Sunday, July 30, 2006

Out on the day the weather changed

Today the heatwave ended and I can't say I regret it.

Now that Val does not own the barge in Belgium any more, we can explore what the surroundings of Rotterdam are like.
Today we made a trip to a place both of us had never been to: Drimmelen
It was a total surprise to find a tiny village of such high quality, such a gem, such an amazing sight to see; it takes the definition of picture postcard quality to the next higher level.
I am tempted to post way too many pictures of that place, but here are a few, after careful selection: not just the pretty images but the things with an extra.

The church for instance.

A tiny protestant church, set in wonderful floral surroundings. Will it seat more than 75? We'll check it out one of these days on a Sunday morning service at 10 a.m. No other time is possible. Other than the Roman Catholic churches abroad, Dutch churches can't be visited outside service hours.


We see it more and more these days, the names of all the family members are listed at the front door of houses. Peter and Ellen, who live here, have found a very original -and very Dutch- way of telling the world that they have a daughter called Janneke, followed by twin sons Sil and Siep.


Like much bigger Amsterdam, Drimmelen boasts a canal called Herengracht (canal of the gentlemen). Hardly more than a ditch, it is just what is needed to complete the picturesqueness of the street, where immaculately restored eighteenth and nineteenth century houses proudly line up.


On the side of this eighteenth century house we see the funeral door. As the name suggests it was only used to take the deceased out to the cemetery. If the ghost came back, he would find the door closed. This reduced the risk of the house being haunted.

41 comments:

Vallypee said...

Lovely choice of photos Koosje! I still can't believe that little gem of a village has been there all this time and we've never even heard of it as something special.

It was such fun to be a tourist so close to home, and it's just the sort of place that appeals to me..cosy, historic and colourful but very very classy at the same time.

Thanks for a wonderful day out, my Koos xx

Koos F said...

Hmmm, Thanks for visiting my pages, madam neighbour, and for having confidence in my finding alternative ways through this country, away from the highway so to speak.
Maybe next time a trip to the place of the silver smiths, Schoonhoven (meaning lovely gardens)?

Do you think I could come and plunder your fridge for a biertje?

BTW lovely profile pic! Seems your camera loves you more than mine (not more than I!).

gypsy noir said...

puff! pant! i rushed over as fast as pos and what do i find val here before me now ive been found out i shall make haste to yours val straight after this..those pics are fabulous it all looks so quaint..so oldie worldie..like another time..must have been so relaxing meandering down those streets...

Vallypee said...

Plunder away, as long as there's no pillage involved!

Merci du compliment for the photo. T'was one I took while contemplating the cobwebs in the bathroom!..lol

Dale said...

I love the Gingerbread Church!

I've heard that the countryside of The Netherlands is beautiful...

One has to really look closely to find the canal in Drimmelen.
Full to brimming with lily pads!

Your countryside is much more gentlemanly than the wilderness out our back door.
Chances are that, where you live you won't ever get too lost or get eaten by a bear...

Thanks again for sharing your photos with us, Koos!

Love
Dale

gypsy noir said...

ok just back from vals you have beaten her to it koos nothing there yet oh yes val that pic is lovely of you you lok so serene..

Dale said...

Nice new photo, Val!

Dale said...

lol Gypsy - I'm following you around!

gypsy noir said...

dale we already have delbert stalking us dont you start..

Koos F said...

Being stalked would make me feel important, so feel free If you are looking for a stalkable target ;-)

Vallypee said...

Being stalked by Delbut seems to be an honour given the celebrities who stalk him!

Count yourselves lucky ladies..lol..;-)

Koos F said...

Oh Dale, I think I'd be lost within minutes in your (neck of the) woods. I'm having trouble finding the right note to foreigners, let alone bears!

Forgot to tell: today we had our share of wildlife. First there was a footpath called beverpad, and then a deer crossed the road in front of the car - and there wasn't even a roadsign warning about this.

Oh, and before anyone mentions it, in general we don't wear clogs any more in Holland. This opens the way to alternative application of wooden shoes, as can be seen in the picture in Drimmelen.

gypsy noir said...

me and dale will be your official stalkers koos..do we get a badge?..i love the cloggs outside the house so cute!..

gypsy noir said...

lol...val does that make us celebraties now then?..

Vallypee said...

Absolutely, Gypsy! You are stars in the blogging firmament! And if you start stalking Koos, he'll be a celebrity too...a kind of referred honour...

Koos F said...

Thanks VallyP, I could have said it better but this will do.

gypsy noir said...

we're watching you from behid that bush just outside your barge so you better draw your curtains...dales got binoculars..

Koos F said...

(takes on coquettish poae) Does my profile show favourably this way?

Anonymous said...

What beautiful photo's Koos!! And that looks just the cutest village I ever did see... maybe even cuter than Muiden!!
We shall have to add this dorp[je to the list of places to visit!

xxx
Jodie

gypsy noir said...

yes it does koos you look very dashing...now we need to recrute val in to the stalkerhood as she holds vital inside information..

