Going Walkabout

Between having to shop and cook dinner for everyone last night and being at a bit of a cross-roads workwise, I ended up walking most of yesterday away. Thought you'd like to see a bit of Den Bosch:

Here's the very edge of the polder and part of what I think is one of the old city motes. Mote in foreground; polder stretches way into the distance. It's 3:30, but it feels like 5 or 6. Behind me is the city, 4 lanes of traffic (albeit miniature traffic by US standards) -- but you'd never know it once you walk down into its fields. It's about 20 feet below street level. Who knows how many feet below *sea* level it is.

Crossed back into town and Whoop! There he is . There's at least one in every shop window if not 6-8. I would have catalogued them all for you, but to be honest, most of them are really dopey looking.Here's Verghtustraate -- it's one of the longest shopping streets in the city, making quite a sweeping arc. Looks like a ghosttown because 90% of shops are closed on Monday. And if they're not, they don't open until 1.

This particular building shook me out of my Medieval boredom -- there's so much of this everywhere I keep forgetting that it's not *everywhere*. I wish I could have snapped the photo with myself at the front door for scale. It's tiiiiiiny. I'm sure the front door is not even a foot taller than me. Feel sorry for the increasingly large Dutchmen and women who probably bang their heads on these sorts of squat places all the time.
No I don't.

And of course.It's true. They're everywhere. Gnomes. Mushrooms. Gnomes and mushrooms. These ones clearly are about to have a melt-down. Brrrrrrrmmmmm-ching. Have a little red wine with your dinner, folks.

All for now. The clay calls. Hope this Tuesday is treating you well.