spent the day at the Chelsea Flower Show. There is a huge pavillion with floral displays and small gardens and outside there are lots of show gardens and then smaller courtyard gardens.

We spent about 8 hours at the show walking around. Here's a few photos