Homage to the Vondelpark

Posted on May 6, 2015 by janstu

When I moved to Amsterdam in 1961, as a 17 year old freshman, I had lodgings near to the Vondelpark. Later, after I became a teacher, I have been living again close to this park, which can be considered the “Central Park” of Amsterdam..:-) Time for a homage.

The Vondelpark was built in four phases between 1864 and 1878. Below is the situation around 1882. Notice that Amsterdam was still a small town, mainly contained within the “Singelgracht”. Where I would live ~100 years later, was still farmland. Note that the map has been rotated slightly and that the park (lower right) has a separate detailed map at the left

Being back in Amsterdam at the moment, I decided to visit the Vondelpark and take lots of pictures. It was beautiful spring weather. I started at the western entrance. Here I am looking back to this entrance. You can see clearly that the park is below the street level

There are a few cafes in the park and on a sunny day many people will come here to enjoy a drink. Others will just relax in the grass, or even take a sunbath..:-). The sycamore avenue (Platanenlaan) was originally designed as a race course. For horse riding, in the beginning bicycles were not allowed in the park. Now it is the other way around..:-)

: The Vondeltuin, an open-air cafe

: Enjpying the nice weather

: Fallen tree, still alive

: Impressive old trees

: Grey heron

: Just a work day!

: One of the side entrances

: The sycamore avenue

People walking their dog, joggers, roller skaters, bicyclists, sunbathers. Or just resting in the grass, enjoying another type of grass…LOL. At some places the smell of marijuana is so strong, that you almost can get high, just walking around.

Gradually I walked/biked eastwards in the park. On the south side of the park, a affluent neighborhood developed, so the park entrances from that side became more posh and elaborate..:-) The rose garden was a later addition (1936). By the way, this rose garden is one of the most popular (and dangerous!) gay cruising areas of Amsterdam…:-)

: Lots of senior citizens

: A good place to read a book

: There is a stork nest in the park

: Another side entrance, south side

: Children’s playground

: Spring flowers

: More flowers

: The rose garden, too early for roses

There are three more cafe’s in the park. In the Groot Melkhuis opened in 1874, you could drink fresh milk. Now it is a popular self-service cafe-restaurant with a playground for the kids.Here you can read what Tripadvisor says about it.

The Blauwe Theehuis is another popular venue. It was built in Modernist style in 1937, after an earlier tea house had been destroyed by fire. The Vondelpark Pavillion is a beautiful building, designed in Italian Renaissance style and built in 1878. Along the north side of the park, the Vondelstraat houses beautiful villas for the happy few..:-). Two churches can also be found here. The Vondelkerk was designed in neogothic style by famous architect Cuypers (Rijksmuseum, Central Station)

: Ranger house

: Main gatehouse

: Groot Melkhuis

: Blauwe Theehuis

: Vondelparkpaviljoen

: Park church (1918)

: Vondelstraat

: Vondel church (1872)

Originally the park was named the “Nieuwe Park” but later renamed Vondelpark after Holland’s most famous poet Joost van den Vondel. A statue of the poet was placed in the park in 1867. The bandstand was built in 1873. Several more sculptures can be found in the park and about each of them a story could be told. I will mention only the Mama Baranka sculpture, which was placed here in memory of Kerwin Duinmeyer, a 15 year old Antillean boy, who was killed by skinheads in 1983 because of his skin color.

: Joost van den Vondel (1867)

: Bandstand (1873)

: Romantic bridge

: Love locks

: Figure découpée by Picasso (1965)

: Mama Baranka by Nelson Carrilho (1985)

: Teun de Jager by Jan Bronner (1948)

: Naaktfiguur by Frits Siger (1957)

It was difficult to stop taking pictures on this sunny day in spring…:-) Nice cherry blossom, Egyptian geese with their chicks, a hot dog vendor, and everywhere people relaxing.

In the eastern section of the park, it is crossed by a bridge, the Vondelbrug. After the park was created, north and south of the park new neighborhoods came into being. Divided by the Vondelpark! Here is the situation in 1905.

City planners wanted of course a connection road “through” the park, connecting the two streets, indicated with a blue line. But for many years the association managing the park, resisted and it was only in 1947 that the connecting bridge was opened.

