Just a little more Gouda. Coincidentally this morning our friends John & Bets Ansing emailed this nice picture of our meeting on Saturday 21st August. Another great memory!

Just before arriving at the intended spot in Montfoort we had to pass this old swing bridge. It’s a miracle that this paintless, partly rusty, bridge still works perfectly – without delay whatsoever. One of former Montfoort’s town gates is visible in the background. To our surprise passenger cars are still allowed to cross the bridge (but not to pass under the gate).

Every province in The Netherlands has got its own flag. (Perhaps every province, département or county abroad too. We always wave the national flag when abroad.) Anyway, the place at the top right of the mast is the most important (we learned), so that's the place for the flag of the visited province - in this case Utrecht, which has the same name as its capital. And now pay attention! In Friesland you can see a pennant of the Frisian flag in every other garden. This is in contrast to Utrecht. But see, caught in one picture: a Utrecht flag (on our little boat) and a pennant in front of the mansion on the other side.

‘Just an old picture. The VVV placed this sign diagonally opposite the mill in 1956. The park was not there then, the orchards were private property and a bicycle ban was in effect on the Bospad (forest path). So turn left into the old town, past the petrol pump. The sign was intended to promote foreign traffic to 'het stedeke' (the little town). On May 20, 2021, an older couple from Friesland came to visit the Children's Farm. The man was well into his eighties and joked at the welcome: “I missed the sign when entering Montfoort. That was always there. It reads: If antiquity appeals to you, visit the town of Montfoort”. The man was not from Montfoort. But in the 1950s he regularly cycled from Delft, where he lived, to his sister who lived in Utrecht. So you see that a good slogan can apparently linger in a memory for 50, 60 years!’ (© tempasio) Our male half grew up in Vleuten-de Meern (now a part of Utrecht city) and visited Montfoort -only 8 kilometres/5 miles away- on a regular base by bike, together with his father – and perhaps brother and sister, only 1 respectively 2 years younger. Montfoort’s welcome greeting was never forgotten, not by him, too.

(Flour)mill ‘De Valk’, the city moat and remnants of the city wall are all visible on this picture. For more about Montfoort: see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montfoort. Of course a lot more details when reading https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montfoort. (We highly recommend the use of Google Translate.)

When walking opposite the mill in a former orchard, now a park and petting zoo, one sees the apples and pears hanging ready to pick. No-one does, however. (The greengrocer is an easier, though more expensive, solution.)

Another trace of Montfoort’s history: remains of Montfoort castle.