Friday, February 1, 2008

When People Think of My City ... Monthly Theme Day


The first of the month -- that means Theme Day for the City Daily Photo Blogs. This month's theme is "When People Think of My City They Think of..."

We thought about this a lot, and we agreed that although Wassenaar is known for many things, it's most known for being "green." OK, so Wassenaar isn't well known outside of The Netherlands, but mention it here and everyone knows it!

When we say green, we don't necessarily mean in an "environmental" sense. We mean that there is so much green space here compared to many areas of the country. It truly is considered a luxury here--in the most densely populated country in Europe--to have so much green space.

Nothing typifies this more than the dunes (duinen) that buffer the town from the North Sea. Here is a view in the Meijendel dunes (taken last May) ... a landscape that is not common in The Netherlands except in a few places along the seashore.

Rather than doing a collage, we thought we'd continue throughout the week with other contenders for the theme, so stop back in to see what else comes to mind.

There are over 130(!) City Daily Photo bloggers participating in this theme day:
Portland (OR), USA - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Memphis (Tennessee), USA - Manila, Philippines - San Diego (CA), USA - Anderson (SC), USA - New York City (NY), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Mexico City, Mexico - San Francisco (CA), USA - Mumbai (Maharashtra), India - Mainz, Germany - Weston (FL), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Turin, Italy - Las Vegas (NV), USA - Hobart (Tasmania), Australia - Bicheno, Australia - Durban, South Africa - Joplin (MO), USA - Nashville (TN), USA - Stockholm, Sweden - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Brussels, Belgium - Chicago (IL), USA - Montpellier, France - Seattle (WA), USA - Mazatlan, Mexico - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Sharon (CT), USA - Sesimbra, Portugal - Toulouse, France - Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina - Susanville (CA), USA - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Prague, Czech Republic - Helsinki, Finland - Pilisvörösvár, Hungary - Lisbon, Portugal - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Trujillo, Peru - Dunedin (FL), USA - Albuquerque (NM), USA - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - London, UK - Baziège, France - Jefferson City (MO), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Selma (AL), USA - Mumbai, India - Naples (FL), USA - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - Silver Spring (MD), USA - Setúbal, Portugal - Stayton (OR), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Sofia, Bulgaria - Arradon, France - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Athens, Greece - Austin (TX), USA - Singapore, Singapore - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Jackson (MS), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Budapest, Hungary - Rotterdam, Netherlands - St Malo, France - Chandler (AZ), USA - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Cleveland (OH), USA - Nottingham, UK - Kansas City (MO), USA - The Hague, Netherlands - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - Wrocław, Poland - Chateaubriant, France - Cheltenham, UK - Moscow, Russia - Monrovia (CA), USA - Saigon, Vietnam - Toruń, Poland - Grenoble, France - Lisbon, Portugal - New Orleans (LA), USA - Sydney, Australia - Boston (MA), USA - American Fork (UT), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Montréal (QC), Canada - Wichita (KS), USA - Radonvilliers, France - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Christchurch, New Zealand - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Wailea (HI), USA - Aliso Viejo (CA), USA - St Francis, South Africa - Port Elizabeth, South Africa - Seattle (WA), USA - Pasadena (CA), USA - Vienna, Austria - Orlando (FL), USA - Torun, Poland - Delta (CO), USA - Santa Fe (NM), USA - Minneapolis (MN), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Paris, France - Stavanger, Norway - Niamey, Niger - Le Guilvinec, France - Bogor, Indonesia - Saarbrücken, Germany - Auckland, New Zealand - Wellington, New Zealand - Budapest, Hungary - Juneau (AK), USA - Bucaramanga (Santander), Colombia - Glasgow, Scotland - Chicago (IL), USA - Jakarta, Indonesia - Adelaide (SA), Australia - Sydney, Australia - Riga, Latvia - Subang Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Terrell (TX), USA - Terrell (TX), USA - Inverness (IL), USA

38 comments:

Sally said...

Interesting choice, and I look forward to seeing mre.

Ineke said...

Hi Rich, for me Wassenaar stands for the queens residence and the posh houses, but you're right, they probably wouldn't be living there if it wasn't such a beautiful area (and very near Den Haag ofcourse)

Jilly said...

I had no idea dunes were as high as this - almost hilly. Someone one thinks of HOlland as very flat - I learned something today! Nice photo.

Lezard said...

When I think of Wassenaar, I think of Meijendel of course (and the nice pancake house!), of Maxima (I could have taken a photo from her this week as I sat 3 seats behind her in the Lucent Theatre for Sylvie Guilhem dance performance, but of course I did not have my camera...), or of a very big luxury house with swimming pool (so necessary in this extremely hot country!) symbol of Wassenaar being one of the richest cities in Holland (did you know that 4 of the 20th richiest boroughs in the Netherlands are in Wassenaar!).

