A Short Walk From the Prison Gate to the Bee Hive…

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

This is the last post of photographs  from the chip I discovered  in an old camera that Little Mr. trashed as a toddler.

When I first arrived in The Hague there were no large high-rise buildings at all, but in recent years the skyline has changed beyond all recognition.

I know that if I stand a a few of these spots today in 2013, that the skyline has changed yet again. That is however a future walking tour, when walking is easier that it still is at present.

Some buildings remain almost timeless, like the famous rounded edges of De Bijenkorf  (which literately translates as “the beehive”) a large Dutch department store built in 1926.

There are a few narrow short-cut alleys that house little cafés and restaurants, there are the busy shopping streets, a tram goes by the De Gevangenpoort  (the prison gate)  which was a medieval prison  built in 1280, but which has been luckily a museum since 1882.

Many of these areas deserve detailed posts at a later date. Therefore today’s photo’s are a “study” of  city life as it was almost  five years ago… city’s change and evolve, I will be back to walk again, and document what has changed and what has remained.

(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)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

(photograph © Kiwidutch)

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)