This morning we got an earlier start and left our botel around 8:30. The sun was out after a brief thunderstrom and it was beuatiful. It looked like we were going to have a grand day for walking...and we did...sorta.
The ferry ride over was fun. That's Rick leaning against the wall behind the girl in yellow.
George through the glass.
Da girls.
A new arch office complex.
Great harbor view.
Love boats.
Great group shots on one of the canal bridges.
Ducks on parage.
Aw shucks...
The Oulde Kerk. The Old Church.
Sharing the alleyway...
And,,,
...Oh My!!!
The church itself was stunning...
Simple design...
Ah, but it was closed until 10AM so we decided to have some COFFEE!!! Bulldog Coffee House. Classy and with a familiar fragrance in the air.
Not that sun was up, we were properly lit we still had a bit of a wait before the church doors opened...
Here's a few money shots from the bridge over the canal in front of the church.
This street sign was on the sidewalk as we approached the church. The street was a boundary between the part kids shouldn't see and the part that was safe. Oh My again!!!
Inside there was a modern art project. Gold leaf foil rectangles laid over the entire floor. We had to walk in between them. Cool way to explor this massive old church. First Catholic, then Protestant.
From there we walked up the street to the Church in the Attic. During the reformation, Catholic churches were not allowed in the Netherlands. So they had to go underground. There were over 70 church houses...churches that frpm the outside looked like houses, but on the inside were churches. We visited the most famous.
The lower floors were the owners rooms. Normal for the time. Wandered through two full floors of furnished fully restored rooms from the 1800's.
Kitchen sink and original tiles.
Cupboard beds.
Then another stairwell and voila. A church. The cut away floor beams and opened up the space.
Pretty impressrive and all hidden inside of a merchant's home.
What it looked like from outside.
Next we headed through Dam Square and over to the Rembrandt House. On the way was some interesting window shopping.
We toured the actual home of Rembrandt, restored to painting, sketches, and journals of the time.
His workshop and studio.
A really informed demonstration on how paint was made. The presenter was wonderful.
Then it was tine for lunch and a Mexian restaurant popped up...so....TACOS!!! And then some more COFFEE!!!
The last stop for our day was the Royal Palace. A working palace run by the democratic government and used for state visits, etc. The king and queen live in Hague.
No comments:
Post a Comment