Mini DM in Gorinchem

As Howard_S has plenty of time when visiting the Netherlands, he kindly took the bus to Gorinchem, my hometown.

We made a tour around the city, starting at the former Town Hall, the Grote of St. Janskerk, passing along the Jewish monument, old churches, walking along the Linge, having a drink near the Merwede and finalising the tour on the city walls with mill.

Some photos to follow, but here the group portrait

HB1


Edited by Harm vb - 02 June 2022 at 21:32

Thank you for starting this, Harm, and for being an excellent host yesterday. I really warmed to Gorinchem with its pretty riverside frontages, harbour, and sense of history. I’ll be back!

I was surprised with a connection to Korea and the travels of the city’s son Hendrik Hamel

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I saw this just after I got off the bus at Walstraat. The Wikipedia page shows this statue with painted red trousers and a green jacket. Although this is a mono conversion, the original is black too. If I got the story right Hamel was the first European to visit Korea and write about what he saw, presumably for the VOC. He sounds like a benign version of JP Coen in Hoorn, but that might be too glossy a take?

According to Dutch Wiki,

‘He is almost forgotten in the Netherlands, but the (South) Koreans see Hamel as a national hero because he made their country known in the West. Until the arrival of former coach of the Korean football team Guus Hiddink, he was the most famous Dutchman in South Korea.’

Excellent group shot Harm! Glad to see you had good weather; looking forward to the rest of the afternoon!

With apologies for the delay, I am back and have started sorting through my photos ...

On my way to our meeting point I left Hendrik behind, walking down alongside the Linge, crossed a bridge and found myself on a street that seemed almost untouched

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Alley (I think this is Kraansteeg.)

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Door on the corner of Heemsteeg

I met Harm, and after a coffee we made the obligatory DM photoshoot outside the Gorcums Museum

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Photo duo

On the museum there is a rather magnificent coat of arms

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Coat of Arms

This translates as The Brave beget the Brave.

OK then ...

My photos of the church weren't that interesting. You may recall me complaining that I needed an extra millimetre on the short end to get subject matter in to the frame. I found out after I got home that I had the camera in crop mode and as a result I had a 10MP camera with a 36-105 lens. Sigh.

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A chat in the sun

This little square, the Melkpad is a couple of blocks beyond the church that Harm photographed.

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You have found the photopoint

Nearby a former initiative of the Gorkums VVV could still be seen on the streets.

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A glimpse of the Linge

A nice feature of Gorinchem is the narrow alleys that lead down to the Linge river; here three young men were hanging out.

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Squabbling in the family

On the river a family of ducks fought over pieces of bread being fed to them by the men.

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Badhuis

At river level, looking across the river to the east.

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Lane 2

Returning up the lane there is a glimpse of the tower of an old church that has become a fashion shop now. I didn't get a successful shot from the main street because, yes, my 36mm lens wasn't wide enough.

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Gentrification

Harm told me the street we were walking along (Kortendijk) was until recently one of the tougher areas; it seems to be looking up now!

Over to you, Harm!

I was struggling with my (unknown to me) APS-C setting limiting my field of view, so I'm glad to see the wider views of the church towers in your shots.

Moving on,

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Tower

A view up Bornsteeg reveals a former military tower, IIRC, part of the old fortress's defences.

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Artwork

This intriguing artwork is near the river front. Whilst on the river itself ...

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I love the passenger (and sometimes cars too) ferries that dot the great rivers in Holland. Here at Gorinchem there is a network of routes that connects communities and attractions on the south bank of the Merwede (the name of the Waal after it merges with the Maas just upstream from here) with the north.

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And of course freight barges carry mountains of cannisters up the river to the east and indeed back again (this ship is going west). This barge looks like it can carry 10x4x3 = 120 containers (or 160 if the capacity goes down to the water line).