On one of our previous visits to the Netherlands the good lady had, in a shop, admired a hanging embroidery featuring the eleven “cities” of the Elfstedentocht, five of which we subsequently visited last year. It has since been hanging in our home.

The eleven cities are from top: (coat of arms of Friesland,) Leeuwarden, Bolsward, Sloten, Hindeloopen, IJlst, Workum, Dokkum, Franeker, Stavoren, Harlingen and Sneek. I have recently posted photos of the italicised ones and we went to Sneek in 2017. Five still to go then.

In June last year we visited The Netherlands again. One of the day trips we took was to Dokkum, in Friesland.

On the way in to the town fom the car park, along the canal, I spotted this house (in that Dutch fashion known as De Stijl?) which is so Art Deco looking:-

Further on was this scene which is so Dutch it’s almost a cliché, canal and windmill – with lovely bridge added in:-

The Town House in Dokkum has a carillon tower:-

Town House:-

A sculpture in the twon:-

Side view:-

Another almost deco building:-

Dokkum is one of Friesland’s eleven cities between which an ice-skating race known as the Elfstedentocht used to take place when there was ice on the canals. I suspect it’s extremely unlikely ever to be held again as the winters are no longer cold enough long enough for any ice to be safe to skate on. In honour of that history, though, the canal side benches in Dokkum are in the shape of an ice skate:-

In 2018 eleven artists designed a fountain each for the eleven cities. Dokkum’s is known as the Ice Fountain:-

Ice Fountain information:-