Dutch scenes: There is life in the canals

Dutch canals are really a trade mark of Holland. They are used for regulating the water level. They are used for transporting goods. They are used for recreation. They are good for "resting our eyes". They are simply beautiful!

Besides all that, the canals also sustain lots of life. Denise has been monitoring with particular interest a few young coot families, the way they prepare their nests, the way they take care of the eggs and their young, and the way the male keeps scaring away other ducks which get close to the nest.

A short movie showing them preparing a nest can be seen here. The upper picture shows a coot mother with a young cootling. The lower picture shows father coot running after other ducks, which can also be seen in these short movies here and here.

On the down side is the garbage. The canals are not as clean as we would like to see, specially in the large cities (particularly in Amsterdam). Humans are to blame. We saw some people throwing empty soft drink cans into them. Shameful.

Concertgebouw of Amsterdam and Bruckner

A dream come true. That is how I describe watching the Orchestra of the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam perfoming Bruckner's Fifth Symphony.

Late in the 1970's I used to listen to the nightly radio show of classical music broadcast by Radio Jornal do Brasil. Among my favourites were the symphonies of Bruckner and Mahler played by the Orchestra of the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam. What fantastic music coming from a far-away place that inspired my imagination. That made the whole experience even more special.

The theatre's acoustics is phenomenal, which just highlights the excellent orchestra. And, sitting at the podium, I could see how the conductor, maestro Herbert Blomstedt, had the orchestra in his hands, allowing him explore Bruckner's mastery of harmony and polyphony taking advantage of the contrasts of the different instrumental groups.

I was also very lucky to chat with conductor Blomstedt at the end of the concert.

Overall, an unforgetable afternoon.

By the way, refreshments were served at the end of this Sunday concert, including wine.

Dutch scenes: fries with mayo

Eating fries with mayo is an authentic Dutch experience!

World Cup fever starting

As the Football (Soccer) World Cup approaches, a sea of orange is becoming more and more visible. The picture shows a building in Amsterdam, as seen from the train station.

Dutch scenes: cheese

The Netherlands is definetly a cheese nation. No wonder there are cities named after cheese (or is it the other way around?) like Edam, Gouda (pronouce 'houda'). Besides the Dutch cheese, called here as kass, we also find any other possible kind of cheese, including my favourite, brie. For those who think that brie is a French cheese, think again. Brie was first made in Middle Earth, in the village of 'Bree', and sold at the Inn of the Prancing Pony (you will understand this pun if you read or watched The Lord of the Rings).

A list of Dutch cheese: Boeren Leidenkaas, Delft Blauw, Dutch Mimolette (Commissiekaas), Edam, Friesekaas, Friesian, Gouda, Kernhem, Leerdammer, Leyden, Maasdam, Smoked Gouda, ... Do you want to complete the list?

Birthday(s) celebration(s)

Today is my birthday (gifts are welcome). Yesterday, we gathered in a Pub, "The Flemish", located in the "Cow Square". It was a triple celebration: the birthday of Sandra, Christian and mine, all within a month from each other. It was a very pleasant evening with the presence of several members of the MGP group.

Dutch scenes: car in the canal

Something I read before coming to Delft was that, on average, one car falls into a canal somewhere in Holland, every week. Well, after two months in Delft we finally saw it happen. The interesting was the fast response from the police and the firefighters.

What intrigues me is why did the car fall into the canal? Withouth knowing the actual reason, I especulate what happened. The driver was likely being directed by a GPS navigator ... "in five metres ... turn left" ... plop.

Rhine River Valley: Castles Galore! (Part 2)

We visited Fortress Reinsfels.
What remains of Fortress Reinsfels are just ruins, but there is also a hotel and a restaurant overlooking the Rhine. The Fortess was built circa 1245 as count Katzenelnbogen's residence and center of cultural life in the region. Two hundred years later expanded as a fortress. In 1692 it resisted the troops of King Louis XIV. In 1794 it fell to the French Revolutionary Army that blew it up. Today it is a property of the City of St. Goar.




From Reinsfels we can see Castle Maus (the one that has the eagles show)














Fortress Reinsfels

We enjoyed a typical German lunch overloking the Rhine River Valley ...

... and the town of St. Goar.

This picture shows Schonburg Castle. Built in the 12th century it is today a hotel. We tried to stay there but it was booked solid for over months ahead.

Another Castle that we saw from far away was Castle Sooneck. It was built in the 11th century. Unfortunately, it was closed that particular day.

