Haar-dy Ho!

After posting a German castle ruin yesterday, I thought I'd dip into the "archives" to show you a castle from here in The Netherlands.

You don't necessarily think of castles when you think of The Netherlands, but there are actually quite a few castles and ruins throughout the country.

This is Kasteel De Haar, located about 70km from Wassenaar in the province of Utrecht. It was rebuilt in the late 1800's on the 15th century foundations. The "new and improved" version was built with new-fangled modern conveniences like central heating and running water.

We hope you enjoy the contrast with yesterday's post. We're taking more time off, but we plan to participate in May's Theme Day, so please come back and visit on May 1. Many of our recent posts have been outside of Wassenaar, but our post will be a return to reveal a little-known but historic fact about this town.

On the Rhine/Rhein/Rijn: Where?Wednesday

If you like castles, beautiful small towns, terraced vineyards and overall nice scenery, then we can heartily recommend a cruise down the middle Rhine in Germany.

We took a round-trip cruise from Rudesheim to St. Goar, and literally saw so many sights I can't even tell you which castle ruin is pictured above.

I Am...

The city of Amsterdam's marketing slogan is the centerpiece of the Museumplein, a large open space that borders the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, and Concertgebouw.

Politie Paarden Parade

Amsterdam's police force were all over the city a couple of weeks ago. At first we thought that there must have been a major drug bust, or perhaps the royal family were in town. But later we saw the tail end of a protest march weaving its way through town -- although we never did find out exactly what they were protesting against (or for).

Thanks to all who commented on our recent photos and our one year photoblogging anniversary. It'll take a couple of days for us to catch up on our fellow bloggers' sites. We just returned from a wonderful trip to Germany with our sister-in-law and her boyfriend ... we'll show a sample in a couple of days.

Happy Anniversary!

Another shot from the Keukenhof garden. These bands of color wind their way all through the park.

Without much fanfare, this celebrates our 1-year anniversary. I guess a photo of tulips and other bulbs is appropriate for a photo blog from The Netherlands!

We have really enjoyed sharing our experiences in and around Wassenaar and The Netherlands (and sometimes beyond). We've learned many interesting things while researching some of our posts. We've learned to look for things to photograph that we wouldn't have otherwise. And we've "met" a lot of interesting people who have visited and commented. So thanks to all those who've come to see a little bit of this part of the world.

Now, we're off again ... hope to see you back next week.

Grape River

The Keukenhof is a world-famous garden in the province of North Holland devoted to the display of flowers, primarily spring bulbs. Now in its 59th year, the garden is open from late March through mid May.

While there are indoor exhibits (featuring flowers like the ones pictured here yesterday), the main attraction is the open air garden. Millions of tulips, daffodils, and other bulbs are spectacularly displayed.

This woodland garden scene features a river of muscari (grape hyacinths) surrounded by tulips and daffodils.

Red velvet

I just liked the texture of these flowers from the Keukenhof garden. Flower fans, check back over the next couple of days for some more pics from our recent visit.

Hospital Leftovers

All that's left of this women's hospital in the North Holland town of Haarlem is the portal. Above the portal is this wonderful scene of one of the patient rooms.

Unfortunately I can't really translate the inscription, but I believe that it refers to the founding of the hospital. I also found this site which says that if you read the capital letters as roman numerals, they add up to 1435, the year of the original foundation.

Sorry for cutting off the last numeral in the year that this portal was built. It's a "4", which dates the portal back to 1624. I can only imagine what it must have been like to be in a "women's hospital" back then!

Cool air, Warm sun

When the sun comes out, it doesn't matter if there's a chill in the air ... there's nothing like sitting at an outside cafe, soaking up some rays and watching the world go by. Or if it's not the world, at least the town of Haarlem.

Horsing around in Wassenaar

I haven't posted a lot from Wassenaar lately, so here's a shot of an activity you can see here during the "off-season." Horses are only allowed on the beach for a portion of the year (I think Oct-May). In "season" the beach is reserved for sunbathers, swimmers, etc.

Looks to me like these horses and their riders are having a great time.