Boerderij aan de Houtweg, The City Runneth Over…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

My “Billboard” series of  photographs is back!

These are  billboards that the Haags Gemeentearchief (the Hague City Council Archive) put up to celebrate their 125th Anniversary  a few years ago.

The  Haags Gemeentearchief  did feature the billboard photos with their historic views of the city on their own (Dutch language) website, but to my surprise there were no  ”Now”  photos to go with them.

I have to confess that that our inner-local-history buff  got a little out of hand during the time that these boards were up and  Himself and I got rather competitive when it came to capturing all the billboards in the temporary display before they were all removed.

It was excellent fun though, finding them all and ticking them off the list.

One of the biggest advantages of our game of  ”find and photograph”  is that I photographed  not only the billboards in situ but also the immediate area surrounding them so that my series gives both the  ’Old” and “New” views.

The caption on the billboard reads:  ”Boerderij aan de Houtweg later Kapelaan Meereboerweg. Foto: W.F. Duunk, circa 1900.” which translates as: “Farmhouse on the Houtweg (later to be called)  the Kapelaan Meereboerweg,  Photo: W.F. Duunk, circa 1900″.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

On the Haags Gemeentearchief  website there was space provided for people to add any additional information about the billboards whilst they were on display and on this one someone wrote in the following (Dutch language  text only so I’ve added a translation):

“Geboortehuis

Het huis op de foto is het geboortehuis van mijn grootvader Willem Kortekaas. In de familie bestaat nog een schilderijtje van het huis, dat altijd bij mijn grootouders in de woonkamer heeft gehangen.

Ik kan me het huis nog goed herinneren, omdat mijn ouders er vlakbij in de v.d. Gaagstraat woonden. Het huis werd toen (plm. jaren vijftig) bewoond door de fam. in ‘t Veld.”

Birthplace.
The house in the photo is the birthplace of my  grandfather Willem Kortekaas. Our family still has a painting of the house, which  used to hang in my grandfather’s living room.

I remember the house well, because my parents lived very close by in the van der Gaagstraat. Later on the  t’ Veld family moved into the house (around the 1950′s).

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Statenkwartier, the Photogenic Beauty of The Hague.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We are back in the Hague, the Summer is sadly long over and the winter weather has set in. I’m back to sorting through archive photographs and seeing what catches my eye.

The Statenkwartier is one of the Hague’s old established suburbs and it’s represented by the Yellow cards on the Dutch Monopoly board,  which should warn you that you will need deep pockets to be able to afford property in this neighbourhood.

Many of the buildings date from between 1870 and 1920 and the entire area is a photographers dream because the buildings abound with architectural detail, ornamental florisheres  in stone, wood, ironwork, brick and tile, and every time I’ve taken walks here I always spot something new even in streets I’ve photographed often before.

This is the neighbourhood where the Doctor’s, Dentists, Lawyers and captains of industry,and heads of family businesses resided and to some extent that is still true today.

The houses are often referred to as “herenhuisen” (gentlemen’s houses)  and when you hear if any  Dutch house being described in these terms, you can immediately know that the rooms are often very spacious for Dutch standards, with high, and sometimes ultra high ceilings, ornate moulded plasterwork in the interiors,  beautiful leaded glass, wider than usual hallways, sweeping staircases and an attention to detail in the nooks and crannies that  echoes that of  the ornate decoration of the façades.

Let’s take a look around…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The Mixed Feelings that I want to Have as Often as Possible…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The way home into The Hague is a familiar route  to us, but like most cities around the world the sky-line has been evolving and changing over recent years.

The Centre of  The Hague has undergone some especially radical changes,  even in the eighteen or so years that I have lived here because buildings in the Centre are now suddenly so much taller:  especially noticable  in a city where the city centre was predominantly low-rise for centuries.

The Dutch have one of the most densely populated countries in the  world so space is of course at a premium so one of the engineering solutions has been to utilise otherise “wasted” spaces.

