A Sad Day for Nijntje

I just saw the sad news about Dick Bruna, the creator of Nijntje/Miffy passing away yesterday. Discovering his work was one of the many joys I got out of living in Utrecht. As well as the Nijntje books and related pieces, he also did some great graphic design for other book covers. I picked up some of my favorites when I visited the Dick Bruna Huis (now Nijntje Museum).

I think I have one last Nijntje statue that I never shared. This one seems appropriate today, as it is half Nijntje and half Dick Bruna. It stands in front of the conservatory at Mariaplaats.

It depends on the side, which one you see:



At the base is a short poem dedicated to them both:

RIP, Dick Bruna. You and your art will be missed.

Wordless Wednesday: Gezellig

Where is the Domtoren?

First off, happy new year/gelukkig nieuwjaar! I hope everyone survived and there are no hangovers! The only aches I have are from the two-hour death march Charlie took me on this morning. He never gets tired!

As I think I mentioned yesterday, it’s been a bit foggy here the past week. In fact, it’s been days since I’ve seen the Domtoren. As you see in the photo above, on the left is the typical view of the Domtoren that I get each morning when I take Charlie out. On the right is the view for the past week. Do you see a Domtoren? I sure don’t! Crazy, huh!

So on our walk through the generally deserted city this morning, I thought we’d at least head over to the Domplein and try and catch a glimpse of the tower. I’m on borrowed time after all and want to see as much of my beloved tower as I can before we move. The route we took typically has a few quick views of the tower, but none were any help this morning. In fact, even as I got up close on Domstraat, right next to the cathedral, I could still barely make it out, even though it was practically right in front of me!

To give you some comparison, this photo above was taken shortly before 11 a.m. this morning. This next photo was taken at 9:50 p.m. on May 30,2008, shortly after we moved here.

You can barely see the Domtoren in the photo I took this morning, but you can see how clear it should be — and how close it is — in the second photo.

Maybe I’m just easily impressed by fog, but I was surprised by the density, even up close, particularly as it wasn’t that bad at ground level. Ah well, at least I got to see my beloved Domtoren and managed a few photos, to add to my hundreds!

Festive Lights in Utrecht

Despite the foggy weather – I haven’t been able to see the Domtoren for about three days now – there are still the sounds of fireworks and firecrackers going off and I’m sure people will still give it a go at midnight for the usual fireworks extravaganza. On this last day of 2016, I thought I’d share a light show of a different sort. These are some of the decorative lights to be found throughout the city, starting at Neude, then heading over to the Stadhuis, and then back toward Janskerkhof.

May your oliebollen be plentiful, your fireworks be safe, and your 2017 be wonderful!

Time Travel: Voetiusstraat

I thought I’d try to get at least one last Time Travel post in, even though I really should be writing for work, or packing, or doing dishes. I don’t even have a really good comparison photo, but it’s close enough.

What you see in the older photo is a view of a couple around 1900 walking along the north side of the cathedral, along what is Voetiusstraat. It’s a strange view if you’re used to the street now, because while the buildings on the right hand side of the photo remain (the one with the writing is now the delicious Carla’s Condoterie), the left has changed dramatically. I think it was around 1910 that the street was widened and the buildings on the left were constructed, particularly Voetiusstraat 2-4, which is a fairly impressive building done in the neo-Renaissance style. It was used as a public reading hall/library.

For the record, the street gets its name from Gisbertus Voetius, a 17th century professor of theology, whose house once stood there.

What is interesting about this section of street where Domstraat intersects with Voetiusstraat and the cathedral is the new herringbone brickwork that has gone down. It’s all more even and in an earthier, tawnier color. It really does look quite nice. I wish I knew how far it’s going to spread.

In this slightly different view, you can’t see the buildings as clearly, but you can see the step into the cathedral that is visible in the old photo. The street levels do change a bit over the years, but the lamps remain much the same!

 

black and white photo via Het Utrechts Archief

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Kerstboom Market

Need a last-minute kerstboom (Christmas tree)? The annual Christmas tree market at Janskerkhof has you covered. From the usual larger ones all the way down to small potted plants, you can find a lovely selection of “trees”.  With some bonus Bacchus for this festive season.

Fijne kerstdagen!

Holy Apartment

There are plenty of jokes about not being able to go far at all without coming across yet another church in Europe. They’re everywhere! Though I grew up in the Southern part of the US which certainly doesn’t have any shortage, either. Yet sometimes there end up more churches than needed. Demand has dropped. So what do you do with these beautiful buildings? In some cases, you turn them into apartments.

