2019-05 - Hamilton Pool Preserve (outside of Austin, Texas)

First view of Hamilton Pool & waterfall

Two months ago, my neighbor and I were out and about at SXSW. We started talking about Hamilton Pool while enjoying some free food from Ranch Hand at the ACLU booth. On a whim, we booked a reservation, which happened to be two months away in May. (Try getting a weekend reservation today; and, you'll have to wait until September!) Today, we finally got to enjoy that reservation.

Hamilton Pool, across from waterfall

 When we arrived at Hamilton Pool entrance, the park ranger went over the rules, checked our car for pets (not allowed) and extra passengers (8 max/vehicle), and gathered the remaining $15 (cash only) before allowing us to park. Our reservation was for 9 am - 1 pm. After parking, we walked the short trail (includes some steps, roots, and rocks) down to Hamilton Pool. The first thing that struck us was the brilliant blue green color of the water. It really does look as beautiful as all the photos that you've seen! The water temperature today was refreshingly cool yet warmer than Barton Springs.

Hamilton Pool, across from waterfall

Half of the pool is skirted by a what looks like a natural limestone amphitheater. (The website calls it a grotto.) There is so much floral and fauna in this giant stone structure! Trees cling to the top of the rock. Not far below them, scrubby plants stubbornly cling to cracks in the vertical stone edge. A bit further below is the rim of the stone roof stretching over part of the pool. Stone formations hang down from the rim (are they still called stalactites if they are not in a cave?). Bright green ferns cling to the ceiling just inside the rim of the rock, the fronds pulled down to the water by gravity.

Stone walls stained colors by micro-organisms

We walked along the stone wall of the amphitheater to get to the far side of the pool, with it's waterfall. This wall is stained blues, greens and purples from the organisms that cling to its surface. Along the way, we noticed little birds flitting in and out of holes in the limestone ceiling. These are their nests! Finally, we made it to the waterfall, which flows from Hamilton Creek up above at the edge of the stone rim. We stood in the mist behind the waterfall and savored the moment of enjoying the lush vegetation, beautiful weather and the fact that we do have protected parks that we can all enjoy.

Hamilton Pool, behind the waterfall

Returning to the "beach" (it's rocky, not sandy), we left our backpacks and got into the water, swimming back to the waterfall so that we could sit under it and enjoy the force of the water. Then, we floated idyllically in the water, gazing up at the sunny sky above that had looked some ominous earlier in the morning. Around the rim, at some of the rock protuberances, water trickled down into the pool. Floating under such stone slab, I could see the individual water drops as they floated through the air toward me.  Truly a magnificent way to spend a Saturday morning.

Pedernales River

Eventually, we returned to the beach and lounged while drying off. Until it started sprinkling and then sprinkling a little harder, until we had all pulled out umbrellas as it seemed that it was about to rain in earnest. We packed up our gear, ready to return to the car, when, the rain stopped. However, this gave us an opportunity to take the one trail, which is only 0.6 miles, that dead ends into the Pedernales River. Along the way, we saw fish, a bug skating across the water, and some furry caterpillars.  It worked up a bit of a sweat; and, on our way back, we thought that we'd jump back in Hamilton Pool one last time. However, we were too late. The park ranger had already told everyone at 12:30 that they had to return to their cars.


If you go...
- Hamilton Pool is 23 miles away from downtown, a 45 minute drive without traffic.
- Make a reservation: https://parks.traviscountytx.gov/parks/hamilton-pool-preserve#reservations
- Reservation does not guarantee that Hamilton Pool will be open for swimming
- Hamilton Pool can be as cold as 50F
- Wear your swimsuit there. There are only two stalls in the women's restroom in the parking lot and only two porta-potties by the pool
- Watch for poison ivy

2019-04 - Peace Palace (Den Haag) and return to Amsterdam

Our final stop in The Hague was a tour of the Peace Palace this morning. While anyone can go into the visitor area and giftshop, tour tickets are few and far between and must be booked in advance (see links at bottom of post). However, in the visitor area, there is a small display which makes more sense once you obtain a free audio guide (available in multiple languages). The audio guide provides ~30 minutes of information. We were lucky enough to have booked reservations for a guided tour in the interior of the Peace Palace. It was amazing!