: The Vondelbrug

: Park view from the bridge

: Sculptures by Hildo Krop

: Pigeon shit. Poor girl.

Passing under the bridge we reach the eastern end of the park, with the main entrance, near the Leidseplein.

Much more can be told about the Vondelpark. Here is an interesting video (13 minutes, in Dutch) about the history of Amsterdam’s most famous park

Family gathering

Posted on April 20, 2015 by janstu

When I am back in the Netherlands, we always try to organise a family gathering. This time on 18 April, one day after my 71st birthday. First we met in the family house at the Conradstraat, where we grew up and where my youngest brother and his family are now living.

It was a beautiful day, so we decided to take a walk through our hometown and see how much had changed..:-). Here are the six Stuivers, as we call ourselves. A stuiver was the popular name for a 5 cent coin, before the Euro was introduced.

With the perfect weather, our native village (now a town) looked very attractive with quite a few historical buildings still standing and well-conserved. For Dutch readers of this blog, our Reformed Church is the Gereformeerde Kerk, the other one is the Hervormde Kerk. In English they are both “Reformed” and it would take many pages to explain the difference..:-)

: The family house

: “Our” Reformed Church

: My late father’s office

: The “Nuts” building

: Former Historical Museum

: Alomg the river Rhine

: Not our Reformed Church

: Nice houses

Of course also a lot of renovation has been going on. The modern town hall (2003) has an eye-catching architecture. Next to the railway station a bike storage facility has been constructed in the form of a green apple :-).There is modern sculpture and some of the new residences look quite special

: The Town Hall

: The Bike Apple

: Modern sculpture

: Modern facades

We had booked for our dinner in Casa Havana, a buffet restaurant inside Avifauna This bird park was opened in 1950(!) as the first dedicated bird park in the world. We have been here regularly in our youth, but for me if was the first time in many decades to revisit the park. Before our dinner we had a stroll through the park. Of course birds in cages, like the hornbills and the flamingoes, but many also roaming free. Very nice, we should have come earlier, as the dinner was waiting for us…:-)

: Inside the bird park

: Romantic but fake

: A grey heron

: Nesting stork

: Hornbill

: Flamingos

: Pelicans

: Grey crowned crane

The buffet restaurant turned out to be a popular, crowded and quite noisy venue. A table had been reserved for us and we had a very friendly waitress. Starting wih a welcome cocktail, free flow of wine and beer, a large variety of food, even port with the cheese! Value for money.

: Crowded restaurant

: Self service

: Large variety of food

: Our very nice waitress

“Shall I take a picture of your group”, the motherly waitress asked me. Here is the result

The problem with buffet restaurants is that my stomach is not big enough..:-( Here is what I managed to consume (hm, actually there was such a variety of starters that I had two plates).

After the dinner we walked back to our cars. Spring is a few weeks late this year, so many trees still were barren. It gave the pollard willows (knotwilgen) an almost magical appearance

Before going home, we had a farewell drink in the family house. A very nice and satisfactory reunion!

The Dutch Pilgrims Path

Posted on June 26, 2014 by janstu

In medieval times pilgrims from all over Europe walked to the shrine of the apostle St. James the Great in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain. Nowadays there are still pilgrims, but also many people who like long-distance walking. My late friend Yian walked the Camino, as it is called, from the French border to Santiago, a couple of years ago and kept a fascinating diary of this pilgrimage. Four years ago my friend Paul and I walked a part of the Dutch Pilgrims Path, which starts in Amsterdam and connects near Maastricht to the Belgian Camino. You can find a report here. We walked from Weert to nearby Heerlen in four days. This time we wanted to continue our “pilgrimage”, so we took the train from Amsterdam to the small village of Nuth, where we had ended our walk four years ago. Walking in the southern part of the Netherlands is a pleasure, it is an undulating landscape, mainly agricultural, with picturesque villages and castles. Here is a collection of pictures showing the paths we have been walking. It is not always possible to avoid the tarmac, but most of the time we walked on unpaved roads

The Limburg province is famous for its asparagus. Easy to recognise. Potatoes also no problem. But the different kind of grains? The two grain varieties in the middle picture could be rye and oats, but I am not sure

Nature was in full bloom, it was a pleasure to see so many flowers. Here is a small collection

On our way we passed small villages and nice manor houses. Each village with its church and sometimes a windmill. Farmhouses in the characteristic black and white architecture.

