This End Is Near
As we approach the end of this year’s sojourn, let’s catch up on the antics of my pesky compadre.
And a hearty farewell. See you all next time.
This End Is Near
As we approach the end of this year’s sojourn, let’s catch up on the antics of my pesky compadre.
And a hearty farewell. See you all next time.
People have been clamoring for the Wendi Files but rather then burden everyone with endless tales of blood-curdling debauchery, I thought we could start off slow and just let her never-ending wackiness unfurl at it’s own pace.
Wendi said she’d rest on the lawn at Castle Drum while I climbed the Tower. The groundskeeper came over and nudged her to make sure she hadn’t expired.
This apparently medieval castle is the result of a young nobleman’s dream to establish a lasting monument to his family name. Jonkheer Catharinus Henri Cornelis Ascanius van Sypesteyn believed that his ancestral seat had stood on this spot and in 1899 purchased the site and began building a castle to honor his family and house his impressive art and antiquity collections. Sypesteyn is Holland’s youngest castle.
Henri was one of the founders of a genealogical group that traced Dutch royal lineage and has traced his family back to the infamous De Witt Brothers, Johan & Cornelius.
De Witt Brothers
When Mrs. de Witt gave birth to her boys in the early 1600s she had no idea how high they would rise or how spectacularly they would fall. Johan ruled Holland for over 20 years opposed to the House of Orange-Nassau, while Cornelius became a powerful Naval officer under Admiral De Ruyter. The brothers became objects of suspicion and hatred thinking them responsible for numerous defeats in 1672, what the Dutch call Rampjaar or the “Year of Disaster”, when the country was surrounded by enemies. Johan was knifed by a would be assassin on June 21st and returned to the Hague, where his brother Cornelis was being held on made up charges of treason.
After being tortured Cornelis still refused to confess and was sentenced to exile. Johan walked to the jail to see his brother off when both men were attacked by some of members of the Hague’s civic militia. The brothers were shot and then left to the mob. Their naked, mutilated bodies were strung up on the nearby public gibbet, while the Orangist mob ate their roasted livers in a cannibalistic frenzy. Despite the horrific scene the mob stayed remarkably disciplined, leaving many to wonder if the event had been planned.
William of Orange removed a federal cavalry detachment, that might have stopped the lynching and refused to prosecute well-known ringleaders like Cornelis Tromp further adding to the suspicion.
Cornelis Tromp
At home, without fighting to distract him, Cornelis grew bored and became a heavy drinker, so much so that many inns at the time were named after him. Tromp was an extremely vain man who never hesitated to tell others how important he was. During his life he posed for at least 22 paintings, a record for the 17th century. His family were some of the most fanatical supporters of Orange. Tromp came to regret many of his deeds. He died a troubled drunk, convinced he would go to hell as punishment for his crimes.
His art possessions were displayed in his estate, Trompenburgh, built in the form of a warship.
Finally, a little folklore.
Our trusty museum guide explained that this dish depicts what he called a miracle. Apparently a farmer was attacked by a bull. When the farmer’s pregnant wife ran out to assist she was gored by the bull. As she was catapulted into the air the baby was ejected from her torn midsection and landed bruised, but alive on the ground and was quickly retrieved by the neighbor. The parents both died, the baby lived about 9 months and the distraught villagers put down the bull. The End.
Now the tour guide spoke very little English and I speak no Dutch what-so-ever, so something may have been lost in translation, but I’ll be damned if I can figure out the moral of this gruesome tale. Even the most fanciful or ridiculous of miracles generally have a point or a message or end on a somewhat positive note. I’m completely lost here. What is the point? Never go near bulls with pregnant women????
Spent a lovely sunny day in on the riverfront in Rotterdam.
The city appears to be booming. Everywhere you glance there seems to be a new steel and glass tower sprouting out of the ground and mixing with the older buildings that survived the devastation of WWII. Most everything around appears to be prospering.
Our main purpose here is a visit to the Nederlands/Fotomuseum to see Martin Schoeller’s “Big Heads” show.
When asked how to take better pictures, renowned photojournalist Robert Capra said, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, your not close enough.” Well, Martin Schoeller definitely gets close enough.
