From Argentina to the Netherlands, for Love!

Groetjes uit Zwolle:Terminator Mike

2012-01-30T15:57:00.001+01:00

He has been standing there for quite some time now - tall, slim, transparent and green...a bit in the way actually, right in the middle of the Grote Markt in Zwolle.
The first time I saw him I was not particularly charmed by his presence. I hoped with all my heart that he had somehow chosen this particular spot to hang out just temporarily. Just in case, I decided I had to dissuade him, to chase him away.
"Please go away from my beautiful historic square," I said as I walked past him. "Go hang out somewhere else, you do not belong here." He just stared back, his arms lax hanging at his sides, glassy look on his face, impervious to my verbal bullying.

But Michael was there to stay - for good.

Terminator Mike, as I now like to call him -quite afffectionally, actually- came to life by the hand of artist Herman Lamers, from Rotterdam. It is a 3.10m. high glass sculpture of St. Michael, the patron saint and guardian angel of my city, Zwolle.

In the year 2005 a group of representatives of the community in Zwolle got together to formulate the outlines for the commission of a new sculpture which was to be erected in the very spot where the city was born - the Grote Markt or main square of the city. More than a hundred artists participated in the pre-selection round carried out by the committee and artist Herman Lamers was finally chosen for the task. In June 2010 the new sculpture depicting St.Michael came to stand in the very heart of the historic city centre of Zwolle.

It cannot have been easy for poor Terminator Mike to stand there in the Grote Markt in those early days; the sculpture did not have a very warm welcome at first. Many officials from City Hall were not quite happy with the end result and the citizens of the glamorous city of Zwollywood were not instantly charmed by their new guardian -archangel or not- either. I was one of those un-charmed citizens myself.

Most of the critics thought that a more classic image should have been used to depict our patron saint, the archangel Michael; you know, like in all those paintings and drawing we have seen of St. Michael brandishing a spear or sword and with a dead dragon at his feet. The warrior angel, guardian of Good against Evil.

Instead, we got Terminator Mike, a modernistic glass figure in transparent green, emerging from a glass pool; rising "like a Terminator", -in the words of the artist himself- to watch over us every day.

Terminator Mike is dressed in a 21st century suit instead of the warrior robes we know from the classic iconography. To many people's surprise, this new version of St. Michael wields no sword or spear to fight evil, like his little brother sitting on the top of the Grote Kerk does. Terminator Mike is apparently a much more peaceful guy. He does have two wings, though, which seem to suffice to protect us, Zwollenaren (citizens of Zwolle), from all things bad.

Terminator Michael's little brother on the tower of the Grote Kerk.

When did I stop hoping that Terminator Mike would melt back into that glass pool and disappear from the Grote Markt? When did I start accepting the new look of our patron saint wearing what could perfectly be an Armani suit? I cannot really say, but I think that these two people may have had to do with my change of heart.

My mum and dad were in Zwollywood for a visit last year and they were both completely delighted with Terminator Mike. So much so, that they wanted their picture taken with Zwollenaar citizen número uno. I had been rather expecting a different reaction from them, something close to, "what, an angel wearing a suit?!" or, "This does not look like Michael the archangel AT ALL!" But no, they were absolutely enamoured by Terminator Mike for being "so original, so modern, so regular-looking kind of guy".

Now every time I visit the city centre I feel compelled to stop and look at Terminator Mike. I have discovered that, depending on the time of the day, the sculpture is more or less transparent and I have begun to wonder what light effects one might get when photographing it. I can see my collection of photographs of the cyborg/archangel growing and growing in the future: Terminator Mike during the Christmas season, Terminator Mike in the rain, Terminator Mike in the snow, Terminator Mike on market day, Terminator Mike surrounded by a sea of people enjoying a summer festival, Terminator Mike squeezed between stalls during Blue Finger Day in July....

All of a sudden, I don't mind at all that he has come to Zwolle to stay - for good!

Terminator Mike watching the Christmas tree being chopped down at the end of the season.

New Year traditions

2011-12-30T11:56:00.001+01:00

One more day and we will be saying good-bye to 2011 and welcoming a New Year. As I mentioned in my previous post, our end of year celebrations will be quite low key. No big parties or trips to dazzling European cities to welcome 2012...

Still, there are a number of things that I do like having, eating or doing for Christmas and New Year every time. I always put up a Christmas tree and decorate the house; I normally send cards to our friends and family to wish them "Happy Holidays"; I usually either buy or make the traditional panettone or pan dulce (though this year I was perfectly happy with a Dutch kerststol for Christmas; I will probably make panettone for the New Year) and I sometimes bring some turrones from Argentina to have at hand during the season.

Some of the Christmas cards I've received this year.

There are two more things I must have for New Year and they also involve food: oliebollen and las doce uvas (the twelve grapes).

Oliebollen (literally, "oil balls") are traditional Dutch dumplings made with flour, eggs, milk, salt, baking powder and yeast, deep-fried and then dusted with icing sugar. You can make them at home, since they are easy enough to prepare; but if you are too busy during this time of the year to be bothered -or if you do not want your entire house to smell of fried food- you can buy them at the many stalls that pop up in every city or village across The Netherlands. Eaten cold or hot, plain or filled with raisins or sultanas, they are a real treat and they seem to be a permanent staple for the New Year table around here.

An oliebollen stall in my neighbourhood.

As for the twelve grapes of luck -las doce uvas de la suerte, a tradition that I have brought with me from Argentina- it is in fact, a Spanish tradition still kept in my family. When the clocks strike 12 at midnight on Nochevieja (Old Night, in Spanish), the twelve grapes are eaten, each grape representing a month and symbolising hope and good wishes for the New Year.
Sometimes it is quite a challenge to pop a grape in your mouth at each strike of the clock; most of the time you end up either eating less than twelve grapes or choking from a full mouth while still trying to kiss those around you who are too eager to wish you a Happy New Year...

Oliebollen and the twelve grapes, my own New Year traditions.

What are your New Year traditions? Do you wear a special colour, make a toast, give someone next to you a kiss, sing Ald Lang Syne ... ?

Have a wonderful start of the New Year everyone!!

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-22T12:22:00.005+01:00

Christmas decorations a la Argentine...

I am finally back in the Netherlands and though I have been easing myself back into my routine for the last week and I am now operating at 85% of my usual Dutch mode (I am still having difficulties thinking in Dutch so most of the time, when addressed in this language I am still replying in either Spanish or Italian), I haven't been able to post here again until now. Hopefully my Nederlandse chip will soon be fully operational and I will be back here with my stories and photographs.

Are you getting ready for the end of year celebrations? Our Christmas/New Year holiday will be very low-impact this year - my husband and I will be staying at home or visiting friends and sharing seasonal lekkere dingen (tasty things), nothing too exciting or adventurous. No big parties planned, no huge amounts of cooking (the Argies in Dutchland food feasts will resume as of next year) and no more faraway travels for us until 2012.

Usually at this time of the year I tend to feel a bit down, mostly because I am still trying to go back to my Dutch routine and life after a long stay in Argentina. Christmas away from your homeland and your dear ones is never easy; but don't get me wrong - I count my blessings, give thanks for them and normally try to make the most of it and enjoy the festivities like everyone else.

Before closing this post, I want to thank you all for stopping by to read, comment and share on From Argentina to the Netherlands, for Love! and to wish you a brilliant Christmas and an amazing New Year!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Let me share with you again this year, the season's greetings I received from my friend Nico: Santa or Papá Noel as we call him in Argentina, skating around the city of Rosario. I hope you like it!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic...

2011-11-23T21:13:00.004+01:00

Three months have gone by since the last time I wrote here on my blog. In the meantime, I have been travelling, working and enjoying the company of friends and family and I cannot think of a better way to spend my days.

This year I have been very lucky - I have been on short holidays three times: to beautiful Andalusia in Spain, to the Ardennes in neighbouring Belgium and to the Argo Saronic Islands in Greece. I fell in love with all of these places and I feel it would be a dream come true to go back to each one of them some time in the future.
In late August, my parents came all the way from Argentina to spend two months with me in The Netherlands. It was the first time my father visited Holland, so we made sure that he got to see as much as possible and we also spent two weekends abroad in Germany and in Belgium.

My parents during our visit at the Southern Sea Museum in the NL.

Finally, the time came to pay our annual visit to my home country, Argentina. Right when a quite unusually beautiful autumn was beginning to set in in Holland, the four of us -my parents, my husband and I- flew together across half of Europe and over the Atlantic to land here in the southern hemisphere some 25 hours after leaving home. Here in the south Nature´s cycle is just beginning and trees are not losing their leaves but rather filling up. The usual brown and earthy colours that are so common in Córdoba, are slowly changing into green again and it is warm and sunny most of the time.

I usually feel sorry to miss the beauty of the autumn in The Netherlands, especially this year when it has been such an unusually fantastic season, judging by what I´ve seen in my friend Alison´s blog -A Flamingo in Utrecht- lately. Here are some of the shots she took around the city of Utrecht:

Autumn along the Oudegracht. ©Alison Netsel

Mist in a street in Utrecht. ©Alison Netsel.

Autumn Domtoren (Church bell tower) ©Alison Netsel

But the beauty of the spring in Argentina makes up for all that I am missing in the northern hemisphere. It is during this time of the year when the beautiful jacarandá, a typical tree of these lands, get covered in gorgeous purple flowers. I recently admired them in the photos my friend Diego -from the blog in Spanish, Contacto con lo Divino- took in Buenos Aires. Here are some of his pictures:

Jacarandas in bloom in Buenos Aires. ©Diego Bianchi

Beautiful light trhough the jacarandas. ©Diego Bianchi

View of 9 de Julio Av. in Buenos Aires. ©Diego Bianchi

I still have three more weeks to enjoy my holiday here in Argentina, during which I hope to see more of my friends and family and enjoy visiting all the familiar places that mean so much to me ...

Hasta la próxima...!

Córdoba: la peatonal - the pedestrian area of the city

2011-08-10T23:58:00.010+02:00

Para leer este post en español, sigue este enlace

La peatonal in the city centre of Córdoba

All the world is a stage, and all the men and women merely players ... goes the saying and this is what I think whenever I am walking down the pedestrian area in Córdoba. If there is a "stage" in this city, a place where you can watch life in all its glory and also in all its .... ingloriousness walk past you, that is in la peatonal.

In Córdoba La peatonal is the commercial district of this busy city. Along calles 9 de julio, Rivera Indarte, or Dean Funes you will come across elegant shopping arcades, big department stores, chain retailers and small boutiques where you can find just about anything you might be looking for - from buttons and ribbons to household appliances and cars.

If after doing the round of your favourite shops you feel tired and in need of refreshment, you will also find here many cafés where you can sit for a while and enjoy some coffee with pastries (try for example café Havanna at Rivera Indarte 73, where they sell the delicious Havanna alfajores) or restaurants where you can have from fast food like the classic carlitos (a toasted ham and cheese sandwich) at the traditional El Quijote Bar (Vélez Sarsfield 73), to a full three course meal at Trattoria Il Gatto (Avenida General Paz 120).

But what makes la peatonal a stage where life flows unhindered -and does it in technicolour, besides- are the cordobeses themselves, who in this part of the city are not simple passers-by but rather become main characters in a big urban play. Young and old, rich and poor, every cordobés has seen part of his or her life take place on this "stage" and everyone has a story or two to tell about it.

There is always music in every corner of la peatonal. Photo by Claudia Gibson

As a newly arrived 10-year-old I used to walk around la peatonal with my mum, eyes wide open trying hard to catch it all in: the shops, the buzz of people coming and going, the street vendors selling just about anything: fruit, watches and alarm clocks, pets, football t-shirts and hats, cubanitos and garrapiñada, toys ... a noisy and colourful mix of people, smells and sounds that have stayed with me all these years despite living on the other side of the world.

Not much has changed in this part of town. The street vendors with their stalls are still there twenty, thirty years later. They are like fixed characters in this "play"; they have names and a story that, if you walk through la peatonal every day, you end up knowing as if they were part of your own extended family.

But most of these characters from la peatonal that I knew as a little girl disappeared a long time ago, like the trio of little people -two men and a woman, all blind- who used to play traditional Argentinean music and sell lottery tickets in a fixed spot for decades and that everyone used to know as "los cieguitos" (the little blind people).

A few of today's fixed characters at la peatonal in Córdoba. Photos by Andrea Orozco.

Another such famous fixed character in the peatonal cordobesa from way before my time, was Jardín Florido, an old man who used to stand at the junction of calles 9 de julio and Rivera Indarte, always wearing a carnation blossom in the buttonhole of his coat. Jardín Florido's role in this urban play used to be that of the galant gentleman who paid compliments to the ladies walking past him in the busy peatonal.

Jardín Florido caught paying compliments to two ladies in the peatonal in Córdoba. Photo: WIkipedia

Today la peatonal continues to be the epicentre of Córdoba where people meet, shop and run their errands. It is also the place where school kids hang out between of after classes. As a secondary school student I used to walk around the Peatonal almost every day, so I have lots of memories of this hot spot of my home town.

With my friend Adriana, we used to walk down Obispo Trejo street after our morning lessons to go to her grandparents' kiosk, situated right next to Paseo de las Flores. We would hang out there, grab something to eat and later head back for school for our afternoon class.

The Paseo de las Flores is a fake bridge used by a street vendor to display plants and flowers.

Also on our way to lunch between classes, my friend Marcela would steer me through the throngs of people in la peatonal while I read and translated for her stories like "Rebecca", "Jane Eyre" or "The Lord of the Castle", taking care that I would not trip, fall into a hole or be pushed around too much. At 14 or 15, there is of course no time to waste when your favourite love story has reached a turning point and you have to know what happens next ...never mind that we were walking in the middle of la peatonal during the rush hour!

And even once, with cousin Gloria, we stopped for a while to listen to one of the cieguitos playing a waltz and to our surprise, a man fixing the telephone lines up there on a post, came down and invited us to dance.How we laughed! I don't think that we danced with him but the attiude and friendliness of our galant telecommunications worker certainly made our day.

The bustling centre of Córdoba with its peatonal, turns into a lively stage every day of the week with the first lights, when cordobeses by birth and by choice, tourists and travellers passing by the city, start filling up the streets with noise, colour, friendly chatter, music, the call of the vendors from the different stalls. It is never quiet, it is never still, never boring - that is for sure.

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Thanks to Claudia Gibson and Andrea Orozco for letting me use their photos here in my blog.

ALFAJORES CORDOBESES

2011-06-27T10:38:00.014+02:00

Sweet mouthfuls from my Córdoba

(si prefieres leer este post en español, por favor, sigue este enlace)

A batch of my alfajores cordobeses filled with cherry jam

Here's some advice for you: if a colleague from work, a neighbour, your cousin, your best friend or even a certain blogger contact of yours tells you that he or she is heading for Córdoba -mostly the one in Argentina, but as you will see, it can also be the one in Spain- and he or she asks what you want as a souvenir from this exotic and far away land, make sure you remember this word and learn how to say it properly, "alfajores!" You will thank me if you do. Here is why:

What is an alfajor?

An alfajor is basically a pastry made by joining two layers of cake or biscuits with some dulce de leche, mousse or fruit jam in the middle. Depending on where they come from, alfajores can be made in different ways, filled with different kinds of jams and either coated in white or dark chocolate, in a sugar glaze or simply covered with a dust of powdered sugar. Take your pick, they are the sweetest mouthfuls you can ask for and they are very popular all over Argentina.

Alfajores de maicena by "The Baker's Dozen", a small business owned by a friend in Córdoba.

Where does the alfajor come from?

The alfajor (pronounced more or less alfa-HOR, plural is alfajores - alfa-HO-res) entered Spain in the times of the al-Andalus, when the whole of Spain was occupied by the Moors (from 711 to 1492 to be precise). Moorish influence in Spanish culture is still going strong to this day and it is to the Moors that we have to thank for this beautiful pastry.

Interior of the impressive mosque in the city of Córdoba (Spain) - remains of the glory of the al-Andalus.

It was mostly in the convents all over Spain (and therefore probably in those of the old Córdoba, the one in Andalusia) where nuns kept alive many of the brilliant recipes that the Moors had introduced in Spain; and in time, it was through Spain that the tradition of the alfajor was taken to the other side of the Atlantic to the South American colonies, where the recipes changed, due to the lack of ingredients or to new habits, but where they became a favourite type of pastry across the continent.

