You Aren’t Getting Out of This One…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

It came as no surprise that a castle this old contains a dungeon…

It’s deep in the base of one of the round towers and consists of a circular chamber that is approximately 3 times as tall as it is wide.  Entry,centuries ago  (our volunteer guide tells us) was via a trapdoor in the ceiling.

There is a small recess in one part of the wall but other than that, no other means of exit or entry, no light  and probably no  furniture of any sort.

We are told that prisoners thrown down here invariably sustained injuries from the fall, and life expectancy after incarceration was short.

In recent decades when the castle was restored, a small doorway was made to give the visiting public  access to the dungeon, but there is still a short, steep wooden set of stairs to negotiate if you actually want to step down inside.

Confined spaces don’t bother me too much but I’m not great with heights so I didn’t brave these stairs but the rest of Family Kiwidutch did and they said it was ok to look at for a few minutes but it wasn’t in any way welcoming and they dreaded the idea of being locked up here in the dark.

Our guide took questions from people doing the tour with us and one of the questions asked was “ why not just dig your way out,  at least try and escape?!“

Our guide replied: … “first you would have been in good enough physical state to dig though stone with your bare hands and second, the walls here are  7 meters thick!“

My measurement converter tells me that 7m = 22.97 feet.

No-one mentions this kind of thing in fairy tale castles… and the dark side of the way human beings have treated their enemies is as old as mankind itself.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

History Built, Torn Down and Restored…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Let’s look inside Ammersoyen Castle and find out more about it’s history: the first photo is fairly similar to how it all looks now, but it’s looked very differently at various times over centuries past.

Around 1386 Willem van Gulik, Duke of Gelre took the castle by force and retained occupancy for 25 years. In 1412 Duke Reinald V gifted Ammersoyen Castle to his  illegitimate son; Willem van Wachtendonk, who in 1424  sold the castle to Johan van Broekhuizen, Lord of Waardenburg.

The Van Arkel family came into ownership of the castle by marriage in 1496 and subsequent generations of this family lived in it until 1694 in spite of it being damaged by siege and occupation by Burgundian troops under Count Hendrik van Nassau.

The castle suffered invasion and occupation again by Spanish troops in 1574, but the retreating troops of Prince Willem van Oranje fled swiftly, saving the castle from serious damage.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Sadly the castle’s luck ran out in 1590 when it was destroyed by fire, and the political uncertainly of the 80 Years War  meant that that rebuilding of the ruin did not start until 1648,  a project that took 19 years to finish as unusually for the time, they chose to rebuild it in the former medieval style.

Although 17th Century modernizations were added during the rebuilding, many medieval elements remained hidden behind plaster and bricked up doorways.

French troops invaded the Netherlands in 1672, destroying many castles on their path.

The last Lord of the Van Arkel family saved the castle by paying a ransom of fl 7000,-  to the French. This left him financial difficulties and when he died in 1694, ownership of the house passed to several families from the Southern Netherlands (present day Belgium).

It wasn’t however permanently inhabited at this time because its owners spent most of their time at their estates in the Southern Netherlands.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The last Lord of Ammersoyen was  Baron Arthur de Woelmont.  who sold the castle, completely emptied, in 1873 to the Roman Catholic Church of Ammerzoden, presumably after he lost a game of dice with the local priest.

The Church then founded a convent in the castle. The moat was filled in and a large chapel was built against and incorporated into the castle.

The  religious use of Ammersoyen Castle ended when it was heavily shelled by Allied troops in World War II.

After the war the remaining structure was used by a local business man as a factory producing washing machines, and as the village hall until 1957.

In that year the “Friends of the Castles of Gelderland Foundation“  bought the castle and started an extensive restoration which succeeded in finished bringing castle back to it’s medieval splendor by 1975.