This is the New York based German photographer’s first show in the Netherlands and the images are truly mind-blowing. The show is broken into five groups, transgender, female body builders, twins, cultural personalities and everything else. Most of the images stem from Schoeller’s Close Up series, which he has been working on for over 20 years.
The sheer size of these extreme closeups is jaw dropping. It’s a bit like looking at everyone in a makeup mirror, very intimate and kind of scary. You are struck by the courage of the subjects who have to know that this is not going to be flattering. Especially movie personalities who must spend their entire adult lives scrutinizing every pore on their faces. You discover quickly that staring this closely at people is a lot like unretouched nudes of “normal” people, in that, there is really only a handful of adults on the planet that don’t look a little funny with their clothes off, intriguing, sure, titillating, you bet, but also a little peculiar and definitely unique. But just like nudes, these images allow us to cross the line from public into private as we are offered the most intimate view they could give us without taking off a stitch of clothes.
The Museum set up a photo booth and we were encouraged to have our picture taken. Bear in mind this was before we saw the show so we really had no idea just how bad this could turn out. Click on the thumbnail if you dare.
Wendi insisted that I retouch it to all the lines and blemishes.
As a side note, only two images were labeled NFS, Julia Roberts and Taylor Swift, which were arguably the two most attractive images in the whole show. Hum.
Hello again. We are finally back on the road where we feel most comfortable. This year we are lucky enough to start our trip with good friends in Haarlem, NL.
This is a lovely, picturesque city as you can plainly see.
But that’s not really what I want to talk about. I’ve noticed a rapidly increasing number of, let’s just call them, “Window Creatures”.
I found the Bernie and the Cabbage Patch Kids peeking at me from a couple windows in Portland, Ore.
Because they’re cultural icons I didn’t think much of it until I got to Haarlem, NL. and noticed that there are Window Creatures peering out at the street everywhere I walk. I quickly realized this is not just about our political favorites or some nostalgia for childhood toys. The people that lodge behind this panes of glass are sending messages. I’ve always thought that what people chose to display says a lot about them.
Bear in mind that these miniature tableaus did not occur by accident. They represent a conscious effort to put a message in a bottle and send it out into the world, but with no request for rescue or any response at all. It is a kind of lo-tech social media that requires no Likes, Thumbs Up, emojis, bookmarks or cookies. This is strictly a one way communication, a lot like a piece of art that says, “ I think this is “something” and I want everyone to know. At least everybody that walks by my window.”
Well, I’ve decoded all the signs and I’m now ready to reveal my findings.
” We’re all just a little wacky and want everyone to know.”
Our Route
I’ve gotten a lot of inquire about where we’ve been. This map may help. I think I’ve got it right. The Red Line is for cars and the Blue Line is for trains. Most were round trips, at least.
There were quite a few narrative threads I had hoped to follow but I have quite literally run out of time. I decided the best way to finish this voyage was to just show you some of my favorites and hope for the best.
The Afsluitdijk is a remarkable structure that has been protecting Holland from the sea for over 80 years. Built between 1927 and 1932 with over 5,000 workers, it is now an icon of the Netherlands’ constant struggle against water. In typical Dutch style solving all problems requires a creative approach. The 23 km long road that stretches across the dyke requires lighting, but not wanting to add to “light pollution” highly reflective surfaces that are activated by car lights and go dark after you pass have been added to the vertical structures.
Have fun out there.
There are certain experiences in life that no matter how much we desire and long for them they still invariably come up a little short. There is one such experience for Wendi that happens much too infrequently and when it does it’s so small that it leaves her craving more. If you haven’t guessed yet, it’s Ice Cubes. For some reason Europeans seem to have a bad attitude about these frozen little wonders that add so much joy to Wendi’s beverage experiences. If the given establishment even has them at all, which they frequently do not, they are parsed out as if they were recently unearthed hidden treasures. She is yet to see someone actually fill a glass with ice cubes. Wendi finds this particularly unnerving in that they still advertise the drink as “iced tea”. You see “iced” is the operative word here, it brings to mind a frosty glass filled to the brim with a “cold” thirst quenching beverage, not a warm glass half full with weak, cloudy and tepid green tea. Now I know you’re thinking that in a larger context this is a very minor annoyance, just a small bump in the road of life, but then you don’t travel with Wendi.