This has meant to building over the motorway into the city and there are now a whole variety of buildings where you literally drive through their basement as you go past.

I’m not certain if the “Nationale Nederland  Insurance” building was the first building to use this principle, but with it’s massive graceful arch and the incorporated  part glass floor of the offices above it is certainly the most iconic one that everyone knows and remembers instantly.

Maybe it’s because I come from the South Island of  New Zealand (with probably less than ten kilometres of motorway in it’s entire road network) that I find the multi-levelled  motorway flyovers of the  ”knooppunt Prins Clausplein”  artistically pleasing too. (Either that, or my wacky sense of humour is showing again)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Yes, there is also photography of us at a level crossing waiting for a train to zoom past,  Little Mr. would not forgive me if I left that out because for him, who could care less about buildings?  Trains feature speed and wheels, both of which he finds  much more interesting. (and if they toot the horn too as they go past,  it makes his day).

If I’m totally honest the train photo also gets in because even though I would not care to admit it publicly, I suspect that there is a secret train-spotter  hidden somewhere deep inside this photographer. (You can  keep a secret can’t you?)

Finally, another iconic building: you drive from the knooppunt Prins Clausplein all along the Utrechtsebaan until you reach the large open green space that is the Marlieveld and the traffic lights at the  Zuidholland/ Benoordensehoutseweg and to your left you can’t miss the statuesque  1871 brick beauty of the “De Brouwe Blackstone Westerbroek”   International Law firm building.

Any  resident of the Hague who’s been away,  always knows they are “almost home” when this building comes into view. I’m sure that where-ever you live that there is also some building, old, new, large or small, that gives you the same feeling that “home is just around the corner” whenever you pass it’s door.

Family Kiwidutch have enjoyed our short break away from home but “normal routine” awaits almost sooner than we would like and we have appointments to keep this afternoon. In some ways I always have mixed feelings whenever I see this motorway pictorial series pass us by in real life, sadness that the holiday is over on one hand, but the happy, comfortable  knowledge that I’m almost home on the other.

It’s a mixed feeling I hope to experience as often as possible in the decades to come.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Gouda, So much More than Just Cheese…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

To complete our short visit and brunch at the  ”IJsselhuis Schipperswachtlokaal”  (IJssel house, Captain’s Waiting-Room) that I’ve featured in my last two posts, I will leave you with a short photographic post of the surroundings around us.

Amazingly we are not too far away from the heart of Gouda, but this is a quiet tranquil spot and beautiful too.

There is of course the canal and Lock that kept the Captains of the past waiting all those decades ago… and close by there are some amazing historic boats moored by beautiful historic buildings.

The mechanisms for opening and closing the lock have long since been modernised, but as far as possible  the rest  appears to have been left very much in the historic styles in which they were make.

Gouda is so much more  than “just’ cheese… it’s a stunningly beautiful place and we will be back one day, not just for this café  but also for a longer, better look around lovely Gouda.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The Tomatoes on the Cake Stand tell me ALL I need to Know…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Sometimes you get an immediate feeling that the food somewhere is going to be  really good.

I have this feeling as soon as we get near the outside tables of the ”IJsselhuis Schipperswachtlokaal”  (IJssel house, Captain’s Waiting-Room) that I introduced you to in yesterday’s post because  sitting on the table is a tiered cake stand that is filled up … not with cakes,  but with lovely ripe vine tomatoes…  Ooooh yes… Tomatoes!

This is a sure enough sign to any Foodie that there must be a fellow Foodie close at hand.

I’m delighted when I mention the tomatoes to the young guy who comes to  take our order because he immediately grins and tells us with pride that the Soup of the Day is fresh tomato soup, that he made himself this morning, and yes indeed,  the tomatoes on display are destined to be the next batch of tomato soup later this morning.

Yum!  He’s  an enthusiastic Foodie and clearly passionate about making home made things from scratch with fresh ingredients.

Naturally I find myself ordering fresh tomato soup for my brunch.

