PAGE TWO
Amsterdam, Kasteel de Haar and Utrecht - Andrew and Jacqui - 2004
Jacqui and Andrew travelled to Holland in 2004. We based ourselves in Amsterdam, but also took a side trip out of the City.
In Amsterdam we did many of the usual tourist things, we went to explore the Walletjes, did a few markets, went to the Anne Frank House Museum etc.
Tuschinski Theatre, Amsterdam
Nieuwe Kerk and Dam Square, Amsterdam
On this trip I remembered to take a picture of the Nieuwe Kerk which I had managed to not photograph on my previous visit.
The Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam
Royal Palace, Dam Square, Amsterdam
National Monument on Dam Square, Amsterdam
On Damrak, Amsterdam
Here is a truly touristy picture of Jacqui and Andrew trying on oversize clogs in a souvenir shop on Damrak!
Baby, Ya Feet's Too Big!!
Lots of Tulips in Amsterdam
Typical Amsterdam Scene
As ever it rained almost continuously whilst we were in Amsterdam, so it was a relief to visit one of the things Andrew had not visited on his previous visit, the Rijksmuseum.
This sits down one end of the Amsterdam overlooking the Vondelpark which, on a sunny day, is normally full of people out relaxing but today was full mostly of people running for shelter.
Once inside the Rijksmuseum there is plenty to see to keep you occupied for a good few hours. As you would expect from a Gallery in the Netherlands there is a proliferation of Dutch Masters on show; Rembrandt, Vermeer, Van Gogh, Van Dijk and so on.
Exterior of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The most famous painting here and probably one of the top ten paintings ever done is The Night Watch by Rembrandt van Rijn. It stands in a room all of its own and occupies the whole of the end wall. Like many Rembrandts it is dark and painted overwhelmingly in natural browns and reds, but odd splashes of colour and a vibrancy of movement give this painting a definite attraction.
The Night Watch, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
A tiny fraction of the size, but no less arresting is The Kitchen Maid by Johannes Vermeer. One of his handful of paintings, of which the majority are in the Netherlands. Like most of his works it shows his naturalistic, unposed style and is painted with almost photographic detail. It was not quite Girl with a Pearl Earring, but it is a fine example of his craft and until I manage to get to Den Haag it would have to suffice.
The Kitchen Maid, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Back out in Amsterdam we decided to try to find some Dutch cheese to take home (another thing Andrew didn’t do when he was there, not being a cheese-eater). So we found a cheese shop and Jacqui looked for an appropriate wax-covered ball to take home with us.
Jacqui in the Cheese Shop in Amsterdam
We had decided to do a day trip out from Amsterdam somewhere. Previously Andrew had visited Muiden and Naarden by bus and he knew how effective Dutch transport systems were, so we decided to try to reach a castle we’d seen pictures of – Kasteel de Haar which was near Utrecht.
Amsterdam Centraal Station
True to style, the Dutch integrated transport system delivered us to Utrecht very promptly, we had a ten minute wait and then got on a bus which would take us to the town of Haarzuilens which is as close as you can get to Kasteel de Haar.
Kasteel de Haar
Andrew outside the gatehouse to Kasteel de Haar
From there we walked – we actually walked! – through the country lanes (being buzzed as ever in the Netherlands by bell-ringing bicyclists) to the entrance of the Kasteel.
We were, at this point, most relieved to find it actually open! For once, the sun was being on our side, so we decided to look around the grounds before we went into the Kasteel itself and were treated to some great views of this quite superb building reflected in the moats which surround it.
Kasteel de Haar, near Utrecht
Andrew mucking around at Kasteel de Haar
Jacqui and Andrew outside Kasteel de Haar
Like many Dutch castles, Kasteel de Haar, looks more manor house than castle, but its origins are given away by the moats and drawbridges and the rather heavy building materials used in the lower storeys. It is very much a proper castle, dating to 1500. Although its history is not particularly eventful, it contains a series of grand rooms and has a few interesting stories of note. One, in particular, sticks in my mind in connection with the great trees that dot the park. These were all actually imported to here from the forests of the Ardennes – and in the case of a couple of the larger ones a few buildings in Utrecht were actually demolished (or foreshortened) to allow the trees passage through the town on their way to planting in the De Haar park!
Another view of Kasteel de Haar
All the Kasteel's buildings, Kasteel de Haar
To read more about Kasteel de Haar go to Castles of Europe.
The day was moving on by the time we were walking back to Haarzuilens to get the bus back to Utrecht. We didn’t have much time, but we decided to have a quick look around the City before we headed back to Amsterdam.
It is a nice little town, dominated by the tall tower on the Cathedral which you can see from various points around the City. It feels like a quite genteel sort of place, unprepossessing and all the more pleasant for it. That said it has a large student population so there are probably times it gets a bit more raucous.
Dom Church Tower, Utrecht
Statue by the Dom, Utrecht
Another view of the Dom Tower, Utrecht
The Cathedral is one of the oldest in the Netherlands and, although rather hemmed in by other buildings, is still impressive in its scale, although a degree of scaffolding – as ever – was in evidence.
Jacqui with big ball thingy, Utrecht
The Dom Tower plus lamp, Utrecht
We left Utrecht after a quick bite to eat and headed back for Amsterdam. It was a brief stop in the Netherlands but we certainly liked what we found.
