East Netherlands

At the time I had a cousin who ran a restaurant in Glanerbrug, a village a few kilometres to the east of Enschede. I dropped in on them by surprise; I hadn't told them I was coming. They gave me a warm welcome and housed me for a few days. I borrowed a bicycle from them with the intention of doing a circuit involving the Hoge Veluwe National Park, where the Kröller-Müller Museum is located, Arnhem, Apeldoorn, and Deventer.

The previous photo was of an agricultural fair I looked in on at one of the towns I passed.

Hoge Veluwe is where the Netherlands isn't so flat, it's somewhat undulating there. The next time through Europe a couple of years later I would invent the joke that if you stood on a soapbox you could see all of the Netherlands. The Dutch girls who heard this joke thought it funny.

The Kröller-Müller Museum houses the second largest collection of Van Gogh's paintings. It also has a public art garden. I know what you are thinking, anybody could plant an outsized trowel in the ground and call it art. But then one could say, it's just as much an artefact as oil on canvas. And I find mobiles more interesting than static pictures on a wall. In any case I had a good time wandering the grounds.

I'm not sure where this river crossing is, whether Arnhem or Deventer. I suspect Arnhem as I remembered the 1977 film A Bridge Too Far, about a failed attempt in 1944 by British paratroopers to break through German lines by seizing several bridges, including the one at Arnhem.

I found that I was too out of shape to finish the circuit on bicycle so I gave up and caught the train back to Enschede.

I did make another day crossing into Germany with my cousin and his kids to pick strawberries. Glanerbrug is right next to the border with Germany, so close that one could walk from his house to the border. So technically I visited Germany three times on this trip. The strawberry farm offered the usual eat all you want on the grounds and pay by weight for what you take home arrangement.

This is the last picture in the Netherlands and continental Europe. It's probably a café in Amsterdam that I walked past and thought the light attractive. At that time I made the crossing there were two major ferry routes: Hook of Holland to Harwich, the main one, and a lesser known one, Vlissingen to Sheerness-On-Sea. For the simple reason that the latter was cheaper, I took that.

Of course, the Eurotunnel has put an end to practically all the passenger ferry services.

Amsterdam

After Luxembourg and Belgium, the last continental country I visited was the Netherlands, so that I could take the ferry to the UK. So of all the western European nations I had omitted Spain and Portugal because the Iberian peninsula was a bit out of the way. This deficiency I would remedy a decade later.

This sort of street organ is often seen in the Netherlands. It plays from book music using pneumatics to sound the pipes. Usually the operator will be soliciting donations by rattling a container of coins.

Speaking of coinage, the Dutch had an interesting system of guilder values: 1, 2.5, 5, 10, instead of the more common 1, 2, 5, 10. That's history now with the Euro. Another anomaly was that guilder was often abbreviated Hfl, for Hollandse Florijn (page in Dutch).

To be honest, I'm not sure that this photo and the preceding ones are from Amsterdam as I don't remember a park with deer there. It could be from Rotterdam or Utrecht, taken en route to Amsterdam. But what the heck, at the risk of offending the Dutch, let me say that superficially, Dutch urban areas are similar and only cognoscenti will be able to resolve the details and say aha, that's so and so street in that town.

A endearing aspect of the Netherlands is the provisions of many parks, canals and flowers. Balconies will often be decorated with planters. Makes for a bit of colour on dreary days.

This photo is definitely from Amsterdam; it's of the flea market at Waterlooplein. What can I say, the miniature windmill on display seemed so emblematic if kitsch.

One of the streets ending in Muntplein with the Munttoren in the distance.

I stayed at the Hans Brinker Budget Hotel which even today gets a wide spectrum of reviews. I don't remember much so it can't have been too bad.

I do however remember meeting girl backpackers who had the fairest complexions I had ever seen. They said they were from Iceland. I guess the shortage of sunshine has something to do with it.

Hans Brinker incidentally is a character from a US children's book. The same book popularised the legend of the boy who plugged a leak in a dike with his finger. It is however US invented folklore, not Dutch. Though they are not adverse to using the legend for tourism purposes.

The Bloemenmarkt in view of the Munttoren. It's the largest flower market in Amsterdam and indicates the popularity of flowers in Dutch homes. If I'm not mistaken those are clogs on the racks.

Most likely the Ten Kate Markt. It's a good place to get daily produce. Also found there are household goods and clothing.

For culture I visited the Van Gogh Museum. You can see one of his sunflowers series on the wall.

I probably visited the Stedelijk which is nearby, but I have no photographic proof.

This was most likely taken on a canal cruise (rondvaart) where they pointed out the several bridges lined up.

Amsterdam of course also lays claim to the title Venice of the North.

Bruges

I also made a trip to Bruges, a Belgian city with a lovely historical centre and canals that has escaped modernisation. It's another of the contenders for the Venice of the North appellation.

It looks very quiet and calm. Maybe I was lucky and visited it on a quiet day. Nowadays it's a very popular tourist destination, especially on weekends.

Nonetheless it's still a picturesque destination. I'm also imagining the Belgian chocolates and waffles as I write this.

Luxembourg

I also took an overnight trip to Luxembourg because I was curious about this small country. The geography of Luxembourg City is striking as it's positioned at the confluence of two rivers, the Alzette and Pétrusse, and perched on high cliffs on terraced levels with bridges spanning the valleys.

Across the ravine is probably the City Hall, which was the former location of the High Authority of the European Coal Steel Community. It was disbanded way back in 1967, but today Luxembourg is the seat of several EU institutions.

