Random finds

So it has been a while since I have browsed around my network drive, I usually just use it for downloads nowadays, and for storing old images.

I came across a directory of images I that I kept when I was still living in The Netherlands that for one reason or another I kept. Most were ‘collected’ when I was loading data. Some of them made me laugh, some were (a little) inspirational and some were images of woman that were “wow” so to speak.

Here is a snapshot of these, click and hover for the Lightbox and explanation.

I have no idea who owns these images or what the copyright is on them. Am not sure I particularly care either ;-)

Long time

Wow, I think that may have been the longest gap between any of my journal posts. So long that the Squarespace app for the iPhone looks like it has been completely redesigned, or it may be that I haven’t used it before.

Today marks the day that Scotland has eased the lockdown so that shops, gyms and restaurants can re-open. Personally the idea of only being able to eat outdoors is particularly nice, in The Netherlands, in Summer, when it’s over 25 degrees, in nice boutique restaurants served by people who actually want to be there. Eating outdoors in the UK where it’s cold, usually raining and the food can be compared to the enthusiasm of the server doesn’t fill me with a lot of excitement. That may sound harsh, but reserve your rebuttal until you have lived out of the UK for a few years.

Speaking of living out of the UK I passed 100 days continuous learning of Dutch last Saturday. I am using an app called DuoLingo. I am now halfway through the lessons and it is now stupid hard. Although my early enthusiasm has waned a little (going from four hours every night), I still try to do at least an hour every night. It’s difficult without someone to talk to in Dutch all the time so I am thinking of employing a tutor for at least a couple of hours a week. I think would prefer a face to face lesson rather than a video call…


Anyway, lockdown is over for at least a month before the Coronavirus third/fourth wave hits the UK so with a bit of luck I’ll be able to go out and do some photography again!

Netherlands II

During my recent trip to The Netherlands I also visited De Hoge Veluwe National Park (The Hoge Veluwe National Park), a national park in the province of Gelderland. It is approximately 55 square kilometers in area, consisting of heathlands, sand dunes, and woodlands. It is situated in the Veluwe, the area of the largest terminal moraine in the Netherlands. Most of the landscape of the park and the Veluwe was created during the last Ice Age. The park forms one of the largest continuous nature reserves in the Netherlands. I have previously visited the park many years ago to look around the Kröller-Müller Museum, founded by art collector Helene Kröller-Müller and opened in 1938. It has the second-largest collection of paintings by Vincent van Gogh, after the Van Gogh Museum.

I didn’t take many photographs while I was there, but I can recommend visiting the area for both the museum and the walks around the park.

I also found some other photographs from The Hague that I thought were worth posting here as well, these four are from Zevenhuizen. The village actually has its own flag and coat of arms due to it being its own municipality until 1991. The area is slightly spoiled by the power pylons running in the background. I tried to take photographs that hid them, but you can see the clearly in the third photo.

And one last shot from the beach, it’s starting to become my favourite place in The Hague.

Slow shutter speed at the beach.

Netherlands

it has been almost a week since I have from the Netherlands and I have spent much of that time contemplating my future. At least once every year I have to visit The Hague to take care of various pieces of administration and almost always visit for longer than I really need to, it provides a welcome break from work and the madness of Brexit.

I haven’t posted much on this journal this year primarily because I have very few positive thoughts as most of my thinking has been swallowed up by the constant noise that the current political situation is providing in Britain. It has been unbelievably polarising and I cannot remember any other time that I have been so embarrassed for British politicians when I have travelled. It seems that much of the western world is lurching to the right and it feels like a course correction is required.

Still, a week away from that madness in a place where I can't read the news, or can at least escape it, provided some much needed relaxation. As The Hague is an ever evolving city with new buildings going up and older buildings being renovated. Even Den Haag Centraal Station has been finished (after around ten years of reconstruction). It is always nice to wander around and see what is different or new. One of my favourite discoveries was Kaafi, a new brasserie on Prinsestraat. Apparently it has been open since 2017 but I have somehow missed it on previous trips. Shockingly I have to say that it has the best coffee (and selection) that I have tasted in The Hague.

I was resenting carrying my camera around in the heat so most of my photographs were taken on my iPhone. I am sure that I have taken these photographs many times over the years but these are still some of my favourite places in The Hague. Holland Spoor has changed so much in the past few years it is now completely pedestrianised and has lots of restaurants to eat out in, it has become really pleasant to spend time at when I compare it to when I first moved to The Hague.

Of course no visit to The Netherlands would be complete without a visit to a windmill or two (in this case seven). My companion for the week ( @catwith8lives ) took me out to Sevenuizen which is situated between Zoetermeer and Gouda.

Two of the Windmills at Sevenuizen

I also visited Amsterdam Pride when it was parading through the canals, I was apprehensive about going as I could only imagine the carnage that would be Amsterdaam Centraal Station but to my surprise it wasn’t so bad. The pride march makes a route through some of the canals on boats that have been turned into floats, it was amazingly well organised and was a lot of fun to watch.

So I have returned to Scotland for the moment and am still enjoying the stroopwaffels that I brought back with me and if I close my eyes I could almost be back there, if I block out the rain and the politicians.

December

I'll start by explaining the photograph, it is the entrance to the harbour (haven in Dutch) at Scheveningen, The Hague. It has taken me what can only be described as a ridiculous amount of time to learn Port (left)  and Starboard (right). Even now I laugh at myself about how very simple things can trip me up. As a geographer probably the most embarrassing thing to admit is that I still sometimes use NESW (never eat shredded wheat) when I think about east and west. 

So back to the point of this post, apart from the pretty photo of a storm brewing.

All my living in the moment went straight out the window when I realised that December is here and good lord where the hell did the rest of the year go? No seriously, where the hell did the rest of the year go? I have stuff to finish and do, December is not a productive month. To many mince pies to eat and sweet tea to drink. :-)

I reflect once again on achievements made over the year, the new people I have met, reconnecting with those that I had lost touch with and personal achievements that I feel good about. It's easy to look and find the things that I feel good about, so I have been trying to deconstruct the parts of the year that I don't feel good about or that went wrong.

I was once taught to remove my emotions from criticism and to try to look at criticism objectively and rationally. It's amazing how useful this has been throughout my life. It has allowed me to think about any problems or criticism and not react "all guns blazing". It has provided a useful technique in thinking about what I could have done better and how this could have been achieved and can be avoided in the future.

In every December I look forward to the winter solstice. I have always felt that this is a much more significant day in the calendar than any other, the general thought of our planet spinning through a vast universe in almost perfect balance makes me laugh at how insignificant we are. So spare some time on the 21st December at 16:28 for the point where the day starts getting longer again.

Thanks for reading!