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NETHERLANDS Location - Western Europe; Capital - Amsterdam; Population - 17 million; Currency - Euro MORE NETHERLANDS
From Amsterdam I spent a morning in Haarlem before moving on to Utrecht - May 2010. Netherlands is another country in the Euro-zone
Haarlem's main square is the Grote Markt
Dominating the Grote Markt is the Grote Kerk van St Bavo, Haarlem's cathedral
Inside the Grote Kerk van St Bavo is a huge organ, once played by Handel and Mozart - Haarlem Another historic building in the Grote Markt is the Vleeshal (meat hall) - Haarlem
A jam-packed bicycle park in Haarlem
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Outside the Corrie ten Boom house. Corrie ten Boom, along with her family, protected many Jews and members of the resistance during World War II - Haarlem
Heading south from the Grote Markt - Haarlem
One of the side streets off Grote Houtstraat - Haarlem
At the end of this street is the 14th century Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) - Haarlem
The grounds of the Proveniershuis, built in the 17th century as a hofje (almshouse) for elderly men - Haarlem
A mouldy old bike in Haarlem
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This statue reminds me of Donnie Darko - Utrecht
The 112 metre high Domtoren (Dom Tower) is the cathedral tower - Utrecht
Through the arch of the Dom Tower to the cathedral - Utrecht
Breathe in the chemicals at the multi-coloured urinoirs, next to the cathedral - Utrecht
The charming cathedral courtyard with Dom Tower to the left Utrecht
The Pandhof is a 15th century cathedral courtyard - Utrecht
Next to the Dom Tower are a few bars/restaurants Utrecht
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And of course Utrecht has a few canals running through the city
This one kept giving me the eye - Utrecht
A great location for a house - Utrecht
And for a boat ride - Utrecht
Not quite Swan Lake, more Swan Canal - Utrecht
It's not only Amsterdam that has coffee shops - Utrecht
Coloured reflections outside Buurkerk, a church on Buurkerkhof - Utrecht
I'm pretty sure this is the Utrecht Town Hall. In the foreground a canal tunnel glows blue. about me
A café opposite the 13th century city walls - Maastricht
A very picturesque area, just south of the ramparts Maastricht
Taking the first steps into the North Caves, a network of underground tunnels next to Fort St Pieter - Maastricht
Manual labourers, called 'block breakers', cut limestone blocks from these caves for building construction, probably initiated by the Romans - Maastricht
The charcoal drawings have been added in more recent years, though some of these are around 50 years old Maastricht
The cave network stretched over 200kms with 20,000 tunnels. Today it covers 70kms and 6,000 tunnels - Maastricht
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Here, in the North Caves, there's an etching from 1941 of 'Salomon' (middle left). The tunnels were used to transfer goods during World War II, and also aided the movement of individual Allied soldiers, resistance fighters and Jews. 'Salomon' (hopefully the same one!) returned to etch his name again in 1991 (bottom right) Maastricht. Connected to the North Caves, the Kazematten Caves (not pictured here) were used by locals as air raid shelters during World War II. A chapel and bakery were even built.
Maastricht Underground conduct fascinating tours of the North and Kazematten caves. There's also the Zonneberg caves slightly further south (I don't know if tours are possible) - Maastricht
A red flag flies above Fort St Pieter, which dates to 1701 - Maastricht
There's some decent views of Maastricht from Fort St Pieter. The red tower is Sint Janskerk - Maastricht
A café's tables & chairs in the Onze Lieve Vrouweplein, with the square's church in the background - Maastricht
Early evening in a deserted shopping district Maastricht
A small square just off Vrijthof - Maastricht A book shop inside a church (or a mock-up church?) Maastricht
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Sculptures at Vrijthof, Maastricht's main square
Vrijthof is home to Sint Servaasbasiliek (behind the tree) and Sint Janskerk, the red church to the left - Maastricht
Sint Janskerk is a 17th century church - Maastricht
Sint Servaasbasiliek, some of which dates to 1000, and Sint Janskerk at night - Maastricht
I've noticed a common theme in my Netherlands pages climbing up church towers. This view is from the top of Sint Janskerk, looking down on Vrijthof and the towers of Sint Servaasbasiliek Maastricht
Surrounding the Vrijthof square are numerous restaurants and cafés - Maastricht
A Vrijthof bar in the late evening - Maastricht
The other main square in Maastricht is the Markt c ontac t me
Website and content Copyright © 2008-2011 Mark Wilkinson. All rights reserved.
LINKS www.holland.com - Netherlands tourist board www.visitholland.nl www.amsterdam.info - covering Amsterdam www.utrechtyourway.nl - Utrecht info www.vvv-maastricht.eu - Maastricht tourism www.ns.nl - Dutch trains www.eurostar.com - Eurostar train from London to Paris, Brussels and more I am not responsible for the content of external websites.
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