netherlands Archives - James Clay Stuff

October 13, 2025October 13, 2025

First man on the moon

The foyer and reception of the ibis Styles Delft City Centre hotel is an eclectic mix of sculptures, pictures, murals, and a Jurassic Park pinball machine.

My favourite part though was the mural with human achievements, specifically the first man on the moon in 1969. Did they illustrate it with the lunar module? No they did not. What about the huge Saturn V rocket that got them there? No, that wasn’t used. What they did use was a picture of the rocket that Tintin used to get to the moon!

More photographs from the hotel.

October 6, 2025October 4, 2025

Then and Now’ish – Citroën

Well not quite a then and now.

The last time I was in the Netherlands was in October 2023 when I visited Amsterdam for a conference. Back then I took a photograph of a lovely Citroën DS23 Pallas from the early 1970s.

I made a return visit to the Netherlands for a conference in September 2025 and walking around the canals of Amsterdam and saw another Citroën. This was a Citroën Dyane, probably either from the late 1970s or early 1980s.

October 5, 2025October 3, 2025

Amsterdam #50places2025

The last time I was in the Netherlands was in October 2022 when I visited Amsterdam for a conference. Having spent a few days in Delft at a conference, and meetings in Utrecht I took the train back to Schiphol Airport where I had booked a hotel. I was flying back the following day, and having decided to take the cheaper but later flight, I had some time on my final day in the Netherlands. I had considered visiting somewhere new in the country, but in the end considering time, I ventured off to Amsterdam for a quick explore before heading back to the airport to collect my bags and catch the flight back to Bristol.

October 4, 2025October 3, 2025

Then and Now Take Two – Kaldi Cafe

The last time I was in the Netherlands was in October 2023 when I visited Amsterdam for a conference. Back then I had some time to explore the city and had a delightful coffee at Kaldi. In September 2025 I made a return visit to the Netherlands for a conference in Delft. Having a few hours before my flight home from Schiphol I went into the heart of Amsterdam for a walk and an explore. When, I was there I took the time to find Kaldi again and have a second coffee. I also took the time to take a similar photograph to the one I took two years ago.

This photograph was taken in September 2025 with an iPhone 13.

This photograph was taken in October 2023, with the same phone.

October 3, 2025October 2, 2025

Utrecht #50places2025

The last time I was in the Netherlands was in October 2022 when I visited Amsterdam for a conference. This time I was attending a conference in Delft and attending meetings in Utrecht as well.

Having spent a few days in Delft at a conference, I took the train back to Schiphol Airport where I had booked a hotel.

I had some meetings in Utrecht which is just over 40km away, and was just over thirty minutes away on the train.

I didn’t have a lot of time to explore but I did walk around for a while.

October 2, 2025

Delft #50places2025

The last time I was in the Netherlands was in October 2022 when I visited Amsterdam for a conference. This time I was attending a conference in Delft and attending meetings in Utrecht as well.

So I flew from Bristol to Amsterdam and then it was a short train journey from Schiphol Airport down to Delft. After finding my hotel and checking in, I went for a walk around the heart of Delft.

It’s a beautiful city with canals, lovely building, pretty churches and an amazing windmill.

I love how the main railway line through Delft was buried underground to improve the look of the city. There are numerous cycle paths, as well as trams and buses, making it easy to get around the place.

I visited the Netherlands a few times in the early 1980s. I don’t recall the exact date of my first visit to the Netherlands, it may have been in the late 1970s. We went a few times, sailing from Aldeburgh down to Ramsgate, heading across the channel to Calais. The sailing up to Ostend and then up into the Netherlands. We would then sail back to Aldeburgh crossing the North Sea.

In the 1990s, I was on two college trips to Amsterdam, one was a bit of a nightmare, but the other one was better.

The next time I was in the Netherlands was in 2006, but only as I was changing planes at Schiphol Airport on my way to Helsinki.

September 23, 2025

Why no helmets?

It would appear that everyone in the Netherlands has a bicycle and cycles everywhere…

On a recent visit to the Netherlands I had first-hand experience of Dutch cycling. There are numerous cycle paths across the country and in Delft where I was staying there were loads.

One thing that really stood out for me was the complete lack of cyclists using helmets. Alongside that was the huge number of cyclists as well, especially at peak hours, at some points it felt like the cycle path was part of the route of the Tour de France.

Now I am not saying they should wear helmets, mandate it, but the thought of crashing at 20kph would make me wear a helmet if I was cycling in the Netherlands.

So, why don’t they wear helmets? Searching online, the key reason appears to be cultural. This article from The Guardian explores the Dutch thinking.

When 42-year-old Myrthe Boss gets on her bike to go shopping in the Dutch town of Ede, she pops on a helmet. This act, considered essential in many countries, marks Boss out as something of a radical in the Netherlands, where helmet-wearing is rare.

July 27, 2015