She also hates excessively long stairs.
Getting the phone to work can be somewhat troubling.
But it’s not all bad. She frequently points out her favorite things.
We find ourselves in a region our Dutch friends referred to as the Three Points where Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands all touch. While touring the area we have seen two American Cemeteries. These sites are just 11.5 miles apart and almost all of the over 16,000 soldiers buried here lost their lives on or near this very ground. Ground that is blood soaked indeed. These cemeteries lie close to the old Roman Cologne-Boulogne highway over which Julius Caesar, Charlemagne, Charles V, Napoleon, Kaiser Wilhelm II and Hitler all marched their troops in the conquest of the strategic Low Countries.
The Henri Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial
Located in Welkenraedt, Belgium, the Henri Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial is where the remains of 7,992 US soldiers are interred.
554 unknown soldiers are buried in this cemetery.
Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial
The Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, Netherlands is where 8,301 American dead were laid to rest.
This is Europe’s third largest war cemetery for unidentified soldiers who died in WWII. The walls flanking the sides of the Court of Honor contain the Tablets of the Missing which display the names of 1,722 Americans who gave their lives in the service of their country and now rest in unknown graves.
This sad but beautiful statue represents all the women who endured the war not knowing if their loved ones would ever return home. The three doves represent peace and the new shoot growing from the war-destroyed tree supports the following quote.
These are just two of the fourteen cemeteries for American World War II dead on this foreign soil. We have been told that, given the enormity of the horror, these two memorial sites represent but a partial view of the pain endured. It may seem small when viewed in that larger context, but it was most certainly not small for these thousands of soldiers that sacrificed all in the service of others. Each and every one of these somber white markers represents a life cut down in it’s prime and a future never realized. In this age of saber-rattling, these awe inspiring and sobering places should forever remind us that we must strife, above all else, to never sow fields of blood and marble again.
These sites are operated and maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission who’s first chairman, General of the Armies John J. Pershing promised,
“Time will not dim the glory of their deeds.”
Veenhuizen is the site of the second institution set up by the Society of Humanitarianism, a Dutch private organization established in 1818 by General Johannes van den Bosch to help desperately poor families, mostly from the big cities.
The society considered labor to be the only means to combat poverty and that the path to a better life was one of sobriety, hard work, sacrifice and Christian values. In Bosch’s view, the poor and needy were a natural part of society so that the rich and wealthy could and should show their mercy as a token of Christian charity. Relying on the generosity of the well-to-do to finance the lives of poor vagrants proved to be an unreliable funding strategy and eventually the facility became state run.
Veenhuizen was a very remote and scary place at the time, it being close to at least three asylums. Forced relocation here was generally a punishment for alcohol abuse, sexual abuse, waste, brutality or desertion and was designed to help alleviate the abject poverty in Dutch cities during the early 19th century. In 1859 the colony was taken over by the Dutch state and is now a museum describing the penal colony where vagrants and beggars were locked up and put to work. This forced labor was supposed to cure them of their “work shy behavior”.
One of the schemes incorporated by the Society was the use of short moral and inspirational slogans to help keep “inmates” focused and motivated. These expressions are affixed to every building and were a part of everyday life.
Please excuse some of my translations. I did my best.
Nogerhaven
Besides the Museum, the prison village of Veehuizen is also the location of the Nogerhaven jail. This Dutch jail is rented by Norwegian prison authorities and is so popular there is a waiting list as all 241 places are occupied. Prisoners here get more outside time, work less and have extra time to stay in contact with families via Skype.
This would appear to be a win-win for everyone involved as the the Norwegians have a shortage of prison cells and the Netherlands has a surplus. The Dutch prison personnel also describe the Norwegian prisoners as well behaved with much better manners then their Dutch counterparts. Seems odd, a prison with no “Machine Gun Kelly” but an “Olav the Polite” and an “Ivar the Courteous”.
