Storming the Muiderslot

It was the 14th of July. The day was bright and sunny as the two intrepid adventurers exited Weesp train station and, apon seeing the bus they needed standing there at the bus stop, raced over the station forcourt only to have the bus driver patently ignore them and drive off.

So much for re-enacting Bastille day!

Our enthusiasm for a good storming now thwarted we went in search of other means of getting to Muiden and found a very friendly, very willing old dame of a taxi-driver to get us to Muiden in fine style and along the way provide us with many interesting tidbits of info about the area.

She dropped us off just outside Muiden, as in her opinion it was well worth the short walk through the small town. She was right. Muiden is, in a word, adorable! I was also immediately aware that the Ducth as a race were not always as tall as the modern day dutch people are made out to be. The houses are all small and compact and my dearest Baz would have a hard time getting in and out of most of these places and he is about half a head taller than most of the doors!

About halfway to the castle, Muiderslot, itself there is the proper 'slot' or lock where small boats can leave the marina and head out onto larger waters. Its a graceful old revolving bridge lock that allows traffic through on two sides. I think mum's boat could just about squeeze through but Koos would have a hard time with the Luxor!

After admiring the lock and taking a few pictures we decided to have lunch at a small pub next to the water before heading up to the castle. The fare was simple but tasty and I was very glad of the nice cold beer as by now it the sun was well and truly up!

Next it was off to do the now rather relaxed version of storming the castle.

First a historical tidbit or two:

The castle Muiderslot was first built in 1280 by Count Floris V but its most interesting resident is, in my opinion, the dutch literary icon P.C. Hooft who was mayor in these parts from 1609 until his death in 1647 (It is speculated that his father's friendship with Prince Mauritz was the true reason for his being awarded the position of mayor as the family were not nobles by birth but a wealthy merchant family). Along with being mayor he also held the positions of Bailiff of Naarden and Gooiland and Chief Officer of Weesp but his real passion was writing and literature, something which is, of course, also a passion of mine. He wrote books of poetry as well as prose and his name is still remembered today in the form of the P.C. Hooft literary prize.

The guided tour through the newly restored living quarters of the castle was also a treat as it gave a very detailed insight into what living in castle was really like during the middle-ages. The draftiness, the lack of light and the stink; the fact that as many as 6 people would sleep in bed that quite frankly is not really big enough for two people to sleep comfortably really surprised me until the guide explained that the mother and father would sleep sitting up against each other and only the childeren would lie down. The reason for this? Back in the day it was believed that if adults lay down all the blood in their bodies would rush to their heads and push their brains into a corner and it would damage your common sense. Children, of course, were devoid of common sense and therefore their brains didn't need to be protected!

We were also show the origins of many interesting dutch sayings in the kitchen area: for example "Hou je waffel" or "keep your mouth shut" actually stems from the use of a waffle iron that children used to bake their waffles with over the open fire and if they didn't keep quiet and keep an eye on their special treats, they would burn.

With the tour over we spent the remainder of the afternoon scrambling up and down tower stairs and exploring the gardens, looking at falcons and generally enjoying ourselves. The castle is beautifully restored and maintained and its easy to see why the staff working there consider it the most beautiful castle in the Netherlands.

All in all it was a grand day out and a great birthday excursion!

Antwerp

Friday the 7th of July we celebrated my mom and dad's 30th wedding anniversary. As a surprise we, Jodie, my sister Renate and I, took them away for the day to Antwerp!

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Vooral het Antwerpen van Karel V en de vroege jaren van Filips II in de 16e eeuw was een zeer welvarende en bijzonder belangrijke havenstad, die een tijdlang de toon aangaf in West-Europa. Omstreek 1400 was Antwerpen nog een betrekkelijk kleine stad, met nog geen 10.000 inwoners. In de 15e eeuw begint de stad zich echter bliksemsnel te ontwikkelen tot één van Europa's grootste handelssteden. In 1500 had de stad ongeveer 50.000 inwoners, omstreeks 1560 werd het aantal van 100.000 bereikt. Antwerpen kan met enig recht de geboorteplaats van de vrije markt genoemd worden, omdat in die tijd de handelaren van Antwerpen een aantal praktijken invoerden die nu nog een deel van het economisch systeem vormen, bijvoorbeeld het aandeelhouderschap en de effectenbeurs.
Hand in hand met de toenemende welvaart kende Antwerpen een ongekende culturele bloei. Vooral de schilderkunst nam een hoge vlucht in de zestiende en zeventiende eeuw. Zie Lijst van kunstschilders in Antwerpen.
Halverwege de 16e eeuw begint het calvinisme grote aanhang te krijgen in de stad. Bij een omstreeks 1580 door stadhouder Willem van Oranje georganiseerde godsdiensttelling bleek 33% van de bevolking aanhanger te zijn van het calvinisme, 17% van het lutheranisme en 50% van de katholieke kerk. De troebelen van de opstand tegen Spanje hebben de stad grote schade berokkend. In 1576 werd de stad geplunderd door muitende Spaanse huursoldaten, die 8000 burgers vermoordden (Spaanse Furie). De stad sloot zich vervolgens aan bij de Pacificatie van Gent en was gedurende de komende 9 jaar min of meer de hoofdstad van de anti-Spaanse opstand. In 1585 werd Antwerpen door de Spaanse stadhouder Alexander Farnese, hertog van Parma, veroverd na een beleg dat meer dan een jaar had geduurd. Na die verovering is ongeveer de helft van de bevolking naar Holland vertrokken. Het bevolkingscijfer daalde tot 45.000. Hollandse en Zeeuwse schepen versperden de Scheldemonding en sloten de thans in Spaans bezit zijnde stad af van de overzeese handel. De Antwerpese bloeiende handel, kunsten en wetenschappen werden verder ontwikkeld in de Hollandse "gouden eeuw".In de komende twee eeuwen zou Antwerpen niet meer de bloei van de voorafgaande periode bereiken, maar het zou overdreven zijn te zeggen dat de stad wegkwijnde. Antwerpen bleef één van de belangrijkste economische en culturele centra van de Spaanse, en later Oostenrijkse Nederlanden. Het bracht in die periode grote schilders voort als Rubens, Jordaens en Teniers. Als Rooms-Katholiek bolwerk in de Contrareformatie kwamen er grootse kunst- en bouwwerken tot stand, voornamelijk in Barokke stijl.
Koningin Beatrix van Nederland mag zich Burggravin van Antwerpen noemen. (bron Wikipedia)
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We started off early that friday and so we arrived at Antwerp central station at 11.30am. We had a quick look around and settled in to have some waffels. The waffels still settled in our stomachs like rocks we walked around checking out the sights of this stunning city. Of course no day in Belgium is complete without having a Belgian beer.... or two...


Nothing like a bit of culture at the Rubens House.


To finish our visit me and my dad allowed the girls their shopping spree... True to form my dad and I sighed and complained on a wall while the girl went off on their stereotype shopping.

Contrary to the trip to Antwerp the way back was a regular nightmare. Because of an accident we were 'granted' an unasked for extra, namely a three hour tour through The Netherlands. Fortunately all ended well and we had a great dinner at Popocatepetl in The Hague. The perfect end to a very nice day. And I'm happy to say that my parents agreed!