The Devil Takes a Holiday
I have been asked by both correspondents here and some of the guys from The Modern Church of Satan to give some details of my recent trip to the Nederlands.
While there is very little here to do with Opus Diaboli or its values, this was an opportunity to recharge the batteries, take in some culture and otherwise indulge the senses with great food and what must be the best beers in the world.
Antwerp was a bit of a revelation, as it manages to be both incredibly engaging and picturesque, while still functioning as a 'real' city with people going to work and functioning. A city you can imagine working and living in.
For those who can bring themselves to hand over two Euros to the Catholic Church, you can view the inside of Notre Dame Cathedral. Among the other features are two enormous multi-panel paintings by Rubens (although not of his best work). A real treat for regulars here was free to view - a huge relief over the main door featuring some of the damned getting the full-on pitchfork treatment (below). The demons certainly seem to be enjoying their work.
The City of Delft is almost impossibly pretty, and historically has links with Vermeer.
One real treat in Delft is the Wijnhaven bar, typical among the Dutch style of bar, where a step inside a small, ordinary-looking establishment reveals a remarkable selection of beers and gourmet food.
One gem among these bars is Rotterdam's De Twaalf Heeren. This unassuming bar, tucked down a nondescript street behind the trains station has a menu that many fancy restaurants would hesitate to attempt. Yet a meal for two people which included escargot, calve's sweetbreads, and a carpaccio of beef (along with many, many beers) cost less than 70 Euros.
An interesting place to stay in Delft is the Best Western Museum Hotel. As well as being very well located for the town and trams, it also has its own impressive art collection, including some striking sculptures depicting the twelve signs of the zodiac.
Amsterdam, was as always an amazing experience, and it would be otiose to outline the delights of that city here (although dining out seems to be a bit more hit and miss). One thing I would recommend to any OD regulars, would be a trip to the Vrolik Museum. The word Vrolik is linked with the English word, Frolic, but don't let that mislead you. Located within the AMC Medical facility (Get the Metro to Holendrecht), the Vrolik Museum is an exhibition of birth defects. Preserved in bottles, and cases are every kind of birth defect imaginable (and I assure you, some you have not imagined). This is also a repository for human and animal dissections which were once used as teaching aids. Both illuminating and sobering, this is a medical resource, and while open to the public, no concessions are made for the layman. The gift shop is therefore quite disappointing.
While there is very little here to do with Opus Diaboli or its values, this was an opportunity to recharge the batteries, take in some culture and otherwise indulge the senses with great food and what must be the best beers in the world.
Antwerp was a bit of a revelation, as it manages to be both incredibly engaging and picturesque, while still functioning as a 'real' city with people going to work and functioning. A city you can imagine working and living in.
For those who can bring themselves to hand over two Euros to the Catholic Church, you can view the inside of Notre Dame Cathedral. Among the other features are two enormous multi-panel paintings by Rubens (although not of his best work). A real treat for regulars here was free to view - a huge relief over the main door featuring some of the damned getting the full-on pitchfork treatment (below). The demons certainly seem to be enjoying their work.
The City of Delft is almost impossibly pretty, and historically has links with Vermeer.
One real treat in Delft is the Wijnhaven bar, typical among the Dutch style of bar, where a step inside a small, ordinary-looking establishment reveals a remarkable selection of beers and gourmet food.
One gem among these bars is Rotterdam's De Twaalf Heeren. This unassuming bar, tucked down a nondescript street behind the trains station has a menu that many fancy restaurants would hesitate to attempt. Yet a meal for two people which included escargot, calve's sweetbreads, and a carpaccio of beef (along with many, many beers) cost less than 70 Euros.
An interesting place to stay in Delft is the Best Western Museum Hotel. As well as being very well located for the town and trams, it also has its own impressive art collection, including some striking sculptures depicting the twelve signs of the zodiac.
Amsterdam, was as always an amazing experience, and it would be otiose to outline the delights of that city here (although dining out seems to be a bit more hit and miss). One thing I would recommend to any OD regulars, would be a trip to the Vrolik Museum. The word Vrolik is linked with the English word, Frolic, but don't let that mislead you. Located within the AMC Medical facility (Get the Metro to Holendrecht), the Vrolik Museum is an exhibition of birth defects. Preserved in bottles, and cases are every kind of birth defect imaginable (and I assure you, some you have not imagined). This is also a repository for human and animal dissections which were once used as teaching aids. Both illuminating and sobering, this is a medical resource, and while open to the public, no concessions are made for the layman. The gift shop is therefore quite disappointing.
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