I thought these were old cannonballs but we are told by the volunteer guide that these are the “ammunition” that was fired from invaders catapults…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

This damage not from catapults but from the Second World War…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Wrecked rooms show the enormity of the  renovation project… however the silver lining was that during the work, medieval staircases were discovered that had been ‘covered over” by occupants in previous centuries.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Items recovered during the renovations…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Notice there are no forks… they hadn’t been yet invented at the time that these spoons,  knives  and plates were made…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Before the restoration the moat had been drained and the Catholic Church had added a building to the side of the castle walls… this building has been removed to restore the castle back to it’s original state and the moat refilled.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The post-war washing machine factory occupied this space in the lower castle and it was decided to utilise the space as a visitor centre and cafe area … sorry the photos are dim as these rooms are on lower levels and the windows are deep set and  tiny…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

There’s also small table with local produce and goods…naturally we had to buy one of these delicious looking round cheeses…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

tapestry on the wall…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Ammersoyen Castle comes into Full View …

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Since I’m still not mobile, here are some more posts from the thousands of photos I took last year but didn’t manage to squeeze into last year’s blog posts.

I make notes at the time of taking my photos and add research later and based on this, I hope you will join me in another one our Dutch countryside adventures.

Last year Family Kiwidutch have resolved to build in more visits to places and attractions around the Netherlands,  because it was clear that otherwise our children would eventually have greater experiences of many other countries than the one they actually lived in.

We determined to build in family days and weekends into the year where we would be “tourists in our own land” and one of the ideas that quickly occupied popularly near the top of the wish list, were visits to some (semi)local Castles.

This is how we found ourselves outside the entrance of Kastel (Castle) Ammersoyen.  We arrived early and have already explored the Gate House and Coach House, as well as the grounds around the moat in my previous day’s posts.

Constructed by the Van Herlaer family around 1350 Ammersoyen Castle sits on a branch of the Maas River.

It’s rectangular layout of four wings, a central courtyard and massive round towers in each of the corners is similar  in formation to  Castles Radboud, Muiden and Helmond found elsewhere in The Netherlands since this layout was thought at the time to be the idea form for a defensive structure.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Arriving Early and going Exploring…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We are back to my castle visit posts… naturally I’m busy here with phone calls and emails to New Zealand as we sort out incoming and outgoing information about what’s happening with our Christchurch house and houses and workplaces of friends and family. If there is anything significant to report I will let you know.

Back in The Netherlands this post is another “teaser”  since we have arrived at Castle Ammersoyen  in Gelderland but have not yet gone inside.

There is however a good reason for this not only are the Kiwidutch offspring restless after the ride on the car, but the opening hours of this Castle are:

April till November, Tuesday until Sunday from 13:00 till 17:00. Only guided tours.

Himself and I allowed some additional commuting time for possible traffic problems, but on this occasion didn’t encounter any delays and arrived unexpectedly early.

The kids are delighted with this time to kill before the Castle itself opens, and  go charging off down the paths like the bulls of Pompolona with nothing to chase but themselves.

Once they rounded the first corner and we were out of sight they were less brave and scuttled back quickly, even though we had almost the entire area of grounds to ourselves.

As we walked they contented themselves with snaking back and forth just ahead or just behind us, checking out “flowers” (weeds) by the canal and investigating some shells that turned up in the path.

Let’s take a look at the views around the moat…

Once we have slowly made a circuit of the grounds we approach the bridge that connects the bailey with the castle… and the excitement of what’s inside starts to build.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Just across the field by the road is the church…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Quakes, Christchurch and a Cookbook…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Since I’m at home and not mobile and my foot needs to be kept raised,  my  revised morning routine of recent months is to check email on the laptop,  sit and chop veggies for dinner on a board on the bed and of late, do the exercises my physiotherapist has given me to do.

Depending on sleep (or lack of it) and pain relief  required I usually  catch a nap and later settle down to catch up on my favourite bloggers blog posts.

Since the Christchurch earthquake though, I have been totally focused on Christchurch, I can log into live-streaming news , look at the bigger Newspapers  for on-line reports and have been making calls and emails  to friends and relatives that I couldn’t get hold of yesterday.

House damage amongst them ranges from minimal to total write-off… the magnitude of what has happened is still to set in, the aftershocks, some as big as 5 on the Richter Scale are deeply unnerving.

Some are lucky enough to still have electricity and water and because of this are cramming friends, workmates and family into their homes, since whole swathes of the city are without power, water or sewerage lines.

