Out and About

An imported flower, all the way from Australia, the Kangaroo Paw, called Kangeroe Paten here.   Interesting, and very pretty.

My coffee last Thursday, with the lovely bear design on the top.

The little battery car, which contained a walker (rollator) in the back.    The woman drove it to the front of the shops, got her walker out and off she went to do her shopping.   The car is used on the bike paths, although I have heard some people drive them faster than perhaps they should on a bike path.

The line up of bikes at Houten Railway station.    The underground bike parks are a big improvement on the old outside parks which were quite a mess of bikes.    The underground ones have two levels, a lower rack and a pull down rack above it.   Of course one always hopes to get a lower rack.   The floor is very slippery on a wet day, so caution is required when riding into the bike park.

On this day we decided to use the Sprinter train to travel through Utrecht and onwards.   There were two destinations options, Leiden or Den Hague.    We took the first train to arrive in Houten, which was the one to Den Haag.     A very pleasant and interesting journey, in a train that stopped at every station.   It took 1 1/4 hours.   Just as well that we have nothing else to do.

The train station in Den Haag is large, and very clean.    Sadly, you exit onto a very busy street, with trams, bikes and people.    The buildings opposite the station are large government buildings, mostly new.

We made sure we drank our coffee before we left Houten, as we were not keen to repeat the experience of last year, when the cafe staff member took one look at us and decided we did not fit into their cafe scene.   No free tables apparently!    But there were, of course.   

This corner was a nightmare, although it all looks very organized in the photograph,   We had to dodge cars, bikes and trams, plus trying to work out which was the footpath, as against the road and bike path.   We survived!

We walked down the street, towards the central district.

Walter had great difficulty navigating the uneven and sloping footpaths.

Lunch at the square.    A simple but most delicious lunch, in the sunshine, and for me, a lovely sit on a very comfortable couch.

The prison museum (Prison Gate Museum) is an historic 15th century prison and former courthouse which displays Dutch justice, crime and punishment from the 17th to the 19th century.   Quite gruesome exhibits if I remember rightly from the visit we made on a bitterly cold day in January 1987.

I always love the houses in this square.

A beautiful display of tulips and daffodils.

I am not sure about this statue, but the setting is lovely.

We walked around the Binnenhof complex in the city centre, which houses the meeting place of the government plus the relevant offices.   At the moment it was being restored, so we were not able to visit it.

In fact we could only view it from a distance.

Then we returned to the train station and took the slow train back to Houten.   A very enjoyable day.

Chips! Plus Apple Cake of course.

Last week we took the train to Utrecht in order to have potato chips for lunch.    Not great cuisine I know, but they cook them so well, although they do smother them in mayonnaise, which can make them a little messy to eat.

Utrecht Central Railway station, which was renovated and modernised a few years ago.

Hoog Catharijne shopping centre, which is opposite the railway station.    The shopping centre has been modernised too, and there is a large paved area in between the railway station and the shopping centre.   Once the two were attached with a narrow avenue of shops between the two.   This is certainly much better.

Our chips, wrapped in paper in a cone shape.   Sadly they were not the best chips, very dry and a bit overdone.    As we did not have mayonnaise on them they were very dry.    Quite disappointing.

The chip shop, Mannekenpis, on the paved area between the railway station and the shopping centre.

We decided to walk down one arm of the shopping centre, which  contained some interesting shops.   The shop in the photo below is a repair shop, with a difference.    You bring the electrical item to be repaired, and then repair it yourself under the guidance of the staff in the shop.  And learn a new skill as well.

                                         

A decorative recycling display.    The painting is made up of old objects. The containers underneath are where you leave the items.   

Now I would never expect to buy a 'fat wheel bike' in a telephone shop.   

And of course we arrived at a cafe, and time for coffee and apple cake.    We ordered only one cake, without cream, but two arrived with the coffees.   So we accepted them.   Best not to argue.   Luckily I decided to take a photograph first, as the staff member arrived back, and took the cake with the cream away.    She then delivered it to a customer at a table close by.  People here love their large milky coffees, unlike our small 'cafe lattes', that we prefer.    Oh well, on this occasion it was a case of 'going with the flow'.

