Treat yourself to a dose of Strictly!

Yesterday’s destination was a tricky one. It’s Kastel De Haar near Utrecht. It is considered to be the biggest and most beautiful castle in The Netherlands….we can’t argue with that. The early owners were the De Haar family but it was renovated to its current state by the Van Zuylen’s. For more information check out its website,

https://www.kasteeldehaar.nl/en/

I’m not sure whether you might be a fan of reality TV. Perhaps you are if you enjoyed Destination X. We didn’t think there was too much ‘reality’ going on in what we saw. People being driven around Europe in a blacked out bus and then being placed in a box with slits in it! Our reality TV intake has only been ‘Strictly’, we have watched for years, perhaps because we like the dancing but even that is wearing thin now. We prefer our version of ‘Reality Blogging’. Real people visiting real places without too much fuss.

We have arrived in our new destination and got onto a campsite by the marina.

Mentioning a marina may have got you thinking. My first clue is that the city is where the Meuse river becomes the Maas river. Not strictly true as I think the Meuse is the proper French name of the river but Maas is the Dutch version.
This is not the cities most beautiful building but perhaps the most significant. I will explain tomorrow.

We cycled into the city and enjoyed the market day in the square next to the Stadthuis.

There were lots of lovely narrow shopping streets and a few churches.

One church is now a trendy bookshop.
Here’s Jan on her way to the Players Club Tattoo shop!
The St Servatius Bridge. The oldest stone bridge in Holland.
This is called the Helpoort. Obviously an old gatehouse into the city.

We thoroughly enjoyed our leisurely afternoon. So much so that I had a treat!

I didn’t consult my European partners on my flavour choice as I might have done in 1992 when John Major, the British PM of the time, negotiated here. Instead I went unilateral and picked the cherry flavoured ice cream and paid in Euros rather than Guilder!

That’s enough clues. You might be getting warm by now.

We are looking forward to our traditional Friday G & T’s looking down onto the Meuse. As I do so I will be planning a future cycle journey along the Meuse.

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middlevern
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2 responses to “Treat yourself to a dose of Strictly!”

  1. secretlyradiant06e5ab0fd5 Avatar
    secretlyradiant06e5ab0fd5

    Think you may have got to Maastrict. Sounds familiar as the Treaty of Maastrict. Also with the Strict included.. very good.

    You must have travelled a distance to get there.

    Far to get to the famous football side Bastard Liege. Or pronounced something similar.

    I feel so smug that I might know one of your next locations but I would have inside info from a previous conversation.

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    1. middlevern Avatar
      middlevern

      Well done. I don’t think you know the next location!

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