The alfajor in Argentina:

It was also in Córdoba, but this time the new one in Argentina, where the alfajor started to be produced at an industrial scale. Back in the 1860s, Augusto Chammás, a French chemist who had settled in the mediterranean city, started a small family factory to produce what we today know as the typical alfajor cordobés. Alfajores Chammás are, in my humble opinion, still the best that you can get in Córdoba. (wink, wink ... remember this for the operation "souvenir cordobés"!)

Nowadays there are lots of different brands and factories that come up with their special type of alfajor - all or most of them ricos (tasty). Every tourist centre in the country has its own type or brand, and if you are on holidays in the hills of Córdoba, in Bariloche, or in Mar del Plata, you simply can't go back home without taking a couple of dozens for your family or friends.

The best: the alfajor cordobés

A batch of the alfajores filled with dulce the leche that I prepared recently.

Now, I wouldn't be a true Argie if I didn't claim that our alfajores from Córdoba are the best, would I? But the truth be told, I prefer alfajores that taste as artesanales (handmade) and are light and fluffy rather than creamy or chocolatey such as those you buy in any kiosco or supermarket in Argentina.
The classic alfajor cordobés is made with two layers of a crumbly, airy pastry hugging, so to speak, the fruit jam or dulce de leche in between. The most comon fruit jams used to fill them are quince, fig or apricot. The sandwich biscuits are either covered in a dusting of icing sugar or coated in an egg white glaze.

The Challenge:

Once again, my blogger friend Katie from Seashells and Sunflowers came up with a challenge for bloggers in / from Argentina and this time it was a sweet one: each one of the participant bloggers had to make her own regional version of alfajores.
On this occasion, the participants are (besides myself, of course):
Katie, from blog Seashells and Sunflowers
Ana, from blog Ana's Travels
Meag, from blog A Domestic Disturbance
Rebecca, from blog From Argentina, with Love
Paula, from blog Buenos Aires Foodies

Please visit Katie's, Ana's, Meag's, Rebecca's and Paula's blogs to find the other recipes for more Alfajor Heaven!

Now, if you are not so lucky as to have a work colleague, neighbour, cousin, best friend or even a certain blogger contact kind enough to bring you Chammás alfajores from Córdoba, you can always try to make your own. Here is...

the recipe for alfajores cordobeses:

Ingredients: (this recipe made me 20 alfajores, cutting the biscuits of the size of an espresso cup)

200 grams of icing sugar
6 egg yokes
50 grams of butter, melted
the zest of 1 lemon
150 grams of plain flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
dulce de leche or fruit jam to fill the biscuits

For the glazing:

3 spoons of icing sugar
1 egg white
100 grams of caster sugar
75 cc. of water
the juice of half a lemon

Preparation:

Beat the icing sugar and the egg yokes until the mixture is foamy. You can do this au bain marie (placing the bowl with the mixture on top of pan with warm -not too hot- water).
Add the melted butter, the plain flour, the baking powder and the lemon zest, then mix until you get a soft dough. If necessary, add some more plain flour until you see that you can lift the dough easily from the bowl. Shape the dough into two balls and place in the fridge to cool for at least 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 160/170°C. On a floured work surface work the dough until you get a thickness of about 1/2 cm. Cut the dough into 4 cm circles using a pasta cutter or the rim of a small glass or cup.
Place the biscuits obtained on an oven plaque lined with baking paper and take to the oven.
Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes until done (dry but not brown), take them out and let them cool.
Take one biscuit and spread some dulce de leche or the fruit jam of your choice on it, then top it with another biscuit. Repeat the process until you have used all the biscuits.

The glazing:

Beat the egg whites and the icing sugar for about 10 minutes you obtain a thick cream.
Prepare a syrup with 100 grams of caster sugar and the water (do not add much, just enough to more or less cover the amount of sugar) and put it on the gas until the sugar dissolves.
Add the syrup to the egg white mix and coat the alfajores immediately.
Let the glazing dry before serving or storing the alfajores.

The final result: my alfajores cordobeses with a white sugar and egg white coating.

A sneak preview of the other girls' alfajores for this challenge:

(you can click on the link below the photo to go to the recipes)

ALFAJORES MARPLATENSES, by Katie

ALFAJORES DE MAICENA, by Ana.

ALFAJORES SANTAFECINOS, by Meag.

ALFAJORES SALTEÑOS, by Paula.

ALFAJORES MENDOCINOS, by Rebecca.

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Thanks to my friend Claudia from "The Baker's Dozen" (Córdoba, Argentina) for letting me use her picture of the delicious alfajores de maicena.
Please, visit The Baker's Dozen Facebook page for information on their chocolaterie/patisserie and confectionery products for birthday parties and events in the city of Córdoba.Questions and orders can be sent to consultasbaker [at] hotmail [dot] com or call (54 351) 424 8715.

Spotted in Belgium: Kwak beer

2011-06-19T22:42:00.001+02:00

(para leer este post en español, sigue este enlace)

Actually, I first spotted this beer here in the Netherlands - at the café/restaurant De Belgische Keizer (the Belgian Emperor) in Zwolle, to be more precise. But during our recent mini-vacation in the Ardennes in Belgium, we stopped at the tavern/restaurant Le Miroir (site in French and Dutch only) in Dochamps (province of Luxemburg) for dinner and when I saw that they had Pauwel Kwak beer, I couldn't resist the temptation to order one while we waited for our dinner.

Kwak beer is always served in glasses that have a very distinctive shape: they have a round bottom and look more like an hour-glass than like a traditional beer glass. The "hour-glass" is held upright in a wooden stand and the whole thing looks like a piece of scientific tool more fit to be displayed in a lab than in a bar. It is certainly quite original.

I have had Kwak many times before but I never got round to finding more about the origin of this beer. This time as soon as I came back from our holiday and started working on my vacation photos, I thought I would just do some research and see what I could find about it.

Back in Napoleon's times, Pauwel Kwak was a beer brewer and owner of an inn called "De Hoorn" (the horn) in Dendermonde, East Flanders. Every day the stage-coaches passing by would stop at the inn to take a break. In those days, the coachman was not allowed to leave the horses and the coach outside and join his passengers for a drink inside the inn, so Mr. Kwak, the owner of this particular inn came up with an idea.
He had a special Kwak glass made: round-bottomed, which could be hung from a wooden holder to prevent it from spilling the precious liquid. In this way, the thirsty coachman, could safely enjoy his Kwak beer without leaving his coach and the horses unattended.

Kwak beer is still today brewed and served in the traditional way: in the Kwak glass. But what about the taste? I do not know much about beers, but I can tell you that this one is delicious, like many other Belgian beers that I have tasted so far. To the eye it has a deep clear amber colour and a creamy thick foam. It also has a soft fruity and a malty aroma with a light herbal character. When you drink it, the taste starts with the fruit - maybe bananas or ananas... and it is sweet: it always makes me think of caramel. After you drink it, there is a light bitterness and spiciness that remains in the back of your tongue.

Pauwel Kwak is a traditional Belgian beer with a story behind it. Original and lekker (delicious) - definitely at the top of my list of favourite beers.

Visitng Zeeland II: The Oosterscheldekering or Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier

2011-06-10T14:08:00.012+02:00

(Si prefieres leer este post en español, sigue este enlace)

The piers and slides of the Eastern Scheldt barrier in the province of Zeeland.

With the official inauguration of the storm surge barrier in the Oosterschelde (the Eastern Scheldt river) on 4 October 1986, Queen Beatrix declared the Delta Plan works in the Netherlands completed. More than ten years later she did that again when she opened the last section of the Nieuwe Waterweg Dam on 10 May 1997. It doesn't matter how many times it needs to be said; one thing is for sure: The Netherlands has definitely tamed the power of the sea - or at least, that is what we like to hear from those who have in their charge the management and the overseeing of the dikes and dams in this country.

With 60% of its territory under the sea level, the Netherlands is world renowned for its Delta works - a series of construction projects designed to protect a large area of the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta from the destructive power of the sea. Bearing these facts in mind when I moved to the Netherlands, I thought that I had to pay a visit to the monumental sea barrier and see for myself this ingenious work of engineering.

This is why the main purpose of our holiday in the southern province of Zeeland was to stop at the Oosterscheldekering or Eastern Scheldt Storm Surge Barrier - the most impressive storm surging structure in the Netherlands.

The Oosterschelde or Eastern Scheldt Storm Surge Barrier.

This is what the Oosterschelde Storm Surge Barrier looks like on Google Maps:

The construction of this sea barrier cost an impressive total amount of 2.5 billion euros; but even more impressive is what it is supposed to have achieved: thanks to this monumental barrier the chances of having a destructive flood like the one that the country suffered in 1953, have gone down to one in every ... 4.000 years!

Driving on the Oosterschelde barrier you can get a closer look at the piers and slides that make up the construction.

The alternative plans for the Oosterschelde:

Initially, this section of the Eastern Scheldt delta was to be closed with a regular dam that would completely block the sea. But even though safety was the top priority, there were serious concerns about the consequences that this kind of barrier would have on the ecosystem of the delta. The alternative then, was to build a barrier consisting of piers with slides that were to be kept open, but which could be closed if there was any risk of flood.
The cost of executing this plan as it was originally intended would have been astronomical and therefore, after much discussion in Parliament, it was finally decided that the best alternative was to build two auxiliary dams (the Philips dam and the Oester dam) to reduce the surface of the open barrier and, at the same time, allow for a better control of the tidal movement. The new plan also included a tide-free shipping route between Antwerp and the Rhine.

Everything seem to be working properly when I "inspected" the Oosterschelde Storm Surge Barrier in 2008.

Nature in the Oosterschelde:

The sea/ landscape and wild life in the Oosterschelde is now quite unique with a rich variety of fish, water plants and algae. The reserve is also a favourite with an amazing number of birds that feed or hibernate on the land. All this wonderful natural environment would have been completely lost if the original plan to close the Eastern Scheldt had been carried out and also mussel and oyster farming would have been affected with disastrous economic conseequences for the entire region.
Fortunately, the alternative chosen for this amazing piece of engineering seems to have been a success; not only to keep the sea level under control, but also for the preservation of the natural habitat of hundreds of different species.

The Oosterschelde storm surge barrier is a must-see for anyone who wants to know what makes the Dutch people proud. Windmills, tulips, cheese and wooden shoes you can take back with you as souvenirs (you will find plenty of these at the Schiphol Duty Free shop and you can even order them online); but the water works and what they have done for the safety of the Dutch coast can only be truly appreciated in-situ. Open your eyes, take it in, enjoy ... and learn.

There is a fun way to get to know more about the Delta Works and sea life in Zeeland: the Delta park Neeltje-Jan, built on an artificial island on the Oosterschelde offers exhibitions and educational activities together with fun attractions like a sealion theatre, a hurricane simulator and many, many more interesting things to do or see, making it is an ideal place to spend time with the children. On their website you can find all the information necessary to plan your visit.

A plaque placed at one of the ends of the barrier reads in Dutch:

"Hier gaan over het tij, de wind, de maan en wij."

(Here rule over the tide, the wind, the moon and us)

You may also like to read: The light breeze of Zeeland and Visiting Zeeland I: Middelburg.

A Bread Pudding Tale: There and Back Again

2011-05-15T18:13:00.003+02:00

(si prefieres leer este post en español, haz clic aquí)

A few weeks ago Katie -author of Seashells and Sunflowers- launched an Argentine Recipe Contest on her blog and I decided to enter with a recipe for budín de pan al caramelo, a dessert that is quite popular in Argentinean cooking and which I have been making quite often since I moved to The Netherlands, especially when I feel a bit homesick... Well, it seems that Katie liked the recipe and decided to choose it as a finalist for the contest!!

Reading her post and looking at the photos of her version of the budín made think of the journey this recipe has made: I brought it to The Netherlands when I came from Argentina for love; and it has now made the journey back to its place of origin where American expat Katie moved some time ago, also for love!

For those of you who were looking forward to reading the recipe for budín de pan when I posted about the Argies in Dutchland food parties, here is the link to Katie's post about the bread pudding she made with the recipe I sent her for the contest.

Budín de Pan al Caramelo | Bread Pudding with Caramel Sauce

Photo ©katiemetz

Spotted in The Netherlands: tulip fields on the Northeast Polder

2011-05-05T17:27:00.004+02:00

(haciendo clic aquí puedes leer la versión en español)

Tulips from the Noordoostpolder in the province of Flevoland.

At this time of the year in Holland the fields are transformed into a spectacular display of colour: it is the tulip season! In the months of April and May 10.000 hectares across The Netherlands burst with the colours of approximately 3 billion tulips in bloom and the landscape looks like a giant caleidoscope of spring beauty.

Tulips are considered a symbol of The Netherlands all over the world and every year thousands of tourists visit the country to admire the bulbs in full bloom during the spring months. The Keukenhof - the largest flower garden in the world situated not far from Amsterdam - alone receives 800,000 visitors per year attracted by the popular tulips.

Typical Dutch landscape on the Northeast Polder, near Blankenham.

However, the largest cultivated areas are not located in the west (North or South Holland) but in the Noordoostpolder (northeast polder) in the province of Flevoland with 2,000 hectares of bulb fields.

A red sea of tulips, near Bant, in the Noordoostpolder.

Last Saturday during our trip from Zwolle to the club where my husband practices clay pigeon shooting every week, we made several stops and detours on the way to admire the beautiful landscape and take some photographs. We were not the only ones: lots of people in cars, on bikes, on foot, were following the bulb route [bollenroute] in Flevoland and enjoying a warm sunny day.

A farm house in Blankenham, Noordoostpolder.

If you are interested in exploring the youngest province in the country and seeing what Flevoland has to offer, you can visit the VVV website here: Ook Flevoland. Also, the VVV office in the Noordoostpolder has information about local events and attractions: VVV Noordoostpolder.

Endless sea of tulips on the Noordoostpolder, near Luttelgeest.

A tulip field in the Noordoostpolder, Flevoland.

Presépio goes Argie in a sip!

2011-04-18T09:48:00.051+02:00

(si prefieres leer este post en español, por favor sigue este enlace)

A few days ago my friend Sandra (author of the blog, "Presépio com Vista para o Canal") came to Zwolle for a visit. The plan was to have a lazy lunch and walk around town a little. Since we were having a spell of nice weather with lots of sun and clear sky, I thought it would be a good idea to sit somewhere nice near the water in the city centre and have a bit of a picnic.

Sandra is always very receptive and enthusiastic about discovering traditions and habits from other parts of the world, so I came up with a little surprise for her. Before leaving the house, I boiled some water and poured it into a thermos flask I brought from Argentina. What surprise did I have in mind? Well, pouring Sandra some mates, of course!

Pouring "mates" for friends.

Mate (pronounced MAH-teh, stressing the first syllable, not the last as I see it written everywhere) is Argentina's national drink, but it is not just any drink, something you pour when you are thirsty and then forget about. Mate is for an Argentine his or her best friend when he or she is at home alone studying, working or relaxing. Preparing the mate, pouring it, holding the gourd in your hand, sipping it slowly - the whole ritual is comforting and it gives an immediate sense of well being that, originating in your brain, spreads then through your body.

My collection of mate gourds from Argentina.

But mate is the drink you serve when you are entertaining at home, always the first thing you offer and is accepted by your guests. Also, if you are off to spend the day at the beach or by the pool, the mate gear is the first thing that you want to pack and God may help you if, upon arriving at your destination, you discover you have forgotten to take it with you! You will be despised and blamed by your companions relentlessly - for about five whole minutes!

Because mate is such an important part of our everyday lives back in Argentina, I thought that Sandra would be interested in tasting it and hearing all about it. In order to prepare and pour this infusion you need a bit of equipment: the thermos flask for the hot water, the yerba mate or dry leaves to be brewed, some sugar, the gourd to pour it in (also called mate) and the metal filter straw. You can also add other herbs to the mate or even orange or lemon peel to give it a citrus flavour.

The raw gourds waiting to be carved and polished to be used to pour mates.

The metal straws wih filters, used to sip the mates from the gourd.

Once I had collected and prepared all these elements, I had to put them somewhere to transport them safely. And that is when my mysterious magic leather case came in handy. In Argentina you can find special cases made for the sole purpose of carrying the mate implements, and last year during my holiday in Argentina, I bought a very nice one made from carpincho or capibara skin.

