Today is Day 69, Tuesday, June 24, 2014. I spent the early morning arranging my visit tomorrow afternoon with Eric Pouw, my friend's cousin who lives not far from here in Stein. I also called my cousin, Hans Van der Prijt and his wife, Helene in the province of North Brabant and they would love for me to visit them. We just have to decide on a day of arrival next week. I emailed Rainer and Maren in Germany to let them know that I arrived here safely yesterday. I aslo picked some cherries while Jacques picked some raspberries.
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Betty had a meeting this morning and Jacques and I went to
the bakery for her to buy some bread and a vlaai which is a pie or tart
consisting of pastry and fruit filling (like a flan) and 27-30 cm. in diameter.
They are filled with cherries, apricots, strawberries and plums. Then he took
me on a walking tour around the road which would have been the old wall of the
Old Town of Nieuwstadt. The town has a population of about 3088 and is part of
the municipality of Echt-Susteren. It is a narrow piece of land of about 5 km
bordered on one side by Belgium and on the other by Germany. It is possible to
walk from Germany to Belgium via Netherlands in under an hour. This land was
given to Netherlands after the war because of the coal mines. There is enough
room for a road, a railroad line and gas lines in the 5 km width.
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Jacques in front of an old farmhouse. The barnyard was past
the arch shaped door.
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Another example of a farmhouse---no front yards as they were
built right off the street
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Sint Johannes de Doper kerk in Nieuwstadt
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Jezus Kort---some football (soccer) fans are too
enthusiastic!
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Castle Wittem or Witham
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The large brick home was built around 1770 on the remains of
an older castle in 1444 pawned by Frederick, Lord of Wittem. The current
building is a rectangular whitewashed mansion built of brick with a hipped roof
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In WWII, the house served as a shelter for first the Dutch
military and then German soldiers. In the years after the war it was used as a
shelter for homeless people and refugees. Later the Voncken family moved into
the house.
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| The former barn building with 2 entrances |
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Servants and workers quarters are now apartments
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More apartments
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Dutch and German fans living side by side
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A newer town street
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Blue and purple rhododendron
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A Kazemat or bunker near the German border
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Such old buildings and churches. So different in Canada.
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