Ship sign

A shop sign....

Torres del Rio

The small town of Torres del Rio burning in the sun. The octagonal church you can see in the centre has been build by the Templers. Unfortunately it was closed. Would have loved to take a look inside.

Detail of the Church of Santillana del Mar

This is a detail shot of the church of Santillana del Mar, a small old town we discovered by accident. The old centre remained as it has been hundreds of years.


The church was one of these unchanged Spanish churches they made in the middle ages. The sun beats the stones so much that they turned yellow... :)

A larger shot of the square, we were there early in the morning so the tourists were not yet covering the town. The streets even had the original cobble stones.

Back from holiday

Hello Daily Photo friends! I am back from holiday and I have some goodies (eye candy) I want to share. Spain is a great place to visit, especially when you are interested in culture and history, which is my main field of interest. But I also like to sit on the beach.. :), which I did and got some serious sunburns.

This is a picture inside an old house in Estella, Navarra. I have passed the house several times before, but never noticed that the interior has remained unchanged for hundreds of years (I suppose). One thing I always notice is how small the Spanish are and have been. I couldn't sit on the bench in this room.

On Vacation

I am on vacation (Galicia, Spain), see you all in two weeks!

Kockengen

Kockengen is one of these small small towns you can find at the country side. On the picture you can just see the tiny canal

On the road to Kockengen

On the road to Kockengen is a little graveyard.

Tim & Marian

I met friends on my way to Kockengen, Tim suprized his wife with a trip on a... motorcycle?

Farm

I am continuing my (bicycle) trip. From Haarzuilens I will cycle to Kockengen (try to pronounce that!), it means nothing by the way. This is one of these tiny villages you find which escaped urbanisation, ore better said never functioned as living area for the expanding cities.

This is a farm you see all over the place. These farms are now turned into luxury homes, farming isn't really practised, I think. Not much is happening here it seems.

Haarzuilens Town

Wash those windows.....girl?

Crafty bus stop

There is one bus stop in Haarzuilens, and I think it is one of the most crafty I have ever seen. Made of wood and delicately painted.
Lois noticed the red white stripes on the houses. All or most of the houses in about a mile surrounding of Haarzuilens have the red and white colours on their window shutters etc. This indicates the house is property of the baron.

Haarzuilens is one of the last estates owned by a (lower) royalty. Each year the city council is summoned to the castle to justify their policy of the past year. The Socialist party hates it and complains every year, never the less.... .

The day I took the pictures it was very sunny but also hazy. There is a lot of water everywhere, depending on the combination of weather types the days before a sunny day can be covered with a hazy look, making that you walk in a dream because the sharp edges don't show.

Haarzuilens Town

This is the bakery called 'In the blessed bread'...

Haarzuilens Town

Originally there was a small village located close around to the ruins of the castle. It was just a little village existing of a collection of farms. The castle needed a more representative village. So everybody was re-located to a new tasty little town at the start of the entry lawn.
Haarzuilens town is a tiny village about 30/35 houses, it follows a style which I can’t name but it is very nice. I will post some pictures the coming days.

Last photo of Haarzuilens

This is a picture of the church which is on the castle estate. Inside are the graves of the several castle lords. I have been inside ones when I was small. But now adays it's always closed.
The church follows the regular local church design. But when you stand in front of it, you notice, that though it follows the standard design. The church is actualy a bit smaller then usual. I almost hit my head at the entrance.
It's main function is to make the castle look bigger...



It does have this effect on the castle. An interesting historic detail is that the castle was confiscated by the Nazi's in WWII. The idea was to give it as a present to Hitler. It was delayed due to the presence of Jewish symbols in the architecture (the Rothshields were the main contributors), but in the end the idea was aborted because in the progress of the war Holland was considered hostile to Nazi ideology.

So that was it on castle Haarzuilens. Tomorrow pictures on the village Haarzuilens.

Castle Haarzuilens

I am not finished yet with castle Haarzuilens, another picture of the garden. I wish I could 'enter' the picture and take a stroll!