A poetic town and woyww #509

Hi there dear readers, deskers and everybody new.
It’s Wednesday; the day I join the “What’s On My Workdesk Wednesday” tribe over at Stamping ground and post a picture of my desk to show you what I’m up to.
I took the desk-photo this morning but the other photo’s were made last week – remember I promised you I would take you for another walk through town? I did, and made photos along the way to show you another part of this beautiful town where I live.

So if  you are here just to see my work desk and don’t feel like ‘walking’ with me, you can skip the picture-overload part of this post and go straight to the comment-field (’cause I love it when you leave me a comment!)

Here is today’s desk photo.

WOYWW #509

And now, let’s go for a walk through town: here’s Middelburg seen from above (photo from www.aerophotostock.com)

I marked the route we walked. The little numbers (can you find them? You might wanna enlarge the photo…) refer to the places I took a photo.

1. Little gate

I live in a back alley of the city centre and when I step out of my front door, I can choose all kinds of directions to start my walk. This time I choose to go through this little gate…. it looks very dark & ‘going nowhere’ so I cropped the photo and brightened it for you… see there’s an alley on the other side of it?

 

2. Isabellagang

Going through the little gate (or should I say “under path”?) I end up in this little alley “Isabella passage.” I choose not to go right but took a photo to show you what’s there… isn’t this the sweetest little alley?

3. Only a few minutes walk takes me to this little spot.

I don’t even know what it is exactly… a garden? A very little park? A passage from one street to another? I like this quiet little spot surrounded by walls of the the tall historical houses.

4. Stairs

At the end of the little park lies a street, there were you can see the white banister. That street is on another level so at the end you have to climb these stairs. Standing on the stairs, I took a photo of the white house/wall to the right.

5. Poems on the wall

Walking through Middelburg you will find poems everywhere, written (stencilled) on the walls. One can buy a booklet in the bookstore with a little map/route and info about all the poems that can be found in town. My neighbourhood has a few poems on walls too, in Dutch of course – but my Dutch readers may find it nice to read…

6. Lady overlooking the street

I am a member of Middelburg’s Facebook group  and someone in the group pointed out this statue that can be found only a few streets away from me. I’d never seen her ’cause I rarely visit that back-street, but I went looking for this statue now and look… I found her!

7. Poseidon

Another house with a poem…

8. Small marina and canals

I just love the canals and the big houses that stand on the quays… I took 3 photos to show you the sight and puzzled them together… and can you see “Tall John” sticking out above the houses.

9. I also walked along the “Bastion” (the ‘star’ in the air view photo, see this post)

… and there’s my favorite building on the horizon: The Eastern Church.

10. This is the  “Koepoort” (‘cow-gate’)

and that’s the place I abandon the Bastion to walk back home

11. Poem on the wall

I’m almost home when I come across this poem on another wall… I see/read this one often. The language is kind of ‘older Dutch’ and is about a man and a woman sitting on the dunes. I love especially the last lines. Translating is difficult and doesn’t do justice to the poetic feel of the lines, but it says something like: “When, and where was it* that I was this high and silent with only you?”  (* how long ago was it)

I hope you enjoyed this – already fourth – walk with me.
You can find the former walks through Middelburg here:

• Walk with me 1
• Walk with me 2
• Walk with me 3