Tag Archives: architecture The Netherlands is known for its flat landscape punctuated by canals and dikes. If fact, I was taught at school that dyke was a Dutch word. While it is true that dijk (pronounced ‘dyke’) is a common word in Dutch, it comes from the same Old German word that gave English ‘ditch’. Sadly, the little […]  Bad lighting and dancing shadows lend an eerie air of animation to the figures on the walls all around us. Intricately carved pillars and beautifully restored wall-reliefs contrast with uneven stones and rough scaffolding: it truly is surreal walking after dark through structures built over 2000 years ago. My Nile river boat was rafted up […]  The only travel I can do at the moment is vicariously: with our government giving us no clue as to when borders might open again, it is impossible to plan and it is hard to even dream … I am trying to use this down-time productively: cleaning out boxes and drawers and cupboards. But, I’m […]  Travel in Europe is such a joy! Everywhere you go, there are beautifully-maintained, fresh and green outdoor public spaces, and well-preserved and integrated historical buildings. Take Rapperswil on Lake Zurich in Switzerland, for example. Part of the municipality of Rapperswil-Jona, this is a town I probably would never have heard of, had we not been […]  I love the old cobbled cities of Europe, and the historical stories they tell. I spent some of my school years living in the French-speaking parts of Eastern Canada where the historical root and ties were to France. When I was studying the history of the early European explorers and settlers in Canada, their names […] |
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