(photograph © Kiwidutch)
So what could a Chiropractor and a Baker possibly have in common?
Kneading bread is hard work, but surely not that seriously bad? Well in this case the answer lies less in the occupations and more in the building that they both occupied at one time or another.
If you at the kind of person who walks in a hurry with the sole aim of getting from A to B and everything passes by you in a blur, then maybe taking moment to look around will make your commute a more scenic experience.
Naturally this is easier to do in places that have buildings with some history to start off with.. Europe has bucketloads of it so I’m very lucky indeed in this respect.
Most people, I notice completely forget to look upwards and have no clue that above their heads are beautiful decorative tiles, roof lines, iron and brick decoration.
Maybe it’s the current obsession with the modern, maybe these people don’t find these styles aesthetically pleasing any more, thinking of them as the “old things equals old fashioned”.
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
If that’s the case then I’m a confirmed ” old fashioned” because I’m happily to surround myself in the styles of Art Nouveau , Deco, Georgian, Renaissance and Medieval…
“Machineale Roggebroodbakkerij ” in this beautiful sign of old, means “Machine made Rye bread bakery”, Roggebrood being a very dense, dark brown, almost black bread. It’s later typically cut into ultra thin slices and paired with a heap other Dutch favourites such as Erwtensoep (the thick winter traditional pea and ham soup).
These days the building houses a Chiropractor’s premises, but luckily the signs of old remain.
I love that not only the name of the company was incorporated (Roggebroodbakkerij v/d (van de) Firma Gebr Ten Hoeve, and the date above of 1910) literally translates as ” Rye Bread Bakery from the Firm/Company of Brothers Ten Hoeve”. The Ten Hoeve being the family surname.
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
Being a detail fanatic I also love the extra small detail of the three stalks of wheat/barley or rye, with a hand scythe wrapped neatly around it. Simple, elegant decorative and beautiful to the eye.
I look at this sign and wonder what life was like in 1910, what I would have seen had I been standing in this exact spot as these tiles were being fitted into place. Definitely times have changed beyond recognition, especially for me as a woman, but luckily though, whilst the Roggebroodbakkerij that stood on this spot is long gone, Roggebrood in the Netherlands is still to be found in every bakery and supermarket and is still much loved.
Sadly for me, I like a lighter rye bread very much but find that Roggebrood is a little too heavy and dense for my taste. So I’ll stick with oogling the signs instead.
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
(photograph © Kiwidutch)
