The while-we-wait-for-river-cruises photo quiz

[notamermaid]

This kind of lifting bridge is quite typical for areas Northwest of where I live. The building is typically "Northern flatlands". It could be Belgium, but you say canal nearby, so I go for the Netherlands. But I cannot tell what location this may be.

 

notamermaid

 

[AnhaltER1960]

11 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Nice shot in dusk (I presume you were not up early on that day and the blue is more evening blue) from a not so standard angle, I would say. On this auspicious day I shall not take away the fun from friends across the pond. I know where this is, but I had forgotten that there is a railway line bridge across the water there. It looks very inviting to a train enthusiast like me.

 

notamermaid

 

Yes, an evening shot (thanks for the flowers btw). The Rhinefall is easily accessible by rail. There is a recently built station "Neuhausen-Rheinfall" on the Eglisau line with commuter train access from Schaffhausen, two or three connections per hour, also one or two direct trains from Zürich HB. This station has wheelchair access to the falls via elevator and a short walk. But german railways tariff applies from Basel Bad. Bf, like Baden-Württemberg-ticket. Two trains per hour.. Alternatives are the Basel line to the station "Neuhausen Bad Bf." further up the hill with quite a steep descent to the falls (even worse the other way....), also german railways applies from Basel Bad. Bf. Two trains per hour. And finally there is the Winterthur-line, that is the one with the bridge, to the "Schloss Laufen am Rheinfall" station. From there it is a short but steep descent to the falls on the other bank. There is a passenger ferry crossing the Rhine there. The railway bridge also has a pedestrian sidewalk.

[ljandgb]

Or one of those picturesque small hamlets near Amsterdam?

[Renmar]

@notamermaid& @ljandgb you are getting close. Yes the Netherlands and yes near Amsterdam (everything in Holland is near Amsterdam 😁).

 

Theo

[notamermaid]

Thanks for the reply. So we are close, but from here I will leave the guessing to the tulip cruises experts. ☺️ 

 

notamermaid

 

[Renmar]

19 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

Thanks for the reply. So we are close, but from here I will leave the guessing to the tulip cruises experts. ☺️ 

 

notamermaid

 

Holland is not just Tulips and/or cheese although that is what most tourists want to see. 

As for the picture; think about a rivercruise from Amsterdam to Basel for instance. As soon as you leave Amsterdam they sail through a canal. Use google maps from there on if you like.

 

Theo

Edited January 21, 2021 by Renmar

[ljandgb]

Wild guess.. Geithoorn?

[Renmar]

1 hour ago, ljandgb said:

Wild guess.. Geithoorn?

Sorry, not Giethoorn. Think closer to Amsterdam and it is less than 700 meter away from the Canal (as the crow flies).

 

Theo

[gnome12]

Utrecht, on the Amsterdam - Rhine canal?

Edited January 21, 2021 by gnome12

[Renmar]

4 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

Utrecht, on the Amsterdam - Rhine canal?

Not the Amsterdam- Rhine canal itself but the small river right beside it. The name of the river starts with a V. There are a few similar bridges across this river. You can find it on Google street view.

 

Theo

[notamermaid]

I thought it was the Angstel river, but now I need to look again. All the bridges I looked at only had one lever.

 

3 hours ago, Renmar said:

Holland is not just Tulips and/or cheese although that is what most tourists want to see. 

I have been to Keukenhof and enjoyed it greatly, but so far have not been to any cheese manufacture. Actually the first thing proper that I saw of the Netherlands was the islands. Many years later I went to Groningen and enjoyed that. I went to the art museum and stayed in a hotel at a canal nearby.

 

notamermaid

 

[Renmar]

18 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

I thought it was the Angstel river, but now I need to look again. All the bridges I looked at only had one lever.

Other side (east) of canal.

I know, it is a small town although it has abbout 14000 population.

Here is a picture from a different spot, as shown on Wikipedia.

 

Theo

[gnome12]

There are lots of bridges like this, including at least one in Amsterdam itself.

[gnome12]

I think the river is the Vecht, but I can't tell what towns are really along it.

[notamermaid]

Looks like the Utrechtse Vecht to me as well, probably near Weesp. But I cannot find the bridge that matches the view onto that church.

 

notamermaid

 

[Renmar]

18 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

I think the river is the Vecht, but I can't tell what towns are really along it.

I give it to you (because you are Canadian 😉). You are correct, it is the Vecht and the town is called "Breukelen". Brooklyn NY was named after it. A few years ago the town of Breukelen was amalgamated with some other small towns and is now called "Stichtse Vecht". It houses the prestige's university of "Nijenrode". Along the Vecht river are many stately homes.

Your turn.

 

Theo

[Renmar]

4 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

Looks like the Utrechtse Vecht to me as well, probably near Weesp. But I cannot find the bridge that matches the view onto that church.

 

notamermaid

 

Type in "Breukelen" on Google maps. There is only 1 bridge across the Vecht at that point.

 

Theo

[gnome12]

OK, so we have the Dutch version of the Brooklyn Bridge. Nicely done.

