Adventure in Muiden

Last Saturday (16 june), Matthijs and I had made plans to explore some place together. A bike ride seemed like a lovely way to do that - so we headed out to Muiden to see what we would bump into.

First stop was the "islands" along the IJ-river - simply because the architecture is fascinating there. Then further alongst the river, past Ijburg - just past Ijburg we bumped into this delightful round building. 

After that it was through a nature area: peaceful, green, and filled with sheep. The unfortunate part was that the sheep had decided that the ugly asphalt bike path running through their are was ideal for a toilet. Not so pleasant for the bike tires :(

And then Muiden itself - a small village along the IJ river - at the beginning of its history it was larger and more important than Amsterdam. All that remains now is a castle and a small village.

Nonetheless, it is also the proud owner of a turning bridge. The following are my attempts at pictures:

As we were exploring Muiden, we bumped into the Muiden Protestant Church (PKN). Upon walking in, we were welcomed by one of the volunteers. As we walked around, he told us some of the history of the church, pointing out some of the unique features - the faces at the edge of the ceiling, a special opening in the wall so that people outside could participate/hear the Mass service, and the oldest church stone in the Netherlands. He also shared with us a bit of the history of the church itself - pointing out that the new Catholic Church was built beside this church. With the city hall now between/beside the two, it makes weddings pretty convenient! By the time we were in the church a half hour, I realized that I'd bumped into the adventure I'd been looking for - I just hadn't expected it to come through the hospitality of a church member willing to share with us so much about his church - both the building and the church congregation. (below are a few pictures of the Muiden Church)

 

The day continued with a quick glance at the castle, fresh fried fish, and biking further to Weesp. In Weesp, we also visited the Protestant Church, which is unique in its own way. Then, we headed back home - both tired but content.

The following is our bike ride, with some of the highlights pinmarked.
The top/north route along the river is our trip to Muiden and south through Weesp is the trip back.
View 16 june - Bike ride to Muiden and Weesp in a larger map