One would need over a week to visit all castles and fortresses in this narrow strech of land. We managed to visit just few of them. The whole experience of driving along the two banks of the Rhine already pays off since at every turn a new castle can be seen or just seen in a different angle. The picture below shows the ruins of Furstenberg Castle.

There are also several tunnels with its outside looking like the entrance of a fort.

Another one seen from the road. This on is Stahleck Castle.

The Toll Station Pfalzgrafenstein, seen below, was buit in 1327 and used until 1866. At this location, Prussian Field Marshal Blucher crossed the Rhine in his way to meet Napoleon in Waterloo.

Sometimes, two castles can be seen side by side. The picture shows Castle Sterrenberg and Castle Liebenstein.

One last thing. We slept in a small hotel in the town of Ingelheim. There, we had a very nice dinner in the hotel's restaurant (located in a different building). The main dish there is celery. I was reluctant to eat celery but accepted as a cultural experience. Well, it paid off. I could neve imagine that celery could taste so good. And the size of the celery is also different. They are bigger than the ones we have in Canada. And the sauce was fastantic!

Rhine River Valley: Castles Galore! (Part 1)

Up in a hill, in the city of Koblenz, is Fortress Ehrenbreitstein. It was built in the 11th century. It suffered a one year siege by French troops, capitulating just because of hunger. In the 19th century the Prussians turned it into one of the most powerful military constructions of Europe. It was called the Stone Guard at the Rhine. Unfortunately we could not visit it. It is closed until next year, when it will host a fair.

We left Koblenz travelling South. We visited Marksburg Castle going in a tour inside. It was built in the 14th century. The importance of Marksburg is due to the fact that it is complete and protected as a medieval bastion. There, we learned that it was common for the knights to drink 5 litres of wine per day, since the water was very bad. But the wine was not strong, perhaps similar to American beer. Tea was just for sick people, whereas beer was for the poor. Children would dring wine too from an early age. Interesting times.














Affer visiting Marksburg, we went to Maus (Mouse) Castle. As the picture below shows, it is essentially in ruins, but there is an eagle and falcon show run by an old fellow. We watched it. Interesting, but we could not understand a thing since all explanation was in German. The only few things we understood was that the eagles eat chicken (he called them "McChicken") and that one eagle's name was Herman, the German. The funny thing is that the eagles would fly far away and the poor trainer had to keep calling for them using a loudspeaker. "Herman, come back you rotten schnitzel!"


I also understand now why eagles are found in so many flags and insignias. The Europeans have a fascination for eagles.

"Scientific research" (part 17, 18, 19 of many)

I feel thirsty, I mean, hungry to satisfy my scientific curiosity. The result of three investigations are as follow:


1- Köstrisser is nice German beer I had the chance to savour on the banks for the Rhine River. A nice beer to enjoy the sunset around Castles and history.
2- Kirkner (photo not shown).
3- Celebrating the spirit of the new Robin Hood movie, I had this Belgium beer: Brigand.

Boppard, in the Rhine valley

After leaving Cologne we headed to the River Rhine valley. Our GPS unit took us through very modern highways until it indicated a very narrow, long and winding road. The picture shows it can fit only one car, at times barely. We drove praying that no car came from the other side.

We then arrived in Boppard, a small town on the banks of the Rhine. A typical small German town, with typical German houses.

In Boppard, there is a cable car. It takes torists up the hill for a better view of the valley. The interesting thing is that not only people use it. Bikes are transported in the cable. Even a people on bikes use the cable car.

Boppard is an idyllic place. It reminded me of Nova Friburgo, the town where my mother was born, in the Brazilian mountains.

Rhine River Valley

In the narrow gorge connecting Bingen and Koblenz, which has a length of only fifty-six kilometers, there are more castles than in any other river valley in the world.

We visited this place and several of the castles.

If you want to learn more about the castles between Bingen and Koblenz, there is an interesting site here.

Cologne

On the way to Frankfurt is Cologne, the largest city in the North Rhine-Westphalia, in Germany. (Isn't Europe great? One and a half hour drive and we are in a different country!)


Cologne is a very old city, founded by the Romans around 50 AD on a pre-existing Germanic settlement. It was called Colonia in Latin, which means an outpost of the Roman Empire, or simply, colony. (The city is still called Colonia in Romance languages)

Cologne is famous for its cathedral, the Kolner Dom, with its impressive two towers and its gothic interior. One can see the towers from far away.

One interesting fact about the cathedral is that it survived the alied bombing during World War II. Some say it was a miracle. Others say that it was spared since its towers served as navigation sign for the bombers. Well, no miracle happens by accident!

