One of the nicest stops — on a trip full of nice stops — was the city of Hoorn. In North Holland, or West Frisia, up the Markmeer, 22 miles to the north and west of Amsterdam, the city dates back to the 14th century.
Jan Pieterszoon Coen, founder of Jakarta, a violent colonizer and all-around villain, hailed from here. He named Cape Horn and the Hoorn Islands after his hometown. Here’s a statue of him in one of the old town squares. They still are trying to decide whether to tear it down, move it somewhere, or store it in a museum; it reminds me of how we can’t figure out what to do with statues of Confederate leaders here in the USA.
Jan Pieterszoon Coen (1587-1629)
Grim history or not, it’s a lovely mid-sized city. Here are my snapshots.
Countless windmills along the Markmeer.
A view out towards the Markmeer. Sailboats on a beautiful day.
To a certain extent Hoorn is still a working port. Maybe not for long; these guys fixing their nets might be the last shipping boat based here.
The Hoofdtoren, a defensive tower on the waterfront.
Here’s Elyse looking over one of the canals.
This is The Netherlands. There are maybe more bike shops in this town than in all of Essex County, NJ.
Downtime at one of the squares. These are very lively at night though!
Viking arranged for a musical performance by a local men’s choir.
A quick glance through a gate into a sheltered garden.
A picturesque scene crossing one of the canals
Up Worlds/Down Worlds.
The exhibition in the big room was Down Words, an indoor skate ramp built by Caleb Witvoet. Handmade, rolls of ultra-thin plywood were waiting to be laminated together into this project.
The former church Hotel Maria Kapel is now an exhibition space.
Jan Pieterszoon Coen (1587-1629)
Bonus Points
As we were walking along the Westerdijk, a guy wearing the Google Maps Street View apparatus went past us a couple of times. So watch this space; when they put up photos from June, 2025, you might be able to see us.