In 2016 it was reported that the Netherlands will close five prisons in the next few years as a cost cutting scheme, given that there are thousands of empty jail cells here due to a steadily declining crime rate, where as Norway is seeing an opposite trend.
The Christmas festivities begin here in mid-November with the arrival of Sinterklaas at a designated seaside town. He supposedly comes from Spain, not the North Pole. This takes place in a different port each year. Smaller local arrivals usually take place later on the same Saturday. We’re in Sneek where the whole city is awaiting the arrival of Sinterklaas.
After the boat anchors Sinterklaas disembarks and parades through the crowded streets on a white horse, called Amerigo. He carries a big, red book in which is written whether each child has been naughty or nice. He is welcomed by throngs of cheering families singing traditional Sinterklaas songs. His Zwarte Piet crew, or Zwarte pieten, throw candy and small, round, gingerbread-like cookies into the crowd.
Sinterklaas
Sinterklaas is a legendary figure based on Saint Nicholas, the patron saint of children, who are the principal focus of the festival. The origins of Saint Nicholas may first appear to be Christian, but in fact are from ancient Germanic mythology.
The Dutch figure of Sinterklaas somewhat mirrors the god Odin, they both have a beard, hat and spear, now a staff, and a cloth bag held by the servants to capture naughty children. Both Saint Nicolas and Odin ride white horses that can fly through the air. The poems and songs children sing relate to Odin as the god of poetry.
The chocolate letters given by the Zwarte Pieten to the children evoke the fact that Odin created the rune letters.
He is also the basis for the North American figure of Santa Claus. It is often claimed that during the American War of Independence, the inhabitants of New York City, the former Dutch colonial town of New Amsterdam, reinvented their Sinterklaas tradition, because Saint Nicholas was a symbol of the city’s non-English past.
Why Spain?
Sinterklaas is said to come from Spain. In 1087, half of Saint Nicholas’ relics were transported to the Italian city of Bari, in the Spanish Kingdom of Naples so that might be the reason. Others suggest that mandarin oranges, traditionally gifts associated with St. Nicholas, led to the misconception that he must have been from Spain.
Zwarte Piet
Sinterklaas is assisted by many mischievous helpers with black faces and colorful Moorish dresses. These elfish characters, called Zwarte Piet or “Black Pete”, first appeared in print as just one nameless servant of Saint Nicholas in1850. Over the years Zwarte Piet has developed from a rather unintelligent helper into a valuable assistant to the absent-minded and frequently inebriated saint. Now Sinterklaas has formed a whole crew of Zwarte Pieten for every function from navigation, gift-wrapping to climbing over roofs and down chimneys.
Zwarte Piet’s costume is based on 16th-century noble attire, with a feathered cap and a ruff collar. He carries a bag containing candy for the children, a tradition originating in the story of Saint Nicholas saving three young girls from prostitution by tossing golden coins through their window at night to pay their dowries.
Traditionally, Black Pete carries a chimney sweep’s broom made of willow branches, which he used to spank children who had been naughty. Older Sinterklaas songs suggest that naughty children were put in the bag and taken back to Spain. This legend refers to the times when Moors raided the European coasts to capture future slaves. Today, Zwarte Piet no longer carries the rod or threatens children with abduction for being naughty.
The Controversy
As you can well imagine Zwarte Piet has turned into a rather controversial character. Traditionally Zwarte Piet’s face is said to be black because he is Moorish. Today, some prefer to say that his face is blackened with soot because he has to climb through chimneys to deliver gifts for Sinterklaas.
Regardless, the figure of Zwarte Piet is considered by some to be racist and the traditions surrounding Sinterklaas have been the subject of many editorials, debates, documentaries, protests and even violent clashes at festivals.
This year vans of protesters were turned back before reaching Dorkum, the site of the national arrival of Sinterklaas. Some southern Dutch cities and television channels will only display Zwarte Piet with a few soot marks on the face rather than full blackface and are called “chimney Petes”. Still, Zwarte Piet remains very popular in the Netherlands. A 2013 survey suggests that 92% of the Dutch public did not perceive Zwarte Piet as racist or associate him with slavery, and 91% were opposed to altering the character’s appearance, but I imagine in just the 4 years since that survey, things have changed considerably.