Peace Palace, Den Haag, the Netherlands

The Peace Palace began as the initiative by Csar Nicholas II, in 1899, to have an international peace conference, which was first held in the Hague in the same year. A second conference was held in 1907, by which time Andrew Carnegie had donated the funding and work had started on this impressive building. Some of the forward thinking innovations in this 100+ year old building were central heating and an elevator. In addition, all of the countries outdid themselves with gifts and donations, whether it was beautiful blue tiles from nearby Delfft or a solid jasper vase from Csar Nicholas II that is so heavy (3000 kg or ~3 tons) that it required a reinforced floor. There are tapestries from Japan that took 48,000 weavers working for five years to complete and brilliant stained glass windows from Great Britain showing a timeline of man from being a war-some creature to hopefully an idyllic and peaceful one in the future. A porcelain fountain from Denmark sits in an outdoor courtyard while above a staircase stands a replica of the Jesus statue made from cannons that sits between Chile and Argentina. Our feet trod on carpets from Turkey. Unfortunately, we could not take photos of anything in the interior of the Peace Palace.

Rubber duck shop

After lunch, we made the drive back to Amsterdam. It was our last day here; and, I tried to walk around to some sites that we hadn't had time for previously. Rick Steves "Pocket Amsterdam" has a couple of walking tours that I browsed for sites to see. Part of his Jordaan tour walked back past the Anne Frank House (where I finally saw the Anne Frank statuette) and then past all the tourists into the neighborhood. While I was sitting on a bench, reading from the guidebook, three kids road up on their bikes and knocked on the door next to me, leaving their bikes and going on in to play with the dog inside. Walking down a side street, entire families would go cycling by. Jordaan certainly had a much nicer family feel to it.

From the tower in Kalvertorn

On Rick Steves Amsterdam City Walk, I breezed through the Amsterdam Museum's walkway filled with art (free and open to the public during museum hours) out to the pedestrian walkway on the other side leading to the Begijnhof (not as nice as the one in Brugges). Walking through the Begijnhof brought me to Spui Square, where a small art fair of paintings, prints and some jewelry were for sale. A little further on; and, I was in the Kalvertoren shopping mall, which has a glass enclosed "tower" up to a cafe with beautiful views overlooking the city.

Herring

Coming out of the Kalvertoren mall, the guidebook recommended Frens Haringhandel herring shop. Google maps listed that it was closed today. Thankfully, Google maps was wrong. Finally ate herring in Amsterdam; and, it was delicious! Served with onions and sweet & sour pickles. After that and a large helping of apple pie this evening, I've covered all the Dutch food on my list to try this trip.

Dutch apple pie

If you go....
- Peace Palace is very difficult to get tour reservations. Try both of these sites to try to make reservations (they have differing information):
-- https://www.vredespaleis.nl/visit/guided-tours/?lang=en
-- https://denhaag.com/en/event/45474/peace-palace-guided-tours

More photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/NJiEuNUp4uDjKjmT6

2019-04 - Vermeer, Rembrandt, Escher, and Golden Hague Day (the Netherlands)

Girl with the Pearl Earring by Vermeer

 Our AirBnB is so beautiful and wonderfully located near the Mauritshuis and MC Escher museum, both of which I visited today...after a fresh chocolate croissant from a nearby bakkerij (bakery). Arriving just at opening (10 am), I raced directly to Johannes Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and had a few uninterrupted moments to view it before the school groups and tour groups arrived. The girl's face fairly glows. The colors of her turban and dress are softer than I had seen in print. On the opposite wall is another Vermeer, almost completely overlooked. It is a view of Delft. All of the outdoor Dutch paintings that I've enjoyed show big fluffy clouds hanging in a brilliantly blue sky. After spending some days in Amsterdam and The Hague, I can tell you that the paintings don't lie. The sky has so many moods, even in the space of 30 minutes. However, while we've been visiting, it is often that brilliant blue with puffy white clouds sailing high.

The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp by Rembrandt

Due to the 350th year anniversary of the death of Rembrandt van Rijn, Mauritshuis has on show all of their Rembrandts. Most of these are portrait paintings. There is a very informative guide about the pieces. In addition, Mauritshuis has a free app which I downloaded on my phone (using the museum's free WiFi). Most pieces have a number listed on the accompanying placard. If there is audio commentary, there is a headset icon on the placard as well. It was interesting to listen to the anecdotes about the artists and the paintings.

The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius

Some of the other famous Dutch artists on display at the Mauritshuis include Paulus Potter (The Bull), Jan Steen (As the Old Sing, So Pipe the Young), Carel Fabritius (The Goldfinch), Judith Leyster (Man Offering Money to a Young Woman), and Peter Paul Rubens. The current special exhibit on the other side of the building is of the original builder and owner of Mauritshuis.

