From Where I Stand

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Location: West Coast, Florida, United States

A reader and a writer. A dreamer and a doer.

Monday, August 31, 2009

OK, today I'll "show and tell" the Alkmaar cheese market. Alkmaar is a short drive (about 30 minutes) from Amsterdam in the province of Holland. If you ever go, beware of guided tours of the market. During the high season, the tour guide will leave you at the market and tell you where to meet them again after a couple hours. You won't get any explanations other than what they tell you on the bus. Because I wasn't told about it or directed to it, I totally missed the museum, which would have given me a decent view of the market and which would have helped me understand the unique auction system they use. I had to climb up on a teetery pile of cement blocks on the outside of crowd in order to take most of my pictures, but honestly, my camera saw more than I did. Oh, well, live and learn!

However, the Viator tour I took was a success in the end. After Alkmaar, the tour took us on a very good tour of the polders and windmills, with access to the inside of one of the windmills. After that, it took us to a cheese factory near Edam. Those two aspects of the tour were well worth the trip. Next time I go, I will go to Alkmaar on my own, without time constraints, and experience the cheese market better, now that I know how to go about it.

First, a little history: As early as 1365, Alkmaar had a weighing house for cheese. The oldest "ordinance on the cheesebearers" dates from June 17, 1593. In 1916, an average of three hundred tons of cheese were sold on every market day! That is 600,000 pounds of cheese! Think of all the milk - all the cows - it took to produce that much cheese!

Since 1939, Alkmaar has been the only pace to maintain the cheese market in its traditional form. Every summer, for twenty-two Fridays, the market takes place on the Waagplein.

Since 1622, the Biblical text regarding weights and measures has governed the weighing of cheese at Alkmaar: "A false balance is abomination to the LORD, but a just weight is His delight." (Proverbs 11:1)

The cheese carrier's guild moves and weighs the cheese. The guild has four groups of seven men. Each group has its own colour: red, yellow, green or blue. The carriers wear the traditional costume of white suits and straw hats with ribbons in the colour of their group.

Here is the courtyard of the Alkmaar cheese market, with the old weighing house in the background:


A nice close-up of the lovely old building:

In these next two pictures, you can see the carriers moving the cheese in hand barrows. It looks like they are walking, but in fact, they are moving pretty fast. They must practice their gait in order to make it look this showy. Notice the different colours of ribbons in their hats:


The long, white canopies in the background are market canopies, with dozens of "tourist trap" stalls selling souvenirs and overpriced cheese.


If one barrow is not called for at the moment, the carriers have a little fun giving rides to children in the crowd. The kids squeal and hang on tight as the carriers race around the market with them. When they are carrying children, the men run faster to give the kids a thrill:


Here is cheese that has been sold, loaded onto one of the carts to be taken to the buyer's truck:


The carts are delivered to the waiting trucks, and the cheese is loaded up for transport across the country and beyond:



Sunday, August 30, 2009

Today is Sunday - the perfect day to show you Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) on Dam Square in Amsterdam. First, a little history:

In 1408, the Roman Catholic bishop of Utrecht gave permission to build a larger church because the Oude Kerk (Old Church) had become too small for the growing population of Amsterdam. The new building was consecrated to St. Mary and St. Catharine.

In 1421 and again in 1425, fires in the city damaged the church. In 1645 it burned again, this time almost entirely. It was then rebuilt in the Gothic style of architecture. From 1892-1914 it underwent a major renovation during which many Neo-Gothic details were added. From 1959-1980 it was renovated again.

This church is no longer used for services. Instead, it is used for royal inaugurations and weddings, organ recitals and exhibitions. It is the burial site for many Dutch naval heroes, as well as famous poets and playwrights. Here is the "uitenkant" (outside) view of the main entrance from Dam Square. As you can see, we were enjoying beautiful weather that day:

As soon as you walk in, you get this overwhelming view of the main gallery:

There is stained glass everywhere, of course.


Here is the wall which houses the organ:


And the golden screen which shields the cantors from sight. This thing took my breath away. It caught every ray of light and reflected it so beautifully that I thought, "Heaven must be something like this:"




Here is a view from behind the golden screen, with the area where the cantors stand while singing:



At the opposite end of this area is a dais constructed entirely out of stunning marble:



Here is a close-up of some of the marble:




Throughout the church, there is an amazing amount of intricately carved hardwood:



The tombs are all set right into the floor of the church. It felt really weird to walk on top of them, but they were literally everywhere and impossible to avoid.