My carpincho leather case to transport the mate equipment. Photo by Sandra.

When Sandra saw my fancy case, she immediately got curious but I was determined not to give away what was in it until the moment was right. After lunch in "La Meridiana", an Italian restaurant on the Melkmarkt, opposite the Grote Kerk (Big Church), we took a walk around and I took her to see the Zwolse Balletjeshuis, where they sell these special, old fashioned sweets typical of Zwolle. Unfortunately it was closed, but we managed to find some balletjes at the Tourist Information Office or VVV right next to the Grote Kerk.

Finally, the moment to open the mysterious leather case arrived. We sat by the canal, I opened the case, took the thermos out -nothing odd there, maybe it was coffee? tea? spirits?- and then out came the tumbler containing the dried leaves of yerba mate and I started preparing the drink. First I took the gourd, filled 3/4 of it with the yerba, then shook it a bit to make the loose powder to go to the surface and avoid them from going through the sieve and drinking them. Then I placed the metal filter straw to one side and I also added a pinch of peppermint leaves to give it more taste. Instead of sugar I normally use sweetener so I added some of that and then poured the hot water. The first mate is always for the cebador (the person pouring it) to make sure it is prepared correctly, so I had the first one and I made sure it was ok. Then, I poured again and passed it to Sandra. What did Sandra think of it?

Well, I am sure that it tasted quite strange to her, probably! Drinking mate is an acquired taste and the first few sips or the first few rounds of mate will definitely taste a bit too strong and probably bitter, We, Argentines, drink it normally from an early age and some of us don't even get to really like it, but because it is usually done socially, we always join in the mate circles while spending time with friends or family.

Rosario, a friend's daughter, is not yet 3 years old and she already drinks mates as an expert!

I can go on and on talking about mate drinking since the ritual has its own etiquette and the manner of preparing and pouring it varies from region to region. It also has a number of health benefits, since it is an excellent anti-oxidant, protects the inmune system and is an energy booster.

I am not sure what Sandra thought of those first sips of mate, but I do know that she was rather impressed with the ritual and the health benefits that yerba mate offers. So, guess what I am giving her for her birthday?

Packets of different types of yerba mate.

Thank you, Sandra, for posting this article about mate and your visit in your blog and for letting me use your photo of the "magic case"!

Elena's Carbonada criolla (pumpkin beef stew)

2011-04-12T12:00:00.006+02:00

(Para leer en español, sigue este enlace)

In my last blog entry I presented a ritual that my Argentinean friends Elena, Mónica and I started a while ago: all three families spending a day together, cooking and eating Argentinean food. Today, Elena is sharing with us her recipe for one of the dishes that she prepared for our first Argies in Dutchland party: the carbonada criolla, or pumpkin beef stew.

Elena pouring mates (the Argentinean national drink) for her guests.

While I was doing some research about this traditional Argentinean dish, I was surprised to know that its origin is in fact, Belgian. I had always thought that carbonada criolla was one of the dishes that could be traced back to the colonial times of our history, a dish Spanish in origin that had been adopted by the criollos (the people of Spanish descent who were born in the colony) and changed to include some of the local ingredients available.

Instead, it seems that the carbonada criolla hails originally from Belgium where it is known as carbonade or more specifically, carbonade flamande which is, "a sweet-sour beef and onion stew made with beer and seasoned with thyme and bay." (source, Wikipedia) Interesting how this dish started its journey not too far from where we, the argies in the team, are living right now!

Besides this unexpected discovery, I found that the name carbonada refers to the cooking method: the stew was or is cooked traditionally on a pot over the flame very slowly until all the logs in the open stove are reduced to ashes, which in Spanish is carbonizados. Then the criolla part of the name, refers to the indigenous ingredients that were added by the locals -the criollos- like the corn on the cob, the pumpkin and the fruit. The pumpkin shell is sometimes used to serve the dish.

Carbonada criolla served in the pumpkin shell. Photo courtesy of Recetario Cocina

Here is the recipe of this hearty traditional Argentinean dish. If you are now located in the northern hemisphere you might want to wait until the autumn or winter to try it since it is a rather hearty dish; but trust me, you will love it!

Carbonada Criolla for the Argies in Dutchland, by Elena:

Heat some oil in a pan and brown two cloves of garlic and a finely chopped onion for a few minutes until soft. Add a pound (1/2 kg.) of steweing beef cut in small cubes and seal it in the garlic and onion before adding two peeled tomatoes chopped, 100g. of butter and a bunch of fresh herbs, one potato, a chunk of pumpkin, and another of sweet potato, all cubed; then some pieces of corn still on the cob, three ladelfulls of stock. Season with salt and pepper.
Put the lid on the pan and let it boil until everything is tender. Add then 250g of rice, one peeled apple cubed, three peeled peaches also cubed (it can also be whole small peaches, always peeled). Cook on a low flame until the rice is cooked, which should be about 20 minutes.
Add more stock if necessary, but bear in mind that the carbonada should have the consistency of a broth.
This dish tastes better when its made on the same day, since it will get too mushy if you prepare it the day before.

Elena's delicious carbonada, served on the beautiful dishes she brought over from Argentina.

The recipe was taken from El Libro de Doña Petrona, a book containing the recipes of the "guru" of Argentinean cooking: Petrona C. de Gandulfo.

Argies in Dutchland: doing what we know best

2011-04-07T11:52:00.002+02:00

(si prefieres leer este artículo en español, por favor sigue este enlace)

And what is that Argies do best, you may ask? Play football, dance the tango, run a country efficiently? (Allow me a little sarcasm here!) Well no, I was rather talking about having a good time with friends around food - good food and a lot of it, to be more exact.

I am sure that in many cultures and many countries people enjoy getting together, having a good time and eating good food. Inviting people over and treating guests to a home-cooked meal is not a habit exclusively practiced by us, Argies. While abroad, I have been to the homes of many people od different nationalities where I have been made to feel at home, served excellent food and been treated like royalty.

However, if you are an expat, I am sure you will agree with me that one sometimes yearns for the company of people who are just like you, who enjoy the same things, share your background, speak the same language in the same way and, most of all, miss the same things from back home, especially food. This is why with my Argentinean expat friends Mónica and Elena, we get together a couple of times a year to enjoy a true Argie feast which normally involves a lot of cooking, a lot of eating and a lot of talking and relaxing, too.

The Argie "team": Elena, Mónica and myself.

From the moment we mention a possible date for the meet-up, we start making suggestions of dishes from back home which we would like to see on the menu of the day. Because Argentina is mainly a country of immigrants, our favourite dishes normally include not only traditional dishes which originated in colonial times or with a more native Latin American flavour, like the locro Mónica made the last time or the carbonada criolla that Elena made for our first Argies in Holland party; but also dishes that were brought over from Europe by our grandparents or parents, dishes that we regularly cook at home on weekends for the family or friends -like Monica's delicious canelones or the ravioles I made when I hosted the meeting in my house last year.

Since many of the regulars here on this blog are interested in food, I thought it was a good idea to share some of the recipes of the Argentinean classics that we have cooked so far for our parties. Mónica and Elena have both kindly agreed to provide the recipes and if you have any questions about the dishes or Argentinean food in general, we will be very happy to answer them.

A word of warning though: our dishes normally include meat, so those of you who are vegetarians can skip the main dishes or try to adapt them to your taste (like the locro) or wait for the recipes of our desserts and pastry.

For our first "Argies in Dutchland" party the menu included:

Elena's Carbonada Criolla

(beef stew with pumpkin, veggies and fruit)

Mónica's Cazuela de Pollo

(chicken casserole)

Aledys' Budín de Pan al Caramelo

(bread pudding with caramel sauce)

Elena's Alfajores de Maicena

( dulce de leche sandwich shortbread biscuits)

Mónica's torta rápida de chocolate

(fast chocolate cake)

In the next blog post Elena will share with us her recipes for the carbonada criolla - a hearty country dish with an interesting background - and the alfajores de maicena, the delicious sandwich biscuits filled with the ever-present dulce de leche... Now go and work up some appetite for the next blog entry!

The Netherlands and its canals

2011-03-28T08:00:00.008+02:00

"Honey, I hung the kitchen!"

(si prefieres leer este post en español, por favor, pincha aquí)

If you have never been to The Netherlands, it is very well possible that you think that you can only find canals in Amsterdam. It is true that Amsterdam is known around the world as "The Venice of the North" and that the grachtengordel (the Dutch word for "canal ring") has recenly been added to UNESCO's World Heritage list. But canals are not exclusively found in Amsterdam - there are also beautiful canals in other big cities in the country, such as Delft or Utrecht or small towns like Valkenburg or IJlst, and in some cases these canals have unique characteristics. Take a look at this photo I took in the province of Groningen:

These are the (not so) famous hanging kitchens (hangende keukens, in Dutch) of Appingedam, a city in the northern province of Groningen.

Some of the 16th century houses along the Solwerderstraat in the city of Appingedam have kitchens overlooking the canal, the Damsterdiep. They were originally warehouses that were later converted into private residences in the 17th century. Due to the lack of space, they built the kitchens "hanging" over the Damsterdiep canal - a practical solution which also allowed the housewives back then, to collect the water for cooking directly from the canal and after the washing up, to throw the water out the kitchen window back into the canal.
Many of these houses were restored in the 1980s and they are still used as private residences. From the Vrouwenbrug (Women's bridge) you can get a nice view of the hanging kitchens:

Vrouwenbrug over the Damsterdiep in Appingedam.

A nice little terrace over the canal and one of the hanging kitchens.

But the hanging kitchens are not the only places of interest in Appingedam. The town also has a marina that attracts yacht owners and where you can rent pedal boats or canoes to sail around. Through the Damsterdiep you can actually sail for 40 km pass very picturesque dorpjes or villages in Groningen.

Just walking around Appingedam you can spot charming scenes like these:

Parking your boat in front of your house - how cool is that?

I wonder if the police hand out parking tickets along the canal, too?

Neighbours having a chat - how often do you see scenes like this in your neighbourhood?

In the summer, no need to put up your plastic paddle pool in your garden; in the winter, you have a natural ice-skating ring for free!

Modern houses by the marina in Appingedam.

Nice old houses on the Solwerderstraat.

Someone was watching me!

Appingedam is a charming town to visit for a day especially during the spring/summer months, when you can enjoy the activities around the marina and, for example, rent a boat or explore the area by bike. It is also good to combine with a visit to the city of Groningen which is about 30 km southwest of Appingedam.

Córdoba - the heart of the city

2011-03-18T16:20:00.012+01:00

Si prefieres leer este post en español, sigue este enlace)

A view of Plaza San Martín, the cathedral and the cabildo in Córdoba. Photo by Roberto Bowyer.

For quite some time now I've been wanting to show you around my hometown in Argentina: Córdoba. It has taken me this long because I couldn't really make up my mind as to where to start - there is so much to see, so many stories to tell about it! I finally decided that I would start by showing you the very heart of the city - the kilómetro 0 or starting point from where the Spanish colonists started to build the city after its foundation in 1573.

The kilómetro 0 is the very heart of a city that perfectly combines modernity with history and tradition. While walking around the historic city centre, you will discover - among noisy avenues and crowded pedestrian streets - the founders' chessboard design of perfect squares with the Plaza Mayor (today Plaza San Martín), the cathedral and the Cabildo or City Hall in the middle.


First city plan of Córdoba as designed by the Spanish founders in 1577.

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Today's Plaza San Martín (dating from 1577) was first conceived as a dry square where military parades and official ceremonies (religious and secular) were held. Much later, in the XIX century, the landscaping of the plaza took place and in the centre, a statue of General José de San Martín -one of the main figures of the South American independence movement- was erected.

Another angle of Plaza San Martín.

Official ceremonies and popular festivals are still held at the plaza to this day. Every 24 May in the evening, for example, the Town Hall organises a festival with popular or folk music as a prelude to the new day, the veinticinco de mayo or 25th May when we commemorate the establishment of the first local governement back in 1810. At the strike of midnight fireworks are set off and the people gathered in the plaza welcome el veinticinco at the cry of Viva la Patria! (long live the Fatherland!)

The sculpture of General San Martin was built and donated by sculptors Fontana and Locatti in 1946. The fountain is made of Carrara marble by José Allio.

La catedral (the cathedral) was erected on the west side of the plaza.This imposing building merges different architectural styles - neoclassical vault and portico, romanesque dome, baroque towers, even some mudéjar details - since though works started back in 1580, the church was not finished until 1784.

A night view of the Cathedral as seen from the Plaza San Martín.

In my opinion, one of the most interesting details in the façade of the cathedral are the musical angels sculpted in the towers. These were built by the local indians (or should I better say, indigenous people) and on closer inspection one can see that the angel sculptures bear the faces of the people that actually built them.
A cast iron sculputre of Christ the Redeemer was erected on top of the portico at the beginning of the 20th century.

A frontal view of the cathedral. Notice the indian angels on the towers by clicking on the photo to enlarge.

Sculpture of Christ the Redeemer - Photo by Claudia Gibson.

If from the outside la catedral (the cathedral) looks imposing, its interior is lavish and dazzling. The vault of the cathedral's nave is decorated with frescos and murals painted at the beginning of the 20th century by Argentinean artists Emilio Caraffa, Carlos Camilloni and Manuel Cardeñosa. Also noteworthy is the main altar, of embossed sterling silver built in Alto Perú.
The cathedral also has a very vast and rich collection of votive offerings donated by religious parishoners or wealthy citizens along the centuries. These offerings include many gifts of gold and silver, jewels, crowns of pearls and other precious stones to "dress" the image of the Virgin Mary as well as silk and brocade garments.

The beautiful and lavish interior of the cathedral - Photo by Roberto Bowyer

Another angle of the interior of the cathedral - Photo by Gustavo Alterio

The Cabildo, that is the historical Town Hall, is also located opposite the main square or plaza. Originally, the cabildo was a rather humble construction made of adobe (sand, clay and water) and with a thatched roof, but in 1783 the then governor of Córdoba, the Marquis of Sobremonte, set to finish the job.
The Cabildo's mains features are the archway of fifteen columns and the covered arcade on the second floor along the façade - a combination of colonial and classic architecture.

The Cabildo in Córdoba, viewed from the Plaza San Martín. Photo by Roberto Bowyer

The archway of the Cabildo - Photo by Claudia Gibson

Inside the Cabildo - Photo by Gustavo Alterio.

Inside the building, you can visit the patios, the undergroud cells and a number of rooms that exhibit archeological finds and relics from various historical periods as well as temporal arts exhibitions. You can also visit el Salón Rojo (the Red Room)where the city's mayor receives important visitors or you can attend one of the many concerts that are held in this historic building.

To the north of the Plaza San Martín, a bit lost between rather not too pleasant looking shops, you will find the Bishop Mercadillo's Chapel or oratorio. The former chapel is just a small part of the once important colonial residence that the bishop of Córdoba had built in the late 18th century after the consecration of the cathedal and the establishment of the diocese of Córdoba.
The most outstanding feature in this building is the intricate wrought-iron balcony on the second floor of the chapel. The Centro Obispo Mercadillo behind the oratorio is a modern structure with red brick steps that form a sort of pyramid. In this centre the Town Hall usually organises exhibitions and other cultural activities.

Oratorio Obispo Mercadillo in Córdoba.

The kilómetro cero is the very heart of the city, but not just because this is where the first Spanish settlers started to plan and build Córdoba and where you can find some of the most important historic buildings but also, because it is the place where locals -the cordobeses- bustle about during the week, either on the way to the many banks that are located on the east side of the plaza, to or from work and school, or the shopping pedestrian area that spreads mostly to the north. Simply take a break between visits to the catedral or the cabildo, sit down on one of the benches and watch them move around, interact and go about their daily business only then will you be able to say that you have seen Córdoba.

Thanks to Claudia Gibson, Roberto Bowyer and Gustavo Alterio for letting me share their photos here.