Inside the MC Escher Museum

Next, my friends met me at the MC Escher museum. Though small on the outside, it is a very well set-up inside, with many of Escher's most recognizable prints. The building itself is very interesting because it used to be a residence for Queen Emma starting in 1901. There are still magnificent chandeliers in the shapes of birds, musical instruments, etc.

Bonifacio, Corsica (1928)

The first floor is all about Escher's early work, which was much more realistic. Many of these are from his travels through Italy. There are even some of his linoleum blocks and printing tools on display. Even more incredible (if you have ever done any printmaking) is that Escher did not use a press. Instead, he laid paper on top of each inked block and manually rubbed the paper with an egg spoon to print!

House of Stairs (1951)

What we know Escher so well for today is his take on tessellations (he visited the Alhambra; and, there are sketches in his notebooks of the mosaic tiles there); and, his beautiful geometric architectures that are physically impossible. The other pieces here that I found very impressive where his Metamorphoses I, II and III, which are long tableaus that go from detailed to tessellation and back again. Truly a delight to view as a whole as well as examine all the details.

Portion on Metamorphoses III

Part of Metamorphoses II (1939-1940)

By this time, we were hungry and made our way to Foodies Lab for lunch, where I enjoyed a delicious burger with wild mushroom sauce. Then, we headed over to the Willig Cheese Shop to finally make our cheese purchases. We've probably already eaten 100 grams in free cheese samples by now!

William of Orange

The sun had come out as we walked back through the Binnehof. Nearby was a little fair set up in the square for "History of the Hague Day". It consisted of various small booths, mostly by local museums. There were lots of activities for kids, including stilts to walk on, mini canvases to paint and free potterjes (mini pancakes). We joined the other participants in hiking up temporary stairs set-up to climb up eye-to-eye with a statue of William of Orange.


If you go....
- Mauritshuis is small. However, if you purchase your ticket online, you can skip the line waiting to purchase their tickets at the museum.
- MC Escher Museum has lockers in the basement for your things (1 Euro that is returned when you return your key) and coat hangers where everyone hangs their coats on a trust system that the coats will still be there when they return. What a great life in the Hague!

More photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/F9Ebu4yCjUANCjvA9

2019-04 - Brugges to The Hague (the Netherlands)

Belgian waffle with fresh fruit

It was a travel today for us. However, first, we fortified ourselves with more Belgian waffles and pots of tea at Verdi. This time, I ordered the "fresh fruit" Belgian waffle, which had strawberries, raspberries, grapes and even half a passion fruit. My first time eating a passion fruit raw.

Inside the Begijnhof Garden

Then, we walked through Brugges one final time, walking to the gardens of the Begijnhof. As we got closer, we started encountering bus tours of tourists walking toward the city center. The Begijnhof was a complex for women who took vows but were not associated with a particular religious order. It included widows and spinsters. There are still sisters living there today. However, their central garden is open from 6:30 am - 6:30 pm, for the quiet tourists to enjoy. It was a calm and tranquil experience.

On our walk back to retrieve our car from parking, we accidentally activated a wooden sculpture by Ugo Dehaes (who is actually a dancer) along the walking trail. It looks like a body lying horizontally. However, at minimum 15 minute intervals (when someone passes in front of a motion sensor attached to a nearby tree), the statue is activated. It ripples up and down, almost swimming in space, as it slowly makes it's way to the top of the display case. My video didn't turn out. However, you can watch someone else's video of it here.

Wind Tower along the highway from Brugges to Den Hague

Our drive to Den Hague was broken only by a stop for lunch at a shopping mall because our credit and debit cards did not work for any of the parking meters for every other parking spot in and around Delft. A very nice local showed us where the 3 hour free parking was for the shopping mall. We ate inside at a little restaurant that was mostly serving retired locals at two in the afternoon on a Friday. Our most non-touristy meal yet!

Den Hague is full of restaurants and places to shop but feels less touristy than either Amsterdam or Brugges. It also does not all the historic sites and buildings (or at least not as popularized or open to the public) as in the other cities. We've already walked through the Binnenhof, seen the outside of St Jacob's Grotto (a de-consecrated church) and walked by the Noordeinde Palace and statue of William the Silent in front of it. There is another Willig Cheese shop here, giving me one final chance to bring home some Dutch cheese as a souvenir from this trip!

More photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/N19MsskY85La8LRh6

2019-04 - Full day in Brugges (Belgium)....almost

Belgian waffles with strawberries and cream and a proper pot of tea

We arrived in Brugges (Belgium) last night via car. Parking is slim inside the city walls. Even our hotel only had a few spots. However, there was a parking garage only ten minutes walk away. One of the benefits of Brugges is that it is so small and mostly contained within old city walls (at least the touristy parts).

View from the belltower

We started off this morning with Belgian waffles with strawberries and cream. Thus fortified, we climbed the 366 steps up to the top of the bell tower. While the wait can be long, as only 50 people are allowed in the tower at any given time, it's very nice to enjoy the view from the tower with fewer people. It also made the narrow flights of stairs easier on both the way up and back down.

The giant drum programmed to play the belltower bells

On our way back down, we stopped in the section with the giant drum that triggers the clappers that ring the bells on the quarter hour in different tunes. Currently, the bells play a section from Bach's Prelude in C Major. In addition, the bells can also be played by a person called a "carillon" at a type of baton "keyboard". We arrived just in time to watch the drum turn for about 30 seconds to play the quarter hour.

Bike path on the dike along the canal

 Stair stepping was just a warm-up for our main activity today: renting bikes and cycling back into the Netherlands to Sluis. The main path is on top of the dike. We rode along the canal on one side and verdant farmland on the other side. All of the dikes have a row of tall trees planted alongside. It must have been a massive project to build the dikes, divert the water into the canals and plant all of the trees (not to mention pave roads and bike lanes).

Windmill at Damme

We saw horses, cows, and sheep. There were even a few tractors out in the fields and windmills along the road. It was pretty amazing to cycle endless flat, paved track in such beautiful countryside with the blue skies above us. A good thing, too, as the rental bikes were super heavy with slightly flat tires to mitigate the bumps of cobblestones within Brugges.

Old Westpoort gate at Sluis

Part of the way along the bike path, there was hand crank "ferry" to cross the river from one side to the other. There was a crank on both sides of the shore as well as on the boat. The ferry was attached to the wires being cranked; and, a person could crank the ferry from one side to the other (with a bit of effort).

Sheep along the bike path. Shepherd and three dogs kept them from getting on the path itself.

We stopped in Sluis (the Netherlands) for some lunch before cycling back. Sluis even had an Aldi, which we stopped at for some snacks. Nothing like cycling in two countries in a few short hours. After returning the bikes, walking felt so slow!

Minnewaterpark

 However, I did keep walking, as who knows when I'll return to Brugges? There were chocolates to sample at the various chocolate shops and a park to see at Minnewaterpark. I continued on past a park of geese and ducks and then around another beautiful church before finding my way to a gyro window for a quick dinner.

Another beautiful church

More photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/JuD3c17qFtYnMPvV9

2019-04 - MoCo Museum and Keukenhof Tulips (the Netherlands)

Banksy of England 10 pound note

Banksy Mickey Mouse swalled by a snake

 My friends actually suggested that we visit a museum today, the Modern Contemporary Museum Amsterdam (MoCo). It should really be called "An Unauthorized Banksy Exhibit", as almost all of the pieces are by the artist Banksy; and, as noted on the Banksy website, he was not consulted on displaying his work. Banksy is well known for his street art. However, my favorite piece at the exhibit was a fake 10 pound note from the thousands that he minted, from "Banksy of England", with an image of Princess Diana. Banksy brought some to a festival; and, people were actually spending them as legal tender. There's also a great sculpture of a snake having swallowed Mickey Mouse.

Jean -Michel Basquiat

In addition to Banksy, there was one very nice Jean-Michel Basquiat painting at the museum, a room built out to look like a Roy Lichtenstein painting of Vincent Van Gogh's painting of his room, and a "balloon" sculpture by Jeff Koons. Otherwise, the museum had one minimal work each of Damien Hirst and Salvador Dali as well as a bottom floor dedicated new artist Daniel Arsham. The exit takes you outside to a few sculptures, including a rocking horse that encourages you to take a ride. Since the museum has only been open since 2016, it is safe to say that they are still building their collection.

different tulip varieties

In the afternoon, we rented a car and drove out to Keukenhof to see all the tulips. In fact there also hyacinths, daffodils, amaryllis, and tiger lilies on display. Keukenhof is only open for approximately two months every year, during which time it receives 700,000 visitors. Quite a feat for a park that charges 6 Euros for parking and 18 Euros per person as entry fee. However, the real reason that it is open for such a short time is that the tulips are only blooming during those two months.

unique tulips

We saw so many different varieties of tulips, which led me to ask 'what makes a tulip a tulip?'. Unfortunately, the lady at the information desk had no answer for me. However, the tulips in the Netherlands today are from a tulip that came from Turkey back in the late 1500s. We very much enjoyed viewing all the varieties of tulips and even climbing up on a windmill to look over a field of flowers below. Did you know that it takes 25 years to make a new variety of tulips? Or, that those beautiful multi-colored tulips in old paintings are actually diseased tulips? Definitely a fun visit.