I thought I would include a few photographs of our apartment, especially as the building was sold earlier this year.   Now the new owners will begin to sell the apartments, for 250,000 Euros for each apartment. That is about Aus $411,000.    Although well equipped they are very small.    But they will sell, as they are close to the railway station, and have car parking behind the building.    I think they come fully equipped.  

The small lounge, with a tiny balcony.   The bed is behind the television. Our apartment overlooks the bike path and the shopping centre.

There is a fully equipped kitchen, with dishwasher.

There is a double bed and wardrobe, with the bathroom through the door on the right.

The building once held offices for the railway.  It was bought by two young architects in 2014, who converted the building into a restaurant and offices on the second floor, and short stay apartments on the second and third floors, plus a laundry.    The restaurant closed during the pandemic and never reopened.  We are very sad about it all, as we have enjoyed staying here, as it is within walking distance ofAaron and Kylie.   We also love having the shops around us.   Quite a vibrant area.     

A day out on the sprinter train

Sprinter trains in the Netherlands run between  the towns and cities, stopping at all stations.   They are the local commuter trains, designed for short to medium journeys, with easy boarding, wide doors and open carriages.   Perfect for people like Walter, with his walker.

We always use this train service to travel into Utrecht, 10 minutes away, but never thought to travel in the opposite direction.

The first day we used the sprinter to travel to the other side of Houten, Houten Castellum, for coffee and apple cake.      Not the best coffee or apple cake, too much sugar in the cake plus cream out of a can.  Well it is always cream out of a can here!  

On the next trip out we thought we would go as far as Geldermalsen, a couple of stops further along the line, and have a look around the town.

But not so, as the train stopped at the middle platform, and the lift was broken, which had been happening here often, and they don't get fixed straight away.   The lift in Houten did not work for a few months, not long ago.    If there is no lift, then people like Walter, with his walker, or people in wheelchairs, parents with children in prams and buggies, and people with bikes, cannot use the train service.   This is very limiting, as you can imagine.

So Walter was stuck on the middle platform, feeling very frustrated, while I quickly walked down the stairs to have a look around. 

A beautiful old railway station in Geldermalsen.

The edge of Geldermalsen was very pretty, with large houses and plenty of trees.   Interestingly the grass verges had dog poo scattered around, and it would appear that the locals here still maintained old ways, in that they did not pick up their doggy poo.   I kept to the path.

A very large and beautiful house and garden.   

A commuter town for sure.

Finally a train arrived, and we continued on to another town, called Tiel. The town is surrounded by three rivers, the Waal, the Linge, and the Amersterdam-Rhine Canal.

It also has a beautiful railway station.

                                         

It was quite a long walk into town.   We passed lots of lovely gardens, which helped quite a bit, and the beautiful old church below.    

The initial part of town was a little run down, and quite poor looking.   

Once we arrived at the city centre, with its old buildings and cafes we could feel quite a change in atmosphere.   Much cosier.     We ate lunch at the Hema (a popular department store) where we ate rolls filled with an unidentified sausage.   We managed to survive the lunch.

Tiel was chartered in 1200 AD, and is known for its medieval ports, and as a market town.   It became a member of the Hanseatic League, which was a powerful medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns of northwestern and central Europe.

It is now the centre of the fruit growing areas.

The town gate, with a museum beside it.

The pedestrian crossing which leads to the River Waal.

Walter taking a well earned rest.

A very small and cute electric car.

A little playfulness in the town.

Finally we slowly walked back to the train station.

Houston revisited

Market Day in Houten.   I love the assortment of flowers and plants.   

Off to a local park.   Abi, Walter and me.

Trees in blossom.   

The manor house in the park.   Very grand.

A climbing plant over the ornate gates.

The leaves are coming out on the lower canopy in the woods.

Always plenty of water around.

Abi, Walter and Kylie.

I love the espaliered trees here.   The one below is opposite the local supermarket, but I think people use them as wind shelters.

Coffee and apple cake plus heaps of canned cream.   It was all a little sweet. 

Reflections on the canal behind Aaron and Kylie's house.