That's it for the Nieuwe Kerk. Next blog will be about the cheese market in Alkmaar. It's very colourful!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

On my second day in Amsterdam, I started out with a tour of the city through the canals on a boat. It's the best way to get an overview of the city, and lets you see things you just wouldn't see if you were on foot. There are lots of houseboats in the canals there. Some of them look like regular boats, but they are actually homes, like this one. Click on the picture to enlarge it, and look at the cute little floating patio in front, complete with chairs and potted plants.


Others hardly look like boats, but they are floating, so they're houseboats, I guess.


This picture looks better enlarged, as well. If you enlarge it, you can see a long row of other bridges in the background. So idyllic, in the middle of this bustling city!

This is an old canal mansion which is now used as a public building of some sort, I think. Impressive, isn't it?


This is a nice shot of the harbour, with the cityscape in the background.




Here are some more modern canalfront townhomes. I think I took this picture in the Jordaan district, where I was staying.



This guy was playing an instrument called a "hang" (pronounced "hong" with the "ng" sound being swallowed, sort of.) It had a wonderful, mystical tone to it. I loved the sound so much that I bought one of his cd's. I like listening to it when I'm winding down at the end of a day.




I took this picture from the round window on the top floor of Madame Tussaud's, looking out over Dam Square. It was late in the day and the square was almost deserted. The old Royal Palace is on the far left, with scaffolding in front, and you can see Nieuwe Kerk at the far end of the square. I'll blog about Nieuwe Kerk tomorrow.


Here is a close-up of some of the decorative aspects of the architecture. Notice at the top of each row of windows there is something sticking out from the building. There is a story to those things: This is a canal home. Property taxes are levied on canal homes according to the water frontage, so people built very narrow homes that were very deep and tall, to get as much living space as possible into a narrow lot. This necessitated installing very, VERY narrow and often quite steep staircases, definitely too narrow and steep to move furniture up and down them. So, those appendages you see jutting out are sturdy beams with heavy-duty winches attached, for bringing large items up the side of the house to be hauled in through the windows.



To wrap up today's "travelblog," here are three more pictures showing two street scenes, and some more lovely architecture.



Notice the triple XXX on the crest on this tower's facade. That is Amsterdam's city crest.
(Now you know where the term "XXX," meaning highly censored, came from!)

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

By the way ....

You can double click on any of the pictures in this blog to view them better. Some of them don't look like much unless you do that, but trust me, I chose the best ones to post here!

The first picture in the last post, the one of the "Green Man," is actually a very cool picture. So is the one of the old man preaching and singing.

Enjoy!

Unbelievably, I haven't had any jet lag symptoms - NONE AT ALL!!!!! This has never happened to me before, but you can be sure I'm not complaining!

I got home late Sunday and didn't do much that night. Since waking up at 7:00 Monday morning, I've unpacked everything and put it all away, distributed gifts to many friends, done two loads of laundry, detailed my car inside and out (including waxing it,) reloaded and organized all my work equipment in the car again, caught up with all my correspondence and emails, paid all my bills, confirmed my work schedule for the next month, did my monthly invoicing and sent it all out, gotten rid of the weeds that have grown crazy in the rockscape in my front yard, stocked my fridge with groceries, and made some headway on disseminating some of the approximately 850 pictures I have on cd's and memory cards. I am halfway through making a big batch of dog food for Rocco, so I can divide it into small packages and freeze it. I will complete that task after I finish this blog entry.

Now, I'm ready to start on a series of blogs to "show and tell" my trip.

"Follow me!"

I've been to Amsterdam a few times before, so I pretty much knew what I wanted to do and where I wanted to go. On my first day in Amsterdam, I couldn't wait to head straight for Dam Square and soak up the ambience there.

The square is full of weird and wonderful people and artists. In the foreground of this picture, you can see the "Green Man" wearing an orange suit - Holland's symbolic colour, symbolizing its royal family, the Family of Orange. The wax museum is in the background. I'll blog about that place later.
There are always costumed performers spread around the square, acting out their characters very convincingly. The Grim Reaper likes to wave his scythe at people and shake his fist, swaying his body menacingly.

Ths medieval jester is lewd and pushy. Here I am, hamming it up with him.


Here is an old man who was standing there in scruffy clothes, singing religious songs and periodically shouting out to everyone (in Dutch, of course) that they needed Jesus in their hearts. He offered religious tracts to everyone he made eye contact with.


