the Netherlands
Cycling around Gaasterland I
You expect flatness in Friesland: bare pastures, a solitary lake, a straight horizon, and the occasional white sail rising above the grass. That is the familiar image, but Gaasterland, in the south-west of the province, refuses the rule.
Category: Travel journalTag(s): the NetherlandsThe Isle of Texel
Outside the museum in De Waal, three women in traditional Texel costume sit knitting lace. Asked whether a photograph is allowed, they nod and carry on with the needles. No posed smile, no pause in the work, as if we have simply cycled past something that was already happening and carry on the moment we…
Category: Travel journalTag(s): the NetherlandsCallantsoog holds its secrets
Only the white church hints at a different Callantsoog. At least, that is the impression upon driving into the village centre. The moment the camera comes out, a delivery van parks directly in front of the whitewashed façade. It feels as though the village makes one final effort to stay concealed. Only on the way…
Category: Travel journalTag(s): the Netherlands
Cannenburgh Castle
Water still mirrors the mellow red-brick walls of Cannenburgh Castle (Vaassen, province of Gelderland, the Netherlands), raised in 1543 above the vaulted cellars of an earlier mediaeval stronghold. It was the Dutch warlord Maarten van Rossum who built this Renaissance seat
Category: Travel flashesTag(s): the Netherlands