I ask for Camomile tea and  the nice surprises continue when he brings a large cup-size filter to the table, along with a metal canister of loose  Camomile tea, the tea is spooned into the filter, which is added to the cup and hot water is then poured on: this is  real, quality,  ’old school”  tea-making style, rather than just producing a wrapped teabag from a one of the well known national or  international brands as  most cafés tend to do.

The Kiwidutch kids are happy to discover that ham/cheese toasted sandwiches (a.k.a. “toastie” or ‘croque-monsieur “) are on the menu and some crusty bread with herb butter and a Wrap complete our order.

The food is excellent ( ok the wrap got a tiny big soggy) and the kids gobbled down their toasted sandwiches speedily enough, but the star of the day was one of the best home made tomato soups I have ever tasted and would gladly return for.

Bravo for excellent “home made”  and two Foodie guys running this beautifully charming little café. They are friendly, are happy that I am taking photos and asking about the food, and we have a relaxed brunch…  a nice (sadly all to short)  quiet pause before  we are due to hit the motorway and resume medical appointments as soon as we get home.

Let’s look at our menu…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

The Schipperswachtlokaal; Taking Tea (or Coffee) in The Captain’s Waiting-Room…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We are on our way home from Leerdam, a journey that takes about an hour.

After a quick short-cut  through the countryside and a ferry ride over the river, we find ourselves on the outskirts of Gouda.  Naturally best known for it’s cheese, Gouda is a small Dutch city with a lot of history and only some of  it to do with cheese.

The kids choose this moment to start wishing for breakfast and since we will be forced to get onto a motorway shortly for the last stretch home, and not looking forward to the prospect of any motorway service-stop for food, we decide to look for something in Gouda.

By chance just as we enter we spy a small park area with a tiny little  building on one side of it…. it’s a lovely little  place by the lock and there’s a sign that indicates it sells food.  But it’s still early, will they be open yet?  Himself and the kids go and investigate and come back smiling positively so we go in for brunch.

The “IJsselhuis Schipperswachtlokaal”  (IJssel house, Captain’s Waiting-Room) was built in 1912 by the temperance  movement with the express purpose of giving the captains of little ships an alternative  place to sit and wait their turn for the lock to open.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Apparently until it was built, the only indoor places available to wait inside  had been the local public houses and since the waiting times were often measured in hours,  captains often developed alcohol problems.

The Captains of the many little freight barges and ships that plied the river IJssel  also met every Friday evening at the Schipperswachtlokaal  to exchange information over a (non-alcoholic) drink .

There is a famous Dutch expression that goes: ” Het nuttige (handel) werd hier met het aangename (drankje) verenigd“.  Which translates as “The combination of useful things (trade) with nice things”.

I suppose the closest expression in English would be “to mix business with pleasure”   and this was the aim here, so that Captains could enjoy talking about useful work things in a relaxed and alcohol free environment.

It’s a tad ironic therefore that these days you  can  order a  a wine with your lunch if you wish…

The IJsselhuis,  Schipperswachtlokaal  is a minuscule slip of a building, roughly ” T ” shaped and beautifully restored inside to show off the character of the building, the wooden wall panels full of little cupboards and  for the buildings size, and amazing number of windows letting in tons of glorious sunlight.

Let’s take a look around…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Taking the Little Roads and Waterways Homewards…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

We are leaving the campsite at Leerdam this morning and making our way back to The Hague.

It would have been nice to do a few more things around the area but I have a hospital appointment to get to just before lunch so Himself and I agree on an early start that that we make it back in good  time.

I’d packed up most of our clothes last evening (actually I was looking for Little Mr’s misplaced pyjamas and I ended up packing away everything we didn’t need the next morning  so the jammies turned up because they were more or less the only thing left laying around) .

The tent came down and was packed up much faster than we ever thought possible, and before we knew it,  Himself had wheelbarrowed not only the gear back to the car but the kids as well  (That’s Little Mr under the blanket in the wheelbarrow) and it wasn’t even nine in the morning yet!

