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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 7, 2019 4:08:20 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 7, 2019 4:18:28 GMT
A less romantic aspect of castle life in the middle ages ~
This lady was so lovely -- a true lady! She bestowed knighthood, including a certificate, upon every child who entered the gift shop. It must also be mentioned that the small gift shop was the best museum shop I visited while in the Netherlands.
A few castle rooms were dedicated to an exhibit in honor of women ~
The castle was fun, but you can imagine how eager I was to get out to the garden ~
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 7, 2019 5:51:01 GMT
This looks delightfully cool, but the baking heat penetrated even here. It was a very sunny and hot summer in Holland and the gardens suffered ~
Elecampane a noble and venerable herb ~
Some kind of hollyhock? The bee likes it ~
A riot of rose hips ~
Kniphofia ~
Two stages of thistle (artichoke?) ~
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 7, 2019 6:05:41 GMT
Some New World plants ~
Here we have the ~
"I had a little nut tree, nothing would it bear, but a silver nutmeg and a golden pear" ~
There were wonderful views just outside the garden, up on the defensive earthwork ~
I retrace my steps and leave the castle grounds, aware that I have to catch the ferry in a little bit ~
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Post by bjd on Mar 7, 2019 6:08:45 GMT
What a great castle: a moat, crenellations, arrow slits! And not as overbearing as later courts like Versailles.
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Post by mickthecactus on Mar 7, 2019 12:22:35 GMT
Those are the blackest tomatoes 🍅 I have seen!
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Post by mossie on Mar 7, 2019 12:26:32 GMT
A great idea in the gift shop to knight the children.
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Post by lagatta on Mar 7, 2019 12:34:28 GMT
Everything is SO tidy in the Netherlands...
I really like the gift-shop lady, and her respect for the children. And her casual but attractive dress.
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Post by onlyMark on Mar 7, 2019 13:13:02 GMT
Is it me, or does the lady in the shop look like she is just the artist in the next photo, but older. Are they the same woman? We may never know.
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Post by fumobici on Mar 7, 2019 15:31:08 GMT
Those are the blackest tomatoes 🍅 I have seen! I thought the same at first too. You can clearly see the closeness of the relationship between the the eggplant and the tomato there. I don't think I've ever seen an eggplant (or should it be eggplant plant?), I thought they needed warm (unDutch) summers. This time of year I dream about summer gardens, this is nice. The castle is lovely and not altogether different in shape and design from castles in Southern Europe, but looks alien to my eyes being executed in red brick and slate-roofed instead of stone and terra cotta. This castle has obviously been well taken-care of and looks to be in very good hands. Beautiful report.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 7, 2019 15:57:32 GMT
I really love the look of an old brick castle. Something tells me that brick castles are not at all the majority, but I have not investigated the matter. I can sort of imagine more in Denmark and the rest of Scandinavia perhaps. I am sorry to say that the outdoor café place sort of spoils the ambience in my opinion.
The gardens and plants are absolutely lovely, which I'm sure that being there in the heat of the summer enhanced considerably, even if the temperature was not ideal. The proximity of the sea makes it a relief that it is not a region subject to tsunamis. Even though there are big winter storms, there is enough distance from the shore to offer full protection.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 7, 2019 20:13:35 GMT
I so much appreciate the great feedback & comments from all of you! What a great castle: a moat, crenellations, arrow slits! Thanks, Bjd! The castle really delivers for adults and for kids. No surprise that it's used all the time as a filming location. The gift shop lady was just the loveliest person, something several of you picked up on even in a little picture. Those are the blackest tomatoes 🍅 I have seen! I thought the same at first too. You can clearly see the closeness of the relationship between the the eggplant and the tomato there. Should have know that you guys would glom onto those tomatoes -- as I did too, obviously. At first I thought they were eggplant. I've tried to translate the sign & the closest I can come is that wassen can mean waxen. I assume such hot weather plants are started in greenhouses in this North Holland climate. Something tells me that brick castles are not at all the majority, but I have not investigated the matter. I can sort of imagine more in Denmark and the rest of Scandinavia perhaps. Well, this part of the Netherlands isn't all that far from Scandinavia. Whether or not there is a connection, Muiderslot's style is shared with other castles of the Netherlands: traveltriangle.com/blog/castles-in-netherlands/
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 7, 2019 20:23:03 GMT
I'm retracing my steps now, back the way I came in. I didn't take pictures then, as I was eagerly scampering towards the castle. The riverside deserves lots of attention, though ~
Here are the locks and the bridge into the main part of town ~
The locks are opening ~
It's so beautiful and serene here ~
It must be heaven on earth for kids in the summertime ~
Just a very quick glance at the part of town going away from the riverside residential area. I have to get to that ferry!
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Post by mich64 on Mar 7, 2019 21:10:17 GMT
Love the garden photos! In particular, the photo with the castle in the background.
My brother has a sailboat and lived in on it for one summer while he had it docked at the Marina in town, your photos made me remember that.
I also enjoyed the photos of the boats at the locks.
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Post by whatagain on Mar 7, 2019 21:18:45 GMT
Looks like Flanders !? People seem nice so definitely not Netherlands !!!!
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 7, 2019 21:22:13 GMT
Whatagain, you know that they are only nasty to Belgians but charming to everybody else!
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 7, 2019 23:23:19 GMT
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Post by fumobici on Mar 8, 2019 4:46:30 GMT
How photogenic it all is! Seems odd the standing rigging on that wreck is still intact.
