About Gemeenlandshuis Delfland/ de Huyterhuis in Delft...

 

One of my favourite old houses in Delft always catch (my) sight with its beautiful fassade decorated with several coats of arms...De Huyterhuis, also known as Gemeenlandhuis Delftland, was built in 1505 as the luxurious home of Jan de Huyter, who became rich by selling beer. As of 1645 the in late-gotic-style built house is property of the "Hoogheemraadschap van Delftland", the decision-maker about dikes, canals and all buildings on water. This institution is taking care of the water levels in regio Delftland.  Restauration had taken place two times: in 1888 and in 1931-1933.

During the Open-Monumentendag 2011 the employees were dressed up and were giving tour to all curious visitors. I found that their clothing help in going back in time and made the tour even more pleasant! Inside one may admire a huge collection of old maps from Delftland-area dating back to 1606.

About Dutch clogs "Klompen"....

Did you know that the (probably) most famous Dutch souvenir: the wooden clogs (Klompen) have been officially "accredited as safety shoes and can withstand almost any penetration including sharp objects and/or concentrated acids". The all-wooden footwear is nowadays mostly used by Dutchmen for working in the garden or in farms.

The Kooijman in Zaanse Schans (north from Amsterdam) still shows the old-fashion way of making the clogs, with 2 machines for having the shoe cut out of one piece of wood! A small walk through the history of clogs welcomes the visitos there. During the week the Dutch were wearing the non-painted clogs, but on Sunday was time for the nice shoes: black clogs for the guys and vanished with flower motives for the women. Some special models like the "Klompenschaats" (the iceskate-clog) or inline-skates-clogs are on display too. Today the choice in the Dutch shops is enormous, the once with windmills are the touristic ones, the typical ones are the yellow-painted clogs.

The collection of creative clogs in Zaanse Schans Klompenmakerij is indeed impressive, here between a clog-boat and the typical wedding Klompen from Marken.

Some tests in Delft this weekend even confirmed that if the clog is big enough, one may enter up to 5 inside (as a proof check the last picture:-)

Skating on frozen canals in the Netherlands...

Some colleagues told me they did not remember (in the last 20 years...) a winter as cold and white as this one in the Netherlands. Last year (and to be more exact in January 2009) was the first time the Dutch canals were frozen (again) for the last..... 12 years!!! Why is it so surprising-well some decades ago this was happening every winter in the low lands...

But to come back to last and (of course!) this year! Young and old (and even the Queen-if one may trust the press) put on the skates and went on ice. Does not matter the skates: on ice I have seen next to the well-known figure- and ice-hockey-skates also the very famous here Dutch "noren" (speed-skates: the one on left side, picture above). A Swedish colleague impressed me with the Skandinavian version of speed skating: the one without a shoe and very funny form, on the right side in the above shot.

Snow-ball fights were also possible...But the minus-temperatures lasted only a bit more than a week and the ducks are happy now to have again water!

Orange craziness in the Netherlands...

Dutch people get really orange and crazy (and very friendly) every year at the Konniginnedag(the day of the Queen). The national holiday is celebrated all over the country with free concerts and other events in all big cities from the evening of the 29th till the (actual day) April, the 30th!

Why orange you might ask...Well, the Dutch royal familiy of Nassau-Orange used to own the principality of Orange. But there is no etymological connection between the word orange (the fruit and colour) and Orange (the name of the principality), the similarity is completely fortuitous:-)

With the pics I share some orange impressions with you from the sunny Konniginnedag in Delft.

P.S: It is still not clear if the tragic incident, when a man drove in the crowd, while the Queen+family were passing by, was a planned attack on the royal family or not. However 4 persons were killed and some more injured in Apeldoorn, most of the celebrations continued (as people got the news just in the evening), although some were also cancelled.