Song at sunset

2011-03-10T11:20:00.005+01:00

(si prefieres leer este post en español, por favor sigue este enlace)

A glorious sunset over the winter dike looking towards Zalk (Overijssel)

A couple of Sundays ago we decided to pay a visit to an old favourite spot in our former neighbourhood in Zwolle: Westenholte. Situated in the outskirts, Westenholte is a village that became part of Zwolle in 1967, but it still keeps the charm of a typical Dutch dorpje (village) with beautiful farm houses, green fields with sheep and cows grazing and the winter dike, a haven for dozens of different bird species.
The afternoon was very cold and the sky didn't say much, being the usual dull grey that we very often see in these parts during the winter months. But as the day was coming to a close, the sky opened a tiny bit and we witnessed a glorious sunset. Hundreds of birds were flying off in groups and then settling down again on the water and the racket they were all making was almost overwhelming... At that moment I thought of a poem, Song at sunset, by Whalt Whitman:

Splendor of ended day floating and filling me,
Hour prophetic, hour resuming the past,
Inflating my throat, you divine average,
You earth and life till the last ray gleams I sing...

Another sunset, another Sunday - this time in Flevoland, near Dronte.

I didn't sing, but I felt as if I were at the opera watching the drama of the day reaching its climax to then end, and I immediately remembered something that I had read years ago about Catalonian artist Santiago Rusiñol.

Santiago Rusiñol, a Spanish painter, playwright and poet, apparently used to climb up a hill near his house every afternoon, and sit there as if at the theatre, waiting for the sunset to start. He would watch the sun begin to go down as if it were an actor or an opera singer performing his part at the thetre. As the sun touched the horizon, Rusiñol would cheer, clap his hands and even ask for an encore if the sunset had been sublime. Instead, if he hadn't been moved at all by the spectacle of the day coming to an end, he would boo, hoot at the sun and walk away in disgust as a disappointed theatre goer who walks straight back to the box office to ask for his money back.

I glimpsed the sun setting down behind he row of houses in my neighbourhood.

With this in mind, I thought I would show you here some sunset photos taken by friends and share with you a few more verses Walt Whitman's poem, Song at Sunset. Feel free to cheer as much as you like, for they are all fantastic shots of beautiful sunsets in different places around the world:

(click on the images to see a large version of the photos)

Nighfall in Madrid (Spain) - by Artigazo (David)

Open mouth of my soul uttering gladness,
Eyes of my soul seeing perfection,
Natural life of me faithfully praising things,
Corroborating forever the triumph of things.

Taking off to a warmer place (Hoofddorp, NL) - by Agnes Lapin

Wonderful how I celebrate you and myself
How my thoughts play subtly at the spectacles around!
How the clouds pass silently overhead!
How the earth darts on and on! and how the sun, moon, stars, dart on and on!

Mirrors (Coral Gables, Fl., USA) - by Roberto Bowyer

How the water sports and sings! (surely it is alive!)
How the trees rise and stand up, with strong trunks, with branches
and leaves!
(Surely there is something more in each of the trees, some living soul.)

Alley of ghosts (Rota, Spain) - by Artigazo (David)

O amazement of things--even the least particle!
O spirituality of things!
O strain musical flowing through ages and continents, now reaching
me and America!
I take your strong chords, intersperse them, and cheerfully pass
them forward.

Flames 2 (Philadelphia, USA) - by Roberto Bowyer

I too carol the sun, usher'd or at noon, or as now, setting,
I too throb to the brain and beauty of the earth and of all the
growths of the earth,
I too have felt the resistless call of myself.

Cuando el ocaso se acaba (when the day comes to an end) Gijón, Spain - by Urugallu (José Rodríguez)

I sing to the last the equalities modern or old,
I sing the endless finales of things,
I say Nature continues, glory continues,
I praise with electric voice,
For I do not see one imperfection in the universe,
And I do not see one cause or result lamentable at last in the universe.

On fire (Conrwall, UK) - by Agnes Lapin

Oh setting sun! Though the time has come,

I still warble under you, if no one else does, unmitigated adoration.

Ocaso en Peñas (sunset in Peñas) - Asturias, Spain - by Urugallu (José Rodríguez)

I want to thank Agnès, David (Artigazo), Roberto and José (Urugallu) for letting me show their beautiful photos here. It was hard to pick just a few to post since they all have amazing images - the real deal, as I often refer to their photos. You can see more of their work by visiting their fantastic Flickr galleries:

Agnès Lapin
Artigazo (David)
Roberto Bowyer
Urugallu (José Rodríguez)

Our own Elfstedentocht: Stop # 4 Dokkum

2011-02-25T19:00:00.003+01:00

(si prefieres leer ésto en español, sigue este enlace)

One of the Frisian cities that I intend to visit again next spring or summer is the town of Dokkum, which is the northernmost city in the Netherlands and one of oldest towns in the Elfstedentocht - the famous long-distance skating race that takes place in eleven cities in the province of Friesland.

Closely linked to the city of Dokkum is the name of a saint: Boniface, or as he is known in Dutch, St. Bonifatius. He was a missionary who propagated Christianity in the Frankish Empire and reached what is today the Dutch province of Friesland. It was here in Dokkum in the year 754 where St. Bonifatius suffered martyrdom at the hands of the local inhabitants.
Today, spread throughout the city, there are reminders of this historical figure, such as the neo-Gothic church of St. Bonifatius -one of the seven that architect Pierre Kuypers built in Friesland. Also, in the outskirts of the town, you can find St. Bonifatiuskapel and well, which is said to have healing powers.

St. Boniface's Church, built in the 1870s by P. Cuypers.

St. Bonifatius chapel and well, in the outskirts of Dokkum.

The mitre in the middle of this square represents the path followed by St. Bonifatius during his mission in Friesland.

In this well-preserved fortified town, the rich past is still visible. Dokkum had until the 18th century a direct connection to the sea and was for a long time an important harbour.
At the Grootdiep, the former harbour of the city and gateway to the sea, we can still today see the Admiraliteitshuis, vestige of a time when the Admiralty of Groningen and Friesland was housed here and whose purpose was to protect ocean trade. In 1963 the building was converted into a regional museum showing mainly popular regional art, collections of ceramics and textiles from the Golden Age and a very interesting exhibition about St. Boniface, his work and life.

The Admiralty Wharf at Dokkum.

Another interesting building that one should not miss while walking around Dokkum is the exceptional Town Hall, which dates from 1610 and was restored and extended or renewed in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Dokkum old Stadhuis is situated in the Kleindiep, which is also the turning point of the Elfstedentocht race.

At the local Tourist Information Office or VVV (address and website below) you can find different walking routes which will take you along the most important sights; but you can of course just walk around on your own, rambling along the canals and cute winding lanes or over the bolwerk, which was the old bastion of the city.

The Hope mill, dating from 1849.

Kids from Dokkum meeting for a chat on a Sunday afternoon.

A lady tending her garden in Dokkum.

Dokkum is also an ideal place to explore the area around this part of the country as well. Northeast Friesland is characterised by charming villages built on man-made mounds - the terp (mound) villages. To the south of the city begins the Frisian Woodland with its special landscape of half-open vistas crisscrossed by hedgerows and to the north and west, the wide open sea mudflats and the Lauwersmeer National Park, a unique area that offers both, protection for the natural habitat and plenty of opportunities for enjoying contact wih nature and water.

The Kleindiep canal or gateway with a view of the Zeldenrust mill.

Pretty houses by the canal in the city of Dokkum.

You can find my posts about three other Frisian cities here:
Stop # 1: Leeuwaarden
Stop #2: Harlingen

Stop #3: IJlst

Useful addresses:

Tourist information (for maps, routes, etc.)
Regio VVV Lauwersland
Op de Fetze 13
9101 Dokkum

Bonifatius Chapel and well (for information on visiting times, etc.)
Bronlaan 12, 9101 VS Dokkum - Phone nr.:06 – 109 14 645
Website

Museum Dokkum (Het Admiraliteitshuis)
Diepswal 27, 9101 Dokkum - Phone nr.: 0519 - 293134
Website

Of Dutch weddings, herring and (bad) first impressions....

2011-02-07T10:00:00.009+01:00

(si prefieres leer esta entrada en español, por favor sigue este enlace)

A few days ago Argentinean blogger Ana O'Reilly, author of A pinch of this, a dash of that came up with the idea of having a "weddings around the world" blog series. When she contacted me with the suggestion of posting simultaneously about this topic, I thought it was a good opportunity for me to write about my first experience with party-making in the Netherlands just a very short time after arriving in the country.

Please, visit Ana's blog entry to read all about her and her Welsh husband Sean's wedding in Argentina.
Also taking part in this series is American blogger Katie, author of "Seashells and Sunflowers" You can read her story about her first Argentinean wedding party in her post: "Party 'Til the Crack of Dawn"

I was still in expat baby diapers, so to speak, in terms of knowledge of the Dutch culture and way of life, when my husband came home from work one day, with the news that we had been invited to a wedding - his colleague Bas was getting married and the party was to be held in a restaurant just outside Zwolle. This was very exciting news! A party! The chance to dress up, get my hair done, wear a lovely evening dress which I hadn't had much chance to show off back in Argentina, and an opportunity to have nice food and dance...! I couldn't wait.

Our wedding day in Argentina, back in 2003.

A week or so before the wedding, my husband found my long strappy turquoise dress beautifully displayed on our bed and myself standing there admiring it. Was I going to make an impression, or what!With a look of surprise on his face, he turned to me wondering if, by any chance, I was planning on attending the Academy Awards Ceremony in LA? What did he mean, I asked - it was obvious that with the wedding just a few days away, I was just getting everything ready for the party, and this was the dress I was going to wear ... I still had to choose the shoes to go with it though, make an appointment with the hairdresser, (painful affair back then, painful affair still today) pick my accessoires...
Next, when my husband opened his mouth again, my hopes of a red carpet moment at a Dutch wedding were cruelly crushed: people in Holland, he explained, or at least people in this part of Holland, did not dress up that much for a wedding but rather use normal everyday clothes; still smart, but nothing like that dress I was planning on wearing!

I was shocked! Did these people know what they were missing? What of looking smashing, what of all the excitement of finding the right dress, what of all the glamour and glitter?
In hindsight now, after years of living in the Netherlands and learning how practical Dutch people are, I can say they are indeed missing a lot, but not in a bad way. They certainly do not go through all the fuss and stress of finding the perfect Cindirella dress and shoes to match, and they definetely probably don't throw away an entire month's salary on a single night for a wedding that is not even their own nor their sister's nor probably even their best friend's.

Guests who are not directly related to the couple, normally wear informal clothes to a wedding.

On the day of the wedding, I still made an effort to look my best, of course, even if I was not going to look as if I had just stepped down from a Milan catwalk. I had a quick lunch and started preparing early, since the wedding reception was to begin at 8 pm - a strange time to start a wedding party, in my clueless, non-Dutch opinion.
In Argentina, even if it is now becoming more and more popular to celebrate weddings in the morning and having parties during the day, the norm still is to have the ceremony at around 9 or even 10pm (like my own wedding); therefore, parties don't generally start until 11pm or midnight and they last until the following morning.

Upon arriving at the party, I left my coat in the cloakroom and walked right into the restaurant, eager to start my first Dutch wedding experience. So eager was I, that I blindly walked past the bride and bridegroom at the entrance where they were lined up, together with their direct family, to welcome guests to the party. Surely ignoring them completely, was not exactly the way to make a good first impression, was it?
My excuse of course, was that this line-up procedure was a total novelty for me. In Argentina the guests arrive first at the party and are served amuse-bouches and some kind of bubbly wine or cocktails while they wait for the happy couple to make their grand entrance.After this, the party can begin.

Our friends' wedding ceremony, held in the Burgerzaal of the City Hall in Zwolle.

After this first moment of embarrassment, I relaxed and started enjoying the atmosphere of the party. Nice music: check. People chatting merrily and having a good time: check. Food: .... food? Oh, no need to be alarmed; here was a waiter offering ... coffee! Coffee? That was rather unusual, I thought. Coffee before dinner? I drank my coffee and waited... and then waited some more.

Meanwhile, I was introduced to some of my husband's colleagues and I had a chance to talk a bit to most of them. There was a band playing live music which I thought was a brilliant idea and is not so habitual in my own country. Many of the guests were singing along, while in the centre of the room, a group of women were dancing on their own - that is, without partners. My husband doesn't like dancing, so I looked at them with a bit of envy, for I was dancing in my head all the time. I considered walking up to the group myself and joining in, but I wasn't sure what the right thing to do was in these circumstances and after my first blunder with the hosts plus family line-up, I was afraid of making yet another mistake.

Arriving at the place where the wedding ceremony was to be held.

After eight years living here in the Netherlands and having attended enough weddings by now, I still find it odd that in this part of the Netherlands, it is mostly older couples with an obvious ballroom dancing background or women that dance at weddings or parties in general, while the men stay apart drinking beer and talking.
At a wedding I attended last year, I decided to ask a (Dutch) friend, why this was the case and he replied that indeed, men usually prefer to step outside (weather permitting) to smoke, drink and talk for the duration of the party, while the women inside dance on their own. He also pointed out that he normally only asks someone to dance when he goes to discos or clubs while on holidays abroad, but never in the Netherlands.

Back at the party and some time afterwards, the waiter came back with pretty snacks and my face must have lighted up at the sight of the food. I was so hungry by now, that I could have taken the whole tray that he was carrying and gobble all that food at once. Instead, I picked some sort of crostini that tasted very good, and waited ...

When later (a lot later, actually) the waiter showed up again with the second round of snacks, I said no, for I didn't want to eat too many snacks - I wanted to wait for dinner. My husband instantly saw what I was doing and, in a whisper, he warned me that .... dear Lord, I could not believe what I was hearing, there was not going to be any dinner!

After doing some research aftewards and asking around, I found out that here in the Netherlands, it is customary to invite only family and close friends to a wedding dinner and then have a party with friends and acquaintances. But how was I supposed to know this? In Argentina wedding parties usually include a three-course dinner, a buffet sweet table with different sorts of cakes and desserts and because the merriment lasts until the following morning, it is also usual to offer a "breakfast" of either pizzas or -the most common choice- a flambée whole.... leg of beef! Think "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" to get the picture....

Snacks it was to be, then! And they did look appetising, so even if I was not going to get a full meal as I had expected, I was going to enjoy the party food. More talking and more females-only dancing was done, before the third round of snacks came along. By now I was nearly starving because I hadn't had anything to eat since my quick lunch hours before the party. I quickly scanned the pretty hors d'ouvre on the tray and I picked one without thinking too much of what it was made of.

The minute I bit into it I knew that I was going to regret it. Unlucky choice of snack I had made! The gelatinous, soapy texture of the thing in my mouth told me that I had taken a bite of the one Dutch delicacy I had been avoiding to eat since arriving in the country: hollandse nieuwe, which is actually ... raw herring!

A hollandse nieuwe snack, that is, the first young herring of the season. Photo credit: Jerulobe for Wikipedia.

At that moment, someone addressed me or included me in the conversation with an intonation which meant I was expected to answer. How could I, when I was still trying to figure out what to do with the rubbery piece of fish I had in my mouth? I was not going to swallow it, that was for sure. I managed to give a quick answer trying hard not to gag in the guy's face (that would not have been very red carpet moment!) and rushed to the Ladies' room with the intention of getting rid of the ... newly discovered delicacy.

Needless to say, I was forced to spend much of the rest of the evening visiting the same Ladies' room time and time again, because despite drinking gallons of water, cola and other beverages, I did not succeed in washing out the taste of the bit of raw fish from my mouth.

So much for having fun and enjoying my first Dutch wedding...Like Groucho Marx once said, I had "a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it."

cordobeses, just as we are...

2011-01-17T08:00:00.005+01:00

(si prefieres leer esta entrada del blog en español, sigue este enlace)

The peatonal, or pedestrian shopping area in Córdoba, Argentina.

On occasion of the last elections that took place here in The Netherlands in June last year, the difficulties that had to be overcome in order to form a new Dutch government prompted me to think about my home country and how differently the Dutch and the Argentineans react to events that shape the way we live in. While in Argentina we tend to be more intense and make a big deal out of anything that happens to make the news at the moment, in the Netherlands people mostly listen, discuss more or less extensively -albeit dispassionately- among family or friends, draw conclusions, and finally go on about their daily business.

I kept thinking about this later and I realised that being passionate and intense is a characteristic that all Argentineans share. We are passionate about politics, about football, about food, about our national heroes. But what about people from my home town -Córdoba- in particular? What are the things that make us stand out from the rest of our countrymen? How can a cordobés be recognised as such by other Argentineans? What are we like?


