New Sea, New Land

Continuing on the "Water" theme: some of the people who commented on yesterday's blog mentioned The Netherlands' famous battle with water. I feel the need to point out two facts:

First, the story about the boy saving the country by sticking his finger in a dike is actually an American tale ("Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates" by Mary Mapes Dodge). More here.

Second, about 25% of The Netherlands is below sea level. The dutch have an amazing network of water works, not only to protect the country but to reclaim land. In the early 20th century, the large area of water that used to be called the Zuiderzee was blocked off from the North Sea/Wadden Sea. Once the sea level in this new area (now called the "Ijsselmeer") was controlled, new land areas were created. In fact, an entirely new province, Flevoland, was created. You can read more about it in the wiki entry.

What you see in the photo is the Houtribdijk, a 30-km dike that connects North Holland with Flevoland. In the center of the dike there is a rest stop with an observation tower, from which we snapped this shot. Below is a map (from wiki) of the entire Zuiderzee area.

Water? What Water? Monthly Theme Day

You might think we're trying to play an April Fool's joke -- this month's theme is "Water" and we're giving you "Sand."

Truth is, the sand dunes that separate Wassenaar from the North Sea couldn't be more important to the area's residents as far as water is concerned.

The dunes naturally filter water, which becomes the water supply for 1.2 million customers. The natural filtration means that the water undergoes minimal processing before it's distributed.

The local water authority (Duinwaterbedrijf Zuid Holland) is also responsible for the conservation of the dunes.

As often happens with theme days, the "water" theme will inspire posts for some time to come, so check back often.

There are currently 178 (!!!) blogs signed up to participate in April's "Water" Theme Day:
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Train Topper

The central tower of Amsterdam's Centraal Station features a gleaming coat-of-arms of The Netherlands. The tile shields below continue all around the building. I'm not sure the significance of all of the shields ... my guess would be that they are a combination of towns, provinces, and perhaps guilds. The shield centered below the coat of arms is the symbol of Amsterdam.

I'd like to be able to post a photo of the entire station, but it's been under construction for as long as we've lived here, and will be long after we leave. The current estimate for completion of the new metro line is 2013.

Towering Above

The current form of Delft's Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) was started in 1396. The tower is the 2nd tallest in The Netherlands. Erected in 1872, it stands 108.75 meters high, and if you are interested in the view you can walk the 356 steps to the top.

Sorry, you won't be seeing any photos from the top of the tower on this blog. You'll have to be content with the ground level view.

The Nieuwe Kerk holds the crypt of the royal family and the memorial tomb of Willem I.

Memorial in Glass

The Old Church (Oude Kerk) in nearby Delft dates to 1246, but various calamities (fires and gunpowder explosions), not to mention the iconoclasm of the protestant reformation, kept the windows plain until the 1960s, when new stained glass windows were commissioned. This window celebrates Koningin (Queen) Wilhelmina, the longest serving dutch monarch (1890-1948).

The window appears to show her return to the war-torn Netherlands after WWII (where she ruled in exile from the UK). Apparently Winston Churchill once said she was the "only man in the Dutch government," a quote that says a lot about both leaders.

Over the...

Taken last week by sticking the camera out of the window while speeding along the A13 between Delft and Rotterdam. I wouldn't normally recommend this technique but it was the only way I could capture the rainbow. You can just barely see the double rainbow on the right hand side of the photo (along with a big smudge of a raindrop).

Up the Mount in Normandy: Where?Wednesday

Truly an amazing sight, Le Mont St. Michel rises up from the tidal flats to dominate the landscape at the edge of the Normandy coast.

After pushing through the crowds of tourists (even on a very cold "spring" day) up the narrow, steep street, you are greeted with a lot of stairs to the top of the abbey. Once you catch your breath, you can tour around (maybe even seeing some monks and nuns in a devotional service) and see the immense, rambling abbey complex.

This place has been home to religious pilgrimages as well as serving as a prison -- a microcosm of the complex history of Normandy. The monastery supposedly was built by St. Aubert at the request of the archangel Michael, who grew so impatient with Aubert's procrastination that he appeared in a vision and pressed so hard on Aubert's forehead that he burned a dent into his head. Now that's what I call leaving an impression (insert groan here)!

Weather Report

We returned from our travels in France late Sunday, and woke up yesterday to our first "major snow event."

This is the view looking down our sidestreet. It doesn't look like much, but this is the first time this year that snow actually stuck to the ground. There was even a little more on the ground this morning. The lead story in one of the dutch newspapers was "Chaos op de weg!" -- chaos on the roads.

Right now I can hear the groans from our readers back in the midwestern US.

We'll return after this short break...

Taking a break -- hope to see you back after Easter. I've seen "Happy Easter" many ways in dutch ... so, Gelukkig Paasfeest / Vrolijk Pasen!

Waiting Game

What were these two dogs waiting for? The lip-smacking should give you a hint.

Their master was inside the Hollandse Nieuwe Haring stand just outside of the Binnenhof (houses of parliament) in The Hague. This must be a routine stop for them, as they really knew what they were waiting for.

After coming out and giving them both a bit of fish, their master went back inside the stand for a second, leaving a tempting sight (you can't tell, but the dog is at the end of it's leash).