Blogs from South Holland, Netherlands, Europe - page 7

A nice Dutch lady was a TB friend, and she met me outside the Rembrandt Hotel to guide me on a walking tour of beautiful Leiden. (Dutch hospitality is alive and well in Leiden.) We walked by what she told me was an old jail-prison. We walked through Leiden and arrived at the impressive Pieterskerk. (Somehow I lost my pics of the inside of this fine old church.) According to Wikipedia construction of this large structure started in 1390 AD and continued for about 180 years. This church had much bad luck including on March 1512 the 110 meter high Westtoren (West Tower) collapsed and was never rebuilt. In about 1566 the Beeldenstorm (fanatical religious nut-jobs that vandalized church stained glass windows, paintings and statues throughout Western Europe) damaged much in this fine old church. Later ... read more

I took a train to Leiden Centraal and checked into the Rembrandt Hotel. With only four days in Leiden and much to see, I was quickly on the move to maximize my experience. I started walking and passed a war monument. I walked by a nice canal to the Rijksmuseum van Ouheden, an archaeological museum. I paid the 12.5 Euro entry fee and was not disappointed. The ground level floor was filled with a large selection of fine old Egyptian artifacts. I took my time checking out the exhibits. Then I walk up a spiral staircase to the next floor. (This is called the second floor in the USA, but in the Netherlands they call this the first floor.) I think I started with Roman artifacts, but am uncertain. This floor had mostly all nifty Greek ... read more

Saturday is a big day for open air markets in the Netherlands; generally in their Markt Squares. (In Texas we call these markets "flea markets".) Here in Delft their Markt is by their Nieuwe Kerk, that is easy to see in the distance. I had a nice walk to the market filled with lots of vendors selling a lot of different products. I did purchase some cooked hot chicken; and my main purchase was from a large selection of dehydrated fruits that I could eat anytime. (Note: there are many good restaurants in the Netherlands. Since I was uncertain how my money would hold out in my five weeks in my 2017 visit, this was an affordable option for me.) The Delft Markt was so very large, it continued by a nice canal outside the Marktplein. ... read more

I always had a fascination for old city gates on fortified city walls, to protect their old cities. Around 1400 AD Delft built a wall around their city with eight city gates with drawbridges and moats (or canals) for defense. The city gates had soldiers, and they were open during the daytime for commerce when not under attack. This East City Gate is the last remaining old city gate for Delft. This is an impressive structure by the canal that was functional long ago. I had a nice walk through, around, and under the East Gate. For contrast I live outside of the oldest permanent settlement in Spanish Tejas; that was established as a Spanish Mission on July 9, 1716. The oldest remaining building in Nacogdoches (Sterne House Museum and Library) was constructed in 1830. completed ... read more

I walked to Maria van Jessekirk and found a very nice church built in the late 1800s. When I got inside (free admission with this active church) I saw a couple getting married by the alter. Out of respect I left the beautiful church intending to return the next day and walked back to my hotel. I forgot to return in favor of other things. After I returned home in Texas I looked up Maria van Jessekirk on the internet and was surprised to see how beautiful it was inside the church. Dang, I really lost a good visit. completed... read more