On many crossroads you will see small shrines with a crucified Jesus. The Limburg province has a very Roman-Catholic background. We always try to find accommodation in the villages we pass, but this time there was nothing suitable, so we took a bus to the nearby town of Heerlen, where we enjoyed a beer on the main square and nice (Greek) food.

Our original plan was to walk three days and reach Maastricht, but on the first day I got painful blisters on the soles of both feet….:-( The next morning I bought Second Skin in a pharmacy, but it did not help enough and after a few hours walking/limping I decided to stop and take a bus and train back to Amsterdam. Paul continued that day and came back later. So we still have to complete the final leg of the Dutch Pilgrims Path

Journal 17-10-2013

Posted on October 18, 2013 by janstu

The last three weeks, after Aric went back to Malaysia, I have been busy with many social and cultural activities. I started with visits to my GP, my cardiologist, my diabetician, my ophthalmologist and my dentist….:-) Everything is under control.

My dentist used a new torture contraption, which made me look like a breedbekkikker (wide-mouthed frog, rana ore lato, can only be found in the Netherlands, lol).

I visited two more musea and went to two concerts. In the Concertgebouw I listened to Maria Pires, playing Beethoven. She got an ovational applause which she rightly deserved. With a friend I went to the Gauguin, Bonnard & Denis exhibition in the Amsterdam Hermitage museum. A bit disappointing, although the museum itself is worth a visit. Another concert was given in the impressive Neo-Gothic Dominicus church in Amsterdam. My friend Yolanda sings in a choir, they performed works by Bach and Mozart. Beautiful music, especially the Bach cantata Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir . With another friend I went to an exhibition of Hundertwasser in the Cobra museum in Amstelveen.

: Maria Pires playing Beethoven

: The Amsterdam Hermitage museum

: Bach and Mozart in the Dominicus Church

: Hundertwasser in the Cobra Museum

The Hundertwasser exhibition was a pleasant surprise. I knew him only as an architect (here is is picture I took of the Hundertwasserhaus in Vienna, 6 years ago), but first he became famous as a painter, in the 1950’s. Here are some of his paintings. Both from these paintings and his buildings it is clear that he did not like straight lines, he called them devil’s tools..:-)

When I am back in the Netherlands, it has become a tradition to have dinner with Yolanda in a ‘fine dining’ restaurant. This time we went to restaurant Vandemarkt and had a delicious dinner there. The presentation of the food makes it almost a work of art.The reason that in the picture the main course looks messy, is that I could not control myself, I started eating before I thought about taking a picture…:-)

Another tradition during my stay in the Netherlands is a reunion with my siblings. This time it took place at my sisters place. My brother Ruud could not be there because he just had had a hip replacement operation, but in these days, with webcams and skype, he still was able to join virtually…:-)

: Meeting in the garden

: I have only one sister!

: Modern way of taking pictures

: The dinner table

: Ruud is also present

: Ruud and Jur watching from Cyberspace

: Good luck with your new hip!

: Dinnertime

Just before coming back to Malaysia I went to Groningen to meet Ruud and his loved ones. He was already able to walk in the garden with his crutches and could point out to Jur where the walnuts were hanging. I stayed overnight and met his two sons, my favourite nephews.

I also met many friends, former students, ex-colleagues etc. Often for a drink and food, so not surprisingly I gained weight again, will have to work hard to slim down. The weather remained nice and warm with often spectacular sunsets.

It was only during the last few days of my stay in the Netherlands that the weather became autumn-like, with some heavy rain and lower temperatures. But altogether I have been very fortunate, the weather gods must love me. On my way to Schiphol airport I finally could take a picture of the trees near my apartment in autumn colors.

I will end this post with a picture of my new watch. It is a Pebble watch, synchronised with my iPhone. It gives a warning when a SMS or email has arrived and you can choose between many different displays of the time.