Anonymous said...

Hi Koos,
A "funeral door". Great and even new to me. Never to old to learn.
Will put Drimmelen on my wish list as well. Rotterdam first though.
Erik-Jan.

Mary Beth said...

What great pictures, Koos! In particular, I just love the shoe names. What an interesting, original idea. The funeral door is also of interest....it looks so narrow? Maybe my eyes are deceiving me. How did the deceased come out - sideways, layig on their backs? I wonder if they would be in a coffin already? Seems a tight fit by the look of it to be in a coffin.....! :)

Anne-Marie said...

Hi Koos,
lovely pictures indeed. I saw a few dutch barges on the Seine tonight during our boat trip on the big Bateaux-Mouches (not half as fun as the Rotterdam trip down the river, I can assure you), thought of you and Val, and tried to take some pics. We'll see how they look when I upload them.

I'll gladly meet you for hugs tomorrow. Please show up at Heathrow terminal 4 between 15:20 and 17:27 and I'll hug you as many times as you like and Val allows. ;)

Love,
AM

Dale said...

...so, Anne-Marie is a "Bateaux-Mouches" French for a boat full of bothersome biting flies?

lol

Vallypee said...

A boat full of bothersome French fries, Dale...lol

Dale said...

flench flies

Koos F said...

"...and I'll hug you as many times as you like and Val allows. ;)"

I'm so lucky!

Koos F said...

"...and I'll hug you as many times as you like and Val allows. ;)"

I'm so lucky!

Anne-Marie said...

French flies indeed.

We actually got flashed and mooned by a mad young man with the face of Jesus and a long black robe during the night trip down the Seine. I personally thought the skirt lifting was a good idea because it was so bloody hot, but he made a lot of Japanese tourists scream in horror.

We're safely home, now, Koos, although I did not find you in terminal in London.
-AM

Vallypee said...

I still like the idea of french FRIES!

Dale said...

LOL AM!

Those Japanese tourists are rather vocal at the best of times!

I had one scare the bejesus out of my horse under the bridge in Banff - as she squealed and said something I couldn't understand, jumped up and down, waved her plastic bag around and flashed a picture of us...

Poor Red just wanted to get out of there as fast as his long horsey legs could take him!

Val may I hug Koos too?

Vallypee said...

Sure thing, Dale! But only you now, mind...you're special, but there are limits...oh well, Gypsy too, but then that really is IT!

gypsy noir said...

yay i get a hud too...but only if koos says VIKING NORTH UTSIRE when he does it!!

gypsy noir said...

hud???..hug of course..tut!..

Vallypee said...

Yay Gypsy, I think we should start hudding people don't you? A hud: An armless hug...more like a thud...lol

gypsy noir said...

lol..hudles all round...

PTfan said...

Beautiful pictures! Makes me want to visit!

ian gordon said...

Koos,
There seems to be the most bizarre synchronicity around the entire globe at present with what has become "our" communal weather. Britsland turned so cold a couple of days ago I was reaching for "woolly jumpers". (Not sure how that translates!) Not too bad this morning though. Anyway, two things:

Yes Emmylou was wonderful. I do suspect a certain percentage of the Nottingham crowd were expecting the raven haired "hot band" singer of Gram Parson songs (not that any of them knew who Gram Parson was), with a set list from their "Best Of" compilations, but the majority (like me) were just thrilled to hear her concentrate on her superior new material.

Secondly, you'll no doubt remember me asking for your help whilst researching the ballad of Jock and Mavis. Well, it seems every time I think is the right time to contact those addresses you kindly found for me, another bit of the jig-saw falls into place and I wait a little longer so I can use it all in my eventual correspondence. For example, I have located the actual hospital from where Jock wrote that letter whilst recovering from his wounds. Here’s an amazing picture:

http://www.arnhemarchive.org/Photos1/Pic_StElizabethRedCross.htm

The facade of the building still stands there today as part of a hotel. So now, when I do write to those concerned, I'll have so much more to pass on.

Cheers for now. Back to painting for me today, no doubt to an Emmylou soundtrack.

Ian g.

gypsy noir said...

thankyou koos for our presys..THANKYOU!!!!!..like i just said to val its lovely to have the actual pic as im always afraid of loosing stuff on the computer...big huddle to you too..xx....

Metalchick said...

Hi Koos,
Are those wooden shoes? Lovely pictures! That church looks beautiful.

Koos F said...

Hi Metalchick
Yes, they are wooden shoes, or clogs or, as we call them, klompen.*)
Sorry for being unspecific about that.

I find it amazing how you find huge churches in places of very moderate size, say 5000 inhabitants. This chuch is an exception, a tiny church in a tiny place, but then again it is a protestant church in a predominantly roman catholic environment.

*) Or as the French say sabots.
Imagine the devastation if you throw a sabot into a machine at work - hence the word sabotage!