I could not beieve my eyes when from the steps of the Waterpoort in Sneek I spotted this toilet block.

Honest to goodness true Art Deco, streamlined, curved, mostly white, detailing picked out in contrasting paint.

Brilliant.

The ultra-modern clean lines of Sneek’s cinema argue against it being Art Deco:-

Yet despite its rather austere look there’s a definite deco feel to this. It might just be the flagpole but there is “rule of three” in the windows:-

With Dutch buildings it can be difficult to decide if they are truly Art Deco. This one in Sneek has “rule of three” in the windows though:-

Yet this is similar but only has two sets of windows:-

And what of these?:-

Or this? The roofline undoubtedly has claims:-

This only has two sets of windows but look at the brickwork detailing at the bottom of the central column, to the sides and above:-

Not much doubt about this one, even if it is minor Deco. An Indian Restaurant, not I think all that common in The Netherlands:-

The windows on this shop were delightful:-

Dutch towns have interesting architectural features. Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether a building is Art Deco or not. Others are distinctively Dutch/Low Countries as on the right here:-

The doorway to the middle building above has Art Deco features to it. Certainly there’s “rule of three” in the windows above it and the door itself has a very 30s feel. The ironwork on the gates is good too:-

The brickwork on the canalside house below is very distinctive and there’s more than a hint of Deco to the double doors in the centre. Also a Charles Rennie Mackintosh feel to all the doors:-

And is this Deco or merely Dutch style?:-

Note the squares in the window highlights. And there’s an Art Nouveau touch to the decoration just above the windows but below the brick arches:-

The Waterpoort is the old entrance to Sneek town centre by canal. I suppose it functioned as a sort of mediaeval toll gate as well as the entrance to the town.

Canal with Waterpoort in distance:-

Bridge and Waterpoort behind:-

Waterpoort from canal basin:-

View from Waterpoort:-

Waterpoort clock from town side:-

There’s something satisfying about a town which has water in or near its centre. It nearly always brightens the place up.

Sneek (it’s pronounced snake) is a town in Friesland, in the north of The Netherlands.

Like a lot of towns in Flanders and most in The Netherlands, Sneek is built around canals. This one was right beside the road leading into the town from the motorway. The town centre is just off to the right.

We parked by the side of this (different) canal:-

That was after having crossed this bridge to get to the canalside:-

And this canal is in the middle of a shopping street. Notice the “Christmas Light” style hangings over the canal:-

Along with more standard light fittings these also appeared over the “normal” streets:-

The design is in the shape of the Waterpoort, a prominent feature of Sneek’s townscape which I’ll post about later.

This is another beautiful, leafy canal in Sneek:-

A bit further along the same canal was this striking modern theatre:-