 

I don't have pictures, so I declare a wild card.

[notamermaid]

Breukelen bridge - Brooklyn bridge! Very interesting. Did not know that. The Haarlem story I know of course.

 

notamermaid

 

[Renmar]

1 hour ago, notamermaid said:

Breukelen bridge - Brooklyn bridge! Very interesting. Did not know that. The Haarlem story I know of course.

 

notamermaid

 

Do you know the New York story as well. The dumbest thing the Dutch did in the late 1600's was giving up "New Amsterdam" now New York to the British in trade for the country of Suriname.

There are many places in North America that have some connection with the Netherlands. 

Can you tell that I am originally from Holland 👍.

One thing always make me wonder; why is the Netherlands called by most people "Holland" and why do they call the language "Dutch"?🤔

 

Theo

Edited January 21, 2021 by Renmar

[notamermaid]

That with the Dutch must have something to do with "deutsch", did you know the Pennsylvania Dutch actually speak a dialect of German? All a bit confusing. We in Germany also call the Netherlands "Holland" in colloquial speech. For many years we even had a "Frau Antje" telling us "Lecker, lecker, Käse aus Holland". An advertising slogan. Talk of enforcing stereotypes! Oddly, the Dutch actually help with it. But she (the one I know from back in the day) was really cute... The idea "Frau Antje" still exists: https://www.frauantje.de/

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

13 hours ago, AnhaltER1960 said:

The railway bridge also has a pedestrian sidewalk.

Thanks for all the info. I saw the sidewalk on google maps street view. I have been down to Konstanz on the train and enjoyed it, both the train ride and the town.

 

I sometimes think it is a pity that river cruisers do so many extensions into Switzerland but few up the river where ships cannot sail, just excursion boats.

 

notamermaid

 

[Renmar]

17 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

That with the Dutch must have something to do with "deutsch"

Here is one explanation that kind of makes sense. Sorry a bit long.

 

Have you ever wondered why are the Dutch called ‘Dutch’? You might be surprised.

 

The Dutch are famous for being very direct and straightforward people. Everything seems pretty simple here, until you start asking yourself specific questions. Why does this country have two names? Is it the Netherlands or Holland? And why are people here called Dutch? And why do these words have nothing in common with one another? Well, we have the answers for you!

 

The Netherlands and Holland: as if that wasn’t already confusing.

 

If you already know the difference between the Netherlands & Holland, have heard the Dutch national anthem at least once, and know a thing or two about Dutch history then you’re pretty much a half Dutchie. But for those of you who don’t know, let’s just get it out of the way before we get to the main question.

In short, the Netherlands is split up into 12 provinces. However, the two provinces of North and South Holland are the ones that contain all the good (read touristy) stuff. Think tulips, windmills, canals, Amsterdam etcetera. So because the two Holland provinces are so popular, the whole country kinda became known as Holland, even though its real name is the Netherlands. But why are the people here called Dutch? Well…

 

The British are to blame

 

England? English! America? American! The Netherlands? Netherlander? Hollander? No, Dutch! Why? Because logic.

But actually, the British are to blame. As if Brexit wasn’t enough to screw up half of Europe, the Brits have messed things up for the Netherlands quite some time ago.

Now, I need your full attention for the ignorant (yet kinda funny) reason why the Dutch are called ‘Dutch’. As we all know, the German word for Germany is ‘Deutschland’. Now, for the British everyone who spoke a Germanic language was one and the same. Which resulted in the British calling people from Germany and the Netherlands both Dutch.

Then, as time passed, the Germans became known as …well, Germans. However, like an embarrassing nickname that the fat, ignorant bully gave you back in high school, the name Dutch kinda stuck to the Netherlands to this day. 

 

Now you know.

 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

My penfriend from Manchester would tell you that Brexit can't have screwed up 'half' of Europe – it screwed  all of Europe since now the EU is made up of only European countries.  [I.e., she never considered Britain to be part of Europe...]

 

Also, when you talk about the British there's an interesting tidbit in their history.  Everybody knows that in 1066 Harold of England rushed to the north to defeat Harald of Norway, and then had to deal with a second invasion in the south led by William of Normandy [who of course won].  But what I didn't realize until I prepared a lecture on The Vikings for our Learning in Retirement community was that Harald of Norway was a Viking [ok, that was an easy one]; Harold of England, known as 'the last Anglo-Saxon King of England’ had a Viking mother; and William of Normandy was descended from the Viking Rollo of Norway.  So 1066 was really just to decide which Viking would rule England.

[notamermaid]

Oh, yes, the Vikings were all over Europe at that time (these days it is just the Viking ships 😉). La Normandie is

 actually  the name for the "realm for the North Men", i.e. the Viking, but the name was coined after 1066, yet people apparently still remembered that those living in the region were not Franks, Celtic, or Gallo-Roman. A Wikipedia article suggests though that it was mostly native women they married... Kind of makes sense, all those young Viking men sent South to defend the coast and then get lonely.

 

Right, there is a wild card up for grabs. Who would like to post a photo? 

 

notamermaid