Many are packing up and leaving town, they can’t sleep,  the aftershocks in the dark are even more terrifying than the ones in daytime, their kids are traumatized and young and old alike are shaken more than just physically after every aftershock.

The effect of these can not be underestimated… the New Zealand News at 6.30 am local time  told me that there had been 15 large aftershocks since midnight … …little wonder that  people don’t get much sleep.

Air New Zealand is laying on $50 flights out of the city to the North Island, embassies are helping tourists replace travel documents lost in buildings collapsed or too unsafe to return to, businesses everywhere are helping if they can.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Hospitals in Christchurch have treated more than 1500 people with more minor injuries, and the central hospital alone has about 200 more seriously injured, plus those in intensive care…

But one message from family and friends is clear,  locals are rising to the occasion and gladly stepping up to help.

My cousin, trained in rescue and with medic experience was packing his gear and heading into the city centre to offer to assistance in spite of  reaching his own home for the first time after the quake only two hours before.

The university students have risen up just as they did after the September 4th Quake and are being directed by Civil Defense in residential neighbourhoods, helping elderly residents with heavy lifting of fallen cupboards, wardrobes, shelves etc and armed with shovels, digging out the mud and silt from houses and roads of both friends and strangers inundated by  liquefaction.

Liquefaction is where the quake pushes the water- table upwards though the deep layers of sand and silt…   the force makes it erupt through grass and even tarmac via miniature volcano-like structures ( approximately 6cm / 2 inches across) .

Last time my Uncle and Aunt had more of these tiny tell-tale cones in their back yard than they could count. Each of them spewed out large volumes of watery mud and silt, which first floods and then leaves a muddy residue that dries out leaving a mass that sets  like concrete.  In the September quake it was deep enough to flow through their house, it blankets streets, blocks drains,  imprisons vehicles.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The students came  last time with shovels and wheelbarrows and started digging and clearing…  this time the numbers of students are swelling again to match the 10, 000 strong that came out to help in the last quake.  I know that the manager of the Hanmer Holiday Homes is in the local fire brigade…they were in Christchurch yesterday and took a shift with the rescue workers in the Pyne Gould building. They pulled out survivors and also recovered some who sadly did not survive.

The Singaporean soldiers who were already in the South Island on joint military exercises are now helping with the central city security cordon. more than 600 specialist  workers have arrived or are arriving from Australia, USA, Taiwan, Japan, UK and elsewhere … and Kiwi’s will welcome their help with open arms and heartfelt gratitude.

So… why is there a cookbook in today’s post? Well, yesterday I mentioned the old Edmond’s Building, iconic not only in Christchurch but also throughout New Zealand.

The Edmond’s Company used to make just Baking Powder but these days make more products too.

Edmond’s also made a cookbook and it’s estimated that there’s a copy in every New Zealand household. My mother told me once that in the ’50s or ’60′s Edmond’s gave away free copies to couples when notice of their marriages or engagements appeared in the newspapers,  I’m not sure or not  if indeed she got her copy that way.

I watched the Edmond’s building be demolished with great emotion, just as now I watch my home-city fallen with even greater emotion.. but one thing we have in common is that the Edmond’s cookbook lives on even though the building is gone… strong in spirit, and with it’s well known “Sure to Rise” motto.

Christchurch has been hit by natures wrecking ball, the painful process of facing up to the catastrophic damage is only just beginning to dawn on shocked faces and broken hearts as they stare at the long long hard haul of recovery.

Just as I know in my heart that no one can ever rebuild the iconic Edmond’s building, I am realistic enough to also know that the rebuilt Christchurch will never be the same face of the city to my children as the one I fondly grew up with.

There are only 4 million people in New Zealand but take a look at volume of the print runs of the Edmond’s cookbook…  popularity comes in the strangest places and love for our treasures endures…

One thing I can be sure of though, The people of Christchurch, of Canterbury and of New Zealand will do what it takes to live up to the iconic spirit of the Edmond’s  motto…    Somehow no matter what it takes, with a little (or in this case, a lot) of help from their friends, they too will be  …”Sure to Rise“.

When Your Whole World is Shaken…

(photographed from news media sources)

My ‘home- town” is Christchurch, New Zealand.

