Dordrecht - Part 1

On the 5th we took our first trip through Dordrecht.  It is Lars' hometown and such a beautiful place.  I had actually been dreaming of visiting here, walking through the streets with Lars, for quite some time. It did not disappoint. I'm not sure how many pics blogger will let me post, but I will post all of them on my photography blog and I will link to it.  I giggled with delight on more than one occasion.
Our journey began at his parent's house.  I didn't photograph that, nor the street they live on.  This journey will instead begin at the Dordrecht train/bus station.

Across the street I spied a building I had to capture because of its coolness...turns out it is a restaurant that Lars had wanted us to go to after we got married.

 We then went down the road a ways into the old part of town. It was like Main Street - shops one against another, bikes galore, an open-air market and lots of buildings to see.

 This one below is a pub (I believe...or restaurant). Lars is at work or I'd ask...I'll edit when I know for sure

 

 

Statue of Johan and Cornelis de Witt (1918), by Toon Depuis. Ok so as we walked up to this statue, Lars told me the history of these two brothers...I'm posting what I found on Wikipedia, which fits with what he told me.  Its pretty sad :(

Death - During 1672, which the Dutch refer to as the "year of disaster" or rampjaar, France and England attacked the Republic during the Franco-Dutch War and the Orangists took power by force and deposed de Witt. Recovering from an earlier attempt on his life in June, he was lynched by an organized mob after visiting his brother Cornelis in prison. After the arrival of Johan de Witt, the city guard was sent away on a pretext to stop farmers who were supposedly engaged in pilfering. Without any protection against the assembled mob, the brothers were dragged out of the prison and killed next to a nearby scaffold. Immediately after their deaths, the bodies were mutilated and fingers, toes, and other parts of their bodies were cut off. Other parts of their bodies were eaten by the mob (or taken elsewhere, cooked and then eaten).^[5] The heart of Cornelis de Witt was exhibited for many years next to his brother's by one of the ringleaders, the silversmith Hendrik Verhoeff.^[6]

 

We continued on around the corner and I just loved the look of the tight streets and quaint shops.  

 

 As we walked down the street I could see the Grote Kerk in front of me and I was just flying along...so excited to finally see an old-world church.  I was so excited that I didn't realize where I was standing when I took this photo....

 I heard Lars behind me say "Honey?"  I was saying "Yeah, hang on...its the church...I'm getting a photo." So I took the shot above and spun around to see what he was trying to show me and I saw this....

 ...and I squealed like a little girl.  This building is where Lars and I will be getting married on February 11th :). Stadhuis City Hall - built in 1383. His parents were also married here.  Below you can see the city Arms.

Here ends part one of our Dordrecht trip....more soon :)