A large part of of our unexpected time efficiency is that the kids and I just aren’t hungry at the moment, we have some fruit left over and Himself, who rose at his usual time of 5:00 a.m. ate his breakfast hours ago, so we decide  to find somewhere for a toasted sandwich or a bread roll on the way home.

Since we are sitting in the car by nine and the trip home should take about one hour, we choose the smaller roads instead of  the motorway and take a little look around a small corner of The Netherlands.

Avoiding the motorway means crossing rivers by car ferry  and waiting whilst bridges are raised to let water traffic pass…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Crossing  the River Lek from Nieuwpoort to Schoonhoven…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

In the following photo: this barge was so incredibly long that it wasn’t possible to get it all into one photo until it was quite a bit further down the river…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

…And just in case you find yourself making a ferry crossing in The Netherlands one day, the sign translates as ” Wait with driving off , the middle lanes have priority” (upon departure).

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Sometimes the Machine Gunner tries hard to be More of a Sniper…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

These photos from my Leerdam travels  managed to escape my eye earlier and didn’t get posted.

I took these sunset shots  by the car park by the Argentinian Restaurant  when we went here for dinner the other day.  The sunset was so beautiful by the water that it seemed like a good time to try out a few impromptu arty photography shots.

Of course  a large dose of professionally is missing because moving around on crutches means photos that are even more lopsided than my usual efforts and not having my tripod with me means that that perfect stillness wasn’t happening  in these photos any time soon either .

I don’t think I take too many “arty”shots, I’m more of a “see it, click it ”  kind of  gal.

If  my photography were to be compared with  a weapon I’d definitely be a rapid fire, all fire blazing  machine gun rattling through bullets at an alarming rate and not the carefully aimed sniper who patiently waits for just the right moment to squeeze the shutter button gently down.

So here is a Kiwidutch attempt at “arty” photography. I’m open to critique (that’s Politically Correct terminology for “she needs all the help she can get“) Fire away…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

When Our Best of Intentions to Dine Genteelly ….Falls as Flat as a Pancake.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

There is one massive drawback of our decision to not bother cooking for the two days that we have been in Leedam.

The drawback is that we never thought to have a  ”Plan B”.

Since Kiwi Daughter is now mature enough to not disgrace herself in a Restaurant , we assumed that Little Mr had progressed decently in this respect as well.

We were wrong.

His day just keeps steadily  unravelling, he makes unreasonable demands in shouting, whining or angry mode,  his severe  lack of listening skills lead me to believe that his ears must have fallen off when he got out of bed this morning…

… he’s picking for a fight at every opportunity over any real or imagined slight,  his “attitude” meter is turned up as far as it will go.

In fact, his attitude meter has gone way past “now would be a sensible time to stop, kid”  zone  and  into the ” watch out, you are seriously tempting your parents to give you away” zone.

With the crystal clear vision of 20/20 hindsight, we shouldhave just asked directions to the nearest take-a-way joint, got something quick and  easy to eat or take with us and headed back to  the camp-site as soon as possible.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Instead I made the mistake of thinking that a “Pannenkoekenrestaurant”  (Pancake Restaurant) would have child-friendly fare so all we should have no problems from Little Mr.

The logic in this  turned out to be  only partially sound, Yes: pancakes can be considered child friendly food, but if the child is not itself   in a friendly frame of  mind, then maybe no menu on earth was going to  bring peace and harmony to the situation.

The pancake restaurant in  question is called ‘t Veerhuys  and I’m sorry to say that Family Kiwidutch were not in this instance role-model customers. (well, one  member of family Kiwidutch wasn’t at least).

We mistakenly assumed that Little Mr’s.  grumblings were entirely due to hunger and that feeding him would improve his disposition  (as is often the case at dinner-time at home).

Sadly this  time his moodiness is  just a continuation of an entire day’s  ”out of sorts” and he moans about which pancake he wants, he decides he doesn’t want it when it comes, he demands a different one (loudly) and won’t take “no” for an answer.  He refuses to sit at the table and makes such a pest of himself  that Himself  hastily eats the last of his own pancake, and silently scoops up a wiggling, belligerent Little Mr. under one big strong arm and heads out with our  little monster  to the car standing in the car-park a short distance away.