Christchurch the principle city of New Zealand’s South Island, has more than 90 historic buildings that celebrate it’s almost 150 year history.

Some are wooden, many are brick and stone, I remember as a kid, after we moved to the city from the country, looking in awe at the beautiful stone masonry and historic buildings.

I fondly remember many of the Sydenham shops (and some amazing second hand shops which I visited often as I built up furnishings for my first flat) many of them had large decorative stone ornaments on their facades.  I was sad when they were removed but understood that it was done  because they “were an earthquake risk”.

I was even sadder but understood too when one of the most iconic buildings in all New Zealand (The “Edmonds, Sure to Rise” building) was completely demolished  because it was beyond making earthquake safe.

I was part of a crowd that watched the wrecking ball do it’s work and like many present, I cried.

(photographed from news media sources)

The Edmond’s Building lives on in the hearts of New Zealanders on the cover of the similarly iconic cookbook that Kiwi Mamas tuck  into the bags of almost every Kiwi Kid as they leave the nest… it’s the book we all grew up with and adore, even my Kiwidutch kids are used to thumbing through my copy.

Many more beloved buildings were slowly but surely put on trial under ever stricter building code requirements and failed to pass the grade… if they could not be sufficiently strengthened, they were razed.

Even though I adored many of them, deep in my heart I understood.

On September 4th 2010,  the earth moved violently under the New Zealand South Island province of Canterbury. It was 4:30 am in the night, the populous slept and they were jolted awake in the dark to falling chimneys, crashing glass and flying objects.

Electricity  gone, phones down, but by a miracle  of  strong building codes and luck that people were still in bed, the 7.1 magnitude earthquake passed without a single loss of life.

(photographed from news media sources)

My remaining beautiful buildings were not so lucky, many facades were deposited abruptly onto the pavements below, many were catastrophically damaged,  but all Kiwi’s breathed a sigh of relief that no one was under the rubble and began immediately tearing down the buildings that structural engineers issued a swift  death warrant to.

Early yesterday morning the News came that Christchurch had taken a fresh hit… a “lesser” earthquake in scientific terms at 6.3 on the Richter Scale, it was therefore almost 10 times smaller than last September’s shock.

But that is only half the equation, the other half is how deep underground the epicenter is… the first 20-30 kms deep, yesterday’s a mere 5.

Shallow earthquakes produce greater shaking, and this one was bad. “BAD” in upper case letters sort of “bad” … I follow on-line news so I know that the aftershocks still hadn’t finished from the last quake… not little aftershocks either, big ones.

(photographed from news media sources)

This new Quake took place just before 1.00 pm in the afternoon, people were shopping in the city centre, on lunch breaks, in offices…

This morning I didn’t give the beautiful buildings a second thought…   I could only think frantically of friends and relatives and start calling for news.

I shook as I dialed their phone numbers,  and and since lines are blocked it took most of the morning to finally get though. When they answered that they were ok,  I cried with relief.

One of my cousin’s young sons was known to be ok directly after the quake: at school in the central city, he was missing later as the phone network crashed but thought to be safe and well with other kids and teachers assembled at one of the big evacuation points.

Other relatives and friends describe terror as they struggled to hold on to walls, anything that wasn’t moving… but everything was moving and they all emerged shaken, trembling,  in tears and worried sick about husbands, wives, children, parents and friends elsewhere in the city. Everyone reports that damage inside homes and businesses “has to be seen to be believed” water mains burst, cupboards overturned, glass everywhere, almost everything breakable broken.

(photographed from news media sources)

They tell of  Crock-pots flung out of closed cupboards and smashed… entire bookcases, cabinets, anything on walls on the floor, in some houses ceilings down, liquefaction producing a thick layer of mud and silt  over roads, through gardens, into houses.

But they all breathe a huge sigh of relief… they can still hug their frightened children, their spouses and friends.

Many in Christchurch yesterday were not so lucky,  the death toll is currently 65 and will probably rise, rescue teams are working frantically though the night  to find survivors in collapsed buildings,  specialist assistance is arriving from around the country, and from around the world.

Rescue teams are digging people out from rubble and I can only pray that those trapped can hold onto life and hope until rescue comes.

