Today was a beautiful day, with a blue sky, a breeze, and a sunny 29°C. The weather invited to do pretty much anything outdoors, including a visit to an annual art fair and a bike ride through some of Zuid-Holland's finest bits. Lucky me I got to do both!
The art fair I visited takes place each second Saturday of September in a small city called Capelle aan den IJssel. At this fair, some sixty artists from all over the Netherlands sell their work, which varies from paintings to statuettes to jewelry to hats. It's not very big - I believe it takes fifteen minutes to see it all - but the art is worth a look (and sometimes a purchase).
It's all so very pretty! But the artwork that really moved me enough to pause me in my tracks and stare (and of which I have no photos), were a series of fairly sinister paintings of mice. Sounds weird, right? They were really good, though. In one painting the mouse sat next to a block of cheese on which it had nibbled. The block, however, wasn't cheese but a grey block of concrete, set in front of a dark, almost stormy sky. In another painting the mouse sat large as a castle looming on a grey hill top of crumbs, again in front of a dark sky. What the artist had done well, I think, was make something so innocent appear so ominous and sinister. I would've loved one for in my home, were it not that I prefer not to be reminded of doom, death, and monstrous mice each day.
From an app I recently installed I got the route for the bike ride. Quite aptly, the app is called Route. (Not sure it works abroad as well.) Using it was a first for me. I wanted to let it surprise me, so I picked a route based only on its proximity and number of miles - and I must say I was not disappointed.
The directions took me through the Kralingse Bos ('Kralingen Forest'), which is not a forest in the traditional sense but also not quite a park. On the government website it is described as a 'green recreational area' and I suppose that fits, since it contains cycling paths, horseriding paths, walking paths, windmills, a small lake, boating clubs, playgrounds, restaurants, and more. I was quite pleased with the route, since it took me past the Bos's windmills and deer camp.
After the Kralingse Bos, the route took me through a bit of Rotterdam to lead me a long way past the Rotte, which was lovely. Lots of people had come to the area to walk, cycle, fish, boat, rollerskate, walk their dogs, or jump off the bridges to swim in the water. And with the city a good few miles away, everything smelled green. I enjoyed the scents and the wind in my hair and loitered at my leisure, sometimes pausing to take photos or have a snack. (At some point I even came across a cute little fixer-upper for sale, which I would absolutely buy if I had the time and money.)
At the end of the afternoon I returned home happy and a bit sore, but inhaling all that Dutch beauty was great - and as a bonus I got a tan so thick it'll probably last me a few months.
A wonderful day it's been, and I look forward to exploring more of this little country by bike.
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