Almere New Town

Almere where I live, is a very new town . It is only since 1976 and is built on reclaimed water , called a "polder" 30 kilometers from Amsterdam .So we live on the bottom of a sea. All buildings are so new and different architects can unleash their creativity . The result is that very special buildings , like this apartmentcomplex with shutters against the sun.

Carpets in the Library

Almere has since this spring a new public library.  Besides being a beautiful building from the outside , the interior is very special. These carpets are in various departments and express with their image wich department you are. For example information , youth , communications or nature.

Oostvaardersplassen, Flevoland

The Oostvaardersplassen is a young nature of some 5600 ha between Almere and Lelystad in Dutch province Flevoland. The area is of international importance as wetland and winter habitat for birds. In the dry part now run Heck cattle and Koniks (horses). Some parts are only seen from a distance, like this one.

Museum of Glass in Leerdam

Today a beautiful museum that has only been opened in Leerdam , "The National Glass Museum and Glassworks" . The renewed museum is housed in two villas on a dike containing seven exhibits and continuous throughout the depot that now permanently is visible. A little further on is the factory with a store there where we have completed our wine glasses . Yet a little further , the glass-works where you can see demonstrations of glass-blowers. See http://www.nationaalglasmuseum.nl/

Paleis Soestdijk

This is the palace of our old Queen Juliana and her husband Prince Bernhard in Soestdijk. Her grandmother Queen Emma used to live there and Juliana loved her very much and visited her often. When she died in 1934 the palace was empty for a while until 1937. Queen Juliana and her husband went to live there after their marriage and they have lived their until they both died in 2004.
It is not yet clear what to do with the palace and in the meantime it is opened for public visits.
It is very special to walk in the palace and the garden and to see the places you remember of photo's and movies. The royal family used to stand on the "bordes" (steps) when Queen Juliana had her birthday at April 30 and wave to the people that came to wish her happy birthday. I always thought it was a huge step but in reality it was very small. Unfortunately it was not allowed to take photo's inside the palace.
In the garden is a statue of the royal couple waving.

The backside with the beautiful pond where our crownprince Willem-Alexander asked his Argentine girlfriend Maxima to marry him. It was winter and the water was frozen, he kneeled on the ice for her and she said with her teeth chatter of the cold "yes".

Paarden

Aan de rand van Almere Haven staan een aantal boerderijen die een tiental jaren geleden naar de polder zijn gehaald door de overheid om het land te bewerken. Nu zijn er weer andere plannen en moeten er dure huizen gebouwd worden. De eerste paar boerderijen zijn alweer afgebroken! Deze is er gelukkig nog en fokt paarden. Je moet er toch niet aan denken dat dit land straks allemaal volgebouwd wordt met patserige huizen.

WK Voetbal Zuid-Afrika

Nederland verslaat Brazilie en zit in de halve finale!!