Then there are the street performers. This guy was doing some cool, techno vocals into a sound system that boomed across the huge square.


This guy did juggling and rode a monocycle. (Oops, my finger got into this photo!)

The monocycler asked me to hold his juggling knives, and a girl standing next to me offered to take a photo.


At the end of the day, I was pretty wiped out. Decided to take a bicycle taxi to the hostel where I was staying. They are more expensive than taxis, and slower, but I figured what the heck, just once .........

Stay tuned for the next installment.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

"home again, home again, jiggity-jig!"

or, i could say "there, and back again!"

be it ever so humble, there's no place like home. at least, that's what i have always heard. but i really don't feel that way. it totally SUCKS to walk back into this place again, where nobody is waiting for me .... i would rather be almost anywhere else, and not be alone.

i'm jetlagged, and cranky. so there!

my neighbours helped me settle in, helped me empty some stuff from the car and helped me get the a/c running again. my wonderful neighbour/friend, adan, messed around with it for about half an hour before he got it blowing cold. he said that after it had been turned off for so long, it needed "a kick and a punch."

two friends, martha and bill, picked me up and took me to buffalo chips and we had a meal together. so, i didn't have to worry about going to the store for groceries tonight, and i had a nice meal, with good company. bill dragged my heavy suitcase inside, and now my car is totally empty again.

whenever i travel over time zones, i have learned this: if i travel 3 time zones, the 3rd day is the day when i will be wiped out. when i travel 7 time zones, the 7th day is the one i sleep through. i don't know why that is, but it always works out that way. this means that tomorrow (well, today, actually) will be the day i drag through.

ok, i'm gonna take my grumpy self to bed now. g'night ....

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Monday, August 17, 2009

i'm sitting in the cafeteria now, my packed bags sitting on the floor, waiting a few minutes before calling a taxi to the airport. i came with one, medium sized backpack and am leaving with that backpack and a big, HEAVY suitcase. i;ll probably have to pay a big, fat surcharge for the extra weight, but that can't be helped.

"catch y'all on the flip side!"

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Back in Amsterdam now for my final "fling" in Holland before flying home on Tuesday.

Friday and Saturday were busy days. I went to Dokkum to stay with another cousin there. She and her husband took me on an extensive tour of the north part of the province of Friesland, where the earliest settlements were in this part of the world. I got to see ancient dwelling mounds, built centuries before the time of Christ. Enjoyed this tour immensely, took dozens of pictures, and learned a lot about local history and about the amazing system of water level control the Dutch have created. It is absolutely MIND BOGGLING! Seeing this with my own eyes really helps me understand the scope and intelligence of their systems. As well, I just loved soaking up all the beauty of the area.

Pictures will be coming later ....

Tomorrow I plan to visit an ancient castle near Amsterdam, named Muiderslot castle.

I'm back at the same hostel I stayed at before. It's a lot quieter here on a Sunday night than it was the last time, which was at the end of a week. Peaceful here in the cafeteria. Think I will walk around the corner for a cheap glass of beer, then turn in for the night.

Groetjes, alles! ("Bye, everyone!)

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

woohoo! success!

today, i got some background on a fifth branch of the family. djoke got on the phone with one of the dutch speaking relatives and spent some time talking with her. djoke knows what sorts of things i am trying to find out about, because of the hours she has spent with me talking about her memories and also because she has been with me during my talks with other relatives. she understands what sort of book i am writing, and what sort of information i am including. so, she took it upon herself to do this for me.

the stuff i have for this fifth branch is limited and sketchy, but it is something and it brought a new angle into the story .... highlighting the drastic difference between the characters of two sisters. that is a nice angle, and will lend itself perfectly to the character of the book.

now, djoke and i are off to the downtown area. we will pick up the disc i am having made with scans of old family photos. then, we will go to a second/hand store to hopefully find a cheap suitcase for me. i am buying dozens of dutch kitchen towels for gifts. all my friends and family love the ones i have given them in the past, so i want to bring home a big load of them. i will give some as gifts to my customers, because i expect the ladies will like them. the rest will be for friends and family, and a few for myself. i also want to bring lots of wonderful, young gouda cheese. i need to check with us customs to make sure i will be allowed to bring this home. ``crossing my fingers`` on that one!