A very friendly cordobés taking a moment to pose for the photographer. Photo: Claudia Gibson

Funny is the first thing that comes to mind. From the moment we open our mouths to speak, we put a smile on our interlocutor's face, for we speak Spanish with a very particular accent. The melody has a slow cadence that comes from a lengthening of the syllable preceding the stressed one, so that (to give an example that non-Spanish speakers will understand) mi amigo (my friend) becomes miaaaaaaamigo.
Argentineans from other parts of the country try to imitate or even mock us, especially when telling jokes; what they probably don't know is that they don't always succeed in copying our accent. This is mainly because sounding cordobés takes more than just getting the phonetics and the intonation right: it takes a certain cordobés quality. The nature of this cordobés quality is rather complex and a well-kept secret which I am not at a liberty to disclose so publicly...

Well, maybe just a little, or there would be no point at all in writing this post, would it?

Being funny, then, does not just imply speaking in a particular way, enlongating the words in the right place or even using typical cordobés jargon (which we naturally have) but also acting and reacting in a funny way.
Cordobeses have a special ability to make quick, witty and funny remarks in every situation and circumstance of everyday life, whether it is a relaxed moment with friends, while standing in line at the bank or in the middle of a serious and solemn occasion; and the melody with which they make such responses generally makes the remark sound even funnier.

Two cordobesas protest -and make fun at the same time- about the increase in the price of public transport in the city of Córdoba by wearing a bus token in a very creative way. Photo: Claudia Gibson.

Reflecting on this characteristic of the cordobés quality, I came to think of my own father. My dad is a cordobés through and through. He has a thick cordobés accent that not even living outside Córdoba for most of his yong adult life could take away.
He retired from the navy still young and returned to the Córdoba of his childhood to stay. He has been living now in the same house for the past 29 years and he is very friendly to all of his neighbours and they all seem to like him, too.
He likes talking a lot, so that every morning when he goes out for groceries it will take him at least three hours to be back home, simply because on the way to the supermarket and back, he stops at least a dozen times to talk to the neighbours... usually people he never bothers to mention by their real names to my mum or me when he reports what news he heard from señor R. or how señora M. is doing. As a true cordobés, he is good at making up funny names for every person he knows.

My dad, drinking mate by the river in Entre Ríos, Argentinia.

I normally find this habit of his amusing and I even make use myself of those funny names when it is my turn to mention some of the neighbours. These names are not meant to be derogative or uttered in a disrespectful way - it is just a trait that comes with our cordobés genes, I suppose.
My mum, on the other hand, thinks that this habit of his is quite annoying, since she claims to never know who he is really talking about. Surely is not that difficult to call people by their actual names? Why does señor G. have to be Mr. Fridge-door Egg, or señor S., Mr. Neat Hen?
Well, señor G. seems to spend quite a large portion of the day standing at the door (just where you normally have a place for eggs in the fridge) of his house checking out what is going on in the neighbourhood; he is like the watchman on the street, if you know what I mean.
Then there is Mr. Neat Hen, a man who seems to have a habit that does not provoke the slightest blush on his part when he, (and I can't believe I am telling you this here) "arranges his eggs like a very neat hen would, while he's talking to you," my dad explained the first time he came up with the name. And there is also Mr. Badly-hidden Soldier, who is totally bald, what apparently makes my dad (who was in the military for 30+ years) think of a soldier whose "helmet" you can see, thus, he is unsuccessfully hidden behind the barricades or he has not camouflaged his helmet properly with leaves, like soldiers normally do.

Me with my mum and dad in Argentina.

This habit my dad has, has caused me more than one embarrassing moment during my yearly visits to Argentina, when I stay at my parents' house and the neighbours stop me on the street to welcome me back.
They all seem happy to see me again, and they are eager to know if I have had a good flight, how long I will be staying, if I am ok and things like that... I like engaging in small talk with my parents' neighbours -everyone is so friendly and genuinely interested; but I always feel panic seething in my head while I desperately scan my memory to remember the person's real name. After all, despite being a cordobesa myself, it would not be very polite to greet señor S. with, "Heeeeey, Mr. Neat Hen, long time no see, how's the family doing?", while I try not to notice that he is actually, being neat again... And just for the record, in Argentina people normally kiss when they meet, for example, on the street - never shake hands!

First day of the year ...

2011-01-02T01:08:00.002+01:00

... with my feet in the IJssel*

(si prefieres leer este post en español, por favor sigue este enlace)

First sunset of 2011 by the Buitenwaarden Wijhe (Overijssel).

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you had good fun celebrating New Year's Eve and that you welcomed 2011 in high spirts and good health!

After a lazy brunch on this first day of the year -and the decade- we decided with my husband to take a short ride along the river IJssel and see what kind of images winter and nature would gift us with. We didn't have to go too far from Zwolle to find a delicious spot near the town of Wijhe.

In comparison to other rivers in the Netherlands, the IJssel is less accessible. Most of the towns and cities by the river have nice sandbeaches, but between one town and the next, it is quite difficult to get close to the water. That is why the Dutch Forestry Commission or Staatsbosbeheer in Dutch,has set up beautiful locations along the IJssel where you can get really close to the water and enjoy the view of the river and its habitat.

There are ten such spots of the Met je Voeten in de IJssel (which means, "with your feet in the IJssel") route and they can be indentified by cute signs like this one:

the "with your feet in the IJssel" sign marking one of the locations by the river in the Buitenwaarden Wijhe.

Riding out of Zwolle, we took the N337 and just 2 km north of the town of Wijhe, we found the parking place for the Buitenwaarden Wijhe, one of the locations set up by the Staatsbosbeheer.

Not knowing what to expect, I first got out of the car on my own, hoping to take a few shots and head back to the car as soon as possible. I first sighted the dijk (dyke):

People taking a New Year's stroll on the dyke at Buitenwaarden Wijhe.

Then of course, my eyes were drawn towards the sun and the water. The land between the summer and winter dykes get generally flooded at this time of the year and you get your feet definitely in the water if you wander off the marked foot- and cyclepaths:

With a bit of sun, Dutch skies turn into beautiful paintings.

I found an information board describing the habitat of De Buitenwaarden and discovered a mill in the distance. Could it get more Dutch than this? Educational and bucolic at the same time:

Flooded meadows by the IJssel, an informative board and a mill in the distance.

A mill in the far distance as seen from the dyke on De Buitenwaarden Wijhe.

I was truly mesmerised by the effect of the sunlight on the frozen water:

Abstract art for free on the IJssel river.

We then moved on a few kilometres down the N337 (the IJsseldijk) and stopped at another spot where it was possible to stroll closeby the water.
The whole area of the IJssel washwaters is one of the richest in bird life and we spotted hundreds of them!

A few amigos...

... and then two amigos:

We kept shooting away and enjoying the last moments of sunlight by the IJssel:

Finally, at around 16:35 of this, the 1st day of the year, and the decade, we took the last shot of this beautiful natural area by the IJssel river - it was time to head back home:

The sunset in a beautiful spot along the river IJssel, near Den Nul, province of Overijssel.

_______________________________________________
*translation of "met je voeten in de IJssel" - the name of the route along the IJssel river.

The beautiful stillness of the Dutch winter

2010-12-28T08:30:00.001+01:00

(si prefieres leer este post en español, por favor sigue este enlace)

Once again I spent the Christmas holiday in the Netherlands, far from Argentina, summer heatwaves, and (sadly) from my family. But it was not as bad as it probably sounds - spending Christmas in the Netherlands always gives me the chance to pay more attention to the surroundings and to enjoy the beautiful winter landscapes in and around Zwolle.

In the winter the stillness in the air is overwhelming - even the birds are silenced, except for the geese when they fly off at sunset. The crisp cold air makes your cheeks glow and the bones of your face hurt until your eyes well up with tears. Still, once you manage to open your eyes wide enough, winter in the Netherlands rewards you with fairytale pictures like these I captured on the Zalkerdijk on Christmas Day and in the Milligerplas in Zwolle on Sunday.

A view of the Elektrakabel and ABN-AMRO buildings on the right from the Zalkerdijk and across the frozen waters of the river IJssel.


A solitary sheep grazing in the frozen pastures of a farm, near Zalk, outside Zwolle.

The sun is almost ready to set on Christmas Day.

Geese flying over the Milligerplas in Zwolle.

Feathery reeds waving in the icy cold breeze over the Milligerplas.

The sun gives a timid silvery light to the water and the snow in the Milligerplas.

The stillness is broken, though, when you get close to one of the many frozen canals in the neighbourhood and find children having lots of fun skating or sledding on the ice.

Christmas - Córdoba style...

2010-12-24T09:00:00.000+01:00

At home, we keep Christmas traditions from both sides of the Atlantic.

During my recent stay in my home town in Argentina I had the opportunity to attend a concert given by a singer who is originally from Córdoba: Jairo. Born as Mario González in the north of my province (Córdoba, same name as my city), he became known in the 70s but his career started actually in Spain, not Argentina. His fame increased on both sides of the Atlantic and became quite popular, composing and interpreting songs about everyday life and things. Along his career he has sung, among others, to Argentinean foremost writer, Jorge Luis Borges and to the maximum tango legend, Carlos Gardel. He also performed in some of the most famous theatres around the world, including the Olympia in Paris.

As a sample of the recital we attended that evening and to warm up our souls for Christmas, I am posting here two songs by Jairo: Carpintería José (it means, "Joseph's Carpentry Shop" and tells the story of the Nativity with Joseph being a regular man who is about to become a father) and the Ave Maria, which he sang in French and in Spanish - the last part without using a mike, so that the audience could appreciate the great accoustics of the Liberador Theatre of Córdoba. Enjoy!!

Source: YouTube

Made with my smartphone @ Teatro del Libertador, Córdoba.

Have a beautiful Christmas Eve and a very Merry Christmas Day, everyone!

Santa Claus is coming to town

2010-12-22T21:01:00.004+01:00

(Si prefieres leer esta entrada en español, por favor sigue este enlace)

Today I want to share with you a video I received as Christmas greetings from my friend Nicolás. Besides admiring his ability on the rollers and his excellent physical condition, in it you also get to see different sights of his city: Rosario. Here is the video:

Rosario is the third most important city in Argentina, after Buenos Aires and Córdoba -my city- which is the second largest. I couldn't resist mentioning this piece of information, since it has been a long standing tradition for residents of Rosario and Córdoba to argue which of the two cities is the second largest in the country...

At some point during the video, you get to see big silos or grain containers painted in diffferent colours. These old silos have been restored and today they house the MACRO - Museo de Arte Contemporáneo (Museum of Contemporary Art) of Rosario. I visited the MACRO in 2008 during my holidays in Argentina and here is the photo I took of the curious building:

The old grain silos house today the Museum of Contemporary Art of Rosario.

In future posts I will be showing you more places in Rosario, a city I like a lot despite not being as beautiful as my home town, Córdoba (ehem!).

Every silence comes to an end ...

2010-12-20T14:21:00.011+01:00

(si prefieres leer este post en español, sigue este enlace).

Maybe you have been lately throwing little stones at my window, trying to draw my attention, wondering where I was?

Little Stones at my Window

Once in a while
joy throws little stones at my window
it wants to let me know that it's waiting for me
but today I'm calm
I'd almost say even-tempered
I'm going to keep anxiety locked up
and then lie flat on my back
which is an elegant and comfortable position
for receiving and believing news

who knows where I'll be next
or when my story will be taken into account
who knows what advice I still might come up with
and what easy way out I'll take not to follow it

don't worry, I won't gamble with an eviction
I won't tattoo remembering with forgetting
there are many things left to say and suppress
and many grapes left to fill our mouths

don't worry, I'm convinced
joy doesn't need to throw any more little stones
I'm coming
I'm coming.

Mario Benedetti

Well, little stones or not, I have been away from The Netherlands and away from my blog for two long months, and to go on quoting Latin American poets, "every silence comes to an end"*, so here I am!

These are some of the places where I have been and the things and people I have seen:

Hopefully, I will be telling you about these places, things and people in future posts. Now you can stop throwing little stones at my window - I am back!

*Info. on Pablo Neruda

Spotted in the Netherlands: It's that time of the year...

2010-10-01T08:00:00.008+02:00

hacer clic aquí, si prefieres leer esta entrada en ESPAÑOL

Autumn has set in - oh, yes! It is *that* time of the year, again. Days have shortened considerably, the skies do not always look bright and woolly but mostly grey and dull, though there have been exceptionally pretty skies like these captured by blogger Alison in Utrecht.

Sunday walks in the nearby forest of Westerveldsebos have a particular charm during this season and, together with my husband, we have already been on our first mushroom hunt of the year. Look at the size of this one!

My husband put a coin (a big 25c. one from Argentina he carries always with him) on top of it, to give an idea of the size of this big fellow.

This other one, somehow reminds me of the hats Princess Máxima sometimes wears to events like the opening of Parliament for Prinsjesdag

There is something else that always tells me that we have passed the autumn equinox once again. On Saturdays, as we ride to and from the shooting club where my husband usually goes to practice, we often spot roadside stalls selling farm produce:

Farmers usually put up these stalls along the road where people can stop and take their pick of the recently harvested produce and -get this- leave the payment in a tin or box. Sometimes there is a fixed price, like in the next photo; but sometimes, you can leave whatever amount you think is appropriate.

Back home in Argentina, I used to spend a lot of time in my grandparents' farm, but I never saw this kind of produce sale over there.
I can't help thinking if people actually do leave money behind or they forget to perform that part of the transaction; and if so, does it actually make it to the farmer's pocket or do some people take the coins as souvenirs as well as pumpkin and a couple of courgettes for their soup or Sunday pie?

Guest blogger: Patricia and her special place in the world

2010-09-21T08:00:00.620+02:00

Para leer esta entrada en español, hacer clic aquí.

view of the lakes and mountains from the top of Mt. Campanario, Bariloche.

Since many of those reading this blog have asked me in the past to post about Patagonia, I thought that there was no one better qualified to tell you about this distant and beautiful region of my country than my friend, Patricia Sgrignuoli.
Patricia, author of Notas y relatos de viajes - viajando por Patagonia (in Spanish with English translation tool), lived all her life in the city of Buenos Aires, but ever since she was a little girl she had a dream: to live in PATAGONIA one day.
Currently, Patricia and her husband are preparing to move to their new home in one of the most beautiful corners of Patagonia, the place that has always been *her* place in the whole wide world.
Here is the story of how she fell in love with this region of Argentina, and how her dream of one day living there, is now coming true.

Patagonia - My place in the world...
by Patricia Sgrignuoli

Snow-shoeing in the forest in Tierra del Fuego.

I was very pleased when my friend Aledys invited me to write a post in her blog about one of the most beautiful, magical and far-off parts of my country - Argentinean Patagonia - and the story of why I believe it is "my place in the world". It is not easy to express in words the emotions that this place always inspires in me, but I think that after reading these lines and looking at the photos you will understand how I feel.

This is my story:

I was twelve years old when my parents took me for the first time to Bariloche, a city at the foot of the Andes, during the summer holidays. I can still remember the view we had from our cottage window: the intense blue colour of the Nahuel Huapi lake, the mountains in the distance ... While trying to take in that breathtaking view of the surroundings, I remember thinking to myself how nice it would be one day to live in that place.

Riding on a sled pulled by huskies in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego

A few years later we came back, but this time during the winter. I had my first experience in the cold weather of the south and it was also the first time I got in contact with snow. I liked it so much that, right there and then, I decided that I wanted to live in Patagonia when I was older! Along the years I kept going back to the south again and again; and each time I would grow fonder of its landscapes, its wildlife, its people... and that is how my long-standing romance with Patagonia started.

Lago Caviahue, province of Neuquén.

Many years went by while I was studying and working, until finally, I managed to save enough money to make a dream of mine come true: going on a ski holiday to La Hoya, a resort near Esquel, in the northwest of the province of Chubut.
To get there I had to travel for 24 hours on a bus, making a total of 2,000 kilometres, which is the distance between the city of Buenos Aires and Esquel.

