I have always noticed this bronze statue whenever I walk past the Binnenhof complex. Some noble guy sitting on a high horse on the Buitenhof, overlooking the Hofvijver lake, in the centre of The Hague. I never give it much thought. A week later when I was visiting Luxembourg, I…
Category: South Holland
Rotterdam
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Het Dam Paviljoen | Dan Hua Pavilion
On the occasion of Rotterdam’s 650th anniversary in 1990, the association of Chinese entrepreneurs in Rotterdam and its surrounding area took the initiative to build this Dan Hua Pavilion. A typical example of Chinese garden architecture! Dan symbolizes the city (coz Rotterdam = Lù tè dān) and Hua (huá) means…
Rotterdam
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Views of Delfshaven
It was a lovely day exploring the historic Delfshaven. This former port of Delft (hence the name Delfshaven!) is unlike the rest of Rotterdam. I roamed the uneven cobbled streets admiring canal houses. Ships lined up the quaysides flanked by 17th-century warehouses. The town’s old church is known as the…
Rotterdam
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Norwegian Church
Imagine my surprise when I came across such an unexpected and lovely building, right next to the entrance of the city park Het Park in Rotterdam. It is a church! A Norwegian Seamen’s Church to be exact. This is the Norsk Sjømannskirke. Its initial role was to receive, help and…
Den Haag
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Postzegelboom | Stamp Tree
The old chestnut tree locally known as the “postzegelboom” or stamp tree. It was probably planted in 1883. Famous because stamp collectors used to gather underneath this tree, to swap, buy or sell stamps. Back in the days, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, as many as a hundred philatelists would stand…
Delft
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Vermeer’s View of Delft
Here is Vermeer’s View of Delft (Dutch: Gezicht op Delft) present day. An approximate position from the modern riverbank on Hooikade, south of the historic center. View of Delft is an oil painting by Johannes Vermeer, painted around 1659–1661. This painting of the Dutch artist’s hometown is among his best-known…