`Groetjes!`` that means ``greetings`` in dutch, but here, they use it when saying goodbye. dont ask me why!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

finally, i have some time to sit at djoke´s computer and just focus for a while. i have paid my bills online, reconciled both my bank accounts, read and replied to all emails, and checked all the blogs that i follow. now, i can just sit and ``write in my diary,`` so to speak .... blogging.

work on the book has gone very, very well. when i got here, i had really only completed research on one of the family´s six branches. my great grandparents had six children. my own grandfather´s branch was truly the focus of the book, but i wanted to include as much as i could learn from the other five branches. it just felt right to do that, to set the stage and also, to help our progeny connect to their ancestors as closely as possible. after all, my grandfather was just one man, no matter how large his family became later. his personal story is just as much about his family of origin as anything else. i wanted to understand not only HIM, but WHO HE WAS, and the only way to accomplish that was to dig deeper.

the more i have learned about the other branches, the more amazed i have been to see evidence of the threads that connect us all ....

genetics, evident in facial features and inherited tendencies .....

the ways that sociological and spiritual influences have shaped and formed my ancestors shed light on the way they have, indirectly, shaped and formed ME. in turn, i raised my children on the basis of my understanding. my children will raise their children with all of these influences bearing weight.

i REALLY should have been an anthropologist.

since arriving in friesland, i have been able to get stories from three other branches. two branches have yielded the most detail and insight. the third has been marginally productive. i may be able to spend some more time with that one lady before i leave and pull more out of her, but she seems to think that she has nothing to tell, and i can´t do much about her mindset. nevertheless, she has been gracious and helpful. at this point, with many of the people passed on and many of the others unable to speak english, i consider this trip to have been very, very successful. djoke and tjalling have bent over backwards to help me. i can´t adequately thank them for this, but they will be included in my acknowledgement section with high honours.

i am getting a lot of reaction from my aged relatives about my habit of travelling alone. everyone is amazed and totally impressed. i keep explaining that this is my only option. i would dearly love a travelling companion, but i just don´t have one. so, i have gradually learned how to manage on my own in foreign places and difficult situations.

there are always difficult situations and challenges to meet. i learned that when i´m faced with one of those challenges, the first thing to do is ..... NOT PANIC. then, just approach it logically, telling myself that the worst case scenario is that i will end up spending a night in a hotel or hostel ...or maybe even sleeping on a station bench for a night ..... in a place i hadn´t planned on stopping, but that sooner or later, i will find someone willing to lend aid to a traveller and help me sort out the confusion. so far, i have never actually gotten stranded in europe. i only got stranded once, and that was in washington, d.c. that turned out to be one of the best examples of serendipity in my life, so now i always have an expectant attitude about wrinkles in my plans.

i have also learned that travelling alone opens up much greater opportunites, on many levels.

in the first place, a woman alone ... especially one with silver hair like mine .... seems to inspire others to reach out in friendship, to ask if i need assistance. this gorgeous silver i love so much has more benefits than its beauty!

also, i notice that when i am alone, i am never engaged in conversation with a companion, and therefore more approachable by people who like to chat. i have had many, long, delightful conversations with strangers that i never had when i was travelling with my two sons. i learn about the local people and places this way, and it has been a wonderful blessing.

travelling alone also makes it easier to snag that ``one last bed`` in the hostel or that ``one last seat`` on a train.

one time, i was stymied when the train i NEEDED to take was full. i was sitting on a bench, with my forehead in my hands, staring glumly at the schedule and wondering what to do next. a gentleman approached me and asked if i had a problem. with our limited knowledge of each others´languages, we communicated. he told me to walk to the ticket counter with him. when we got there, he explained to the ticket agent that he wanted to surrender his ticket on the next train and take the later one, so that i would have a seat on the next train and get to my destination on time. he said that he had no appointment to keep, and nobody waiting for him, and it was really no imposition.

sometimes, there really IS only one bed left, or one seat. with a companion, i would not be able to take advantage of those single openings. it is much easier to squeeze in one more, single person who doesn´t really care about the accomodations ... just a spot on the floor, just a seat in third class, anything .... than to accomodate a couple, or a larger party.

more about the book .....

when i get home again, i will finish the ``FINAL FIRST draft`` of the book. research will be finished, and everything chronologically recorded. i will insert all the photos i am gathering now, and then set the project aside for a while. i want to let it settle in my mind and heart, ``let it gel,`` so to speak. then, when my spirit prompts me, i will go back to it again. at that time, i will polish it. it will probably take a good chunk of time to rework the structure and language in order to make the story flow more like a novel. that is my goal .... to make it read more like an exciting tale, rather than just a chronological recording, without sacrificing any of the authenticity.

that´s it for today. ``yáll come back, now!``

Saturday, August 08, 2009

I have about two minutes on this computer, so this will be short.