I went on practising ski for a number of years, and that is how I got to see places of the Patagonia like Chapelco (near San Martín de los Andes in the province of Neuquén) with its beautiful beech forests. I also visited the Atlantic coast of Patagonia: Puerto Madryn, a place with stunning beaches and skies so clear that you can see the stars and spot satellites as well. There, the Valdés Península, is a natural marvel with an amazingly rich wildlife like there is not anywhere else on the planet. The highlight of my trip to this beautiful place was the sighting of whales out in the sea, who just a few metres from the shore, seemed to be following our walk along the beach with curiousity.

Images of Caviahue in the province of Neuquén.

A few years later, together with a friend, I decided to do something a bit more adventurous and we set out to travel across the vast Patagonian steppelike plains. After an entire day on a bus traversing the rough and desertic landscape of Patagonia, we finally reahed our destination - the spectacular Perito Moreno glacier, situated in the province of Santa Cruz. This was an unforgettable experience!

After I got married, my husband and I travelled to a place that we had never heard of before - Villa Pehuenia, a small village on the shores of Aluminé lake and at the foot of an extinct volcano. Mt. Batea Mahuida has been inactive for millions of years and a deep blue lake with volcanic sandy beaches was formed in the dormant crater of the volcano. Also, a very peculiar tree, the araucaria or pehuén (as the original inhabitants of the region, the mapuches, call it) grows in this remote place of the northern Patagonia.

Mascardi lake near the city of Bariloche, Rio Negro.

We both fell in love with this place and as of that moment we started seriously considering the possibility of moving there in the near future. This was a big step and we had to think carefully if we really wanted to leave behind the big city and start a new and completely different life in Patagonia. There were too many aspects to take into account, since in Patagonia life is not altogether easy: in the winter there are constant power cuts and fuel shortage; and sometimes the heavy snowstorms leave whole towns completely cut off from civilization... Despite all these problems that are logical in such a remote place, we finally made up our minds and decided that we wanted to make a home in Patagonia.

images from Bariloche, in the province of Rio Negro.

We made one more trip after we decided to change our lifestyle and move away from the big city: we travelled to the end of the world, to the city of Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the whole hemisphere. Ushuaia is ....

beautiful and majestic; mystical and unique; mysterious and magnificent; colourful and magical ... So many words can be used to describe this place, but to me it is simply where nature, adventure and legend come together at the end of the world...

When I wrote these words I had Ushuaia (Tierra del Fuego) in mind, but the description suits the whole region of Patagonia perfectly. In this remote part of the country, there are no (or very few) shopping centres, no huge lights or big cities; but also, there is neither violence nor pollution... just endless plains, green valleys, mountains and lakes; clear skies and pure deep blue waters; above all, there is silence and peace.

After so many years travelling across the Patagonia, the little girl who fell in love with those beautiful landscapes so long ago, will be hopefully celebrating her 50th birthday next year in her new home in Patagonia, just as she dreamed so long ago. Very soon, my husband and I will be starting our new life in a small town in the northwest of the province of Chubut: Lago Puelo - a place where Mother Nature is mistress of all and which , for my husband and me, will become our place in the world....

Visiting Zeeland:

2010-09-13T08:00:00.001+02:00

Middelburg

City Hall or Stadhuis of Middelburg, built 1452-1520.

In our tour of the southern province of Zeeland, we used the capital, Middelburg, as our base to explore the region. This relatively small city (approximately 48.000 in.) was for us a pleasant surprise and we dedicated our first day in Zeeland to explore its historic city centre.

The Water Management building in Middelburg.

While walking along the the back streets and along the still existing medieval moats, the visitor can certainly breathe in the history of this city. Middelburg probably originated in the 9th century, when a number of fortified towns were built along the coast of the (then) island of Walcheren to defend Zeeland from Viking attacks. Later in the Middle Ages, it became an important trading post thanks to its strategic location between England and the cities of Flanders.Then during the era of the Dutch Golden Age (17th century) it became an important centre for the Dutch East India Company and Middelburg flourished like never before.

Thanks to this rich past, the visitor can now admire the wonderful architecture of the stately merchant houses and storehouses built along the canal. Despite the destruction and devastation that the Second World War caused in the 1940s, a thourough restoration process was carried out, which gave the city much of its old glory back.

A good way to get a impression of the city is to take one of the boat tours, or rondvaart in Dutch. The company Rondvaart Middelburg offers trips in an open boat with a guide, every day between April and October. Check their website (click on the link above) for details and prices.

One of the most lively parts of the historic centre is undoubtedly the square around the City Hall or Stadhuis. The imposing building stands out with its beautiful late-gothic façade with little turrets, red and white shutters, and none less that twenty-five statues of nobles of Zeeland. During the summer it is possible to visit the gothic part of the building, which is totally worth doing. The Toursit Shop (the tourist information office of Middelburg) organises the visits to this monumental building. Visit their site if you want to know more about their products, such as city tours, visits to museums, etc.

Detail of the façade of the Town Hall in Middelburg.

But probably the symbol of the city is another historic monument: the Lange Jan or Long Jan, the tower of the abbey complex of Middelburg, which with its 92 meters, it is impossible to miss. The tower suffered destruction by fire during the bombardment of Zeeland in 1940 but it was almost immediately restored. The tower is open daily for a visit and if you are feeling able and willing, after a climb of 201 steps, you will surely be rewarded with a breath-taking view of the city and beyond. Here you can find information about Lange Jan, including practical information to plan your visit. (Dutch and German).

A view of the Lange Jan tower from a side street in Middelburg.

The Abbey complex to which the tower of the Lange Jan belongs, houses now government offices and the Zeeuwsmuseum, the largest museum in the province with, among other works, the impressive Zeeland tapestries and the historical collection of the Royal Zeeland Scientific Society. On the website of the Zeeuwsmuseum you will find practical and background information about the permanent collection and temporary exhibitions at the museum.


The Abbey complex in Middelburg where the Zeeuwsmuseum is located.

Zeeland claims to have the most hours of sun per year in the Netherlands, and during the spring and summer, when the sun shines through the clouds, the city bustles with activity. Restaurants and cafés put out their tables and locals as well as tourists fill their terraces. Most of the catering establishments can be found in the area around the market square or Markt, the Vlasmarkt, the Dam and Plein 1940.

Market Square near the Town Hall, in Middelburg.

Middelburg also offers a variety of events all throughout the year, especially during the summer season. Some of these include the International Jazz Festival held during Whitsun weekend (website in Dutch), the Taste of Zeeland in June, the Mussels and Seafood Fair in July, and the Kermesse in August. A number of markets and fleemarkets are held across the city all the year round.

The Kloveniersdoelen built in Flemish Renaissance style in 1607, now housing a music centre.

Whether you enjoy exploring the cultural heritage or you want to indulge yourself with a bit of shopping or entertainment, Middelburg will certainly not disappoint you. It is the ideal place to begin your exploration of this beautiful province by the Northern Sea.

Spotted in the Netherlands:

2010-09-06T08:00:00.027+02:00

It's a small world, isn't it?

Just about a month ago I spent a day in Almere with Blogger pal Sandra, author of Presépio com Vista para o Canal. We had a fantastic time visiting a special photo exhibition and enjoying lunch together in the city centre which served to prove once more that Sandra is a fantastic host. I will soon post about this particular day in Almere more in detail, but today I wanted to share something that happened to me on my way back home.

After parting with Sandra I had just about enough time to catch my train to Amersfoort where I would take my second train back to my city - Zwolle. I took a bus in one of the new neighbourhoods just outside the Almere centrum hoping that I would make it in time to Almere Centrum, the train station.

Unfortunately, my haste made me get off one stop too soon and I had to run the remainder of the way to the train station. Totally out of breath, I climbed down the stairs to the platforms, looked for the right one, saw the train, double-checked that it was going in the right direction and happy but exhausted from the run, I jumped onto it - and just barely seconds before the conductor whistled and the train started to move.

The car I chose was almost empty so I began to relish the moment I would be able to sit down, cool down a bit and finally take out my book to read and enjoy the rest of the ride to my next destination. I chose a seat on the right-hand side but then I decided that the sun would be bothering me and I changed to the other side. Finally! I was sitting, I was opening my bag, I was taking out my book .... when something that was written on the window caught my eye. My hand froze halfway into my bag, still holding the book and my heart almost skipped a beat when I read the word: ARGENTINA!

All I could think right then was: "what are the odds?!" I took out the book, yes, but not so much to read it anymore as to create the perfect scenario for a photo - I had to share this moment! I took my camera too, and started clicking away while the train was leaving Almere behind and traversing the polder. I took a few shots of the highway we were just passing, the fields.... until I finally saw the right kind of landscape approaching fast: Argentina (the grafitti) and the Netherlands (the mill in the distance) in one single shot.

After the photo session was over, I kept thinking about this other Argentinean person: what had brought him/her here to the Netherlands: love, a holiday, a business trip? I somehow could not picture a serious businessman writing a grafitti on a train window ... so he or she had probably been a student at one of the Dutch universities...? How long ago had this person sat on this very same spot, on this same train?

Anyway, even if I don't condone this kind of creative writing on public transport, finding this grafitti served to keep me musing about being far from home, about being an expat in the Netherlands. When you are living the life of an expat you adapt, you change, you become one of them in many ways, without noticing it.You go through the motions of your new life day in, day out, until things like this silly grafitti makes you stop for a moment and ask yourself, "How did I end up here?", and also realise all of a sudden, "boy, am I far from home!"

If you are an expat too, have you ever had such moments? Or if you have moved from your original city to a new one in your country: do you ever stop to think how you never imagined you would be living in a totally different place at some point in your life? How does it feel for you?

Our own Elfstedentocht: Stop # 3

2010-08-30T22:14:00.008+02:00

The beautiful gardens of Ijlst

The third stop in our attempt to follow the route of the Elfstedentocht -the ice skating race traditionally taking place in the northern province of Friesland- brought us to the quite small but picturesque town of Ijlst.

Ijslt or Ddryts in the Fries language, is one of the oldest cities in the province, having obtained its city rights in the year 1268. In the old days, the city was known for its shipbuilding industry and for its importance as commercial centre.

The city originated on the margins of the Old IJ river, from which it received its name. The only part now remaining of that river is the canal that runs through the very centre of Ijlst. The town has many historic buildings that can be visited, such as the beautiful tower mill de Rat (the Rat), built in 1828. This sawmill is still in use and run by volunteers. Have you ever wanted to try your hand at sawing? You might get a chance at de Rat!

Another interesting monument is the Town Hall or Stadhuis built in 1859 in the place where the old council house from the 14th century used to stand.

There are many more monuments worth visiting in Ijlst, a city that lists an impressive total of 43 monuments in the Royal Register, like this typical step-gable house dating from 1669.

But the characteristic feature for which Ijlst is most widely known is for its overtuinen - a line of mostly private little gardens that decorate the margins of what used to be old river IJ. These gardens were formerly known as bleken (bleachers) Can you guess why?

These little gardens used to be frequented by the housewives living on this street, who on washing days would come down to the river, wash their clothes and bleach them -bleken in Dutch- right there on the banks of the Old IJ.

In this photo you can see me standing by one of these bleken with a rather alarmed look on my face: my husband had somewhat tresspassed private property and stepped into one of the gardens to take the shot and I was not very comfortable with him doing that! Fortunately, he did not get caught ...

During the last couple of years, Ijlst has become an ideal location to spend the night in with water sports enthusiasts. An interesting number of cafés and restaurants offer a variety of possibilities for lunch or dinner, such as the Stadsherberg Het Wapen Van Ijlst, which has recently opened its guesthouse where you can take up a room to spend the night during your visit to this area of the country.

Our next stop in the Elfstedentocht will be the city of Franeker. As they say in Friesland: Oant sjens! See you in Franeker!

Stop #1 of the Elfstedentocht was Leeuwarden and you can find the post covering this city here.

Stop # 2 of the Elfstedentocht was Harlingen and you can find the post here.

Summer festivals in the Netherlands

2010-08-06T15:00:00.008+02:00

A beautiful summer day at the beach in Urk, province of Flevoland.

Summer in the Netherlands is the best season of the year to travel around and get to see and experience all the cultural aspects of this incredible country. From north to south, west to east, the whole country seems to come out of its cocoon and burst into fun activities which are mostly carried out in the open, to celebrate the sun and compensate for the long months of winter inertia.

A full coffee terrace in the city centre of Zwolle, Overijssel.

If you are thinking of visiting the Netherlands this summer and music and/or dancing is your thing, there are options aplenty to choose from. One of the festivals that take place around the months of July/August each year is Dance Valley, which is held every year in the Spaarnewoude, a town located about 5 km from the beautiful city of Haarlem in North Holland.

Dance Valley is known as "the Woodstock of Dance", and started as a tribute to electronic dance music back in 1995 when approximately 8.000 people gathered to dance and listen to the music played by popular DJs. Today, Dance Valley has grown to one of the bigggest events in the country, with the 2009 edition attracting around 60.000 visitors.

Dance Valley Festival in Spaarnewoude. Photo from Wikipedia

This year the festival will take place on Saturday 7th August at Velsen Valley in Spaarnewoude, which is located at about 5 km from the beautiful city of Haarlem, in North Holland.
The festival will spread its wide array of events over four "grounds": "The Holy Ground", or the heart of the festival, which is where the main stage will be located, featuring house and progressive DJs; "The Solid Ground", where you will find the diehard dance fans and in 14 different areas music will be played non-stop, including the newest craves in electronic music; "The High Ground", where hard dance style will be the main theme; and the "Secret Ground", the place for trance music with the presence this year of star DJ Armin van Buuren.
Here you will find a detail of all the different areas of the festival and if you click on each of them, you will be taken to the list of artists that will be performing during the event.
Beware though, that entrance to the festival grounds is not free. Here you can find information about the cost of tickets and options to buy them online depending on where you are located.

Another important music festival is Camping Flight to Lowland Paradise, or simply known as Lowland, which attracts fans of pop music and, together with Pink Pop (celebrated every year in May), is the largest pop music festival in the Netherlands. The event is held each year in August in Walibi World amusement park located in Biddinghuizen, in the province of Flevoland (approx. 70 km from Amsterdam).
The festival does not offer just music, but also indoor and outdoor activities which include stand-up comedy acts, street theatre, literature, films and more.
This year Lowland will be held on 20-21-22 August and the tickets can only be bought online or by telephone. The programme is truly varied and amazing, including around a hundred different music groups, fifteen theatre and dance performances, seventeen stand-up comedians, etc.
You can find all the necessary information to attend the festival, including the programme and online ticket sale, clicking on this link.

If you are coming to the Netherlands this week or planning to visit next summer at around this time (early August) there is a very important event that is absolutely worth seeing at least once in your lifetime - the annual Gay Pride Parade in Amsterdam, the absolute highlight of Gay Pride Week which usually takes place in the first week of August each year.

Hundreds of converted barges parade along the Amsterdam canals while thousands of people watch the fun and join the party. Here on the official website of Gay Pride Amsterdam you will find all you need to know about this event - from tickets for the different events taking place during the weekend to programme of activities, photos and much more.Also, if you need to book a place to stay during your visit, take a look at http://www.vouchercodes.co.uk/ who are currently offering an exclusive 10% discount on hotel bookings at Hotels.com http://www.vouchercodes.co.uk/hotels.com

The Light Breeze of Zeeland

2010-07-27T14:38:00.004+02:00

The beautiful and ever changing skies of Zeeland (click on photo to see large)

One of the things that has always fascinated me about the Netherlands is its historic love/hate relationship with water. Life would be completely different without the ever present allure and threat that water represents for the people of this country.

the beach in Vlissingen (click on photo to see large)

The province of Zeeland is one of the places where this love/hate relationship is most evident.
Zeeland is an spectacular region in the south of the Netherlands formed by the delta of the three major rivers the Rhine, the Meuse and the Waal. This province offers an incomparable atmosphere that brings echoes of past maritime glory together with an instant holiday feeling when you come in contact with its salty air,unspoiled beaches, beautiful meadow polders and enchanting dorpen or villages where time seems to stand still...

In future posts I will be taking you to see things like ...

the incredible Oosterschelde Storm Surge Barrier, that protects the country from floods...

the barrier built to stop the sea from flooding the Netherlands (click on photo see large)

we will have a close encounter with history, visiting important sites like the Zeeuwsmuseum in the Abbey of Middelburg ...

