Needle of Scheveningen

Needle of Scheveningen and lighthouse

Needle of Scheveningen

This weekend we have some snow in The Hague and Scheveningen and here is a photo of the Needle of Scheveningen. The Needle commemorates William V boarding a fisherman in 1795 when the French almost occupied The Netherlands entirely and Amsterdam was taken over by revolutionaries who proclaimed the Batavian Republic. He fled to the UK. His son landed at the same place in 1813 after the French were defeated. In 1815 he became King William I of The Kingdom of The Netherlands. The red tower on the right is the Scheveningen lighthouse. Both have white snowy stripes.

Hopper esque

Hopper esque

Last weekend I was in Paris. Where do you find an empty street like this? In Paris.

I took this photo from the Boulevard Raspail. The “street” is more like a mew. Its name is Passage D’Enfer. In the back it takes a turn to the left to another street.

A friend who was standing next to me said this scene could easily be a Hopper. Hence the “Hopper esque” of the title.

Note there is an iron gate locking the street from the Boulevard.

I simply stuck my lens between the bars of the gate 😉

Nostalgia – RMS Queen Mary 2

Meeting Cruise Ship Queen Mary 2 in Rotterdam, 2004 IMG_2606

We met her a bit upriver

Meeting Cruise Ship Queen Mary 2 in Rotterdam, 2004IMG_2615akl

Passed her and saw her ginourmous wake without having real speed for the first time. Notice the slightly plump backside

Meeting Cruise Ship Queen Mary 2 in Rotterdam, 2004 IMG_2619aakl

Turned around and passed her again

QM2 IMG_2628akl

Sailed in Front of her

Meeting Cruise Ship Queen Mary 2 in Rotterdam, 2004 IMG_2629akl

Sailed in Front and let her come closer

Meeting Cruise Ship Queen Mary 2 in Rotterdam, 2004 IMG_2627aakl

Watched al the spectators lined up in Front of the Radio Port Rotterdam building in Hook of Holland. The first 3 rows would get wet feet from the wake when she passed.

Queen Mary 2

Watched her passing one of the two “Mushrooms” at the mouth of the Nieuwe Waterweg

Meeting Cruise Ship Queen Mary 2 in Rotterdam, 2004 IMG_2654a_1KL

Saw the Pilot Tender Enterprise approach alongside to pick up the Pilot

Meeting Cruise Ship Queen Mary 2 in Rotterdam, 2004 IMG_2659aakl

Made a close up just after the Pilot boarded the Pilot Tender

Meeting Cruise Ship Queen Mary 2 in Rotterdam, 2004 IMG_2673akl

Escorted her a bit further before we turned around and headed for Scheveningen

Meeting Cruise Ship Queen Mary 2 in Rotterdam, 2004 IMG_2674aaaKL

And said “Goodbye” when she literally sailed into the sunset.

Nostalgia – Meeting Cruise Ship Queen Mary 2 in Rotterdam, 2004

In 2004 we still had our hotel Haagsche Suites and our boat Haagsch Schuim and even sometimes some money to to fill the tank of the gasoline guzzling 500 HP of the boat and some time to have adventures.

With hindsight one of the best trips was that of July 21 2004. We departed from Scheveningen in the afternoon and sailed to the Nieuwe Waterweg, which is the name of the water connection between Rotterdam and the North Sea. It took us only 3 quarters of an hour. We would encounter the Cunard cruise liner Queen Mary 2, which was inauguratede in Spring 2004 as the largest cruise liner of that year. It was its first visit to Rotterdam for just one day and thousands and thousands spectators were looking on, both in the city where she was berthed in front of the old head office of the Holland America Line and a new cruise terminal, and alongside the Nieuwe Waterweg. Estimates were around 200,000 visitors.

We met it a bit upriver and consorted it to the North Sea together with various other boats, part private and part in function like Pilot tenders, Dutch Police Patrol Boats and Rotterdam Port Authority Patrol vessels.

When QM2 entered service in 2004 on the Southampton to New York route, British Royal Mail granted it the RMS (Royal Mail Ship) designation (prefix) as a gesture to Cunard’s history.

Picasso Tower Madrid

Picasso Tower Front I56A0403A klein
Picasso Tower Madrid I56A0378

Picasso Tower Madrid

Was designed by Minoru Yamasaki who also designed the NYC Twin Towers. There are certainly similarities.

Happy KLM Pilots

Happy Old Pilots

40 years ago I had just bought my first analog reflex camera, a Fuji. I had only a 50 mm lens I had to poke in the face of the guys. In addition I had time to develop and print my own black and white photographs.

Both happy guys were retired KLM pilots. They were happy because they had survived the age they were supposed not to survive because everybody believed in those days that intercontinental flight pilots would not become old as they suffered double because of working in shifts and working in time differences.