Duurstede Castle is in the town of Wijk bij Duurstede in the Netherlands. The castle dates from the 13th century.
Duurstede Castle
Netherlands 2023
Rhectern Castle
Rhectern Castle lies on the Overijsselse Vecht River near Dalfsen, Nederleands. It is privately owned, dating from the 12th century. You can not visit the interior and are kept well back. It’s a lovely bike ride from the village.
Eten en drinken in Nederland: Dutch cooking
Dutch cuisine is more home cooking than, say, the haute cuisine of the French. Nonetheless it is highly enjoyable, and that’s the point, isn’t it? Here’s a brief overview.
Ingredients
The Dutch eat a ton of dairy products. Gouda and Edam are its most well known cheeses, named after the towns from whence they originated. However the list of cheeses is long, most falling within the same family as these famous names. Most are dipped in a wax or plastic coating. There are various ages at which they are released for sale, the terms being “jong,” (young) “belegen” (aged up to 48 weeks and oude (old) (48 months or more, a hard cheese). More on cheeses here https://www.dutchamsterdam.nl/295-amsterdam-delicacy-herring#notraw, and here https://dutchreview.com/culture/dutch-cheese-varieties/ and here https://www.quest.nl/mens/voeding/a25455309/oude-kaas/
Cheeses are generally consumed on their own and used to make cheese sauces. While the French pair it with wine, the Dutch are much less likely to do so, being more into beer drinking than wine. They often serve it with mustard, which seems to make it go better with beer than one might assume. It is served cubed with a ‘borrel,’ a late afternoon bar snack.
Fish forms a significant part of the diet, mostly served deep fried other than salmon and tuna, which are served as filets with a sauce in the case of the former and canned with salads and sandwiches. There are fish trucks in almost every main plaza with deep fried offerings, especially ‘lekkerbek‘ (cod) in filets or in bits called kibling. Some also offer fries and drinks. Haring (herring) is always available from these trucks. It is served filleted after having been cured. You can have it with chopped onions and pickles.
With this background, what will you find in restaurants?
Restaurant selections
Broodjes
Sandwiches. The restaurants are very creative with these offerings. There is a salmon brood on just about every menu and you feel you are in the lap of luxury with hearty brown or white bread together with sauces and veggies.
Fries Nary a meal goes by without them. Often they are served in attractive baskets either to the individual or the table. They are consistently the equal of the best fries anywhere, crispy and hot. They serve them with mayonnaise, mustard, or sate sauce (peanut sauce), and a few others. There are fries shops in many towns. Just fries and sauces sold there.
Kip sate is one of my favorite main courses. The Dutch controlled Indonesia through the Dutch East India Company. As a result Indonesian items are on Dutch menus. Kip is Dutch for chicken. A sate is a peanut sauce. Chunks of chicken are skewered then grilled before being served with a peanut sauce. The sauce is fairly sweet and sometimes a bit spicy. It is served with fries and vegetables. A rice tafel (rice table) is a large selection of Indonesian specialties served on a lazy Susan. Look for an Indonesian restaurant rather than an Indo-Chinese restaurant as the former provide a more genuine experience.
Pork is a favorite, grilled and then served with a sauce, some veggies and fries. Chicken as well, but more as a sate served with fries and some veg. Beef is less common and quite expensive in restaurants. Steaks of various cuts are offered in restaurants, although the Dutch eat more pork than beef. They like it with pepper sauce or perhaps a Hollandaise.
White asparagus is wildly popular. It is in season in late spring to early summer. While still in the ground it is covered to keep it from turning the normal green. I have had it with a cheese sauce, but is also severed with slices of ham with a hard boiled egg. Belgian endive, called ‘witlof,’ is also very popular, topped with a cream sauce. We had it first at a friend’s house. It is steamed, cut in half and allowed to drain before wrapping it in a slice of ham, topped with a cream sauce and bread crumbs, then put in the oven for a bit.
Mussels are usually served fried. At home they are more likely to steam them. These days most people do not deep fry at home. A friend does some really fine ones with onions, garlic, carot, celery and creme fraiche.
‘Poffertjes‘ are small, cylindrical snacks made with pancake batter poured into a mold and served with powdered sugar. Pannenkoeken are pancakes but as lunch or dinner offerings with various savory toppings and served as a dessert as well . They are not a breakfast item! They also have waffles, served as sweet snacks, small and thin with powdered sugar. At a fund raiser for a windmill’s petting farm I told the volunteer that I had them for breakfast with sausage or bacon and she nearly fell over with a mixure of surprise and I tkink I detected a bit of disgust at the mere thought of it. Stroop (syrup) waffles are cookies made with sugar or corn syrup. Waffles in the Belgian style are unknown.
Uitsmijters are fried egg dishes with two or three eggs, ham and cheese on toast, sometimes served with potatoes on the side. They are served for breakfast and lunch. The Dutch love soup. Mustard soup is a specialty of the town of Doesburg, home of a mustard factory. It is a cream based soup and is quite tasty. Burgers have become popular, an American import that is in vogue is much of Europe.