The Abbey of Middelburg (click on photo to see large)

... the oldest sea fort in west Europe - Fort Rammekens (near Vlissingen)

Fort Rammekens played a very important role in the maritime history of Zeeland (click on photo to see large)

or the town of Westkapelle, where the fight against natural and human enemies made its inhabitants strong...

A Sherman tank left as reminder of WWII (click on photo to see large)

we will explore the capital city of Zeeland - beautiful Middelburg...

The amazing building of the Town Hall in Middelburg (click on photo to see large)

... picturesque cities and towns like Goes, Vlissingen, and Veere...

Veere, the most enchanting village I visited in Zeeland (click on photo to see large)

and finally, we will take a ride in a beautifully restored steam train across the beautiful polder meadows ...

A ride back in time aboard this steam locomotive (click on photo to see large)

Do you want to come with me to feel and breathe the Light Breeze of Zeeland?

Happy Friend's Day!

2010-07-20T13:44:00.015+02:00

click on the photo to see large

Today is one of those days when I would love to be back home, in Argentina: it's 20 July - Friend's Day.

Día del Amigo or Friend's Day is a very important celebration in Argentina and Uruguay.
On 20 July 1969, the whole world united while watching the images of the first Moon landing achieved by the crew of Apollo 11 and "... for one priceless moment, in the whole history of Man, all the people on this Earth [were]truly one," as American President Richard Nixon said in his phone call to astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin moments after they stepped on the Moon for the first time.

In Argentina, a teacher called Enrique Febbraro, had a brilliant idea: he proposed that this day should be remembered in the future and celebrated as Friend's Day, because at that moment in history back in 1969, the entire world had been friends of the three astronauts that had landed on the Moon.
His proposal achieved even official recognition with a government decree (number 235/79)back in the year 1979, and today, it is one of the most popular celebrations in my country as well as in Uruguay.

click on the photo to see large

Friend's Day is not a holiday in Argentina, but it is an excuse for young and old to celebrate friendship. Normally, you start the day making and receiving phone calls from friends: those that are far away, and you haven't seen in a while, as well as those that live in the same city as you do. Another popular thing is to send emails, cards, flowers or sweets to your most dear friends. During the last couple of years, mobile phone networks have even experienced temporary breakdowns during this day!
In the evening, after work, people normally get together for the real celebration. Restaurants, discos, bars - they all offer special arrangements for this day and they normally take reservations well in advance. If you are just visiting or passing by on 20 July, don't bother to show up at a restaurant, because the chances are that you will not find one that can accommodate you without a reservation.

Merijelen and I, at the turn of the century (this century, of course)
On this photo I am with my dear friend Maria Elena, or Merijelen as I like to call her, using a strong Spanish pronunciation of her anglicized name "Mary Ellen". You may ask why I bother to pronounce in Spanish an English name that was anyway Spanish to begin with. That is something Merijelen and I just do: we have developed our own language, in which we turn Spanish words and expressions into English or viceversa - just for fun.
Back in the day when we used to work together, we would share those special moments - like when we both used to make fake dates with Brad and George over the phone...

Photo source

... or charge money to each other in exchange for help. I would come to her and ask if she could find some book or tape for an exam I needed to have ready, and when I thanked her, she would always say "you're welcome, it's $10!"

We have been friends for a long time and I am pretty sure I owe her millions by now - in pesos, dollars, euros, rands... and every possible currency that exists out there in the world. My debt has increased and grown out of proportion with the passing of time. A couple of tapes for the Cambridge exams, $50; helping me to prepare the auditorium for a workshop, $150; revising the timetables for the examiners and giving them a call, $200; being there in the good times, $500,000; during the hard times, $1,000,000..... and the list goes on. But I was hoping she would forgive that huge debt with this tribute to our friendship on this very special day:

HAPPY DAY, MY FRIEND!

Thanks to the models for these photos: Nicole, Angela, Izan, Vero and her friends!

Spotted in the Netherlands

2010-07-12T12:02:00.019+02:00

School is over!

Classes are over and the school year has come to an end. At this time of the year, all over The Netherlands you see this:

In the month of June, students all over the country start receiving the results of their final exams and soon, the streets become lined up with Dutch flags and school bags hanging from masts.
This means that a son or daughter of the house has passed his or her exams successfully and then, the family wants the neighbourhood to know about the good news. If you live in The Netherlands, I am sure you have seen this in your street or your neighbourhood around this time of the year.

But where does this tradition come from?

Before the custom of sending cards became widespread, people used to communicate news to their neighbours, family and relations by some kind of sign in the front of their houses. This was normally done to let people know that there was a newly-born baby, a birthday, a marriage or a death in the house.

Before the 1930s middle and higher education was only accessible for the elite, for those families that could afford to send their children off to school. It was around this decade of the 20th century when the tradition of hanging the flag outside the house started. If you were lucky enough or had money enough to send your children to school, and these succeeded in their studies, you certainly wanted the whole neighbourhood to know about it.

In the 60s secondary and higher education became also available to the working classes and therefore, more people started hanging the Dutch flag when their children successfully completed their studies. Because not everyone had a flag, it also became common to hang books or school bags too and later, these two habits merged into what we see today: flags sometimes with the inscription Geslaagd (successfully passed) written on them, school bags or books and other school items or even balloons hanging outside the house of a student who has passed his or her final exams.

Do you know of similar traditions for the end of the school year in other countries?

In Argentina, usually when you take (and pass) the last exam of your diploma at university, friends and family will be waiting for you outside the school. As you come out, you get a shower of eggs, flour, vinegar or anything that they happen to find in their kitchen cupboards before leaving the house. It is also customary to cut pieces of your clothes and even your hair!!!!!

Imagine...

2010-07-11T15:43:00.008+02:00

... It isn't hard to do.

Good luck to the Netherlands in the World Cup Final!

(Though I confess that I won't be altogether disappointed if Spain wins - I am afer all, 75% Spanish although born in Argentina!)

Happy Birthday

2010-07-06T15:09:00.003+02:00

Córdoba de la Nueva Andalucía
Cathedral in the city of Córdoba, Argentina. Photo by Roberto Bowyer

For the last couple of weeks I have been planning to write a post about Córdoba, my hometown in Argentina. It is, I think, a long due tribute to the city where I was born and where I lived many years of my life.

It has been no easy task, though. What to tell, where to begin and most importantly, how to express how I feel about Córdoba?

After much thought and deliberation, false starts and drafts that ended up in the trash bin (cybernetically speaking, of course) I finally found the answer ... and it came with a little help from my friends, as the song goes.

How so?

I happen to have friends who are very talented photographers. Their photos are fantastic because they are all very technically and artistically skilled - they have the eye for it, as they say. But something else happens when they shoot photos of Córdoba: they put their soul into it as well; and when you look at their images you know that no matter where in the world they live now, they've left a piece of their heart behind in Córdoba - just like me.

Today, we are celebrating Córdoba's 437th birthday. On a day like today, 6th July 1573, the Spanish conquistador Don Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera, founded the city of Córdoba de la Nueva Andalucía on the margins of the river Suquía. The name of Córdoba was chosen as a tribute to the conquistador's wife, who had been born in the Spanish Córdoba.

This is how Claudia Gibson, Gustavo Alterio, Roberto Bowyer and humble me, say "Happy Birthday" to our city!

(You can click on each photo to view it large)

Claudia Gibson takes the best shots of the skies of Córdoba.

A view over the city by Gustavo Alterio.

Capuchinos Church and Buen Pastor cultural centre, by Gustavo Alterio.

La Cañada (channeled stream) by Roberto Bowyer.

The Cabildo, old Town Hall in the city centre, by Roberto Bowyer.

Santa Teresa's Church, built in 1628.

Ecipsa tower on Yrigoyen Av.

Happy Birthday, to our city!!

Our own Elfstedentocht: Stop # 2

2010-06-10T08:00:00.047+02:00

Harlingen:
harbour town by the shores of the Wadden Sea

The harbour town of Harlingen, in the province of Friesland.

Last year I started a series I called Our own Elfstedentocht to show you the province of Friesland in the northern part of The Netherlands. The idea was to post pictures of the circuit we did during the summers of 2008 and 2009, visiting the eleven cities that take part in the Elfstedentocht, a speed ice-skating race held during the winter in the northern province.

The Town Hall in the city centre of Harlingen.

Our first stop was Leeuwarden, the capital of the province and I covered our visit to this city here. Our secound stop in the Elfstedentocht brought us to the city of Harlingen, the most important harbour in the province of Friesland, situated on the shores of the Wadden Sea.

The busy harbour by the Wadden Sea.

Now that summer has arrived and that we can finally enjoy longer and hopefully nicer,warmer days out in the open, Harlingen is an excellent option to either take a daytrip or to stay for the weekend.

A lighhouse in the harbour area of Harlingen.

Taking the time to walk around the town can really be a pleasant surprise, for Harlingen has not lost the atmosphere of the olden days. Manyof the still beautiful old buildings in the historic city centre are reminders of the times when the town had very close commercial links with Great Britain, Norhern Germany and Scandinavia. Many of the warehouses you see around the city still bear names such as "England", "Poland", "Russia".

A street of Harlingen lined with old warehouses now restored and remodelled.

a pretty bridge crossing over one of the canals that traverse the city.

Maritime activities flourish here: the harbour is the home port of a huge fleet of charter vessels and hundreds of sailing and motor yatchts. Sitting on a terrace by the marina, you will be witness to the intense traffic of boats, big and small coming and going along the canals and sailing away into the Wadden Sea.

A boat entering the harbour in Harlingen.

A sailing boat in the Wadden Sea.

One of the canals that traverse the city.

From the ferry terminal in the harbour you can take one of the many boats that connect Harlingen with Vlieland and Terschelling, two of the islands on the Wadden Sea. On the website of the shipping company Doeksen you will find all the information you need to plan your boat trip to the islands, including day arrangements that include boat tickets, a rental bike or bus tickets to get around the island. You can choose the slow (2 hrs. to Terschelling) or the fast (45 min. to Terschelling) service, depending on your preferences or the time at your disposal and you can even take your bike or car on board!

The ferry just leaving the harbour, heading towards one of the islands on the Wadden Sea.

Another fun thing to do in Harlingen is to take a boat trip on the Regina Andrea, which will take you seal watching on the sandbanks of the Wadden Sea. The round trip takes about 2 hours and on board the guide will tell you all about the Wadden Sea and the seals, of course.

We spotted first a solitary seal basking in the sun.

Then we sighted dozens of groups of seals resting on the sandbanks in the Wadden Sea.

We have been now three times to this beautiful harbour city and I have to say, that I am looking forward to going back there again this summer. A good opportunity to visit Harlingen again will be during the main event of the year: Visserijdagen or Fishery Days, a festival that has been named the Carnival of the North. This year this event will be held between 25 and 28 August and will offer more than 70 different activities, like live music, handcrafts, dance, folklore, sports and of course, food. More information about the event can be found here (in Dutch).

Oh, I'm lovely and loyal - also beautiful, talented and awesome!

2010-06-07T11:12:00.027+02:00

Don't worry - I haven't had anything strange for breakfast this morning and I haven't become insufferably arrogant, conceited and spoilt all of a sudden! It's only that I have received a very nice award:

It came from sweet Sandra, from the blog "Presépio con Vista para o Canal" who nominated me and six other loyal bloggers of hers and asked us to answer the following questions:

1- Why did you start your blog? Did you expect it to become popular?

I started this blog to share (I wasn't sure with whom yet) my experiences as an expat living in The Netherlands. I also wanted to have a place of my own where I could show the places I have been lucky to visit here in The Netherlands as well as in other countries in Europe. Finally, I started it to indulge my nostalgia for my country, Argentina; I wanted to write about it too - to let people know about its beauties, oddities, habits, people...

When I started blogging, I wasn't really thinking of becoming popular or attracting lots of followers either. In fact, I didn't know how blogging worked at all!!
I got inspiration from other blogs that I found interesting and that I had been reading form time to time, like Isabella's A Touch of Dutch or Anita's Greetings from Holland.

2- When exactly did you start your blog?

I actually started it on my birthday last year: 12 August 2009!

3- Who are some of your most loyal followers?

Here I am going to change the rule a bit. Many of the people that follow my blog are not expats and then those who are, have already been nominated or are not into the award exchange thing, so I will name some of my loyal followers, in no particular order. I think it will be a nice way of sharing with everyone some of the beautiful blogs that I like reading and have been following for some time:

JaPRA, from Just a Plane Ride Away - a Texan currently living in NL (The Hague) with her family but who will soon be moving to the UK where they'll continue their big expat experience!

Alison, from A Flamingo in Utrecht - also an American - who writes about her thoughts and experiences living in The Netherlands and who takes really good photos, especially of her city, Utrecht.

Aggie, from on what concept - a friend and Flickr lover like myself, with whom I've explored some of the most beautiful cities in The Netherlands! Her photos are the real deal - want to see for yourselves? Here's her extraordinary photoblog too.

Leti, from Diving into life below sea level - a fellow Argie blogger who -just like me- recently moved to The Netherlands for love! You will find her stories really sweet, funny and full of that renowned Latin flair!

buday, from immateur! Excellent, witty writing with a touch of humour - I just love her posts! (plus, she recently gave me the most ultra-modern looking gadget as a vitual present: an Air Multiplier Fan... thanks, buday - that was such a cool -wink! wink! present!)

For those of you who can read Portuguese (the blog has an online translator, too!), Vagamundos, from Crónicas de "um" Vagamundo - if you visit the blog and take a look at all the places they have been to, you will ask yourself: "is there a corner of the world that these guys have NOT been to?". Seriously!!

And for those of you who can read Spanish, Patricia and her blog Fotos y relatos de viajes - Viajando por mi país: ARGENTINA, another Argie friend of mine who is truly passionate about one of the most beautiful places on earth: Patagonia.

Thanks to all of these blogger friends (feel free to take up the challenge and answer the questions and nominate your loyal followers, if you want) and thanks to all of you out there for visiting my blog!

Best Portuguese hostess in the Netherlands!

2010-06-04T08:00:00.006+02:00

Train station in Almere city.

A few days ago I received an invitation from a fellow blogger that I could not resist: a day out in Almere, a city at about 85 km from Zwolle. I had made a mental note to visit this part of the Netherlands many times, but somehow the opportunity to go there never presented itself.

Finally, this invitation came and with an extra bonus: I was to have a de luxe tourist guide. Have you guessed who it could be? Yes! Blogger Sandra, from Presépio con Vista para o Canal!

We met at the train station -Almere Centrum- and from there she took me to see the sights in the city. What a pleasant surprise Almere was! I found it very modern-looking - but then in a nice way!

Almere bus station.

Almere is quite a new city. It was built on reclaimed land -that is, the polder- in the also young province of Flevoland. The first inhabitants of Almere moved into their new houses in 1976 and today, the city has approximately 188.000 inhabitants making it the fifth largest city in The Netherlands.

Colourful megashop in the city centre.

While Sandra guided me through the shopping streets pointing at her favourite winkels (shops), we were at the same time busy talking, picking up where we left it the last time we had seen each other and shooting pictures all the time.

Shopping street in Almere city centre.

All the roads lead you to... the HEMA?

Modern achitecture is outstanding in Almere. Everywhere you find new trendy mega-blocks, leisure and shopping complexes, reflections, colours and originality of forms...

Blue and orange reflections in Almere city centre.

I couldn't resist taking this shot...

The Apollo hotel in Almere city centre.

Modern architecture in Almere.

More reflections - the Utopolis cinema complex.

For lunch, Sandra suggested a very nice eetcafé: (coffeehouse) "Bobbie Beer", where we had a delicious boerenomelet (omelette, farmer style) and rested for a while by the water.

Bobbie the Bear was waiting for us...

Then we took a long and relaxing walk in the Koningin Beatrixpark (Queen Beatrix Park) ...

I spotted this man sitting by himself next to a grafitti that reads enig, meaning "unique" or also "single" in Dutch:

And I also visited a historical site in Almere... a historic site in Almere? Well, yes: a place where a "baby" was born in a presépio ("Nativity stall" in Portuguese) Here I present to you ...the birthplace of Presépio con Vista para o Canal!

The canal that inspired Sandra to create her blog!

After spending a wonderful day with Sandra, talking a lot, walking around Almere, relaxing in the park and also practising a bit of Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and of course, English - it was finally time to head back to the station and say our good-byes. But not without first stopping for coffee and cake at Granny's. Delicious!!

