Castle Day!!!!
Today my friend Peter was going to pick me up and show me some sites in the area which were to include a castle and the Air War Monument he had created. I love castles!
Our first stop was Lovestein Castle where we walked the grounds and took a tour inside. The castle did not have many items inside, so guided tours were not required. You simply used the key you received in the ticket office to enter. In the lower level of the castle they had a couple of racks of clothing you could wear as you toured the castle. We opted to stay in our 2015 clothes.
British Airmen used the castle during World War II and Peter had a photo of them exiting the grounds. He merged it together with one of me standing in the same area.
After the castle we drove to Gorinchem to have lunch in a building that was used by the Germans during the war. Gorinchem was another medieval village and there were old buildings, cobble streets, and a harbor. It was beautiful. Quite peaceful.
Peter showed me the Air War Memorial he had erected to honor Allied airmen killed during the war in the Netherlands. It was incredible. Tall, strong, full of energy for the American and British airmen who were killed in the war.
On our way to the Memorial we drove past a Creepy Cool Antique store! It screamed out, ‘VISIT ME!’ Ok, maybe the store didn’t scream that out but the gargoyles out front did. Either way – the place had some fantastic energy!
So of course after we visited the Memorial, we stopped. Peter had known if I did not find the mysterious silver ring prior to Saturday, that a stop at an antique store was going to be greatly appreciated. I had the ring, now we had to explore to see why the store was calling me.
Peter had shopped there before for items for his home. This place had everything you could possibly want and a lot more the owners had never had time to inventory and put out for sale. I wandered around the store to see what called to me. I found some beautiful china tea cups I would have loved to own, but they would have been destroyed in my suitcase on the way home.
There were old medieval looking doors and chandeliers for candles. Old pots that looked like they belong to a witch that I also would have loved to bring home. A mirror that invited me to climb into it, but I did not. There was not enough time to go exploring another universe or wherever it was going to take me.
I found old books, photographs of unnamed individuals, postcards, clothing, furniture, and items for the home like door knobs, fixtures, lights,art, Jesus, doors, pipe, iron decorations for outside the home, and so much more. I think on my next trip to Europe I will spend some time wandering antique stores just to see what’s there. It was really cool.
The Creepy Cool Antique store was our last stop of the day before Peter returned me to my B&B. After an excellent sunny day, I enjoyed a great dinner and beer at the bistro in the village before retiring early. Tomorrow I would meet the Friends of the Timberwolves and hopefully, if the weather cooperated, take a ride in a WWII Jeep!
© 2015 Jennifer Holik
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