A walk through Leiden
We took a walking tour through Leiden this morning and used the guide "Leiden Loop" (Leidse Loper in Dutch) for it. A tour along the highlights of the city. It can be bought at the VVV (tourist office) and is very worth it. Here are some of the pictures we took along the way.
Sion Almshouse (Sion hofje)
View of Leiden from bridge at Galgenwater
Bridge at Galgenwater
More favorite shops
One that I recently discovered, but has been in Leiden quite a while.
Tucker box.
A shop with Australian and British food. Some packed, tinned, in bottles but also lovely fresh sausages and cheddar cheese (the proper one, not that yellow yukky one).
They also try to get your wishes, so they were able to get me my Mars Planet a while ago. Just love that shop!
At the moment they're in the Hartesteeg, but soon they will move to a bigger location on the Botermarkt. Check them out if you're in the area!
Leiden based comedian talks about Leiden
My all time favorite comedian, Jochem Myer, talks in a Dutch tv show called "Korte Lontjes" ("Short fuses") about the nuisances of living in Leiden. A couple of them I can very much relate to, the annoying sea gulls, cycling through the Breestraat. However his passion for peeing in the canals is beyond me ;-)
watch the episode (Dutch only)
City Poems
One of the unusual but very cool things of Leiden architecture are the wall poems. Up to now, 101 poems are painted on the walls of buildings througout the city in their original language.
Begun in 1992, the project's 101st poem was completed in 2005. They are written in their original language, which is relatively fine if it's something in German like this:
But it becomes much more difficult to understand with this:
Luckily all poems come with a translation lower down on the wall. And all poems are described on the
Muurgedichten/wallpoems site. A shorter explanation in English is
here.
I just came across
this link to a few webcams aimed at what are usually the most crowded outdoor cafes at the Nieuwe Rijn.
Thinking about having a beer in the sun? Check here first to see if there's space!
Zijlpoort
Remember my recommendation for a fabulous
outdoor cafe?
You can't see it in that picture, but the restaurant is in a gate - as you can see in these pictures.
Herengracht
Just walking home from a friend's house and I was reminded again how beautiful my town can be. This canal, Herengracht, is one of the most gorgeous streets in the city in my opinion.
Pictures are from some time ago but I forgot I had these!
