Today, Sunday we visited Arnhem, walking down a street we noticed what looked like market stalls. It turned out that they were selling everything related to motor bikes, it is an annual rally for the owners of Harley Davidson’s, there was hundreds if not thousands, everywhere. A loud and colourful street party.
Attached to the outside wall as you enter the toilet/shower area is a box designed to dispose of your cigarettes prior to entering the said facility.
Keith became concerned that, on numerous occassions, persons of various ages and both sexes were staring into one box, a Dutch sport, or simply passive smoking?
On one occasion he noticed a couple taking a picture with their mobile phone, it was then that he noticed, above the box, a sign had the word vogel on it, Dutch for bird. It turns out that a great tit is nesting in the box and has eight young. Look at the pictures and you will see a bird entering.
We are talking those that alight from coaches at tourist hot spots. It strikes us that they are a combination of shepherd and sheep dog. The coach stops and they step out into the road, plaza or pavement encouraging the flock to follow, any member of the flock that dares to descent will find themselves being encouraged to conform with a terse nip.
These shepherds come in a variety of guises and costume from the garish through colourful to flamboyant. Woe betide any interloper who dares to pen their flock in a grazing area laid claim to by another shepherd. They employ a variety of methods to attract the flock and surrounding members of the public, bright clothing, clipboards, bats, the type used to marshall aircraft, clicking of fingers, a hand held high. Their charges seem more interested in talking to fellow travellers rather than the event they have come to see, a status thing?
Now we reach a critical moment, time to leave, round up the flock. Is it possible that one day an international incident could occur? tourist nipped by German shepherd, surely not?
Like a lot of large cities it is a mix of ancient and modern where history rubs shoulder with modernity. There is a very relaxed and vibrant street cafe culture and expensive stylish shops. We did the tourist bit but, suspect that with a little more time we could have found some hidden gems.
Tivoli gardens, not what we expected. This is a mongrel, spawned by vulgar parents of the entertainment business, fast food and amusements. And, they have the cheek to charge you 95 krona entry fee, (about £11).
We are currently on a site at Bad Segeberg, about 25 K from Lubeck.
We visited Lubeck on Thursday, the weather was not in our favour. A canal cruise was on the cards, the boats were unable to sail because the water was to high.
The naughty shop. It has lots of nice, allegedly, sweets, cakes and biscuits, we resisted. As we did with the ice cream.
Jan and I have a new competition, accidental trips. Keith is in the lead by four. There as been some dispute over what amounts to a trip. Keith has a slight advantage with bifocals and big feet.
There must be thousands of hectares of bulb fields in Holland. We have placed a picture of one in our photo gallery. Whilst they are spectacular in their scale, however, they do tend to appear as coloured stripes striding across the flat countryside. We have included this photo in an attempt to give an impression of the scale.
We have seen a interesting variety of animals in fields and pens on farms and in gardens. These include, Emu, camels, deer, llama, goats, sheep, ponies and plastic pigs. We are no longer surprised and hope to see more.
It is nice to see birds behaving in a way which Keith had nearly forgotten. Swallows feeding low, less than a metre above the ground. Others that are not alarmed by your presence. Whilst walking along the road a group of jackdaws were feeding on the verge, as I approached they gave me a cursory look and carried on with their business. I passed within a few feet of them. Ducks, coots and moorhens openly sit on the edge of fields next to the ditches.
The brochure describes it as a treasury of bulbs, a good description. It is a seed bank of bulbs. A small site which is intimate and tactile which creates a great sense of peace and relaxation. These are varieties no longer grown commercially which represent the development of the bulb industry in the Netherlands. They also provide a source for bulbs to replant gardens at historical sites.
Statistics. 2,600 different tulips, 800 daffodil varieties, over 120 different hyacinths and dozens of minor bulbs.
If you get the chance go there, take your sandwiches and flask, sit on one of the seats and enjoy. If not, enjoy the photos. If you don’t blame Jan, she is artistic director. I only operate the camera.
We were told about the weekly cheese market so, decided to go and see.
It looks as if it is a long tradition which manages to survive modern commercial dictum’s, including H&S and food hygiene. Who cares? The guys who carry the trays, or whatever they are called, are a great example of kinetic lifting. Watch some smart ass of a jobs worth tell me I am wrong.
We don’t pretend to understand the process, what is evident is that it is a great way of connecting with the consumer. Lots of consultants have made lots of money trying to create that in the UK.
Back to the porters. These guys pick up the load and then set of at a trot, some are not so young. They manage to coordinate it so that they set off exactly together and make it look easy.
Recent Comments