My first museum visits after the start of the covid-19 crisis were happily a good experience. While the terraces and streets in the city centre of Leeuwarden, The Netherlands, in the afternoon were too packed to my liking – it was great weather – I went off to see two museums, and afterwards had a […]
The Princessehof of Maria Louise (1)
Finally a live “royal” event again. Museums in the Netherlands were allowed to open their doors again on 1 June. On Saturday 20 June I attended the opening of the new permanent exhibition “The Princessehof of Maria Louise” at the Princessehof National Museum of Ceramics in Leeuwarden, The Netherlands. The building was once the city […]
Gustav III’s Pavilion at Haga
Time flies. This week it is already tens years ago that I last visited Sweden, in connection with the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel on 19 June 2010. On 17 June 2010 me and some friends visited the lovely Haga Park in Solna, Stockholm, where the couple was going to live after […]
Discovering Groningen – the Allersmaborg
The first castle stop in “lockdown” on 31 May 2020 took me to the Allersmaborg between Ezinge and Aduarderzijl, The Netherlands. It is situated about 18 kilometres from the city in Groningen, where I live. For a rather inexperienced cyclist like me it was quite a distance, but the weather was lovely, so there I […]
Fredensborg Palace – Denmark’s Versailles
Queen Margrethe II of Denmark spends her corona-quarantine, including her birthday this week, at the Fredensborg Palace. She spends about three months in the spring and three months in the autumn at this residence, that has also been the setting for important events of the Danish royal family, like wedding receptions and birthday parties. Usually […]
Panker – A beautiful mansion in an idyllic village
If it hadn’t been for a royal wedding, I probably would never have visited the tiny, idyllic village of Panker in the north of Germany, not too far from the shores of the Baltic Sea. This in June 2006 was the scene of the wedding of Prince Philipp von Hessen and Laetitia Bechtolf. A wedding […]
What to see in Royal Copenhagen?
On 16 April and some previous days Queen Margrethe II of Denmark celebrates her 80th birthday. All one can hope is that the Covid-19 virus doesn’t influence any plans she or I have. Having wanted to see one of these celebrations for a long time, I booked a few days Copenhagen. I have visited the […]
The Fabergé Chamber – A new part of the Amalienborg Museum
If you’ll visit Copenhagen in the (near) future and love jewelry, you shouldn’t only visit Rosenborg Castle, but also Amalienborg Palace. In Christian VII’s Palace there is also a nice royal museum, and that one has been extended with a real Fabergé Chamber. The Chamber opened its doors on 8 February 2020 and on display […]
Soestdijk Palace – A last visit to Queen Juliana’s former residence
For the elder generations of Dutch people Palace Soestdijk is remembered best because of the Queen’s Day celebrations during the reign of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. Between 1949 and 1979 the Queen and her ever growing family stood on the steps on the palace, while Dutch people passed them in a long procession that […]
Autumn morning in the palace garden
Sunday morning it was rather cold, but sunny. When having a quick walk through the garden of Palace Noordeinde in The Hague, The Netherlands, I noticed the beautiful light as the sun was shining through the trees. I was lucky to have my camera with me. The gardens are only open during daytime.