Paleis Het Loo

We visited the beautiful Palais Het Loo, located on the outskirts of Apeldoorn.     The Dutch royal family lived there until 1975.   It is owned by the State of the Netherlands.    Since 1984 it has been open to the public as the National Museum Paleis Het Loo..

It was built by the King, William 111, who was the great grandson of William of Orange, in 1686.   It had a mixed history, in that it was unoccupied for some time, was plundered and destroyed, become a hospital during  Louis Napoleon reign, then become a summer palace in 1815, become a royal residence again during the 1800s under William 111's reign, and was used as a convalescent home during the 
German occupation.

William 111's wife, Emma, lived here with her daughter, Wilhelmina, as did successive royal Queens, although I think it was mainly a summer residence.

It is a very impressive palace, and also very stylish.

My first view.   I thought this was the palace.   But no, it is part of the horse stables.

The palace, with an impressive and modern water feature in the front.   

I thought this was a crocodile feature, but no!

A long walk to the palace itself.   Glorious weather.

The line up outside the palace.

Aaron looking very happy in front of the stables.

There was a huge hall under the water feature, which you can see in the ceiling.

Great displays at the sides of the huge hall.

Once through the hall we walked up the stairs to the palace.

A very long hall.

Most impressive, without being too 'over the top'.

Up on the roof!   A bit scary.   But not as scary as the lifts.    It was fantastic that they provided lifts, but they sometimes went past floors, and clanked and rattled, and a few were very tiny,  

The view of the magnificent gardens.     Very formal, and laid out according to the 17th century Baroque style.

Very precise.

Walter in the open topped lift.  Thank goodness I walked down the stairs.

The corridors, stairs and walkways in the castle were carpeted with a robust material which matched the floor coverings in each room, ie, tiles, wood or carpet.    The photo below shows how well the walkways were matched to the floor coverings, in this case the inner carpet.   My foot marks the edge of the walkway.

The next few photographs were taken in Wilhelmina's home (19th and 20th centuries).    I liked this wing the most.    I think this might have been Queen Emma's drawing room.

Prince Hendrick's hunting room.

Prince Hendrick's drawing room.   He loved showing off his animal trophies.

King Willem's 1's office.

We had a quick look at the palace coaches.    I think this is Queen Wilhemina's funeral coach.

Another royal coach.

And finally afternoon tea with apple tart, with cream, and coffee, plus a beer for Walter.

Altogether a delightful day.

letsdoubledutch

Letsdoubledutch!     A very strange title, I know, but it is the name of an extremely funny and very clever series of acts written and performed by a comedian called Derek Mitchell.

Derek Mitchell came from the United States of America and lived in the Netherlands for ten years. I believe he currently lives in the United Kingdom.    He is married to a Dutch person.

The term 'Double Dutch' originated in 15th century England, when the English found Dutch and German speakers incomprehensible.   

Derek Mitchell creates various characters and sketches based on Dutch people and the language, and performs them on stage and also through social media. sites.      If you type in @letsdoubledutch or Derek Mitchell into your search engine you will find his sketches. 

Aaron and Kylie were fortunate to buy tickets for his show in Amsterdam, which was an extra one due to all the previous shows being booked out.

It was a long drive to Amsterdam to see an evening show but so well worth it.

Kylie took a photograph of Aaron, Walter and me, before the theatre started to fill with people.   Kylie sat with Mia, as it was not possible to get five seats together.

Aaron and me, filling in time before the show.

                                         
Walter and me.    Successful selfies.

After the show Derek Mitchell met people who wished to have their photograph taken with him.   The queue was very long.

One of the skits was a story about walking with a rollator, so Kylie took a photograph of us , with Derek Mitchell and the rollator in the centre.   He noticed us and gave us a big smile.

A little bit of fun and laughter.

Visiting Abi in Den Haag

On Monday, we had a lovely afternoon with Abi.    We first had an interesting tour of her university, followed by a visit to her flat, and then delicious pizzas at an Italian restaurant.

Abi standing beside her desk at the university.    A very tidy desk too.   

Much of her study involves working with various arts materials, and on projects.   The sign outside the studio door said 'Bachelor Interactive/Media/Design Room' A very busy environment.

    

The tour involved walking along many corridors, across a metal bridge to another building, and past some exhibits.   It was fascinating to see the rooms with looms, metal work, sewing machines and studios.  The buildings were old, and well worn.   The smell and feel of the university took us back to our days at university where the teacher training area was next to the arts and crafts area.   

This was a shoe with q bump on the side.    Great for anyone with a huge bunion.

A collection of boots.

There was a herb garden between the buildings.

One of the long and narrow corridors.

All the signs were on the floor rather then on the walls.   Very smart.

Part of Abi's lino work.

Another display.

Kylie and I walked to Abi's flat, through all the grand old buildings and squares.   Abi is on the first floor, with a small shared kitchen and bathroom, plus a huge room, which is her study, lounge and bedroom.

Walter managed to use the stairs too.

Everyone relaxing in the room.

The view from the window.   

Abi, Kylie and Walter standing outside Abi's building.   Her flat, with the lovely big windows, is above the front door and garage.   

And then we ate the most delicious pizzas at the Italian restaurant.

Such a great day.

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.