We had a lovely time over in Valkenburg.
The Kerstmarkt, or Christmas Market in the caves is surely one of the most interesting markets I've visited.
The merchandise isn't your run-of-the-mill market stuff, it's really quite stunning and had I had money for 'stuff', there were a few bits and pieces I would have bought.
The village itself is quite lovely, full of buildings made of that pale gold sandstone I like so well and at this time year, Christmas music is playing out on the streets.
It was 1 degree celsius and cold but we stopped for coffee, we stopped for wine and we stopped for tea ... we got by.
I left New Zealand mid-2003, bound for Istanbul and a new lif. After two years, a Belgian guy lured me into his world, deep in the heart of Europe. For a long time I was an in-process immigrant. One day we married. These days it's about photography, a little red wine and wandering ... and so the journey goes.
They had to sell 'klompen'. Those Dutch are always so like their stereotype :P
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine wearing them but liked the way that they showed where we'd been. Imagined little Miss Three wearing them, knew we could never buy her a pair - imagine the noise :)
ReplyDeleteClogs are perfect tortute tools. You can either make incredible noise with them, or you can force people to sit with their knees in them and let gravity do the rest.(I saw that on a tv program: De Jeugd Van Tegenwoordig, it looked painful).
ReplyDeleteOh those Dutch ... working out how clogs could be instruments of torture.
ReplyDeleteI'd thought it would be enough if we let Miss 3 wear them on the top floor here.