Goodmorning lovely ones!
It’s a sunny morning in the Netherlands, in fact, it has been sunny all week. My beloved and I took advantage of it by going for a long walk last weekend and I took my camera with me to show you another part of Middelburg.
Before I come to that, here’s my ‘workdesk’ photo – my workdesk this week is the little table in the living room ’cause I’m still working on the ‘clothing’ for my son’s birthday (it’s going to be a jacket, he already knows that so I don’t spoil a thing by telling you…) that will get some/a lot of Japanese embroidery (“Sashiko” – see last post.) I ordered special Sashiko needles to work with and I’m in love with the Japanese packaging!
Oh, and that brown ‘thingie’ that looks like a piece of chocolate? That’s a leather thimble I made myself to protect my thumb. So I’m sitting in the living room stitching away while watching the World Cup Football on the television.
However, one cannot sit inside all day so my beloved and I go out for walks sometimes. Last Sunday I took my camera with me – you may remember the photos of the ‘tourist trip‘ I made through my little town a couple of weeks ago? A lot of you commented on the star-shaped ‘ring of canals’ around the town that could be seen on the arial photo.
Here’s the photo again and I marked the route my beloved and I walked.
Yep, we walked all around the ‘star’. Before we start our walk at the ‘Bolwerk’ as it is called (Bastion – the star shaped canal was dug to protect the city. More history about the town can be found here) we walk through our neighbourhood to get there.
I talked about the big church “Tall John” that stands a few steps from our appartment in a former post, but on the East side my home is protected by a church that I find even more beautiful than my tall friend… when I step out of the front door I can see it’s roof. See that, right in the middle of the photo? That’s the Oostkerk (Eastern church)
To get to this church, we walk through the Spanjaardstraat, a historical street with beautiful houses and monuments. (The Eastern Church looms already in the distance.)
We take a small detour and walk through the Verwerijstraat to approach the church from the other side.
… and here it is in it’s full glory, my fave building of this town, the Oostkerk. Where tall John behaves as a vain young girl, flaunting her looks, the Eastern church is rooted and stands strong, like a big, broad protector. Is it strange to say that I ‘trust it more’…? (On this internet page someone commented giving some nice, historical info on this church.)
I just find the Eastern church more ‘honest’…. look, there’s a skeleton sculpture above the door that reminds us of human mortality…
… there are more sculptures on it’s walls, showing different figures and shapes.
This one shows all kinds of shells.
I wave ‘my big protector’ goodbye and with a few steps we stand on the star-shaped ‘bastion’ and start our walk along the water.
“Walking the star” takes about an hour and I took several photos along the way.
There’s a mill standing on the bastion (if fact, there’s two windmills on the bastion, this one is called Seismolen.)
I love those little houses on the water, there are several floating in the canal and it’s home to the ducks.
Coming at the end of the bastion we cross the city centre to get home again and yes, there’s “the vain lady, flaunting her looks” Tall John.
The weather today is as nice as on the photos and I’m going to settle with needle and thread in the easy chair on the balcony. I wish you all a day as beautiful as mine!
Edited August 2018: I received a lovely email from ‘Bookmundi’ who got inspired by my ‘tourist blogposts’ to write an awesome guide (CLICK) on the Netherlands, it’s worth a read if you’re planning to visit The Netherlands.
Wow Marit, you certainly live in a beautiful town. Thanks for sharing some more photos. Hope it’s not too warm for you as you sew. Have a great week. Sarah #5
Love photos of architecture like this and take a tone too. It’s so fun to take “photo walks” because you look much more closely when you’ve got your camera with you, right?
Marit your town is beautiful, I love all the old buildings, so pretty, thank you for sharing.
Happy WOYWW Jan no29
That looks like a lovely walk along the river and some wonderful photos! You live in a very pretty place, Marit! We’ve had the same sort of weather for weeks now and set to continue into next week. Let’s enjoy it while it lasts, though I would prefer it to be just a tad cooler. zsuzsa #23
beautiful place for walking. Love the skeleton and features on the church. Enjoy the embroidery it is really a good way to spend a day . Yesterday I saw so beautiful fabric at the local quilt shop by a woman who from japan who make incredible purse etc and does incredible embroidery , (her name eludes me). Have a great week
Monica
I use a leather thimble too! I love the pictures of your beautiful town! HAve a great week, Ginny M #30
Glad you are making progress on your son’s shirt. I am in awe of your walk and the beautiful buildings and architecture of your town. It’s a great city, at least from your photos. Happy WOYWW from #3.
thank you for sharing these beautiful photos, I love the style of the architecture. My mum used to visit relatives in the Netherlands a lot as a young girl and I would love to go one day. Your thimble looks very useful. Helen #2
Lovely to see all the photos and the area that you walked. Thanks for sharing – Hazel WOYWW #8 x
Beautiful photographs Marit. The weather here in the UK is strangely hot which sounds good but there is a Wildfire at the moment near Manchester and people have had to leave their homes, I think they wish it would rain but it is not likely yet. Have a great woyww and happy crafting, Angela x13x
What a beautiful place to live Marit, ever inspiring, I too could not waste a moment indoors and have to go exploring in the warmth of the sun.
So looking forward to seeing your Son’s jacket, glad you are protecting those fingers, needles can be tricky little things when lots of hand stitching is taking place.
Thank you so much for sharing WOYWW.
Creative wishes Tracey #4
Lovely tour Marit, Middleburg is really a lovely place – I was struck by how clean and tidy it is as well. I agree about the Oostkerk, it seems much more grounded and embedded somehow! What a lovely hour’s walk. So glad you’re enjoying the embroidery, what a great memory of a great summer that makes.
Wow! What a stunning place to live. I admire anyone who can sew/embroider… I always end up with thread in a horrible tangle somehow. Thanks for sharing. Caro x (#42)
Happy Belated WOYWW. You live in such a beautiful and interesting place. Never seen a canal like that. Well done for doing any crafting at the moment. I only seem to get projects done that ‘have’ to be done! Oh well, this weather will change eventually and then we can all get busy indoors again. Ali x #27
More wonderful pictures from your beautiful town! You really must feel fortunate to have such strikingly gorgeous scenery and architecture mere steps away from your home. Will we get to see the completed jacket when it is all finished?