A trip back in time (part I)

Hey there, stranger. 

I still have a lot to catch up with you. So much that some things I need to split them in two, or I will write endless posts about the amazing places I've discovered here in The Netherlands so far. This post today is about that, so follow me. 

Our trip that day started here, in Hoorn. It was July, it was really hot and staying home was not an option, so Thijs suggested to take a little adventure. 'Oh, yes!', I answered very excitedly about it. So we dressed fresh and comfy, jumped into the sprinter train from Alkmaar to Hoorn (a 20 min trip) and once we arrived there, we walked to a different part of the station where our adventure began. 

In Hoorn, a lovely city a little bit more up North than Alkmaar, you can visit the Stoomtram museum, a little place which explains some history about the trains of the area. Back in the day, a 20km line was built between Hoorn and Medemblik, a little village, and nowadays you can recreate that trip in a real steam tram through the Westfrisian countryside. So without any doubt, we sat down in that amazing train as our journey started. 

 

After a while, we stopped at Twisk, where we could get out of the train and buy some ice cream. In Twisk we could see also how the station was back in the day, almost feeling like time has stopped here and we are intruders escaping from the Ministry of Time. 

 Lovely little corner

 Couldn't resist taking a photo here

We jumped in the train again excited about our destiny and the things we were about to discover there. Around twelve we arrived at Medemblik, our final destination (for now), a town that lies immediately south of the polder. During its history, Medemblik has been attacked several times by Frisia, and that's why Floris V built our next destination in the border of the city: Kasteel Radboud. 

Kasteel Radboud has a long history of sieges and battles around it. We don't know exactly when the castle was built, but it was completed before the St. Lucia's Flood on 1287. On 1517 the castle saved some of the Medemblik townsfolk from the raids of Grutte Pier and his Arumer Zwarte Hoop (a band of marauding pirates) that, frustrated of not being able to enter the castle, burned down the town. After a while, the defensive function of the castle was reduced with the building of walls around the city in 1572 and it wasn't until 1889 that the control of the property was returned to the state that restorations began. The last piece of notorious history related to the castle comes from 1939 when my beloved Nachtwacht by Rembrandt was stored here temporarily before being moved in 1940 to a bunker in the dunes near Castricum.

 Exploring the surrounders of my new conquest

 The pantry was full of goodies!

 Thijs made fun out of me and got what he deserved

 It was a very quick visit, as we had to get back to the station soon... But not for taking another train, not for the moment. 

Our new transport was waiting for us at the port... 

(To be continued)