Borrel are pre dinner drinks often served with snacks around 4-5 pm with dinner coming at 6 – 8 pm. Croquettes are common borrels, with a crunchy exterior covering a creamy filling. Frikandel are a kind of sausage. Bitterballen are deep fried meatballs. Kaassoufflé is a deep fried cheese delight served with a sate sauce. Loempias are fried rolls, like Chinese egg rolls, coming from the Indonesian tradition. Blocks of cheese are served with mustard, as mentioned above. I have never seen red peppers stuffed with sweetened cheese in a restaurant but they are common in grocery stores. At friends’ houses we’ve had rolls of salmon with something like cream cheese, and jamon serrano called rauwe ham also stuffed with the same or similar kinds of cheese. Hard sausages are sliced and offered up. There are lots of others, but these are the ones I have run across the most.
Special thanks to Marcella and Yoost for corrections and suggestions.
Next: beer, the national beverage.
Sunshine on the lakes
Just north of Zwolle there are several small lakes. We spent several days there before painting the hull in Hasselt just up the river and again after a cruise up the Ijsselvecht River. Moored on the lake just a few meters from the river we were treated to a stream of water craft of all types, from canoes to river cruise ships. Families came by water and land to swim, picnic and sun bathe.
Other boaters occupied similar moorings, picnicking, swimming and playing traditional Dutch music, polkas that sound a lot like German polkas.
Rechteren Castle in Dalsen
The privately owned and occupied Rechteren Castle was built circa 1190 as a fortification. In 1315, it became the property of the van Voorst family. The counts of Rechteren inherited the castle, and it is still in the family.
In 1591 they removed the moat and outer wall to keep it out of the hands of the Spanish. In the 18th century, two wings were added to the main building. No visits are allowed. Photos reveal family portraits and scenes from Greek mythologuy, a rococo salon. There is an arms collection.
There are a number of farms in the vicinity of Rechteren Castle shutters in the colors red and yellow. These are
still tenant farms. A plaque on the property says there is an underground passage leading to the church in Dalsen, although that would require several kilometers of tunnels.
Rhenen
Rhenen, like Wijk bij Duurstede, is located on a branch of the Rhine called the Nederrhine (Lower Rhine). The town’s mooring is on the river just about a leisurely ten minute walk from the center. From the river you can not miss the large church tower.
Cunerakerk is a Late Gothic, stone-roofed hall church with a transept and single choir. The first church on this site, circa 11th century, was dedicated to Peter. The current church is dedicated to Cunera who, according to legend, survived a massacre of virgins by the Huns, then brought by King Radboud to his seat in Rhenen. She was beloved by the locals and then murdered by the jealous Queen. The church served as a center of pilgrimages for centuries, with Cunera’s relics as a major draw.
With the proceeds from the pilgrimages they built the current structure with its large tower from 1492 to 1531. Fires in 1897 and 1934 and then the bombardment 1945 severely damaged the church and tower, since restored.
Between 1630 and 1631 the Koningshuis palace was constructed at Rhenen for Frederick V. It was demolished in 1812. Part of the center of town was damaged by the Nazis in the 1940 invasion.
Wijk Bij Duursten
In a country loaded with charming towns, Wijk Bij Duursten’s fairyland castleputs it in the top ten. It also has an old windmill. ‘Wijk bij Duurstede’ means ‘Neighbourhood by Duurstede’. The castle is named Duurstede, where the bishop of Utrecht once lived. Dating from circa 1300, the town sits on the Nederrine, a branch of the Rhine.
The interior has been set up for dining. There are 4 dining rooms, reached by the original winding staircase or the modern fire escape, without which you’d be trapped by the narrow and steep stairs. A great setting for a wedding!
The weather continues to be chilly, but with a fair amount of sun. We hear cuckoos most days. The namesake clocks mimic the sound exactly. Their call adds charm to an already beguiling scene, if you ignore their cheating ways. They deposit their eggs in the nests of other birds, who become unwitting foster parents. Nature has many strange ways, doesn’t it.
Sleepboot (tug boat) Festival 2023
On our last night on the Linge we were helped by a British man living aboard a well-worn boat, traveling with a friend who was towning him as needed. He told us about an event coming up in Vianen, a few hours up the canal and in the direction we were heading. As it turned out it was quite the festival. There were some 150 of these boats, called ‘sleepboot’ in Dutch, who came to Vianen to show off their boats. Almost all the boats have been beautifully restored. They date from the early 1900’s. The ones that old were originally equipped with steam engines. All have been converted to diesel. One we visited had a min-1940’s GM diesel. The owner said there were a lot of GM engines available at that time. (Note: ‘boot’ in Dutch is pronounced as ‘boat’ in English)
These boats are equipped with large engines designed for towing much larger vessels. The earliest ones towed deep water cargo sailing ships. At the beginning they were not equipped with engines so had to be manuevered to dock. These tug boats made that chore much easier in comparison to rowing.