Everyone I spoke to yesterday repeated a single phrase ” it’s only stuff, we have our lives and those of our families and we are incredibly grateful“.

I find myself feeling guilty that I was relieved that it was “someone else’s family” that suffered loss and not mine.

(photographed from news media sources)

But my heart also goes out to those who are not saying “lucky near-miss” today and who are instead gathering with family to bear the  catastrophic weight of the worst of news together.

Their world is especially dark right now and every reminder of rebuilding, rubble and every aftershock will bring the stark reminder that someone they love is didn’t make it to hug tightly afterwards.

I Thank those of you who emailed or sent a comment to me to ask if my friends and loved ones were ok…   I’m one of the lucky ones,  my tears have been those of relief, and friends and family can pick up the pieces of damaged homes, as can we from the house we own in the city.

But some people’s hearts have yesterday, been forever broken, and I don’t know where to start to express my sadness for their loss.

Building may be beautiful but they are only structures, people are irreplaceable and you know instantly where your priorities are when something like this happens.

Yesterday was an exceptional day:   …awful  … fear ….grateful …relief  …sadness ….hope.

Cantabrians, be strong… our thoughts are with you.

(photographed from news media sources)

(photographed from news media sources)

Rescue Teams are digging survivors out of this building…

(photographed from news media sources)

(photographed from news media sources)

(photographed from news media sources)

(photographed from news media sources)

(photographed from news media sources)

(photographed from news media sources)

(photographed from news media sources)

(photographed from news media sources)

(photographed from news media sources)

.. and the Quake also carved off this ice-burg from the galcier that fell into Tasman Lake in the Alps…

(photographed from news media sources)

When Out-Buildings make a Grand Entrance…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I’m turning this post into a bit of a mystery tour,  because although I will tell you where we are,  I will not be taking you inside the main building we are here to visit  right away.

We have arrived at Kastel (castle) Ammersoyen.

A moat completely surrounds Ammersoyen Castle and there is also a Bailey upon which is built a separate coach house and gatehouse.

This is connected by a bridge to the land beyond the moat, and then with another bridge  to the castle itself.

I want to walk  around these beautiful buildings first…

We walk onto the bailey and look around, and then to stretch our legs because after an hour and a bit in the car, our  kids need to expend some of their copious quantities of restless energy before going  inside  the castle.

The walk around the bailey and moat  gives us a sense of the scale of the place and of how it was thought out and built.

The coach house did not only house livery, but also servants, trades people and sometimes soldiers at various times too.

Soon we shall delve into History, but for now, scenery is the order of the day,

First we look at the Gate House … because Where better to start than with a grand entrance!?

Then, in the later photos, the Coach house, a far bigger building than it first appears.

Even though it is basically one large rectangular building, the  structure on the inside is subdivided into separate areas for very specific uses. These days it’s a function centre catering to weddings, receptions and various smaller events.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Intersect a Large Canal with a Motorway and you Need …?

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I’m still stuck at home recovering from my foot misadventures, so soon I’ll take you on a little trip that we did last year with the kids.

But first, a little something that is a great solution for a big problem.

The Netherlands is a country largely beneath sea-level.

Inland, water is drained from the land via canals, and pumped  via a large network of canals eventually into the big rivers of the Rhine, Maas,  Waal, and Ijssel.

Nearer the coast, canals have gates that are closed at high tide and water is pumped every low tide into the sea.  This happened for centuries  with the aid of the windmills that The Netherlands is famous for: these days pumping stations are computerised and operate 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year.

Water management in The Netherlands is a serious issue, since the natural water-table is meters above the land level in large parts of the country. Dikes keep the water in the canals, but often the surrounding land may or may not be at the same elevation that the dikes and canals are.

So, naturally this network of canals also throws up a few unique transportation problems. Roads are not elevated to the same level as the waterways, so how do you deal with the spots where roads and waterways meet?

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

On smaller canals, road bridges can be raised to allow boat traffic through, this involves stopping the road traffic for a short time whilst the bridge is raised.

The biggest rivers are spanned by very high bridges that allow shipping  to pass underneath, but these bridges are very expensive therefore these large bridges are spaced apart, and smaller car ferries take traffic from shore to shore to smaller towns and villages in-between.

