Last Days in Soest

We're down to the last few days of our visit to Holland. Our neighbors (Hans & Jose) drove us to Amersfoort for a boat tour on the canals around the town. Walking from the car, we walk under a bridge that spans a canal and found this chandelier. Strange placement, sort of what you might expect in Venice, Italy.

Walking around Amersfoort, you see some very Dutch architecture.

Some of these houses along the canal have been here a very long time.

Originally, there was a wall around the city, then when the city grew, they built a new outer wall and tore down the first one. The bricks from that were used to build houses where the wall had stood. On those streets, the street and houses curve like the wall did originally.

All along the canal, there are whimsical pictures and statues. This is "An angel pissing on the pot". I don't know why or what the story is, but there must something.

After the tour, we stop for coffee on our way back to the car.

On our last day, Linda walked over across town for a Thai massage and I took the train. Along the way, she found this band.

And these flat trees that we have seen over the years.

We say goodbye to our therapists.

After out massages Kees and Joke show up from their camping trip. Then we walk down to the Proef for lunch

and to say goodbye to Sean, the chef.

We'll eat in tonight and then hopefully get a good night's rest. The ending of another good summer in Holland. By the way, the temperature has been in the 70's for the last several weeks - really good. Good place to spend a hot summer.

A Few More Days in Soest

Walking around Soest, you find this sort of thing from time to time. Its just there. I think its a gnome, but why?

There are several train stations in Soest and this is the smallest. Ironically, its called Soest as if it were the main one. It also is one stop away from our stop of Soestdijk. We take the train from it after  we have had our Thai massage.

One of the many nice things of having Joy visit, is that she's a chef. In this case, its great burgers.

On Saturday, there is a market in Amersfoort and we take the bus over there and Joy rides the bike.

I think this is a French car. It holds 2 people but not much else.

Linda and Joy check out the large church in the middle of town and find this organ.

On another day, Joy heads for Amsterdam to see museums and we take the train to Utrecht. This town has canals too. Here we have the garbage truck, Dutch style.

We stop for a coffee at a cafe by one of the canals that we have been to before and we are joined by this old, nude woman holding 3 chickens. There is a story here but who knows what that is.

Utrecht is the home of Dick Bruna who created this rabbit in many children's books and became very famous, especially in Utrecht.

In the evening, Lizzie drove us to her band rehearsal. The band is called "Queen" and so they sing Queen songs. The lead singer is Herma - a good friend of Lizzie's and quite the performer. We picked her up at her house and drove about 45 minutes south to the drummer's house. He has created a studio in the backyard and his wife tends a lovely garden.

Lizzie plays the keyboard and sings backup.

Herma has center stage.

The second keyboarder also works the synthesizer and sometimes plays an electric guitar using a special app on his table - way cool.

We listened to a free concert for about 2 1/2 hours. It was great. 

Days in Soest

We've spent several days doing pretty much nothing: nursing our sick visitor, walking around the community, having coffee with the neighbors. We were invited over to Hans' and Jose's house for coffee and it ended up being not only coffee but a light brunch. Jose is very cognizant of our strange dietary requirements and even found some spelt bread at the bakery. Spelt is still a grain, so Linda stays away from it, but it doesn't seem to affect me.

The day was cold and rainy until late afternoon. We were out of food and didn't feel like shopping so, we walked down to de Smickle, a family restaurant that specializes in Dutch pancakes. A Dutch pancake is about the size of a large pizza with a thin, crepe-like crust. The menu includes many topping combinations but it also says you may order any toppings you wish, even chicken livers. Linda has had that before, but she's off it now.

The restaurant was a barn at one time. It has sand on the floors, but no peanuts.

This is a large place and the grill is prepared for large volumes. There are usually groups when we go.

Our friend, Joy, sitting happily at the table.

We shared two savory pancakes and one sweet one with bananas, pineapple, and candied ginger on the side. We had started with a shared salad and left the restaurant stuffed.

On the walk home, we passed several farms with various structures. Keep in mind we are just a few blocks from our house.

This herd of sheep came over to the edge of the pasture to see us. Many of these sheep had long tails. Linda tells me that tails are usually cut off. They are being used to mow. We've seen this before along a bike path. Very eco friendly. Else, what do you do with these animals?

The owner of this farm told us he had hired these sheep to mow.

Almost back to the house and we find this lovely house nestled in the trees.

After Germany

The day after returning from Germany it was cold and dreary. We decided to rest and stay inside. Moeke came by to say hi and hangout with Linda.

On Friday, it was time to pick up our Florida friend, Joy. She had been on a week's cruise on the Rhine that ended in Amsterdam. We drove down to Amsterdam with Lynda and after a little confusion, found her and brought her back to Soest.

On Saturday, we all took the train to Amsterdam for a dinner with Joy's traveling buddies: her husband's brother and his wife, and a friend. We had found a restaurant off the web and it turned out to be really good. Six of us had the duck leg and Linda had a lamb stew; everyone was happy. If you're ever in Amsterdam, try Humphreys, there are two locations. We went to the one which was an 8 minute walk from the train station.

Our neighbor, Liesbeth, sings in a group who calls themselves "Queen". Therefore, they sing songs by Queen. Liesbeth and her singing partner have decided to additionally go out on their own and they have formed there own company. This week they had their first paying gig singing at a wedding. When they returned in the mid afternoon, they invited us over to hear them sing a couple of songs and to see their fancy dresses that they purchased at a second hand store. 

After singing for us and eating dinner, the two women drove off to a concert. They told us later, that during intermission, they found a piano and put on an impromptu performance in the hallway. They have a lot of fun performing.

Liesbeth had to cook dinner for her family before the concert.







On Sunday, Lizzie and Peter came over to say goodbye to Lynda. She wanted to drive to the airport alone, so we let her go off by herself.

This weekend was Monuments Day weekend in The Netherlands. That means that some historic buildings across the country that are usually closed are open for this one weekend. Lizzie and Peter came back over and took Linda and me and Joy to Amersfoort, a neighboring town. We visited the fortified gate in the old city wall,

and were shown how they raised and lowered the gate. Lizzie, Peter, and Linda got to try out moving the giant wheels that were hooked to pulleys to move the gate.

Peter and I at the top of the wall.

We also visited what I would call an "alms house". A place established by a private foundation in the 1300's to provide a bed and food for the poor and travelers. It was still in use till the 1970's. The beds are small because people slept sitting up to keep their heads elevated. If they laid flat it was said they "were going to the devil". 

On our way back to the car, it was time to shoot the canon. That was interesting.