Koolmees

A few days ago, Abe Lincoln published pictures of some american chickadees on his bird blog.

That reminded me that I had some pics, albeit not well focused, of the most common chickadee we see here. Here in europe, chickadees aren't called chickadees (I'm assuming that's an american english term). This is the parus major (great tit in english, koolmees in dutch).

Those of you with a keen eye will see that, given the buds on the tree, this picture isn't recent. It was taken last March.

Although this shot was taken in the Meijendel dunes, these little guys are very common around our house. Their chatter is a welcome change from the loud cackles of the crows and parakeets that wake us up every morning.

Reflections on Edam: Where?Wednesday

Today we take you back to the town of Edam, in the province of North Holland about 70km from Wassenaar.

We guessed that these nice little structures are a type of boathouse. Whatever their purpose, they reflected nicely into the calm waters of the canal.

Wild West Wassenaar?

These beautiful horses are lucky enough to graze in the Wassenaar dunes. We've seen them in several locations; this is an area called De Kuil.

According to the coastal guide website, grazing was introduced in 1990 and is seen as a successful technique in dune management.

Wassenaar war monument

Last in our series on graves & cemeteries that began with this month's theme day. But don't worry, this is a favorite subject so there'll be more in the future.

On the Wassenaar beach stands this monument, in memory of French commandos killed during WWII. I found the following information from the commemoration in 2004:

On Friday (27 February) a military ceremony was held at the Trépel monument on the Wassenaarse Slag in memory of the six French commandos killed there during a reconnaissance action in February 1944. Veteran commandos, marines and former crew members of the motor torpedo boat involved in the operation gathered at the monument, named after the unit commander, Captain Charles Trépel, at the beach in Wassenaar to pay tribute to the men killed in action.

Garden Graves

We've previously posted pictures of the Dorpskerk cemetery in Wassenaar. Many of the gravesites are mini-gardens. Here's another shot of some of these "garden graves," along with a view looking from the graveyard to the church.

Ghostly Image

From a tombstone in the church (Dorpskerk) cemetery in Wassenaar.

This image really jumps out at you as you walk through the gravesites. It looks best in b/w (it's a grey stone with the dirty white image anyway). It's so strange --it almost looks like a reverse/negative image -- but in fact this is what it looks like in person.

Tomorrow we'll see more of the Dorpskerk cemetery.

Ter Navolging

In the busy beach town of Scheveningen you'll find an unsigned, unpaved alleyway, almost hidden between buildings along a busy street. If you walk up that alley, you'll come to a tiny little oasis called Ter Navolging.

This little oasis is, in fact, the first cemetery in The Netherlands to be built (at that time) outside city limits. In 1778, most people were buried in churchyards, but hygiene and crowding were becoming issues. So this little cemetery was built in the (then) unpopulated dunes outside of The Hague.

It's a simple place; inside the brick courtyard are simple, flat stones. Some of them new, some hundreds of years old, some scoured flat over time. Outside, the walls are ringed with newer graves, and opposite the walls you'll find the tiny markers shown in the theme day post by The Hague Daily Photo.

Incidentally, according to the Wiki post (in dutch), the cemetery was named "for imitation" in the hopes that more cemeteries would be built in this manner (at least that's what I get from my limited translation abilities).

I thank the "theme day" for leading me to this interesting place. It is so hidden that I wouldn't have found it if I hadn't been researching local cemeteries. Now I know a little bit more of local history.

Thorn: Where?Wednesday

Today we take you to the town of Thorn, in the province of Limburg, about 190 southeast of Wassenaar.

We were struck by this tombstone in the church graveyard. It is a memorial to a former priest who served from 1921 to ??? (the dates and his full name unfortunately have not survived).

You can see the wonderful influence of what we'd call art deco/arts & crafts in the design of the stone.

Thorn is nicknamed "the white town" because of its whitewashed buildings. The town started as an abbey in the 10th century. The church dates from the 12th century but has been changed many times since. At right is the view looking up to the church.

If you're interested, you can see more from our quick trip to Limburg on our personal travel blog.

Tomorrow we return to Wassenaar to revisit the local cemetery.

Royal Tomb

Above you see the likeness of Prins Willem I (Prince William I) of Orange, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, known as William the Silent, founder of the House of Orange-Nassau (the dutch royal family). His mausoleum stands in the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) in nearby Delft, the city where he was assassinated in 1584.

The monument was constructed 30 years after his death. The front is flanked by statues representing Liberty and Justice (Religion and Strength/Valour are at the back).