Have a nice theme day.

Anonymous said...

lucky you! Jakarta has run out of greenery...

Gerald (SK14) said...

what rich dunes those are - the dunes I know most about, around Southport, are not quite so green.

I'm not running with the theme this month, but I hope folk will still drop by.

Nathalie H.D. said...

I usually think of the Netherlands as the flat country so the last thing I expected to see was a hilly landscape. But now I remember the dunes. Beautiful and unexpected! I'm looking forward to seeing more!

Daniel Chérouvrier said...

Good idea to give these rendez-vous.

edwin s said...

i think it's fantastic. now we know that when we come visit, we'll get to have the wonderful greenery to go walkabouts in.

Ham said...

A hill! A hill! Surely Wassenar must be more famous for these awesome heights - I bet when it snows _someone_ goes up with skiis.

Sally said...

You are cordially invited to return to Sydney for a reconsideration of the Opera House and its place in people's thoughts!

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

Hi R,
When I think of Wassenaar or greens or beach/sea,villa's which are all in wassenaar, I think of a wonderfull time there Wassenaar is great in all its beauty in every way...

BTW you missed the Queens birthday information on january 31th, see my blog,

Answer on your Q on my blog, Hmmm I cannot really tell if its gonna snow this weekend, the waethere is all messed up, but I wouldn'd mind, My dog LOVES snow... so she won't mind either, our car has snowtires so we are prepared for snow!!!

Have agreat weekend. JoAnn NL

Jim Klenke said...

Thats a very beautiful picture, the green is wonderful this time of year for us.

Anonymous said...

Interesting post. Nice photo.

Fénix - Bostonscapes said...

Well, thanks to you and Lezard I've learned some very interesting things about Wassennar today. Looking forwards to seeing the rest of the series.

Have a nice theme day!

Bergson said...

it is true which is necessary to speak more and more about the green areas


but not too for fear everyone is attracted

Chris said...

Beautiful photo! It has brightened the rather grey day here in Nashville!

Gordon said...

It is nice to see dunes with so much greenery; our dunes generally have very little vegetation on them.

alice said...

My first idea was...flatter! Happy to know your area a little more. And thank you for visiting Arradon DP.

Joao Augusto Aldeia said...

Green is Good! Good choice.

marley said...

Lovely dunes. Its nice to have so much green space. Looking forward to seeing more contenders this week.

isa said...

I forgot the dunes! Great choice!

Neva said...

Sounds like Inverness! Posh houses, big green lots....looks lovely! Lucky you!

Anonymous said...

Fantastic, I'd never have expected a Dutch Daily Photo Blog to feature hills as its most well known feature! Lovely picture.

Uma por Dia said...

Always learning...i thought about people on bikes, lol, not hills :)

Joy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Joy said...

Great photo! I feel like singing "The hills are alive with the sound of music" but that's in another country :D

Thanks for visiting Norwich Daily Photo and your kind comments. Drop by again!

joy
A Pinay In England
Your Love Coach
The Goddess In You

Kim said...

What an interesting thing to know! It reminds me a great deal of the way Laguana Canyon in California looked prior to all the development, which is wierd because it really different terrain. Terrific photo, and very peaceful to look at. Ah, open space!
-Kim
Seattle Daily Photo

Anonymous said...

This is beautiful. I have always wanted to visit the Netherlands and this photo just increases the desire!

Susan said...

Beautiful! Happy Theme Day!

The D in D & T said...

what a sight for sore eyes, greenery barely exists in Athens. Coming from Australia, I've really missed it. Gorgeous photo.

brian stout said...

it really is a beautiful photo - and very green! i visited amsterdam back in 1989 and would love to come back to dne hague soon...

Anonymous said...

An interesting choice and one that i would have never thought of. I'm looking forward to seeing a lot more!

Rob said...

That's a lot of green, quite pretty and pleasant to view, and perhaps take a walk.

 gmirage said...

I have had some job applications at the Wasenaar arrangement here in Vienna but never really thought how the city is about. Thanks for the input! Its a lovely greenery!

sam said...

I have never heard of Wassenaar before, other than the fact that it is a common surname in South Africa. It certaily looks like an interesting place. The dunes lok interesting - whenever I think of the Netherlands, I imagine a flat landscape.

kuanyin333 said...

Wow...not flat at all! Beautiful and hilly...and such a lovely green! I'm sorry I'm late getting here....so many participating blogs. I'm glad I found you at last!

Juneau Alaska Photos said...

I, too, never thought of dunes as being green. Learn something new every day. The dunes are so lush and beautiful. Thanks for being a part of "Theme Day."