Accomplishing SO MUCH of what I had hoped to accomplish regarding family research, and more to do next week when I will hopefully meet with people in Leeuwarden and Harlingen.

The stories are coming thick and fast, and I have gotten permission from one person to write her sister's story fully. I was worried about that, and am very, very glad that she was willing to let me write about it. Her sister's story is terribly sad, but integral to our family's saga. I was not going to write it, however, without permission, because I have no intention of hurting anyone.

Gotta go!

Sunday, August 02, 2009

What a Wild Weekend!

On Saturday I took a train from Amsterdam to Heerenveen. Djoke met me at the station and drove me to Drachten, about 20 kilometres away.

As I left, Amsterdam was starting its Gay Pride Parade. The day before, it was obvious what was going on, because there were gay and homosexual couples everywhere. I couldn´t walk 10 metres without seeing them. That didn´t bother me, but then .... I was in the ladies´ dorm room at the hostel, washing up at the sink. I had my shirt and bra off and was standing there, doing my business, when a lesbian couple walked in. That was a weird feeling for me!!! I guess that if it´s a womens´room, women can stay there, right ... how in blue blazes can I make a question mark on this keyboard....

Anyway, the two of them walked in, obviously VERY gay, and I suddenly felt NAKED. Well, I was half naked, but until they walked in, I hadn´t FELT naked.

So, I left Amsterdam to its "celebration" and gratefully arrived at Tjalling and Djoke´s cozy home here. Drachten is a sweet little city, full of tidy homes with tiny, glorious flower gardens in front of each house and tiny, private back yards that all look like garden centres. The people here sure do love their flowers and their gardens!

Yesterday brought news from France. It seems like half the people who live in Holland are on holiday in France right now, along with the rest of Northern Europe. They drive their "caravans" .... camping trailers .... or cars in and through France, many of them heading south to Spain. The result is a stretch of highway in the south of France ... the Autoroute Soleil .... around 600 to 700 kilometres long that becomes one, long, miserable traffic jam. Traffic stops, then starts again only to crawl along a few dozen feet and stop again. Emergency services received over 1,500 calls yesterday from stranded tourists whose cars had overheated on that stretch of road. This day is always called "Black Saturday."

Last night Djoke and Tjalling started telling me some family stories. My grandfather and Djoke´s father were brothers, and I am delighted to be getting stories from that generation, because none of the family in North America has any to tell me. These stories are very dramatic, and I can´t wait to get them all scribbled down, then go home and start weaving them into the family history book.

Djoke is only ten years older than me. My grandfather married early and had children right away. Djoke´s father married late and didn´t have children for a few years. Djoke was the last child born in that family. So .... although she is technically more like a great aunt to me, we feel more like cousins.

The weather yesterday was idyllic, about 27 degrees celsius, which is something like 78 farenheit. It rained during the night and today is much cooler, well below 20 celsius.

I walked to church with Djoke this morning under an umbrella. It was wonderful to sit in a REAL church service again, even if I couldn´t understand everything. There was a big, beautiful organ and the congregation sang many, many hymns. I closed my eyes and could just imagine being a little girl again, in church, with the organ playing and all the Dutch people around me, although in my childhood church the hymns and service were rendered in English.

I was absolutely THRILLED to discover that I was able to understand some of what the dominie.... that´s what they call the pastor, here .... was saying. Even more thrilled to be able to read the words of the hymns and sing along with everyone. Although I didn´t understand most of what I was singing, I figured God knew that I was singing to His glory, and it was good. Very good. So, even though I wasn´t able to learn enough Dutch to be conversant, my studies are proving to help in many, many ways. I am comfortable reading directional signs in stations and on the streets. I can pick up the basic meaning of many printed items and menus are not a problem at all. There are always one or two menu items I don´t understand, but for the most part, I understand and am able to order without any help. I just order one of the items I understand. It feels GREAT to have this small measure of independence, and not have to ask for a menu in English. Yay!!!

I have lots of good pictures from Amsterdam, and from a side trip I took. Since I can´t upload pictures from my camera onto this computer, I will save my "touristy" stories and pictures for when I get home.