Something funny happened on our way to the Cathedral. The GPS unit told me to turn left on an ilegal intersection. Denise and Thales saw the sign and warned me, but I had already moved the car the wrong way before going to the right direction. After a long return, we were stopped by a policeman who was waiting for us. He started to call my attention in a very fast German, even though I told him I could not speak German. I remained calm and serious during his rebuke, even though I was laughing inside: listening to him was like listening to Charlie Chaplin imitating German.

Dutch Scenes: Theo van Gogh

Freedom of speech and expression is a as Dutch as cheese and wind mills. A recent, iconic figure, Theo van Gogh, was murdered in 2004 by an islamic fundamentalist who did not like (or felt offended as it became fashionable to say) with van Gogh's movie Submission. This 10-minute movie, written by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, tells the story of a fictional Muslim woman who has been abused in many different ways. It can be interpreted as a criticism on how women is treated under Islam. Ultimately, a movie like this should be treated as an invitation to discussion, not an invitation to murder. If there is no freedom expression and flow of ideas there is no enlightment and we are all condemned to live in the middle ages.

The more we discuss our problems the closer we become to solve them. That is likely why Theo van gogh was mudered. His murderer's mind set belongs to a 7th century sect. What is worse is the fact that he is not alone.

A monument, De Schreeuw (The Scream) Memorial, is placed in the Oosterpark in Amsterdam, celebrating Theo van Gogh and as a symbol of the freedom of speech.

Dutch scenes: tulips

It took us some time to see them, but finally, we did. And lots of them! There are several tulips "plantations" along the way to Amsterdam, like the one in the picture. Will the ones we see end up in Ottawa?

They are here too

Look what we found while walking in the narrow streets of Edam.

Volendam

We visited the cities of Volendam and Edam, in the Dutch Waterlands, an area located North of Amsterdam, during one of the national holidays. Volendam is its main tourist attraction. There one can just walk around its seashore street, built on the top of the dam, but be careful: there are thousand of tourists!

You can purchase anything you may consider Dutchy, of course, its a place made to attract tourists. You may even dress like a Dutch of elder years and take a picture in one of the several photo labs that exist just for that purpose.

It is there also where you can find the largest concentration of Dutch potery made in China.

Dutch Scenes: movable bridges

With so many canals, everywhere, and most of them navigable, it is not surprising to find movable bridges. The most common of them is the drawbridge. The one shown in the sequence of pictures is located in the town of Edam. Other movable bridges can be seen in another post.

The dying European Christianity (?)

There are obviously lots of churches in Europe, one more beautiful than the other. One thing that called our attention was the fact that a few of them are used simply as museums or show halls without any religious use.

This is troublesome. If one religion dwindles, others may take over the empty space. This may be something positive or negative depending on which one occupies the space.

Leiden

Leiden is a nice little town 20 minutes by train from Delft. Like Delft it is a university town. The University of Leiden, whose main building is shown in the picture, is more dedicated to social sciences. Several members of the Dutch royal family studied there.

Like Delft, Leiden is crossed by several canals. The interesting thing is that its main canal is a branch of the Rhine River.

Dutch scenes: wind mills

The wind mills, this trade mark of Holland. Nothing is more connected to the Dutch then them. I have to take my hat off to the Dutch, who, over the centuries, built this intricate system of canals making use of wind mills to move the water around. Wind mills had other uses, though, like grinding for the production of flour. This is the case of the De Walk wind mill, in Leiden (left photo). It is quite high, elevated by a tower to make the best use of the wind, partially blocked by the walls of the then fortified city of Leiden. Today, this wind mill is a museum, and the mill still operates, as can be seen in this video.

The lower picture shows another wind mill, as seen from the train.

Dutch scenes: croquette

Croquettes in Holland come is every shape and size. They look like sausages. They look like patties. They can be eaten individually. They can be eaten as a hot dog. They may come with mustard or even with mayonnaise as sauce.

Enjoy!

The ones you see were savoured in Leiden.

"Scientific research" (part 14, 15, 16 of many)

Following the suggestion of my uncompromising readers, I am summarizing the results of my latest investigation in one single entry. In the picture at the right you can see Gulden Draak, the 10.5% extra strong Flemish Belgium beer. Excellent. As strong as Smaug, the dragon from The Hobbits. Below, my favourite beer so far, also Belgium, Dutchese de Burgogne. The beer is red and has a very special taste, with its 6.2% alcohol content. And, finally, the third beer is of a same label I tried before, but red and with a "karakter": the Dutch Hertog Jan. This brewery is named after John I, Duke of Brabant.