OK, I googled "black tomatoes" and they're a thing. Never seen one. Some people really like them.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 8, 2019 5:27:50 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 8, 2019 5:45:49 GMT
It was a little spooky in there by myself. The camera makes it seem better lighted than it really was ~
Much of the floor is like this, as the place has been used by partying youngsters and also pillaged for materials over time ~
Imagine the poor soldiers stuck here in a Dutch winter, huddled under what seems an inadequate ventilation hole ~
What the gun turrets looked like ~
The turning floor of a gun turret ~
No idea what the lighting is supposed to convey. It was around here that I kept hearing lots of exciting talking and laughing, without knowing the source ~
Further on I came upon the source of the talking -- a room full of people engaged in some kind of cooking demonstration. Go figure!
This is where it would have been handy to have a guide. Does anyone know what this might be?
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 8, 2019 6:45:15 GMT
When one visits forts in France, too, it is remarkable how many never saw any combat and never fired their weapons. I suppose that is a good thing, except for taxpayers, unless the deterrence factor was effective.
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Post by mickthecactus on Mar 8, 2019 11:54:08 GMT
How photogenic it all is! Seems odd the standing rigging on that wreck is still intact. OK, I googled "black tomatoes" and they're a thing. Never seen one. Some people really like them. I’ve been growing them for years but those ones look pure black. The best I get is dark mahogany.
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Post by mossie on Mar 8, 2019 15:59:11 GMT
That was a very odd ferry you travelled on with the bow labelled 'Stern'
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Post by whatagain on Mar 8, 2019 17:08:36 GMT
Old forts hold somehow the same appeal as shipwrecks and you always imagine how life was for the soldiers.
In WW1 Netherlands managed to remain neutral and kept intact the barbed wire on our border. In WW2 they were invaded though.
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Post by lagatta on Mar 8, 2019 18:06:05 GMT
Yes, that is why life at the fort was relatively uneventful, which was better than being shelled and shot at. Nasty as the privies were, they were certainly more salubrious than the trenches.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 8, 2019 18:14:34 GMT
It's so strange to think that there was a time when a country thought that rolls of barbed wire (or even an ocean) were sufficient to protect it from conflict.
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 8, 2019 19:01:48 GMT
When one visits forts in France, too, it is remarkable how many never saw any combat and never fired their weapons. I suppose that is a good thing, except for taxpayers, unless the deterrence factor was effective. I suppose all forts everywhere were built as a combination of deterrence factor and just-in-case. That was a very odd ferry you travelled on with the bow labelled 'Stern' Oh, that is funny, Mossie! I didn't pick up on that until you pointed it out. According to Google Translate, "bow and stern" in Dutch is "boeg en achtersteven". Now you know. In WW1 Netherlands managed to remain neutral and kept intact the barbed wire on our border. Whatagain, I know you are a keen student of history, so I am reluctant to dispute any of your comments on the subject. However it appears that it was Germany, not the Netherlands, that was keeping the barrier intact: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_of_DeathAfter more wandering around, I came upon a well-lighted room with a special exhibition on radio and telegraph communication. I was the only visitor at the time, so got to tap my three-letter nickname on the dot and dash device.
I was also regaled with the fascinating story of a USAF lieutenant who was shot down during WWII and hidden in plain sight: nieuwehollandsewaterlinie.nl/activiteit/how-a-ww2-pilot-survived-at-pampus-island/ - and - dirkdeklein.net/2018/02/02/the-wooden-shoes-of-jan-smit-aka-lt-claude-c-murray-jr/
I left the fort's interior and made a circuit of the whole island, having to dodge a large group of exceedingly high-spirited and bumptious people. They were furiously running and yelling and playing tag, more like eight-year-olds than the 20-somethings they actually were. I made it down to the waterfront for some peace. Luckily, the waterfront was clearly marked ~
Back on land, a fresh crop of pleasure-seekers had arrived ~
Nature is doing its utmost to claim this little island ~
I wonder if this tree took root from an apple core tossed by a WWI soldier stationed here ~
It's time for the ferry to arrive ~
We pull away, not a moment too soon, as the rowdy crew encountered earlier spread out to occupy yet more space ~
And back we go to Muiden ~
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 8, 2019 23:31:26 GMT
Back at the riverside, I watch these rowers confidently pull towards the lock, knowing that it will open for them ~
It's such a pretty town, and all the small hills and different levels created by the fortifications only enhance its interest ~
There are more fortifications here than you can shake a stick at ~
This did look interesting, not least in the way it was built, but I'd had enough fort for one day ~
Lots of local history -- here is a band and celebrating on the bridge over the locks ~
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Post by bixaorellana on Mar 8, 2019 23:44:49 GMT
It's interesting to see the side and back of the fort after having seen how the interior burrowed into the earth above ~
Hmmm -- what's this? Does someone know something we don't? Should we be stockpiling against disaster?
Another fortification. Once I started trying to walk all the way around it I realized how very big it is ~
More of it ~
And yet more ~
So many places to just stop and take in the peace and beauty ~
I mentioned before somewhere that I was struck by the way people in Belgium and the Netherlands display treasures in the front windows of their homes ~
Back near the lock bridge, I take a last town picture -- a plaque commemorating a visit by the Queen and Queen-Mother back in 1900 ~
And finally, over the little bridge just outside the town, and a last lovely picture to take away with me ~
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Post by bjd on Mar 9, 2019 5:38:17 GMT
This looks like a pleasant place to spend a day and you were extremely lucky with the weather during your trip to the Netherlands. Imagine all this under gray skies and rain.
I know that things have changed a lot in the Netherlands too, but the country used to have the reputation of extreme cleanliness, women washing their front steps, etc. This seems to be confirmed by the little black shutters on the fortress windows -- neat and tidy, no unattractive rusty bars.
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