A visit to Marken

 

Hope my new planted agapanthus will flower like these ones at Volendam one day.

The sun is peeping out, although dreadful weather has been forecasted - rain and storm, force 7 Beaufort. Maybe I should adjust my program based on the wrong weather forecast so far? Go out quickly and mow the lawn? Do a little bit of weeding as long as it is not hosing down? What do you do, on the weather forecast? I usually do not listen or watch it at all, stick out my nose out of the kitchen door, step outside and look at the sky. That is my barometer for the day, it sets my mood on what to wear, what to do.

The day started with reading a few blogs. So inspiring all of them. Snap made this gorgeous Sunburst, doodles and colours creating your very own. Very tempting to do - when it starts raining later on  in the day I will have a go at this and you will see it sooner or later on my blog.

First this though, sorting out my pictures of a day on a 'must visit' in Holland: to what once was an island in the Zuydersea, Marken. A peninsula today, connected to the main land by a dike. The name of all the water around it changed to Markermeer.

Cloudy skies on our trip on Friday. Strong wind, nice temperature. The Dutch three master 'Artemis' at the Buiten IJ was on its way to Amsterdam harbour, the Zeeburger bridge already pulled up for it to pass. We did not get blown off the dike by the wind as we stopped to have a look across at Zeeburg and Flevoland, Durgerdam in the distance. Driving on the dike is a bit hair rising, as it twists and turns, and you do not know who is around the corner. The locals who know the road startle you to death coming at you with terrific speed (it seems).

 

There is no major traffic in Marken, you have to park your car outside the village. A mix of rural scents and black paint tickled our noses as we bought our parking ticket. The fishermen houses are all in black and white paint, or green and white. The facades often decorated with lovely local shaped bird houses, the gardens full with overloaded fruit trees.

It is impossible to catch the culture and the beauty of Marken all in one go. I love its’ history, the costumes (of which we only saw one woman wearing it) and the way the houses are built.

Heavy loaded fruit trees, cheery bicyle.

Butterflies all around the front door. Every top window in the village is filled with little treasures.

The lady in the costume selling the 'poffertjes' (puff pancakes) was speaking fluent Italian!
My husband remarked: they speak all languages!

One of the windows of Sijtje Boes' house.

Now, who is looking outside? It looks like Wanda!

Gorgeous vintage embroidery inside Sijtje's little house

This is the other side of the window, Wanda looking at it earlier on. Sijtje's bonnets.

Sijtje's little fisherman's house is filled to the top with curious things and antiques
 

Sijtje Boes was a fisherman's wife. Many years ago I had pictures taken with her, but they are deep down in a box right now. There was no need for her to work really, because her husband fished, but she had quite a business talent and started a souvenir shop which flourished well. It was always fun to talk to her. If you Google her name and the pictures taken of her, you will get an idea. She is on internet plentiful.
Children who visited the little house together with us on Friday could not understand how a fisherman's family could live there with 10 children. Room for everyone!

Love the colour blue, and the wind screen in a different blue.

Such a creative idea to pimp up your fence.



The curtains at the bottom have been tied up with a ribbon. The picture reflecting the village and Kirk.

Private collection: a sampler made by me and a Marken girl, painted by Rijka Bleeker.



Detail of the scarf I bought at Ma Korving's Antiques and Curiosity Shop, The colours will remind me in the winter time of the history of the costumes and our visit wth Wanda and Kirk.
 





In the quaint antiques and souvenirs shop a KLM advert: Fly KLM to New York



We had a walk through a part of Marken, my husband staring with envy at the boat that left for Volendam at the harbour. He would so have loved to go on there, but the program of the day did not allow us the time for doing that.

The KNRM (Dutch Rescue Society) building at the harbour