Kinderdijk

Kinderdijk is a great location to go to to show your friends and relatives a very typical corner of Holland. This place, located 50 kms North East of The Hague has been on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites since 1997, when the 19 well preserved windmills built between 1738 and 1760 were recognised as being the symbol of the way The Netherlands managed their water ever since. Those mills were used to get the surrounding Alblasserwaard polder dry, as it was under sea level. The name Kinderdijk is Dutch for "Child's Dike". The Wiki entry on this explains the origin of the name as follows: "in 1421 during the Saint Elizabeth flood of 1421, the Grote Hollandse Waard flooded, but the Alblasserwaard polder stayed unflooded. It is said that when the terrible storm had subsided, someone went on to the dike between these two areas, to see what could be saved. He saw in the distance a wooden cradle floating. There was no hope that anything would be living in it, but when it approached, movement was seen. When the cradle came nearer, someone saw that a cat was in the cradle trying to keep it in balance by jumping back and forth so that no water could come into it. When the cradle eventually came near the dike, someone fished the cradle out and saw that in it a baby slept quiet and dry. In some of the stories the cat kept it balanced and afloat. This folktale and legend has been published as "The Cat and the Cradle" in English:.

The amazing thing is that most of the mills are still inhabited!! One of them is open to the public and you can get an idea of what it can look like to live in one of those.

Try to get there on a windy day, when the mills are working, and if possible, bring your bikes with you (at least for the kids!) as you will need to walk around to get closer to the mills.

Two real wild Storks!

I could finally catch today a nest housing a couple of young storks, in Ottoland, a small village in a wide farmers' countryside 50kms away from the Hague. A local person told us this couple had been coming on top of this church every year; the nest is growing bigger and bigger, and will soon need some (artificial) consolidation. You can see on the photo below how big it is now.

For those who are not familiar with my previous posts on storks, this is the symbol of the Hague, and I have been trying to catch a sight of them for months, with no success so far in the city!

Back from Zeeland

Zeeland ("sea and land") is one of the 12 provinces of The Netherlands, and consists of islands. It is only one hour drive from The Hague and is a popular holiday destination. You can enjoy there very nice sand beaches, and mussels and oysters, the local specialty.



The region has a very rich history in the 16th and 17th century due to influent trade, hence beautiful town and villages like Middleburg, Veere and Zierikzee are worth a visit.



It is also known as being the symbol of flood fighting with the Deltaworks, since the disaster of the North sea flood in 1953 when nearly 2000 died in one night.

The dolfinarium in Harderwijk (110 kms from the Hague) is a nice place to go with kids to spend a day watching dolphins, walrus, seals, sea lions... Kids love it, especially because you can see them so close. The park would benefit from some renovation as it looks a bit oldish. And it's not cheap! But....what wouldn't we do for kids?!

Holiday feeling

The lake from Annecy lays 950kms South of The Hague in the French Savoy Alps, and is easily reachable by plane from Geneva. It is the second largest lake in France (after the Bourget lake). It is said to be "Europe's cleanest lake" because of strict environmental regulations introduced in the 1960s. It is a popular tourist destination known for its swimming and water sports.

It is a stunning setting that combines beautiful mountains views with the feeling of a seaside resort. I spent there a great week in a wooden chalet, reading (we had no TV and obviously no Internet), walking, and eating lots of tartiflette, a local favourite in all the restaurants. Kids enjoyed it a lot as well as the proximity of family ski resorts allowed them to go sledging and build snowmen.

Let's finish off February on an optimistic touch, and the birth of the first lambs this year in this wonderful kids' farm in Zoeterwoude "Het Geertje". This dynamic cheese farm opens its doors the all year around to kids. It is the most fun when lambs are born, as then you can buy small bottles of goat milk and feed the baby goats directly. Just be prepared to spend there a couple of hours there, as once in, the kids do not want to leave anymore!!

Romantic rowboats

When is the last time you rented such a rowboat and dreamt of stopping the clock? Very picturesque setting for this post I shot in.......a kids' farm yesterday in Zoeterwoude, 20kms outside The Hague. At the end of the day, only the ducks were drifting away, everything else was quiet.

Typical Dutch sky

This is a characteristic Dutch landscape (a polder outside The Hague) with a typical looming cloud-filled sky. Enjoy it!

Exceptional Gouda (2)

Until 1832, some (supposedly) wealthy citizens of Gouda could be buried in the St Johan's church, and you can still walk on very old graves (not on the one pictured above, as it dates back nearly 4 centuries...). This one is particularly beautiful.

Exceptional Gouda

Gouda, the cheese city lays 35kms from The Hague. It is famous for its Gouda cheese, and for housing the longest church of the country (123m), the St. Johns church. This is a beautiful church, already pictured by Wassenaar Daily Photo. I visited it today for the first time, and was struck by the beauty of some stained glasses from the XVIth century.