Wednesday, June 5, 2013

The Holland trip, pictures ...

      Here is a collection of photos I have not posted previously from our trip to Holland (please excuse the quality of some, especially those taken at the Rijksmuseum, where I ran afoul of the no-flash watch a couple of times) ...

The marina in Zaandam just below our host Kitty's
apartment at Hoge Horn
 





The building next door (note: the base is in the water)


The cruise ships arrived in the Zaandam harbor every night


The string of old windmills at the Zaanse Schans


Nice setting at the entrance to the Zaanse Schans


A solitary windmill across the bridge from
the Zaanse Schans

The drawbridge over the River Schans
Bea and Kitty, at one of the most popular
spots for photos at the Zaanse Schans
Polder land in the fertile farm area
One of the beautiful old windmills lined up in a row
A couple of the smaller windmills in the farm area
 

Kitty and Bea after their visit into the old oil mill
 

This goat put on quite a show begging for food

A wooden shoes display (you can get them
 any size, any design, any color)
An American couple enjoys the visit to the Zaanse Schans
The layout of the very popular tourist attraction
The International Peace Palace, in The Hague
Bea with our tall friends Peter and Patricia DeWeijs
Thanks to Peter for taking this photo (and for
a wonderful day and a renewed friendship)
One of the Dutch Parliament buildings in
the area known as the Binnenhof (inner square)
This is the entrance to the Ridderzaal (Hall of Knights), where
the new king will open Parliament on the third Tuesday
 each September. He will arrive, as the three queens who
preceded him (his great grandmother, grandmother and mother)
in the Golden Coach after a short ride from his working office.
This is the palace where then-Queen Beatrix had her working
office, just a few blocks from Parliament square
Peter and Patricia took us on a lengthy drive around the
 beautiful and bountiful flower fields in South Holland province

Back in Amsterdam, with Dr. Karen Gordon of Shreveport, my
cousin Heleen, her husband Jacky Borgenicht, and Bea
Even before you see the masterful paintings,
the Rijksmuseum's front lobby area
 is spectacular.

Beatrice at the Rijksmuseum (a great photo of her)
... and a not-so-great photo subject (looking lost in the crowd)
The Rijks has a massive library section, a couple of floors deep

Ship models ... everywhere
Andy Warhol's portrait of Queen Beatrix
A bust of the famed William of Orange in armor
The replica of a battleship, inside and outside
Knights, always knights ... couldn't resist
taking this photo
The historic Delft blue collection (Delft blue is another
Dutch trademark ... available in many places)
So many scale models of oldtime Dutch battleships
William of Orange III ...
 ... and his story
Bea said these government officials, posing for an official
portrait, should be called "the sourpusses)
A painting of the Royal Palace in Amsterdam
Cabinet making a couple of hundred years ago
produced some masterful work on display
in the Rijksmuseum


A plaque explaining how the United States helped Holland
on the road to recovery in the aftermath of World War II
This pelican was a little reminder of Louisiana
Shooting into a mirror, with the pelican in
the background
 

 This is a figurehead from the frigate Prins van Oranje, circa
1844. Made of wood, it was built in the
naval yards in Rotterdam in 1828.
In The Hague, a statue of Queen Wilhemina (and in my
opinion, not a flattering one. Bea says it was art).
A view of the Concertgebouw (concert hall) in Amsterdam
A view of the Concertgebouw's lower-level seating area
(taken from the right side of the Great Hall)
A much smaller music venue: A hall in the Zaantheater in
Zaandam, scene of a jazz battle of the bands -- a real fun
event -- on the night of the new king's investiture. Some
talented young people performed.
The street where my Dad lived as a young man
The street where my mother lived, only a couple of blocks
from my Dad's house in the Transvaalbuurt
The street where we lived my first 8 1/2 years
And the streetview taken looking back from the canal
(our house is the little white one on the right -- right above
 the van -- next to the red-bricked apartments)
The Kostverlorenkade cafe, along the canal just a few
blocks from where we lived
In front of the old house (this is a very short video)
Following my parents' footsteps in Holland
... yes, big shoes to fill





 
 

7 comments:

  1. From Jesse Carrigan: Nico, send those (shoes) to Karl Malone!

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  2. From Maxie Hays: Loved the pics, Nico. Only way I'll ever see Holland.

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  3. From Jimmie Cox: Kinda hard to walk in your shoes in more ways than one!!!!!

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  4. From Gerry Robichaux: You always had a knack for putting your foot in it.

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  5. From Pou Prather Crisp: Wow ... great pictures. I bet you will treasure that trip 4-EVER!!!

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  6. From Jimmy Russell: I enjoyed looking at this. Maybe we can get the tall couple to get interested in basketball. We could make post people out of them. By the way, your shoes may be a little wide. Try a smaller width.

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  7. From Liz Sachs Piker: The pictures are wonderful, Nico, what a beautiful place! The sculptor who did Queen Wilhemina would probably not have his head at this point in time. Love the shoes -- I tried some on once -- don't remember where I got them but I was fascinated. I am a woman and shoes are shoes, a little uncomfortable -- I think HARD is the word, but then I was told that in some cases there would be another softer set of "slippers" inside -- is this true? But the decorations were beautiful on the toes. I would NOT want anyone to get angry with me wearing a pair!

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