After three tries, we finally made it to the Muiden Castle when it was open for visitors! Hooray!
There was a lovely garden just across from the entrance. We entered through this pretty archway.
All of the shrubbery was carefully sculpted to create little islands of beauty. The Dutch people really know their way around a garden tool....
The flowers were colorful and very pretty.
Sister Tibbitts took a photo of us in this gorgeous setting.
The sign says East Indies something....Some variety of flower from the East Indies??
The entrance to the castle which, incidentally, was built in the 1200's. It is amazingly well preserved.
This is the only surviving article of furniture from the original castle. It is a beautiful chest, probably used to store clothing or linens.
This room was representative of the private quarters of the lordly occupants.
Don't think you'd ever get ME into something like this! I'll stick to my dark suit and tie.
Looking out of the windows onto the gardens below we can see the water that surrounds the castle. All they had to do to create a moat was to dig a canal from the river that runs just behind the castle.
We climbed these high, winding stairs into the top of the tower.
The opening where the defenders shot their arrows and other defensive weapons gave us a pretty view of the surrounding area.
The castle was built on an inlet which gave its occupants easy access to the sea.
Here we see some of the early castle dwellers - quite a lovely pair.
If we lived on the premises in the winter time we would be grateful for the warm clothing! The temperature in this castle would be FREEZING from October to April.
This suit of arms was representative of the time period the castle was in use. It doesn't look very comfortable, which is probably an understatement.
All we need is a horse.
We found the perfect outfit for Sister Tibbitts - always the Joker!
She, as the jesters of the past, keeps everyone laughing. What a fun lady!
The day following our trip to the castle we joined the Tibbitts in a drive to Leeuwarden for the 150th Commemoration of the first baptisms in the Netherlands. A gathering place was established at a tea house about 750 meters from the monument.
Elder Beckstrand was assigned to be a greeter extraordinaire.
Chris Weening and Ezra Steinvoorte were our guides to the monument site. (Self-appointed.)
A monument was placed near the canal where the first three baptisms in the Netherlands took place.
Elder van der Woude, a master Dutch ship builder, joined the church in Wales, immigrated to America in 1853, and was called to serve a mission in his native country in 1861. He baptized three family members who lived in Friesland on August 5, 1861.
Brother Vaning planted flowers next to the monument which highlighted the anniversary years.
It seemed appropriate that a pretty windmill was part of the background scenery.
Music provided by a choir of youth from The Hague Stake opened the ceremonies.
President Van Komen of the Leeuwarden Branch gave a short talk.
Some of the missionaries serving in the area sang a hymn.
The dignitaries who were present at the ceremony posed for a picture afterwards. Elder Boom, the Area Seventy for this country, is the first person to the left of the monument. He was the keynote speaker.
What a beautiful day for this outdoor event. Many prayerful pleas for nice weather by the organizers have definitely been heard.
When we returned to Diemen Sister Tibbitts wanted a picture of the wall hanging I made for her to take home as a reminder of her service in the Netherlands. They left for Utah on October 12th. We miss them already.
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