Rotterdam - Andrew, Jacqui, their Mums and her Aunt and Uncle - 2009
2009 Mini-Cruise Part Two
The Queen Victoria arrived off the Dutch coast as day broke over the North Sea. We woke to a typically Dutch scene – it was raining. Beyond the rain, as much as we could see, were windmills (modern ones, though) and vast swathes of factories. That oddly Dutch combination of the tranquil and the industrial.
Rotterdam, although Europe’s biggest port, is actually not on the open sea at all – but rather down the River Maas, at this point a vastly wide expanse of cold grey water. Andrew had been to Rotterdam many years before but hadn’t really taken much in and although most of the people aboard the Queen Victoria would probably be heading for Amsterdam, we decided to have a wander around the Netherlands’ second city to see what it had to offer.
Arriving in Rotterdam
By the time we had docked next to the Erasmus Bridge the weather had closed in even more, obscuring much of Rotterdam’s skyline in a fug of mist and cloud.
The Erasmus Bridge, Rotterdam
Rotterdam Town Hall
Funny Wooden Flowers, Rotterdam
Again, a shuttle bus took us into the town centre and dropped us by the Town Hall. Here a series of grand buildings (all of which were of course post-war rebuilds) heads down the main thoroughfare of Rotterdam, Coolsingel, to Hoogstraat on the corner of which stands a statue of that man Erasmus again – a local boy who is most popular in Rotterdam, sitting under the canopy of the World Trade Centre.
Main Street in Rotterdam
Statue of Erasmus, Rotterdam
Here the ladies in our group were all presented with a white rose (as were all other ladies passing by) to celebrate some anniversary of something which escapes me now. It was a typically Dutch gesture – giving away something for nothing and cheering everyone up on an otherwise rather wet day!
Ladies with Roses, Rotterdam
We walked along Hoostraat heading for the Market Square near St. Laurenskerk. From here you got a good view of some of the famous modern architecture of Rotterdam – having been pretty thoroughly flattened in World War II successive generations of Rotterdammers have made it a selling point of their city to build progressive and unusual architecture.
Modern Architecture 1 : The Pencil, Rotterdam
Two good examples close to the Market are the “Pencil”, an office tower with a distinctive pointed roof and close by the totally bizarre Cube Houses. A series of flats which are built at a 45 degree angle to the horizontal. One of these is apparently open to the public, but we didn’t have time to visit it – another time!
The Cube Houses are really a good representation of the spirit of Rotterdam. It’s not a beautiful city by conventional means, but it is one with a strong sense of self, an ability to look beyond the obvious and a progressively modern attitude that keeps it at the forefront of the Dutch economy. Amsterdam is happy to cater for the tourists whilst Rotterdam sits unloved working hard to keep the Dutch in their famously relaxed way of life.
Modern Architecture 2 : The Cube Houses, Rotterdam
Just about the only building to survive the World War II destruction was the St. Laurenskerk which at the time of our visit was swaddled in scaffolding which the authorities had kindly painted the church tower onto so at least we got a bit of an idea of what it might look like.
St. Laurenskerk, Rotterdam
As ever we spent some time looking around the local market – full of cheese and flowers naturally. Jacqui finally bought the hat she’d been seeking out for some time, so in general we had a pretty successful visit to Rotterdam.
In the Market, Rotterdam
Andrew in Rotterdam
The coach back to the boat seemed to take us around and about on a bit of a tour, going up to the Hoffplein with its fountain and then around some of the older parts of town where the Chinese community now lives before swinging right around, literally going underneath the Cube Houses and around the old dock and across a different bridge to get to the ship.
Fountain in Rotterdam
That evening I got to take some marvellous atmospheric pictures of the Erasmus Bridge floodlit and dramatic in the continuous drizzle.
The Erasmus Bridge Lit, Rotterdam
The Erasmus Bridge, Rotterdam at Night
As we left Rotterdam that evening we went to the top deck of the Queen Victoria and watched through the panoramic windows as we left port and headed back out to sea.
The next day we were supposed to wake to the dock at Zeebrugge but instead we awoke to an announcement that the weather was too bad for the Queen Victoria to put in at Zeebrugge, so instead we would have a sea day. Everyone on board was angry about this – Cunard seemed to treat this mini-cruise as a bit of a waste of energy, we never saw the Captain, the staff were lacklustre in their efforts to assist and this, loosing the highlight of everyone’s tour, was the final straw.
Stanley and Hannah on the Queen Victoria
Jacqui and Andrew on the Queen Victoria
To add insult to injury the Channel looked quite calm on this day – I’ve certainly had to deal with much much worse on normal ferries. So if this brand new boat could not cope with a slightly choppy sea why on earth was it being sailed on the Channel – a notoriously rough bit of water! We later learnt that this had happened on other occasions and disgruntled we vowed never to go with Cunard again – it would be back to the Royal Carribean for us!
So we ended up spending the day taking pictures of ourselves around the boat, mostly on one of our balconies. As can be seen from the pictures it was a lovely, sunny day – frustratingly the only bit of sunshine we saw on the whole trip.
Andrew and his Mum on the Queen Victoria
Stanley, Hannah and Jacqui's Mum on the Queen Victoria
The boat went up and down the Channel a few times, looping around the Straits of Dover and slowly, very very slowly, trundled along the Sussex Coast before limping back to Southampton. A very damp squib end to a disappointing cruise.
Arriving Home
To see part one this Cruise go to : France
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Jacqui Harris
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