Tulips that look like roses

More photos here: https://photos.app.goo.gl/jjdT4kjXjic9UNFG6

2019-04 - Van Gogh Museum and Zaanse Schans (Amsterdam)

Another beautiful morning in Amsterdam! Blue skies on my 30 minute walk to the Rijksmuseum, through it's arches to the Museumplein and the Van Gogh Museum. Currently, the special exhibits at the museum are the influence of Vincent Van Gogh on artist David Hockney and an exhibit of prints by Camille Pissarro. Sadly, there are no photos allowed anywhere in the museum. However, the two nicest pieces in the Hockney special exhibit were Van Gogh's "The Harvest", an idyllic farm scene; and, "Field with Irises near Arles", a bright outdoor scene with irises in the foreground and the town of Arles in the background. In the Camille Pissarro section, my two favorite prints were "Rain Effect", with slanting slashes across the plate creating the effect of a rain downpour and "Sunset", a one-of-a-kind monotype of a herder and her cows, with their long shadows stretched away from the setting sun. So simple yet so eloquent.

The permanent collection of the Van Gogh museum has three floors covering his life and paintings. Did you know that most of the paintings that Van Gogh is famous for were painted over a period of 4 years? Van Gogh didn't start drawing until he was 27 (and, his drawings on display are actually quite realistic). However, it wasn't until he moved to Paris in 1886 at the age of 34 that his paintings turned into the impressionism that he is so well known for today. Only four years later, Van Gogh took his own life, but, not before painting a plethora of works. The most famous work at the Van Gogh Museum is his "Sunflowers". In addition, there are pieces from artists that inspired Van Gogh (e.g. Millett) as well as from his contemporary fellow artists (e.g. Paul Gaugin, Edgar Degas). Be forewarned that the museum is packed with school groups and tour busses of people.

Pancakes at Upstairs Pannenkoeken

Today was the day of our special lunch that we reserved a week in advance. Upstairs Pancake House only has four tables. One of the specials of the day was a pancake with blueberries, local strawberries currently in season for two months and thick cream. It was all topped off with powdered sugar. Sheer heaven! Plus, they did tea right -- individual tea pots with lots of sugar and milk.

Model of Olam Cocao Factory

After lunch, we took the train to Zaanse Schans to check out their touristy windmill area. Upon arrival at the station, we were hit with a wave of smell, which we later found out was the smell of the Olam Cacao factory. We walked past several buildings of the factory, with no visible visitor entrance (shouldn't every cocao factory have tours and chocolate tastings?). Eventually, we arrived at a corner with a tiny little shop with chocolate paraphernalia a "free entrance" sign on the windows.  Inside, two retired workers from the factory explained that all the pieces in the store were from Olam. They even had a little viewing room where we sat and watch a short video on the chocolate making process. Plus, they gave us hot chocolate samples. Olam Cacao celebrated it's 100th year anniversary in 2011.

Watching the boat come in from the side of the lift bridge

Re-energized, we continued our walk toward the tourist village. As we were walking over a lift bridge, all of a sudden lights started flashing and a dinging began. Then, as we passed the seam in the middle, the arm dropped across the sidewalk in front of us! We got past it in time before the bridge slowly started rising in the middle for an incoming boat to pass through. 

At Zaans Schanse

Zaans Schanse itself is a quaint little historic village of shops and windmills. It's also a big draw for tour busses (you have been warned). However, we did get to try cheese samples, learn about the history of clogs in the Netherlands and find out what windmills used to do (cut lumber, grind spices, make paper, mill flour, etc). Steam power made windmills obsolete for most tasks. Zaans Schanse seeks to restore and keep windmills in working order through the tourist village. You can even purchase milled oil and paper. (Toilets on site costs 1/2 Euro.)

My day ended with more delicious food. The goat stew at Betawi's was a great introduction to Indonesian cuisine!