Kiwi Daughter and I listen  with faces burning with embarrassment as Little Mr’s angry  protestations continue all the way until he is in the car and the door is shut behind him.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Himself takes the drivers seat and I can see him trying  to ignore the  tantrum in the back. I’m left with half a meal on my plate and Kiwi Daughter with half a pancake on hers. We try and finish our plates as quickly as we can so that I can pay and we can get back to the car and out of here.

It’s a great shame because the meal is not bad at all and it would have been nice to have done it  justice.

I see that they have small single serve sizes of Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream on the menu, I  ask if it’s possible to take some away with us.

The lady who’s been serving us a really nice when I say that I don’t feel comfortable having dessert whilst poor Himself is stuck in the car with a  small kid having a large meltdown.

She’s already witnessed most of it of course so our discomfort is obvious.

Yes, we can get some of these to take with us. I pay the bill and Kiwi Daughter and I make our way back to the car.   Little Mr. has calmed down a little bit after getting the silent treatment from Himself because Himself is really angry with him. That fact is finally starting to sink in.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

This post is less a Review of  ’t Veerhuys and more an apology to them, had we realised that Little Mr. was going to turn on a show of his worst manners ever,  we would have taken  greater evasive action as parents and not foistered his  bad behaviour on the unsuspecting public of Leerdam.

It was not the fault of the food or the Restaurant at all, just a six year old boy having an ultra-bad day and  managing to ruin an evening for the whole family.

Himself and I resolve that since we have a relatively early start tomorrow,  that an early bedtime for a certain child is in order. He’s still  a ratty bratty back at camp but turns on his best angel face once he’s asleep.

I don’t have a clue what spanner was in Little Mr’s works today, but let’s hope that he wakes up with his emotional  and mental machinery in better working order tomorrow.

Once again apologies are in order for the Restaurant… I’m sure the meal was nice,  I had  home-made lamb rollade  with sweet garlic sauce and naturally it would have tasted it better if I hadn’t been trying to inhale it,  pay and escape. Your patience with us was commendable. We were rotten customers but I was at least embarrassed enough to leave a big tip.

Travel with kids is always an “experience” of one sort or another, pancakes were a great idea,  it’s just that this kid, on this day,  fell flatter than any pancake and  failing to read the signs well enough, that was completely our mistake.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

Introducing a Little Green Friend (No Kisses Though, …I have Already Found My Prince)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

I don’t often get the chance to shoot wildlife photographs.

We live in an apartment, in a large city, have no garden, have no pets due to allergies and aside from the usual city invaders that are pigeons, seagulls and magpies, the “wild” part of our local “wildlife” are few and far between.

Added to this is my year’s lack of mobility, no walks to parks this year, no hikes to the beach, in fact it’s been a very ” boringly stuck inside the house a lot”  year so it was with surprise and delight that whilst picking my way along the path to the pipos wagon that I suddenly see a little creature sitting very still on a log of wood.  A beautiful green frog!

For Himself,  frogs are nothing special, there are waterways in abundance here in The Netherlands (isn’t that  the understatement of the year!) and Himself grew up in small villages with many an open field and many more canals nearby so frogs were literally hopping everywhere at some times of the year.

I however spent my earliest years in a dry mountainous region of New Zealands South Island and then moved to the city of  Christchurch , neither of which sported any vast  frog populations for me to discover, so I’ve only seen a frog  up close  like this a few times in my life and I think they are wonderful little creatures.

I have my camera in my pocket and I think that it was luck that I was moving so slow that the little frog probably didn’t know I was there,  so I was delighted to grab a few photos of my little green friend.  My little  ”Wildlife” as tame as he is, got camera shy just after these photos were taken…

… or maybe he  needed to hop off  because he was late for an appointment with a Princess.

(photograph © Kiwidutch)