Flower Corso Zundert 1-9

Posted on September 2, 2013 by janstu

A few months ago one of my Malaysian(!) friends forwarded an email to me with pictures of a spectacular flower parade in the Netherlands. In Zundert. Had I heard about it or even visited it? No, I had not, hardly knew the location of this village near the Belgian border.

But the pictures were really spectacular, so I decided to visit this corso during my next visit to the Netherlands. It has been held already 72 times, on the first Sunday in September.

We were not the only visitors…:-) Luckily I had booked seats on one of the stands, so we had a good view and could take many pictures.

Here is a collection of pictures. No captions for the time being. Mind you, almost everything is made of flowers. Detailed report later

Amsterdam, Alkmaar, Schagen (28-30)-8

Posted on August 31, 2013 by janstu

The next two weeks we will be traveling across Europe. Preparing for the trip today, so not much time for blogging..:-) Just a short resume of the last few days, detailed posts will follow later.

After enjoying the beach, it was time for Amsterdam again. First we had a look at the iconic film museum, located at the opposite side of the IJ. Then we continued our mission, looking for the originals of the Delft Blue miniature houses.

We took pictures of thirteen houses this time and had apple pie in cafe Winkel, reputedly the best apple pie you can buy in Amsterdam. We walked a lot again, would have been easier if we had used a horse-drawn chart..:-)

The next morning we had to wait first for the courier service to deliver the International Driving License that Aric had forgotten to take with him. After that we took the train to Alkmaar, where a big fun fair was taking place.

We found a few more houses, before we continued our trip to Schagen, where my sister is living. Beautiful weather, lots of brambles in the garden, delicious.

We had a barbecue in the garden. The next morning we walked in the countryside, we saw many cows, sheep and horses.

After a light lunch we visited one of the many windmills. Although they are not needed anymore to pump the water out of the polders, they are still in mint condition, and very impressive. The main event for this day was to make a boat trip in one of the polders. Holland is really water-land, so many small canals and waterways.

We ended the day with a dinner, prepared by my sister, in the smallest house of the village Schermerhorn. In bygone days ten(!) people were living in this house. Now it is a nice museum

In the next days I will try to write short updates about what we are doing.

The beach and Haarlem 27-8

Posted on August 29, 2013 by janstu

As the weather was still perfect, we decided to go to the beach. In Zandvoort, half an hour by train from Amsterdam Central. It is a popular beach resort. A few weeks ago there has been a Sand Sculpture Festival.

Although the main season is over, there were still many tourists. After enjoying a plate of “Kibbeling” (fried cod pieces) we started our walk.

And a long walk irt was, because our destination was the nudist beach. They are common in the Netherlands, but often some distance away from the madding crowd…:-)

We had time enough to visit Haarlem on our way back. And have a beer…:-)

Back in Amsterdam we went to Pim and Nanda for a delicious mussel dinner!

Amsterdam 26-8

Posted on August 29, 2013 by janstu

I had to wake up early and go to Schiphol because Aric was expected to land around 7 am. One of the advantages of my present Amsterdam home is that it took me only about half an hour to reach the airport :-). Aric’s flight landed at 6:30 am and we were back home at 8 am (including immigration, waiting for luggage and customs !)

It was another day with splendid weather, so after resting a few hours we went into town. With a mission..:-) We collect so-called KLM-houses. These are Delft Blue miniature houses, filled with a bit of Dutch jenever. They are given as a present to KLM passengers traveling business class, but you can also buy them. These houses (there are now 93) are copied from original gable houses along the canals of old Amsterdam and other Dutch towns. We wanted to take pictures of the originals. Here is an example. Miniature no 38 is a copy from Herengracht 607.

We started our walk near the Amstel river. With this kind of weather Amsterdam is incredibly beautiful. In the left picture you see a tourist admiring a view of the famous “Narrow Bridge” (right picture)

Here is the Narrow Bridge, only accessible these days for pedestrians and cyclists. You can find bicycles in all shapes and forms in Amsterdam, like this multi-bicycle.

We walked a lot, enjoying the atmosphere. Only too many tourists. Sometimes the smell of marijuana was so strong that you could almost get high without buying it yourself…:-). It is all Amsterdam. Where you can find a “magic mushroom” shop leaning to the church where the coronation of the new king took place, a few months ago.