This photo was probably taken from the Adolphe Bridge looking towards the city. Note the terracing which makes exploring this city so interesting. That garden with a flagpole seems to have been reworked extensively looking at more recent photos.

What can I say, I like wandering through markets.

Speaking of markets, Luxembourg is a well-known tax haven for multinationals and was recently persuaded by the EU to be more open with its financial transactions.

The city has extensive historical fortifications built into the rock. I went to see the Casemates du Bock.

Viaducts across the valleys are a feature of Luxembourg City scape.

There is a famous fountain in the middle of the city which celebrates a Luxembourgian tradition, the Hämmelsmarsch (page in Luxembourgish). Included in the statue are three band musicians, sheep, and two children under an umbrella, sheltering from the water pouring out of the tuba.

The distinctive topography makes Luxembourg an interesting corner of Europe to explore.

Brussels

Whenever possible I prefer to strike new paths instead of doubling back. And so it was when I left Denmark, I took the night sleeper train to Paris with a ferry crossing of about 18 km from Rødbyhavn in Denmark to Puttgarden in Germany. The train was actually loaded onto the ferry. It would have transited Hamburg, so strictly speaking I visited Germany again for a few hours. I alighted at Namur, Belgium in the small hours of the morning, and proceeded to Brussels.

They were very kind at the independent (non-IYH) hostel I had chosen; they let me check in early, and have breakfast without additional charge; strictly speaking the bed tariff included the next day's breakfast. Years later a friend remarked to me: When a stranger asks for a glass of water, we naturally say yes. Wouldn't it be nice if we lived in a world where when a stranger asks for food, we naturally say yes?

Of course everyone goes to see Grand Place in Brussels. This is the Town Hall.

Still in the Grand Place but another side. I was fascinated by the flower market.

The skies are often gloomy like that in Belgium and even more so in the Netherlands.

One of the many streets in the city centre. I'm surprised I don't have a photo of the Manneken Pis. All the tourists go to see him, and many are surprised how small he actually is.

I had forgotten that I had visited the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula in Brussels.

I do however remember sampling some of the hundreds of beer that Belgium produces, including the interesting Kriek Lambic which is flavoured with sour morello cherries.

Another thing I remember is that ordinary Belgian chocolate sold in the supermarkets was very tasty for the reasonable price. Of course, coming from Scandinavia, all the prices looked much more reasonable.

From the evidence of the photos I also took side trips to other Belgium cities using the railpass. This is the statue of Peter Paul Rubens in Antwerp.

And this is Saint Nicholas' Church in Ghent.

Carlsberg Brewery

In the 1970s and 1980s Carlsberg ran beer advertisements in Malaysian cinemas featuring a Long Cool Dane. The sequence had a white bikini-clad blonde model walking along a beach, cross-fading with a bottle of Carlsberg Pilsner glistening with cold foam. It did a lot to make the Carlsberg brand popular in Malaysia. If you search you will find that video on YouTube. That model, if she had a family and is still alive, must be a grandmother now.

Well given that history, how could I resist taking a tour of the Carlsberg brewery and sipping a Long Cool Dane at the end?

The mostly mechanised production line. If I recall correctly we were on a walkway above the brewery floor.

And finally we get to sample some of that blonde nectar. I seem to recall the brewery guide did a roll call of the various nationalities and it was quite a mix, including many English speakers.

A final thought before leaving Scandinavia: The Vikings were the terror of their era. Danegeld meant blackmail money to avoid being attacked. Now the Scandinavians are some of the most peaceful people in the world. So there's hope for the rest of the world.

I'll drink to that. Skål!

Tivoli Gardens

Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen is a must-visit. It has been running since 1843 and is the second oldest running theme park in the world. It's the most visited theme park in Scandinavia and 4th in Europe, according to the statistics. Both locals and tourists love it. I think this furthered the impression in my mind that the Danes are fun-loving people.

As the guide book suggested, I arrived before sundown to stroll around the place and take pictures in daylight, and then stay for the evening program.

The pantomine theatre. The lack of spoken words is an advantage with an international audience.

The fountains in the park area.

More elaborate fountains.

Circus acts.

A funambulist performing.

But the best time is after dark, when the buildings are lit up with special bulbs. The Chinese Pagoda is very attractively lit.

There is a concert hall in the Tivoli. I'm pretty sure I attended a concert there (for an extra charge) but I didn't take any pictures. If I recall correctly they played light classics and popular music. They also cracked some jokes but those were understood only by the Danes and perhaps other Scandinavians.

During summer there are fireworks every night.

Catherine Wheels.

And just so you don't forget the place you had a great evening at.

Copenhagen

I have good memories of Copenhagen, it felt more light hearted than the other Scandinavian capitals. I wouldn't mind visiting it again. Here we have an open air concert in front of the City Hall.

A market scene. Notice the frisør, probably adopted from French friseur. The Bethesda mission building in the background also provides a location where the picture was taken.

Copenhagen crowd. It might have been a religious gathering, from the headdresses worn.

This is most likely one end of the Strøget, a very long shopping street. The amount of car-free spaces in Copenhagen is one of the reasons it's very pedestrian and bicycle friendly.

Nyhavn (New Harbour) which historically was a disreputable area due to the sailors, but is now just a tourist attraction.

And of course how could I not visit the emblem of Copenhagen, Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid.

There are more pictures to come, of a visit to the Tivoli gardens in the evening and beer in the Carlsberg brewery.