Here’s a short video I compiled so you can see the boats in motion, and hear their old engines running. One of them idles at a mere 19 RPM!
The weather was near perfect. The locals and the visitors joined parties and danced to some mighty loud music. Alcohol flowed. I did not smell any marijuana, which is legal if you are a Dutch resident. So many people were coming to the country in large measure for the pot that the legislature was motivated to restrict its availability.
The Low Lands and the bossche bollen
It’s called by many names. In Spanish it’s Paises Bajos, the Low Countries. It is most commonly referred to by a name that is part of the name of just two of its provinces. In English we refer to their language using an unrelated term.
Welcome to Holland (a word that originates with the provinces of North Holland and South Holland). In the country they spell it “Nederlands,” with a ‘d,’ a word unrelated to the country’s name. In English it’s “the Netherlands,” with a ‘t,’
We are here again.
The Dutch don’t complain about calling their country Holland nor their language Dutch instead of ‘Nederlands’ or ‘Hollandish.’ It’s more about the weather than any other topic. It’s May and they have good cause yet again. It’s been cold. In late April it was just below freezing on several mornings. It’s been rainy, and when not raining, it’s been very cloudy, with just a few nice days sprinkled in.
We made our way northwesterly on the Maas from this year’s winter harbor in t’Leuken. On our first night we moored just outside Lock Lith, arranged by Chris, whom we met last year in France. He arranged our overnight with the lock keeper, as overnights are not normally allowed. Chris was working just a ten minute walk downstream. We went there, staying with him as he piloted the ferry back and forth across the Maas. This privately run ferry is on a hydraulic cable powered by a small diesel engine. The operator has to raise and lower the ramp in addition to starting and stopping the cable. For Chris it’s a part time job as he’s retired, but likes doing. He takes the summers off to spend it on the boat with his wife, although this year they will be camping.
The next day we landed in s’ Hertogenbosch at Lock 0. We’re very close to the center of town. The center is lively, with lots of restaurants and bars, as well as fish trucks and cheese stands in the central square. We had a lekkerbek, a breaded and deep fried cod, and some great fries. At a restaurant we ordered the mighty bossche bollen, a cream filled chocolate covered pastry that is knockdown heavenly. One is enough for two unless you have just it for dinner, which I was tempted to do. These are made by just one company, delivered to eateries around town. I have never seen one elsewhere and I’ve been all over this country. You can find recipes on the internet.
s’ Hertogenbosch is also known for being the birthplace and lifetime residence of Hieronymus Bosch (circa 1450 – August 9, 1516), whose family produced the kinds of paintings for which he is famous. His often bizarre religious themed paintings are well known, held in collections around the world. For him heaven is a place of free love, where nudity and sex is everywhere to be seen and enjoyed. He is also known for his disturbing representations of life in hell,
The museum is in a converted church, a common arrangement in the country as church attendance often does not justify the expense of building maintenance. There are no original paintings, just excellent reproductions. Each is described in a lovely booklet with well written and translated commentary, Dutch and English, which includes the painting’s current location. There are also some 30 of his drawings, showing his portrait, figure and fantasy drawing skills absent any distracting context.
In the Conjurer, below, we have a secular scene. A conman distracts with the cups while a co-conspirator picks the pocket of a unsuspecting woman. As in the first painting, this one clearly demonstrates his figure drawing and painting skills. His paintings show us his intellect and imagination, albeit at times bizarre, all complex, with multiple figures robed and otherwise.
The town also is home to an impressive church, now a Catholic cathedral, having passed back and forth with the Protestants in centuries past. This Gothic structure was started circa 1240, and finished about a century later. The third restoration began in 1998, in 2010 completed at a cost of more than 48 million euros. I can not imagine the Roman Catholic Church affording this amount so I did a bit of research on the matter. Indeed there was some funding from the government of the Netherlands.
Walking about town is a pleasure, with its large central plaza, narrow side streets, bike lanes and many small shops as well as the usual chains. I can never figure out how these small shops, especially clothes shops, manage to stay in business. They do come and go to some extent, I believe, but here they still are, displaying more upscale choices, and in something new there is now the occasional vintage clothing shop.
There’s a marijuana shop near our mooring. It’s called the Grass Company. I figure its pot as there is no need to help the Dutch grow lawns. We have read that purchasers must be Dutch residents. Amsterdam in particular is getting so many visitors just coming for the pot, staying on to party to excess, disturbing the peace and presumably crowding the jails. We saw none of that in this small town. People go to the bars and drink at home, and if they toke a joint it does not lead to raucous street parties. What they do in private it’s hard to tell, given the absence of noise coming from their houses. I often wonder if everyone in a town has died as I walk around at night in the residential areas.