There are two likenesses of the prince; the bronze statue seated at the front (left), and the marble tomb (above). At the base of his tomb (below) lies his dog; legend has it that the dog refused to eat or drink after his master's death, and so he lies eternally cast in stone at Willem's feet.

Prince Willem is a national hero for his battles against the Spaniards, who during his time controlled the country and persecuted dutch protestants. Following Willem's death, all dutch royals have been buried in the royal crypt at this church. The House of Orange crypts in Breda could not be reached at the time of Willem's death because that part of the Netherlands was under Spanish control.

A big "thank you" to all who visited and commented on yesterday's Theme Day blog. Like me, a number of bloggers are continuing the theme this week; check back for more cemetery/grave postings.

8,301

8,301 is the number of American soldiers buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial.


For October Theme Day (Cemetery or Tombstone), we take you to the southern part of The Netherlands, to the town of Margraten in the Limburg province.




Among these graves are the remains of 106 unknown soldiers. In addition to the gravesites, the walls list the names of 1,722 soldiers who were missing or whose remains were never recovered.






Inside the chapel is a lighting fixture presented by the Dutch people in the shape of the Royal Crown of The Netherlands.








In front of the chapel tower is the "Mourning Woman" statue. The moving words are quoted from General Dwight D. Eisenhower (click to enlarge any picture).

Most of these soldiers lost their lives during the airborne and ground operations to liberate the eastern part of the Netherlands and during the battles as troops advanced into Germany across the Ruhr and Rhine rivers. American forces were but a portion of the Allied troops here; many more soldiers, particularly British, Canadian and Polish forces, lost their lives in battles such as Operation Market Garden.

I'll continue the cemetery/tombstone theme throughout the week, so be sure to check back for some other interesting posts. And visit the over 100 City Daily Photo Blog sites participating in the October theme: St. Louis (MO), USA - San Diego (CA), USA - Cleveland (OH), USA - New York City (NY), USA - Boston (MA), USA - Mainz, Germany - Hyde, UK - Arlington (VA), USA - Cape Town, South Africa - Saint Paul (MN), USA - Toulouse, France - Arradon, France - Menton, France - Monte Carlo, Monaco - Montego Bay, Jamaica - Ampang (Selangor), Malaysia - Joplin (MO), USA - Cottage Grove (MN), USA - Bellefonte (PA), USA - Mexico (DF), Mexico - Seattle (WA), USA - Baziège, France - Baltimore (MD), USA - Chandler (AZ), USA - Sequim (WA), USA - Stayton (OR), USA - Stockholm, Sweden - Austin (TX), USA - Singapore, Singapore - Anderson (SC), USA - Orlando (FL), USA - Greenville (SC), USA - Wassenaar (ZH), Netherlands - Nashville (TN), USA - Tenerife, Spain - Manila, Philippines - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Jacksonville (FL), USA - River Falls (WI), USA - Chateaubriant, France - Quincy (MA), USA - Rabaul, Papua New Guinea - Buenos Aires, Argentina - Crystal Lake (IL), USA - Inverness (IL), usa - Lubbock (TX), USA - Phoenix (AZ), USA - Moscow, Russia - Norwich (Norfolk), UK - Crepy-en-Valois, France - Minneapolis (MN), USA - New Orleans (LA), USA - Montréal (QC), Canada - West Sacramento (CA), USA - Toruń, Poland - Philadelphia (PA), USA - Christchurch, New Zealand - London, England - Paderborn, Germany - The Hague, Netherlands - Selma (AL), USA - Sunderland, UK - Kyoto, Japan - Tokyo, Japan - Stavanger, Norway - Fort Lauderdale (FL), USA - Weston (FL), USA - Portland (OR), USA - Forks (WA), USA - Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation - Maple Ridge (BC), Canada - Boston (MA), USA - Sydney, Australia - Wellington, New Zealand - Montpellier, France - Jackson (MS), USA - Wailea (HI), USA - Petaling Jaya (Selangor), Malaysia - Evry, France - Saarbrücken, Germany - New York City (NY), USA - Santa Fe (NM), USA - North Bay (ON), Canada - Melbourne, Australia - Port Vila, Vanuatu - Cypress (TX), USA - Saint Louis (MO), USA - Paris, France - San Diego (CA), USA - Wichita (Ks), USA - Haninge, Sweden - Prague, Czech Republic - Zurich, Switzerland - Budapest, Hungary - Paris, France - Saigon, Vietnam - Grenoble, France - Zurich, Switzerland - Port Angeles (WA), USA - Naples (FL), USA - Toronto (ON), Canada - Sequim (WA), USA - Chicago (IL), USA