I’ve just recently drawn a long list of cities, towns and little villages to visit and experience in the Netherlands. I’m quite excited about it while the Dutchman looks in horror what his future weekends will be like, lol. He has been a good boy lately though. He went with me to Zutphen last weekend, and this weekend to Elburg.
The Zutphen Sint Walburgiskerk towering above the old buildings and the city wall gates.
The Zuthen City Hall, beautiful grand facade and I love the colour
Zutphen is a pretty town in Gelderland, in the East part of the Netherlands towards the German border. The characteristic buildings in the town center now turned into charming and gorgeous shops remind me of Haarlem. Dutch father, who has been to every nook and cranny of this country, has only praises for Zutphen. He said firstly, it’s a great place to shop. Secondly, it’s a pretty town with monumental buildings, and lastly, a nice place to visit during the weekends and enjoy the idyllic surroundings. He was right of course except that there was light rainfall when we were there and I didn’t have a hat on or an umbrella!
My head was wet and my hair was a total mess so there are no pictures of me in this entry since I avoided my own camera, haha. I know its quite shallow, perhaps too vain to even relate, but that’s what women can be like at futile times, so excuse accepted.
The Sint Walburgiskerk circa 1050 in Roman Gothic style. I read that in this church is a library that has a vast a collection of vintage books.
On the right is the Schelpenkoepel, a vaulted gateway with a medley of shells engraved on its walls and domed ceiling.
Cool looking bakery-delicatessen shop and the posh Italian restaurant of the Wijnhuistoren.
Traditional Dutch gabled houses with typical large windows and shutters – the gable (see the protruding thing on top) is a pulley system used to bring in furnitures into the building because the doors and staircases are too narrow. On the right foto is a Hofje. Hofjes are courtyards or almshouses popularized in the Middle Ages. They house religious elderly women who are unmarried and widowed. It is a form of social security for women from the lower income bracket.
Further down the river you can see De Berkelruine/Berkelpoort built around 1320, this is connected to the city walls in the east part of the town.
Autumn have always been my favorite season.
After doing our rounds inspecting old edifices, walking through narrow brick roads and cobbled stone streets, and checking out the Berkel ruins, we went to the Houtmarkt, the big square where the open air market every Saturday is held. The vendors were already cleaning up as we strolled in. I could smell a plethora of aromas settling the air, the perfume of unsold flowers being put back in stacks at the back of a van and the lingering stink of fish from the corner seafood stall selling kibbeling and haring – yummy though!
Dusk was dawning and before us is the striking Wijnhuistoren (Wine Huis Tower) towering like a beautiful and confident woman.
More fotos of Zutphen here: Zutphen (Gelderland), The Netherlands
We decided to have some late afternoon drinks in Hanze-stadsbrouwerij which looks like a popular place as it was packed like a fullhouse. The waitress asked ask us if we will stay longer as the table she had in mind for us is reserved 6PM onwards. She shoved us into a corner together with 2 other older couples. I did not mind really as I have a good view of the restaurant from the back.
Because it’s a brouwerij (brewery) I ordered of course a beer, the “Triple†house specialty called Drogenap, named after a tower, the Drogenaptoren which was once a stadspoort (city gate), while Dutchman ordered, guess what? Tea. He jokes that he is not an alcoholic like me, lol.
Drogenap Triple beer and Bitterballen with mustard while Dutchman cannot stop playing games with his Blackberry. This is the interior of the Hanze-Stadsbrouwerij Cafe Restaurant in the Houtmarkt square. The restaurant offers brewery tours and beer tasting, and the huge old kettle itself is in the main restaurant.
We nibbled on bitterballen which were extremely hot our tongues were on flames! They were not the best though, the bitterballen in Heusden were much heerlijk, but the Drogenap Triple beer was good enough to compensate. Dutchman argues that the bitterballen were from a good local brand but I don’t quite get it how the heck he knew when he has not even peeked into the kitchen.
It was already dark soon we got out of the brewery cafe. We could see the yellowish light shimmering against the dark night on the moist cobbled stones of the Houtmarkt square. The luminous lighting effect makes perfect fotos says the Dutchman so I grabbed the opportunity and shot a couple of fotos with the Wijnhuistoren and the cafes along the square.
Finding a good restaurant in a town you are not familiar with is quite a daunting challenge, I suppose, however I had my eyes locked on the Winjhuistoren. Earlier while passing by, I saw that it housed an elegant Italian club restaurant (called Subrosa), and a bar and a trattoria too (called Corretto). So we checked it out.
We poured over the menu for sometime trying to find something that will make us salivate with gusto. The lobby of the restaurant was quite impressive; the extravagant table displays of wines and flowers were a sight. While browsing through the menu, on the corner of my eye I noticed a small door just right outside the tower. There was light flickering from the background and a menu stood beside it as well.
Loona, the tapas lounge restaurant in the cellar of the Wijnhuistoren. The place is subdued and the ambiance perfect, and romantic. I love it here.
You cannot see it easily in the foto but on the right wall hangs a massive foto of flamenco dancers in red frilly dresses.
Well, well, what a nice surprise, it is a Tapas restaurant called Loona in the cellar of the Wijnhuistoren. Peeking inside, we saw candles on the stairs leading down to what looks like a cozy lounge restaurant with a variety of seatings. The place exudes warm gezelligheid, we were so comfy we finally decided we have found the place to eat for the night.
The Tapas dinner was one of our most enjoyed dinners. The vaulted basement restaurant was simply beautiful. I loved the silhouette effect and the dim lighting. A huge artwork of Flamenco dancers in red flowing ruffled dresses with white laced shawls was the focal point. We took the lounge area and we had a massive wooden low table in front and a sofa where we could recline with huge pillows in cowhide covers.
Dutchman loved the place, the food and the whole ambience. He liked in particular that the food were served in small portions. There is some psychology in this: ordering small portions means lesser portions to eat, even if we have ordered a number of portions.
Two more fotos of the Wijnhuistoren and the Sint Walburgiskerk (right foto) late into the night.
The tapas dinner was a great way to end our visit in this beautiful place. If I come back visiting here I would definitely hit this tapas place again.
Visit Period: September 2008