My recent outing to the museum at Paleis Het Loo, spurred by that Guardian article my friend Steve linked me to, has caused me to decide I should start a new series on royal – related locations. After all, royals since time began have generally had privileges, as well as residences, gardens and even vehicles (e.g. below from an exhibit in the former royal stables) that most humans at any given time or place couldn’t dream of. Into this new category might have gone one or two of the post from our visit last year to Vienna — in a nation now no longer a monarchy, but still earning tourist income from visitors come to see those residences. Or perhaps some posts from those royal residences of Rajasthan which I visited more than 13 years ago, that both inspired me with their beauty and troubled me as indications of a hugely unjust socio-political system. Thus my name for this new series: I’m wanting to admire the beauty while I question the socio-political system, along with all socio-political systems (e.g. late-modern capitalism and its manifestations in the land of my birth) which allow power and wealth to concentrate, often in dynastic and family lines one way or another. Ugh, wealth, power and its perquisites. And yes, those gardens you see through the gilded-fruit-tree window decoration below are gardens whose canals you’ve already seen a few times :-). Gilded fruit trees: lovely but rather quintessentially “ah, royal,” don’t you agree?
Last possible use of the lovely palace gardens at Paleis Het Loo as my excuse for not biking out of town to take some photos of a waterway that more fully meets the criteria for a Country Canal…because there are no more waterway shots from that lovely afternoon, which by the way was the Sunday (!) on which I returned home, opened my email, and learned that the owners of my last apartment were making me move. (I’m told that new laws give more protection to renters, so many owners are turfing folks out now while they still can.) I still haven’t shown you the actual gardens or palace building, so as apology and taste of things to come, this shot below in which a visible wee waterway that also resembles a canal manages to qualify it for Paul’s own self-imposed definitions. 🙂
I really must get out to the real countryside and take more canal photos. I also need to show you more of Paleis Het Loo (thanks to Steve, without whom I wouldn’t have known we should stop by that palace when we were in the neighborhood in late June) than just more of these shots from their lovely palace gardens…
The first of many photos we’ll be sharing from Paleis Het Loo, a national museum and royal palace in eastern NL. Interesting concept, royal palaces in a democracy, eh? 🙂
Still working through photos of the flat and canal-rich countryside of Noord-Holland, Gelderland and Noord-Brabant in NL, even as I enjoy the steep hills and Atlantic views in Madeira. So much world, indeed…
Last shots from Nijmegen, including international flags along the riverfront which I assume were there for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Eurogames, an LGBTQI+ – oriented (but naturally welcoming to all) sports festival and competition at which yours truly took home a “bronze medal” in the (very, very small) draw of men’s singles that I had joined. Those games and playing a ton of tennis while watching many friends play tennis (and many others whom I don’t know play soccer, volleyball and squash) took up most of my time during those days in Arnhem and Nijmegen back in July. You’ll see a few more shots pertaining to the games — including the list of sports planned for next year’s event; see if you can spot the sport which demonstrates life imitating art… Immediately below, a few more highlights from Nijmegen’s excellent and well situated museum (yes, same bridge – it’s on the bluff above the river).
Our penultimate suite of photos from the lovely city of Arnhem, capital of the (by Dutch standards) very large province of Gelderland. My cousin Sam commented the first time I posted a photo of this historic cathedral that he loves the cathedral – simply because it’s a lovely and impressive structure and stands out in the cityscape, as you see. Add the history, to which I referred in an earlier post, and it gets even more interesting. But then, ask yourself how I got close enough to photograph the interesting sculptures of individuals you see in the photo above? And then look closely just above the left-hand clock in the photo below. Yes, that is one of two “glass balconies” built into this structure, and yes, I walked out onto both of them, and yes, even I who am really not afraid of heights found it a wee – bit – freaky. I do very highly recommend the experience and have already told Sam that we need to go when he visits. We’ll see if he can fit into his itinerary or not :-). In the gallery below, more photos from Arnhem as taken either from the church tower & glass balconies, or from my walks around town.
Last shots from Nijmegen, including international flags along the riverfront which I assume were there for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Eurogames, an LGBTQI+ – oriented (but naturally welcoming to all) sports festival and competition at which yours truly took home a “bronze medal” in the (very, very small) draw of men’s singles that I had joined. Those games and playing a ton of tennis while watching many friends play tennis (and many others whom I don’t know play soccer, volleyball and squash) took up most of my time during those days in Arnhem and Nijmegen back in July. You’ll see a few more shots pertaining to the games — including the list of sports planned for next year’s event; see if you can spot the sport which demonstrates life imitating art… Immediately below, a few more highlights from Nijmegen’s excellent and well situated museum (yes, same bridge – it’s on the bluff above the river).
Our penultimate suite of photos from the lovely city of Arnhem, capital of the (by Dutch standards) very large province of Gelderland. My cousin Sam commented the first time I posted a photo of this historic cathedral that he loves the cathedral – simply because it’s a lovely and impressive structure and stands out in the cityscape, as you see. Add the history, to which I referred in an earlier post, and it gets even more interesting. But then, ask yourself how I got close enough to photograph the interesting sculptures of individuals you see in the photo above? And then look closely just above the left-hand clock in the photo below. Yes, that is one of two “glass balconies” built into this structure, and yes, I walked out onto both of them, and yes, even I who am really not afraid of heights found it a wee – bit – freaky. I do very highly recommend the experience and have already told Sam that we need to go when he visits. We’ll see if he can fit into his itinerary or not :-). In the gallery below, more photos from Arnhem as taken either from the church tower & glass balconies, or from my walks around town.
(so much world, so little time....) 