Holding up car traffic on smaller roads is part and parcel of commuting around the Netherlands, it even happens inside cities… and it’s an accepted part of life. However, motorways are  different beasts…  it’s not feasible to hold up very large volumes of traffic for a bridge to be raised. so where they connect with the biggest canals special solutions have to be found.

We have plenty of road tunnels that go under the canals, but they too are very expensive and usually reserved for high traffic area by the widest  rivers so the next best option is the aqueduct.

The road traffic takes a short dip beneath the canal, the  metal and concrete sides of which are on view from the road. Often as you approach you may see tall masts  of yachts as they cross the road.  Murphy’s Law of course states that no yachts were crossing when I grabbed these photos.

This aqueduct is just outside the city of Gouda… ( Yes, the place famous for it’s cheese),  and whilst for the purposes of this post I am taking you on a journey away from the Hague, we happened  to be  driving up the backside of a caravan (no, not literally!) on the way out so the view was obstructed.

This is the better view that I snapped on the way home.

Purple Rain? Well, …Not exactly.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I have  some pieces of useless information and a few new Dutch words for you to go with today’s photographs.

In Den Haag (The Hague) has eight “stadsdelen” (Districts).

These are called: Escamp, Haagse Hout, Laak, Leidschenveen-Ypenburg, Loosduinen, The Hague Center, Scheveningen, and Segbroek.

These in turn are divided into smaller “wijken” (neighbourhoods) which usually named around a theme.

For instance in the The Hague Center  you will find the ‘Schilderswijk”, which literally translates as the “painter’s” neighbourhood and streets are named after famous Artists.

The Segbroek district offers a very descriptive range of  neighbourhoods, sporting amongst others:  the “Bomen- en Bloemenbuurt” (streets named after trees and flowers), “Vruchtenbuurt” (streets named after fruits), and  “Vogelwijk” (streets named after birds).

When I first arrived in The Hague, I had to go once to an address in The Goudenregenstraat. ( to pronounce this: cross a “g” with an “h” whilst saying “how” ,  then ” den” – “ray” – “gen” (g+h mix again) – “str” “art”) .

But what is  “goudenregen”?, well, quite literally it translates as  “Golden Rain“.. and it’s the name of a tree, which is why this street is found in the “tree neighbourhood”.

We don’t have any “Golden Rain” trees in New Zealand, and they are not in bloom just yet, … but come late Spring these large and striking trees will bloom with a vengeance here in The Netherlands, and once you’ve seen one you will always remember the sight because they are very impressive…

.. and you will also see that they have been very aptly named.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

A Little Soup-Stop to Fuel the Journey…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Since my foot is still out of action,  I’m treating you (in a virtual sense) to lunch in a place that I  found last summer whilst out on one of my walking tours.

My journal notes tell me that I had a mundane list of shopping to do that day and that one of the  items needed picking up from near here.

I happen to know that there are some very nice buildings in the area that I have been meaning to photograph so my pocket camera went into my jacket and I decided to take a small random walk along some streets I hadn’t been down in for ages.

Time ticked away and I got hungry and thirsty, but it was early afternoon already.

I wanted more than just a bottle of water on the run and less than a meal… so when I spied this small café on the Koningin Emmakade, I stopped to see what was on offer. I enter via the small garden entrance on the Weimarstraat, and take a table in the sunshine.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

An item under “soups” caught my eye.

“pittig  zoete aardappel soep” (spicy sweet potato soup)  it said,  for Euro 5,50…  sounds interesting, … sold to the Kiwidutch.

I ordered.

This probably can’t really be considered a “real”  Café review because one bowl of soup may or may not maketh enough information to base a judgment on, but I can tell you that I enjoyed the soup enough to resolve to go back for a  more substantial lunch in the future.

The brown full grain bread served with it was tasty and the service was fine too.

I’ll be keeping this place in mind for future reference.

I finished my lunch and sufficiently refueled, set out to continue  my walking tour.

EetCafe De Klap

Koningin Emmakade 118-A
2518 JJ Den Haag
Tel: 070 3454060

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)