During my recent visit Down Under, Dad thought it was a good time to expand my understanding of my Dutch heritage.
Limited thus far to wooden shoes…
…a love of tulips and a fetish for poffertjes…
I opened the video he sent through with considerable alacrity only to end up more confused than ever!
Let me show you what I mean…
I rest my case.
(subtitled ‘When I Went Down To The Woods Today’)
I’m just back from a couple of days in Holland. I do love being around Dutch people. It feels and sounds so familiar and nostalgic and the simple flavour of Dutch cooking brings back many childhood memories of home-cooked meals at Oma’s table.
I’d never ventured beyond Amsterdam before and so it was with delight that I found myself in the North Brabant province in the town of ‘s-Hertogenbosch (which translated means The Duke’s Woods, and is often shortened by the natives to the more easily pronounce-able Den Bosch, or The Woods).
While the days themselves were filled with meetings, Thursday evening gave me the opportunity to walk around the city with my colleague (a local) before dinner. It’s absolutely beautiful and historically rich with the remains of its medieval fortifications, the old buildings, the fountains (based on this visit, I have decided that the Dutch have a touch of OCD around fountains) and the thing that makes Dutch towns…well, Dutch – canals. Here’s a short pictorial walkabout of my evening in ‘The Woods’:
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| Crossing the Canal to the Medieval City centre |
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| The ‘neat as a pin’ town square |
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| The medieval well (in the town square) unfortunately covered over |
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| The Town Hall |
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| Statue of artist Jeroen Bosch |
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| A statue I liked in a side street |
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| Excellent signage in another side street |
But there was one thing that was so perverse and unexpected that it was the thing that inspired me to post about the trip in the first place. The cathedral was undergoing a refurbishment and there was a desire to represent the ‘new generation’ by including a modern angel in the pantheon – so here she is…
…on her mobile:
I just watched Rafael Nadal pretty much demolish Tomas Berdych to win the Wimbledon Mens Final and Spain is through to the next round of the World Cup…tha last time I thought Spain was this prolific in the sporting world was when Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario and Conchita Martinez were on the tennis circuit…
Coming from a nation who has some history of sporting success I am now wondering what happened with Leyton Hewitt (I am sure he was still doing ok?), Australian cricket (the world’s most boring game though it may be) and Harry Kewell (red-carded in the Ghana game…what the #@!!?!). Are we regrouping in preparation for London 2012 or just a little tired of the sporting limelight?
It’s a convoluted web determining loyalties when your automatic allegiances are not an option…so I am now torn between Germany (money on them in the sweep at work) and Holland (heritage thing you know) to reign supreme at the World Cup.
Other than that, it another sunny Sunday afternoon here on Kingston Hill. A bit breezier than others of late but still managing to dapple my front path with light and dark and light again. What’s not to love about that?
A GENTLE REMINDER:
There are only 28 sleeps to go…so get yourself a pen and mark that first day of August on your calendars, in your diaries and tap-tap-tap it into your phones and computers. I wouldn’t want you to miss it…
Gidday from the UK 