My Big Bird jacket (as I named it) is a garment quite notable, so I don’t wear it every week. But, it is one of those pieces that make me feel so good, so totally me, that I will never give it away.

In the times of skinny jeans I wore it like this (link to original post). As skinnies are no longer hot, I had to find another pair of trousers to wear it with, for an equally good outfit. I think I managed that.

The day I wore it, was the day I met Ineke in Den Helder, the town where she moved to. It is at the very top left corner of the Netherlands (the mainland, not counting the islands in the north).

Below: Ineke. We had lunch in a restaurant at the beach.

Below: On the other side of the restaurant is the old coastguard tower. Not in use any longer. At the top is a small apartment which you can rent. Here is the link to ‘t Torentje (the little tower) as it is called.

Below: After lunch we explored the immediate surroundings, which wasn’t much, but it depends on what you want to see. We started at Fort Kijkduin. In 1811, Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the construction of Fort Kijkduin because of its strategic location. That strategic location has been unfortunate for the people in Den Helder. The Germans came in World War 2 and occupied Den Helder, because of…its strategic location. The town of Den Helder was bombed the heaviest of all towns in the Netherlands, both by the Germans and by the allied forces, because of…its strategic location.

We didn’t really go inside the fort, so if you want to know more about the place and their activities, you will have to click the link.

Below: House at Fort Kijkduin.

Below: This is another house at Fort Kijkduin, similar to the one above and you can book it as holiday apartment. (Search ‘Fortwachterswoning in Huisduinen’ at Booking.com).

Below: A wind-blown close-up this time. You know there will be wind when you are at the coast.

Below: This cannon might be genuine, no idea. I was looking up, not to see if planes were coming, but whether we would have some clouds to shoot better photos.

Below: Nope, the sun decided to stay. Let’s do a distant photo then. That lamppost is askew; some car must have hit it.

Below: We walked down to where the houses started. Where there are houses, there is a church. And what a beauty.

Close to the church is the Atlantikwall centre (no spelling mistake).
Den Helder was part of the Atlantic Wall, a defensive line constructed by the German occupying forces during the Second World War. This line, stretching over 5,000 kilometres, ran from Norway to Spain. The Atlantic Wall Centre in Huisduinen (Den Helder) is housed in an impressive historical building from that period. Unfortunately, the officers’ mess suffered a big fire and now they have built a concrete box inside the remains and turned it into a museum.

Below: The columns of the Atlantikwall centre were a great background for outfit photos.

Below: Ineke could be creative with her photography.

Below: I made her sit down for a photo too. She reluctantly complied.

Below: I asked myself “Do I dare to climb up this stone wall with my heels and my old body”?

Below: I decided that the picture was worth it. And let’s be honest, it is not that it is so many metres high.

Below: The lighthouse is the hero in this photo and rightly so. That horizontal and vertical line, created by the lighthouse and the wooden bench…well done Ineke. (By the way, the ‘bench’ is cut into a snake.)

Below: Close-up of the lighthouse. As you can see it is constructed with rectangular plates and they are made from cast iron. There are big cracks in the walls, but it is decided that the lighthouse will be renovated and not torn down. Good choice.

Below: As I was driving back, there was a queue and sometimes the cars were standing (almost) still. I took photos from my car window, because I love these houses near the canal. They are all so different. Of course, the photos are not very sharp.

Below: I even caught a mill. These are what we call ‘Dutch skies’.

Below: Had I been able to get out of the car and take a proper photo, it might have been better (or not). This is the agricultural side of the Netherlands. The name ‘The Netherlands’ means the flat countries. And flat it certainly is.

It was a really nice day with Ineke. I saw her husband for a couple of hours too. Good to catch up.

What happened in my life this week

We had a street party again, like every year. This year I didn’t organise it (with neighbour Wouter). Two couples who came to live in our street last year, did the organising. Yay. It was a success. We even had pornstar martini cocktails and as usual far more food than we could eat. Everybody brings something.

Below: Mandy and me. You have seen her and her dog on the blog before. Mandy is from the USA. I loved her new jumper (sweater) which she bought in Antwerp. Had I seen it, I would have bought it too.

Below: An outfit I wore this week. You also saw it a couple of week ago. Slight change of shoes and bag.

Below: Ron came home with this big bunch of flowers. They are a bit strange, with artichokes, so it took me a while to see the beauty of it. (In hindsight, even he thinks they are a bit strange haha).
I asked him why he gave me flowers and he gave the best answer: “Because I love you”. Aaahhh. 

Below: Walking through Haarlem, I came across this unusual scene. Young soldiers of the Boreel Hussar Regiment were taking their oath on the big market square. Soldiers of this regiment gather information about an area by reconnoitring and observing. The ceremony is being held in Haarlem because recruitment for this new army unit began here in 1813.

Below: Something for the American readers or anybody who lives in an area with wide streets and no parking problems. This street was too narrow for the truck as not all cars were parked with two wheels on the sidewalk/pavement, or it might have been that the container was placed too far on the road. The poor truck driver had to reverse; he was highly skilled and made it.

Ron has had a cataract operation on his right eye and cannot drive for a week. Fortunately, neighbours in our street who have two dogs themselves, will take Watson for his walk in the morning. I will do a short walk through the neighbourhood first thing in the morning and a longer walk in the afternoon. And do the shopping and the cooking, like I did at the beginning of the year when he broke his wrist. So, don’t expect too much exciting stuff in ‘What happened in my life’ next week.

Greetje