: Dam square with the War monument

: A magic mushroom shop

: One of the many canal cafes.

: Water traffic everywhere

Our mission was to take pictures of the KLM-houses. Aric took eight, we walked a lot. I took pictures of many other houses, many 17th century (Holland’s Golden Age), but also newer ones. Here is a collection.

After a long day we had dinner at home. With a beautiful sunset. Here is the view from my living-room. What a start of our holidays!

Amsterdam 25-8

Posted on August 27, 2013 by janstu

The coming weeks I will try to post regularly on my blog, a bit like a diary.

On the day after my arrival, the weather was still splendid, my youngest brother Otto came to visit me and we agreed that it would be a perfect occasion for a walk.

We went to Amstelveen, where I have been teaching for many years. The school buildings will be demolished soon, as a new school has been built nearby, and I wanted to take some nostalgic pictures.

Not far from my school there is a nature reserve with a small lake. During my teaching years, I often passed this park on my way home. Here is a map with our walk indicated in green.

It was a very pleasant walk. Usually I am back in the Netherlands during spring. Now, with autumn approaching there are different kinds of flowers. It is still a bit too early for wild blackberries, but we found a few already. A very surprising find was a freshwater lobster crossing the path. Never have seen it before in the Netherlands.

: The lake. It is called the “Poel”

: A grey heron keeping watch

: My brother taking pictures

: A very common flower, called “pispotje” (chamber pot)

: Wild blackberries

: Better not eat these

: Impatiens glandulifera. The seeds explode when ripe

: Originally from the Himalays

: Nice scenery

: Unexpected:a freshwater lobster

On our way back we passed the new school buildings. I enjoyed my teaching job, but I am very happy that I am retired now…:-)

After my brother went back home, I had dinner with my good friend Inez. We know each other for more than 30 years, and each time I come back to Holland, she is one of the first friends I visit…:-) And not only because she is a good cook. We had a glass of wine on her balcony first

Back in Amsterdam

Posted on August 25, 2013 by janstu

This morning I came back in Amsterdam after a pleasant, uneventful, twelve hour flight from Malaysia. Here is how I look like, after a night without much sleep. Not too bad, right? Picture taken in my living room.

Here is a view from my living room, in the distance you can see the buildings of the Free University, my Alma Mater.

After shopping at nearby “Albert Hein” supermarket, I had my first Dutch breakfast in nine(!) months.Delicious raw herring, Dutch strawberries, cumin cheese, buttermilk.etc.

The weather was very pleasant, so in the afternoon I decided to take my bike and go to town, to get a feeling of what I still consider to be my ‘real’ hometown.

It was an enjoyable trip, here is a collection of pictures, with some comments

: Dutch strawberries. A class apartt. Not comparable to Cameronian ones.

: Autumn flowers. No tulips, hyacinths or daffodils in this season.

: The town does a good job by decorating bridges everywhere with these flowers. gloxinias?

: The Amsterdam School of Architecture. Architect Staal (1923)

: Modern Architecture: Municipal Museum. Nicknamed the Bathtub

: Rijksmuseum, recently reopened after a long closure for renovation.

: The renovation has been received very positively. Will have a look there myself during this visit

: The famous bicycle underpass open again! A victory for the cyclists.

: Leidse Plein, full of tourists

: Prinsengracht, 17th century facades

: Everyone with a boat will be on the water on a day like thisw

: Would not mind living here

: The flower market

: Sunflowers

: National War monument

: Royal Palace, Dam Square

: Central Station

: Holland is not Russia, thank God

: Nice facade

: Water traffic

: The Vondelpark

: Green lung in the city

: My former home, the upper floors

: New developments

: Art exhibition in my neighbourhood

: Another one

: This is supposed to resemble Mandela

: A beautiful tree lane near my present home.

: Modern architecture near my present home

: My present home

Back home, it was time to prepare a Dutch dinner.The potatoes are Opperdoes. For Malaysian readers of this blog: they are wat Raja Musang is for Durians…:-)

A nice start of my Dutch visit.

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