28/7 - Utrecht
I went to visit the Dom (Cathedral) one last time.
Nave
Altar
Painting
Cloisters
Arch
Baisin
Tower from cloisters
Statue - Jan Van Nassau
Academiegebouw - a University building
It was Friday, the least busy market day, so I also went there to have my favourite frites for the next-to-last time.
De Lekkerste Frites Van Nederland
As I told him, "Your frites are 'de lekkerste in Nederland'" (I got the grammar wrong, as you can tell [the right version is above] but after all it's the thought that counts)
Hank
Hank's verse zelfgemaakte Friet
Painted on tank tops at the market: Bodybeeld - het menselijk lichaan ontleed (Babelfish translates this as "Bodybeeld - the human lichaan analysed")
Product: "Schaamteloos" (Translated as "Shameless" - I think this was the brand of the tank tops)
Weird poster
I googled it and voila: Guerrilla Girls: New York Times article 2004
"Then there's the poster promoting a fictional movie, "The Birth of Feminism," with Pamela Anderson as Gloria Steinem (who, according to Ms. Kahlo, initially thought the poster was real), Halle Berry as Flo Kennedy and Catherine Zeta-Jones as Bella Abzug. "It's just like when we started in the art world, we've had a tremendous outpouring from women filmmakers of all sorts, because they feel afraid to speak up. They are not crazy rabble-rouser troublemakers and stealth bombers the way we are," Ms. Kollwitz said."
I then went to the University museum to see what was new.
Some weird paint-on bra thing. Your guess is as good as mine.
Fossil
Can anyone identify this?
Snails
This is the first time I've seen a warning sign regarding snails. Seen in the University museum garden.
The garden was apparently home to the oldest ginkgo in Europe. My attempts at finding it were in vain though.
Ginkgo patch
If you see the ginkgo, do tell me.
There was a section of "Vrouwenkruiden", litterally "herbs for women". I see political correctness hasn't manage to contaminate them yet.
First snails, then frogs. When it rains it pours.
There was also a lot of rhododendrons in the garden.
Hydrangenmacrophylla ev (?)
At the St Nicolaas church they had a bulletin entitled 'Is Bush heilig?' (Is Bush holy?) Heh. Unfortunately the church itself wasn't as interesting - the onlynovel bit was that the Gothic aisles at the side were as high as the nave.
Houses along Lange neiuwstraat
There was a joint named 'Sexshop de Dom' down the street from the cathedral. For some reason this was the first time I'd seen this seditious shop with a name cunningly chosen to provoke religious riots.
I'd never seen so many packets of Celestial Seasonings teas before.
I was quite sure there were fewer women in tudungs in July (during the heatwave) than before. Even if they wore it, they tied it looser. For example one woman had hers drooping so low I could see her neck. One compromise option some chose was to switch to a cap covering the hair, with the fabric trailing behind them like a windsock. Tsk.
Above the bus door: 'Piepsignaal: deur sluit!' (Translation: When there's a beeping sound, it means the door is closing) Gah. I didn't know there was onomatopoeia in Dutch too.
De Rode Brug boats
The Dutch friend I left my baggage with lived near the infamous river with prostitutes on houseboats. As with Amsterdam, direct photography was unwelcome but I got this indirect shot. I didn't have enough time to explore the stretch this day, but I returned the next.
My former housemate had returned so I didn't have to pay for that night's sleep. Since I'd retrieved my laptop I could also discover that the French bastard in Nimes hadn't burnt all my photos onto the disc (for newer readers, my Bruges, Antwerp and some Rome photos got lost). For €5 I got this kind of shit. I should just have shelled out for a 1 gb card!