Spijkenisse. What a beautifully sounding name for a town. It was derived from the words spieke, meaning “spit“, and nesse, meaning “nose”, i.e., “pointy nose”. It has nothing to do with the people who live there, or the Spijkenissenaar, though. It actually refers to “a spit of land portruding along the river”. Since the town is located near the River Meuse, I guess it is safe to say that the spit was there on that river. Was because I didn’t really see the spit during my visit! 🙂
After relaxing on the first day of my trip, my aunt and uncle took me and grandma to the town center. I also managed to go there on my own to explore a little bit more! The town is well-designed, with mixed modern and classic architecture and traditional structures like windmills and canals. According to sources, the town has been there for many thousands of years, with the native inhabitants farming and fishing to survive. It has suffered many floods during the 16th century, and destructive fires in the 17th and 18th century! Hence, the title of this blog post.
Nevertheless, the town managed to survive, thanks to Dutch innovativeness. Today, it is a striving town economically, with effective transportation systems that connect to other parts of the country, particularly to the bigger city of Rotterdam.
Two beautiful landmarks I particularly liked are the old church and the library. Built in the 1900’s, the “Oude kerk” (Old Church) is the oldest building in the city, a sweet reminder of the medieval times. The library, in contrast, is a modern-day architecture which entices people towards the love for reading. It was designed by Dutch architects MVRDV and was opened in 2012. Because of its original designs, the Book Mountain has won many architecture awards. And because it’s a public library, everyone is welcome! I spent hours in there, and boy, was it a bookworm paradise!
And if you happen to be in the Netherlands, never miss to have a nice cup of hot chocolate or your favorite coffee plus a slice of Dutch apple pie with whipped cream at La Place, the most successful restaurant chain in the Netherlands! They offer cold and hot beverages, freshly baked bread and pies, snacks, and salad.
Spijkenisse is a lovely Dutch town which is worth a visit! My aunt and uncle also showed me and my grandma around the bigger city of Rotterdam, where you’d find Europe’s largest port! More about that in the next entries. 😉 Cheers!
PinayOdyssey 
What a pretty place. It looks like it was really cold though! I’ve always wanted to go to The Netherlands. My husband lived there for 8 years and he has great stories and photos. I hope to go soon.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh how I wish places here could be as clean as that town. I don’t know how to pronounce it but I wish that in my mind, I’m pronouncing it correctly. But that Book Mountain is literally jaw-dropping! The place is just so clean and orderly. :O
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love this travel post. I noticed that they do have great architecture and the structures look well-made. And the idea of BOOK MOUNTAIN is just awesome. I hope I get to visit this place too! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t know if I am pronouncing it right. The name of the place sounds medieval to me. I think I’ll enjoy Book Mountain when I go there. (Which I don’t think I can) I like staying in those kind of places and just reading my heart out.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The book mountain is a paradise! haha. You just prove again how The Netherlands is simply attractive. Aside from the infamous river in Amsterdam which is actually much more decent in terms of smell, than in Venice, the country has lots of towns to get stunned to. Hoping to see the windmills again soon. 🙂
LikeLike
I’ve been to Europe once and I agree that the place is very clean, they are very disciplined with their trash. I have friends who always visit Netherlands and checking their photos on FB makes me want to visit this country. I also like to see windmills and kill my time in the library. Spijkenisse is just hard to pronounce. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
As always lovely travel post…i also noticed how clean this place was.. The church seems like the one i see in movies! But my favorite among these is the Book Mountain! The architecture is amazing! But what’s more interesting are those books inside… Must be a treasure trove of good reads!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I find the place so clean or is it just the angle? Given that, I would like to assume that people living there are disciplined and are respectful of others and their place. And everything seems so grand and so peaceful and beautiful. Another place I get to travel and see through reading.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m not a professional photographer, mommy Berlin, so yes, it is safe to assume that the place is very clean! One thing to admire here in Europe is the discipline of the people. For example, most European countries at least segregate their trash at home and they follow road signs strictly.
LikeLike
I agree with Berlin’s observation. The town is really clean. Then again, I don’t recall seeing any place in Netherlands that is dirty? I mean, that observation is based on as far as I have seen in photos. One thing that really surprised me was the book mountain. LOVE LOVE LOVE!
LikeLiked by 1 person