St. Martinus, a former Catholic church, was built in 1901 by architect A. Tepe in the Neo-Gothic style. By the 1970s, it was falling into disrepair and it was around 1988 that it was converted into apartments as they stand now.

One side of the building looks out onto a street, but the other side looks out over the Oudegracht. On that side, there’s still a statue of St. Martinus.

Domtorenen

One of the things about moving is that now I want lots of the touristy things as keepsakes. So this weekend, after meeting up one last time with some friends, I stopped in at the VVV (tourist office) at the Domplein and picked up a few things I knew I couldn’t leave without. I could have gotten each item in different shops or online, but the tourist office was a convenient one-stop shop!

One thing I have wanted and would have eventually bought, even if we hadn’t moved, was the Domtoren cake pan. How cool is that?! They’ve been out for a few years now and I absolutely love it. I knew I couldn’t leave Utrecht without one.

Next on my list was one of the wooden Domtoren ornaments from Noest. They make a variety of items, from decorations to cutting boards, using wood from Utrecht trees (trees that had to be cut down anyway). I had originally tried to get this decoration at the Zelfgemaakte Markt the weekend before, but they didn’t have this particular one. The only ones left that I wanted at the VVV were actually on a display, but fortunately I was able to purchase one of those. Still, the other one is pretty nice. It’s a silhouette of famous buildings around the city.

Finally, I couldn’t resist a Domtoren figurine. Maybe I’ll get my own bell-jar display for it like Utca’s Finest has in their front window. Regardless, I can make sure I still see the Domtoren every day, just as I do now. I’m going to miss that toren.

The Missing Nave

This is a different view of the St. Martin’s Cathedral than I usually get, but it does give you a better sense of just how big the cathedral was when it was complete (or close enough). The part that remains is the transept (the part that essentially forms the arms of the cross of many churches) and the apse (the usually rounded bit at the top of the cross/church). As I’ve explained before, the nave (or main body of the cathedral) was destroyed in a storm in the 1600s. It reached all the way to the Domtoren, which is just out of sight on the far left of the photo. Seeing the church from this angle really does give a better sense of just how big it was and just how much was lost in the storm.

Plus, bonus bakfiets (the sort of wheelbarrow bike) on the right!

See You Later Alligator

Not my usual picture of Utrecht or the Domtoren. This one’s a bit grey and gloomy, especially when you look at the Domtoren’s clock and see that it’s 12:30, as in midday. That’s about as bright as it got yesterday, though at least it didn’t rain.

This past weekend was the seemingly citywide Christmas market festival. Mariaplaats, Stadhuisplein, Neude, Janskerkhof, Twijnstraat and other locations were hosting a variety of festivities. I usually enjoy it, but it didn’t seem as fun this year. The Zelfgemaakte Markt at Mariaplaats was great, as always, but the Stadhuisplein was pretty empty, while Twijnstraat was bigger and busier than ever, to the point that it was too crowded. We got our traditional cup of gluhwein and headed away from the crowds to sit and enjoy the mulled wine by the canal.

Perhaps the grey weather and the not-quite-so-enjoyable Christmas markets were Utrecht’s way of making me feel a little less sad about leaving.

Yup. We’re moving on. It’s not really what we had expected or planned, but it is what’s happening. After eight years in Utrecht, we’re now moving to Italy. In one month exactly. Stressful, depressing, and by the way if you need any furniture, kitchen odds and ends, it’s all for sale and we still have to pack and get the pets’ passports and ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

We’re heading to Bologna next, where I plan on doing some more blogging. After all, I have a degree in art history with an emphasis on Italian Renaissance architecture, so if you think I did a lot of research on stuff here in Utrecht, you can imagine what I’ll be like there!

Still, I’ll miss Utrecht and the Domtoren and the Domtuin/Pandhof and the Spoetnikkijker. I certainly have plenty of photos of them all to remember them by, but it won’t be quite the same. But Bologna is a stunning city and I’m sure I’ll find some new favorite spots.

I certainly hope to do a little more blogging here, as there’s stuff I’ve yet to get around to posting about and a few things I want to see one last time or see before I leave. I’ll keep this blog up, too, as it still gets its fair share of visitors. And hopefully some of you will follow me virtually to Italy. Last time I was there I was using film and not a very good photographer. I can’t wait to improve on all of my grainy photos!

Ciao!