Espresso and apple tart at Granny's. Photo taken by Sandra.

Muito obrigada, Sandra, for a lovely day! You are a wonderful hostess!

An update ... and Spotted in The Netherlands

2010-05-31T10:32:00.017+02:00

The part where I tell you what's been going on:

I know: you haven't seen me much around on Blogger lately. It is not that I have been very lazy, or lost interest in the wonderful blogs I used to follow or disappeared from Bloggersphere altogether - not at all!

My absence was due to medical reasons mainly. Unfortunately, I suffer from chronic migraines (cluster headaches, to be specific) that come always accompanied by photophobia which in turn makes it unbearable to fix my eyes on the screen for too long. Therefore, reducing the amount of time I spend in front of the pc helps to ease the strain on my eyes. The medication prescribed by my huisarts (GP or family doctor) has also helped with the splitting headaches, but has given me minor heart problems on the side... so whenever I have an attack I basically wait for it to go away on its own and rest.

In the last month I've been feeling a lot better from my migraines (fingers crossed, knock on wood that they will definitely stay away!) and I thought it was time then to pay a visit to my forgotten blog, "From Argentina to the Netherlands, ..."

Spotted in The Netherlands: The Pro Colour Campaign

Pro Color is a new movement that promotes the use of more colour in every day life, because "... a colourful, pleasant and positive society begins simply with more colours". As they state in in their manifest, they want to put on the agenda those issues that are generally overlooked by politicians and they do this by bringing them to the public's attention with beautiful colours. An example?

I spotted this poster at the bus stop in my neighbourhood and it certainly called my attention:

The text in English reads: "why only black and white schools?"

Are there white schools and black schools in The Netherlands? The answer is "yes", though they are not exactly what you might think they are... Let's explain:

A zwarte school ("black school", literally translated) is a primary or secondary school in The Netherlands where most of the student population is of foreign (non-Dutch) origin. On the other hand, a witte school (white school) is one where most of the student population is of Dutch origin.

The existence of these so called black or white schools is due mainly to the distribution of the population especially in the biggest cities in The Netherlands and not to laws that separate students according to their ethnicity or their nationality.

Many people in this country think that the zwarte en witte scholen (black and white schools) practice is bad to achieve integration and unification within the society. One possible solution would be to help people of non-Dutch origin to spread across the country - but how can this be achieved? Finding work is a major issue that comes into play when people (Dutch or non-Dutch) decide to live in the Randstad or western part of the country ... Another option to make schools more mixed would be the implementation of waiting lists - a solution that does not sound too promising to me, I must say.

If you are currently living in The Netherlands: where you aware of this situation? Do you have an idea of how schools can stop being zwart or wit and become colourful, instead?

Going South: Maastricht, the most beautiful

2010-02-15T13:07:00.006+01:00

Part of the medieval walls that used to protect the city of Maastricht

Apparently, it all started when, right at the beginning of thre present era, the Romans drove the Celtic tribes out of this area of Limburg and built a bridge across the river Meuse (Maas, in Dutch language) . Maastricht or Mestreech in the local dialect, is the oldest city in The Netherlands and also the most beautiful I've visited so far.

The Stadhuis or Town Hall of Maastricht, built between 1659 and 1664 by Pieter Post.

The Hell's Gate or Helpoort in Dutch, is part of the original city walls built in the 1200s.

Maastricht is a great place to discover on foot or even by bike if you are up for the challenge (not me!). Its historic city centre is like an open museum where you can see traces of its Roman beginnings, remains of the medieval fortified city and religious centre of pilgrimage that it once was, and also vestiges of its importance as the oldest labour and industrial town in The Netherlands.

Vrijthof Square with the building of the General Guard in the centre of the picture; and St. Servatius Basilica and St. Jan's Church in the background.

St. Servatius Basilica - construction of this church began around the year 1000.

But Maastricht does not only have great appeal for those interested in history and fancying a ride in the time machine. Besides its impressive monuments, Maastricht has a very rich cultural life with a variety of museums, art galleries, performing arts schools and an events calendar that is quite impressive.
Among the latter, two of the most important events of the year are the Carnival or Vasteloavend -which is an extremely popular holiday in Maastricht; and Winterland Maastricht, a Christmas market and kermesse held during the Christmas season.

A good idea is to take a boat cruise and get a different view of the city from the river Maas.

A view of the city taken from the river Maas druing our boat trip.

The Hoge Brug (High Bridge) as seen from the river - the pedestrian and bicycle suspension bridge communicates the old city with the trendy area known as Céramique.

Maastricht is also known as "the culinary capital of capital of The Netherlands", due to its reputation for gastronomic excellence. Almost everysort of cuisine can be found here and five of the city's restaurants have been awarded with Michelin stars over the years.

This is not a Michelin-star establishment, but right in the centre of the old city, on the Vrijthof Sq., I found this Argentinean restaurant.

Not that this has anything to do with fine dining, but it is a typical sight here in The Netherlands: people eating chips with loads of mayo.

If you enjoy shopping and you like spending some coin on trendy outfits and accesoires, a walk along Wyckerstraat, Maastrichterbrugstraat and the Grotestraat will put you right in the middle of shopping paradise. There is also a new shopping centre, the Mosae Forum, located on the banks of the river Maas; and between the Vrijthof square and the Market, you will find Entre Deux, a complex that, besides known national and international chains also includes a very unique bookshop located in an old Dominican Church.

An original building in the historic city centre of Maastricht. The crack in the wall, marks where the old city walls used to stand.

By courtesy of Brian Hill, I can show you photos of the wonderful Dominican church that now houses the Selexyz bookshop. As Brian put it in his photo gallery, "a bookshop made in Heaven"... You can see a couple more photos of this place by clicking on the link above that will take you to his photo stream.

Unfortunately, when my husband and I visited Maastricht last year on Palm Sunday, the weather was really awful most of the time. It was drizzling and rather cold in the morning while we were taking our walking tour in the historic city centre; then the sun broke out for a while during our boat trip along the river Maas; and later, it started to pour down heavily and looked as if it was going to last forever.
At this point, we were already soaked through and tired so we gave up and decided to get in the car and drive back to our hotel in Valkenburg.

It started pouring down with rain while we were walking in the shopping area in the city centre of Maastricht.

Despite liking the city so much and having still so much to explore and to see there, we haven't yet been able to go back, but I have placed Maastricht on the top of my list of places to visit again this coming spring/summer.

Yoy may also like to read:
Going South: a trip to Valkenburg, in the Burgundian province of Limburg.

Acknowledgements:

Many thanks to both, Nicolás Garmendia and Brian Hill for allowing me to post their photos in this blog.

White Winter Wonderland

2010-01-20T09:13:00.025+01:00

Last December and the first part of this month of January were particularly cold here in the Netherlands and in Europe in general. There was a lot of snow and frost, too. Everything looked really pretty and with it happening around Christmas time, I think it was a bit magical!

Now all the snow and the ice have melted and we have gone back to the usual kind of weather we have around here: rainy, misty, windy... Winter is not yet over and we might still get to see more of White Wonderland, but in case we don't, I wanted to share some of the photos I took around Christmas time and the first week or so, of this month. You can click on each photo to view it larger:

Ice-skaters having fun in one of the canals of Zwolle

Me taking a walk in the "Kuinderbos", in the Noordoostpolder region.

"Fresh" mushrooms I found while taking a stroll in the Westerveldse Bos, near my house in Zwolle.

A view of the pond in the Westerveldse Bos

A street in my neighbourhood after a heavy snowfall around Christmas.

A bicycle path completely covered in snow and a little girl trying to get home from school, pushing her bike along.

A nice car in the parking area of the shooting club we visited in the Kuinderbos, Noordoostpolder.

A bridge over a canal in my neighbourhood in Zwolle.

Farm houses almost outside Zwolle.
This view reminds me of the Argentinean flag!

I took hundreds of photos which still have to be edited, but I hope that you liked this sampler of the white winter in the Netherlands!

"I'm not a heroine: I just did what I considered was my duty"

2010-01-12T13:37:00.021+01:00

Miep Gies in 2001, she used to receive thousands of letters from all over the world.

Source photo: Miep Gies Official Site

Those were the words of Miep Gies, one of the friends that helped the family of Anne Frank hide from the Germans during the Second World War.

On 4th August 1944, Miep Gies was working as usual in her office at the Prinsengracht in Amsterdam. She was probably thinking about the eight people hiding upstairs in the "achterhuis" (the annex in the back). She could not help thinking all the time about them, how they were confined in very close quarters, not able to go outside at all; and above all, she thought about the danger they were all in of being caught by the SS or the Dutch Security Police.

At about 10:30 am, while Miep Gies and Bep Voskuijl (another helper and employee at Opekta, the company partly owned by Otto Frank) were sitting at their desks working, "a short man entered and pointed his gun at me and said, 'stay where you are! Don't move!' I froze, of course. he closed the door again and left. I couldn't see or hear what was happening in the annex because I had to stay at my desk. Later I heard the group of hiders in the annex coming down the stairs very slowly. I couldn't go to the window, because I wasn't allowed to move."*

A couple of hours later, Miep and Bep went upstairs to the Franks' bedroom and there they found the papers of Anne's diary lying on the floor. They picked everything up carefully and took it downstairs. There and then they decided that Miep should keep Anne's diary because she was the eldest of the two.

This is how Miep Gies saved one of the most famous diaries in the world, which is today considered a symbol of one of the darkest periods in the history of the human race.

Anne Frank's diary - saved by Miep Gies after the Frank family and the other hiders were discovered in the Annex and taken to concentration camps.

Source photo: Miep Gies Officel Site

On 11th January 2010, Miep Gies died at age 100 after a short illness, barely a month before turning 101. Until very recently, she was healthy and living in the Dutch province of North Holland. In December 2009 after suffering a fall, she was admitted into a nursing home, where she died on the night of 11 to 12 January.

Miep, the helper and the friend

Miep, circa 1936, working at the office in Opekta, the company partly owned by Anne's father.

Source Photo: Miep Gies Official Site

Otto Frank -Miep's boss and Anne's father- came one day to Miep and told her about his plan to go into hiding. The persecution of the Jews in Amsterdam had intensified and his daughter Margot (Anne's elder sister) had received a call-up for relocation in a camp. He and his family were going to hide in the annex located in an empty section of the building owned by Otto's firm and they would need help from outside to stay alive.

Was Miep willing to do it?

She said 'yes' without hesitating. These people were helpless, they didn't have anywhere to go. She was their only hope.

Was she scared?

Yes, she was. But she had to do it - the Franks and their friends needed her and she was just doing her duty as a human being. She never saw herself or any of the other helpers as " heroes".

In the interviews Miep gave in her life, she often said that in those days, she used to lay awake at night thinking about the Franks and their friends in the Secret Annex. She frequently asked herself if she would be able to put up with that - being locked up and not able to go outside, afraid all the time of being discovered and sent to a concentration camp to work, or worse, to die.

What was her opinion of Anne?

In Miep's view, Anne was a very friendly and charming girl. She liked to talk and she was constantly asking her and the other helpers for news from the outside world.
Miep and the others had agreed somehow not to tell the hiders all the horrible things that were going on. They thought that the people in the secret annex were already suffering too much and they didn't want to make them even more depressed than they already were. But this strategy would not always work with Anne; she always wanted to know more and she not always "bought" the half-truths their friends told them.
Miep Gies was, of all the helpers, the person that was probably the closest to the Franks and particularly to Anne. She said that talking to Anne was a pleasure to her - she seemed so mature and could discuss serious topics like an adult would. She once walked into Anne's room while she was writing in her private diary, and after receiving a furious look from Anne for intruding on her, Miep felt awkward first, and completely ashamed afterwards. She thought that, even if Anne was a child, she had a right to her privacy.

How did Miep feel after the war?

Some time ago, while reading about Anne and the circle linked to the story of the secret annex, I found an anecdote about Miep that I found quite moving.

While working in the Anne Frank House (which was open to the public as a museum after the war), Miep was asked to help guide a group of German people around the annex. She agreed to do it, despite that she had until then always stayed away from German visitors, for she hated the Germans, she could not help it. Normally, when German visitors came to the house, she simply waited in the office until they were gone, for she was afraid of saying something insulting to them that would embarass Otto Frank.

This time the group was too big and Miep's help was needed. When she saw herself surrounded by the group who recognised her as the Miep in Anne's diary and were staring at her, she thought; "these people are the enemy; these are the Germans!" and she literally "lost it" and started ranting about what the Germans had done and accused them of it all being their fault. The leader of the group came to her and tried to calm her down. She then realised that these people had not fought in the war but that they had been in the Resistance and in concentration camps. As of that moment, she began to see things differently. It was time to let go and move on.

Right after the war, Miep and her husband Jan (who had also been a helper during the hiding of the Franks and friends) used to talk about all they had been through and asked themselves how something like that could have happened, and why.
One day, Miep looked at her husband and told him that they could no longer dwell on past, they needed to start looking ahead, to the future. During the war years they had not been simple onlookers, but they had helped people in need and in so doing, they had risked their own lives. It was all they could do. ...

... as if they had done too little!

What do you think of what Miep Gies and her friends did? Do you think that you could have done something like that if you had been in their place? I know they're tough questions and that living in a completely different world today makes it difficult to answer, but have you ever asked yourselves these questions? I have but as of yet, haven't come up with an honest answer.

*Sources: Miep Gies Official Site and The Anne Frank Stichting Site

How you imagined Argentina: the one where I answer your comments and questions.

2010-01-08T10:32:00.015+01:00

Sunrise at "Cordón del Plata", in the Andes mountains (Mendoza, Argentina).

I would like to start by wishing you a fantastic year 2010 and I hope you all had fun during the holidays! Now all the Season's glitter is over, the Three Kings came all the way from the Far East and left their presents (or not), the Christmas tree and decorations are gone ... and we are just left with the long winter days and maybe even with a little overweight after all those special meals we have been having? (sigh...)

And now keeping the promise I made to those of you who were so kind as to visit my post Imagining Argentina, here are my answers to your comments, questions and remarks:

buday said...

Oh, I was answering in my mind! Maradona, Messi, tango, Buenos Aires, beef (lots of it!), cowboys, del Potro (oh, Rafa!), it's at end of South America and is a VERY large country, Cordoba (hehe), Spanish is spoken, Evita, even more beef!

And I've never been there! (Sigh.)

BTW, your father looks like he danced a mean tango when he was younger. Coolness. :)

You got all that right, buday - except for the part about my father; you see, he was never much of a dancer, not even when he was young, apparently! My mother was, though...
And yes, you should know about Juan Martin del Potro, right? He beat your Rafael Nadal in the US Open last year!

Sandra said...

Argentina is in South America, Capital Buenos Aires, Spanish Language, Tango, Astor Piazolla, Evita Peron, Videla dictatorship, Maxima is from Argentina, dolce de leche, Iguaçu Park, Maradona,...

Great idea, Aledys!I want to know more :)
Besos :)

I was glad to read that you recognised Astor Piazolla! He is world-known as a composer but unfortunately, he's no longer among us...
I was also surprised that you knew about Videla and the dictatorship - a very sad and dark part of our recent history.

oranjeflamingo said...

Fortunately, I had answers for most of the questions, but I'm really looking forward to seeing and learning more from someone actually there! I've never been, but would love to go someday. The beef, alone, is enough to make me want to go! ;) A couple of my mother's cousins moved there from Scotland many many many years ago, but the family lost touch with them, unfortunately.

So, my friend, you are a beefeater! Well then, definitely Argentina is the place to go... On average, each person consumes about 70kg of beef a year in my country, which I think is the highest consumption rate in the world.
You should probably trace down those cousins of yours! You might get an invitation to visit them and you can go and see, ehem, I mean taste for yourself!

A g g i e Lap said...

My answers: no, I haven't yet been there | Located in South America | Spanish is spoken | Buenos Aires is the capital, and Cordoba is not another well known city | I know the mate tea, empanadas and dulce de leche I know the Iguazu Falls are famous and I had heard of la cordilla de Cordoba (I think) | music: I know a very famous Argentinean lady singer died at the age of 66 (I thinkg) a couple of weeks ago and that the president declared the day mourning day, but I don't recall her name, but I know so because it was in the Dutch news incl. newspapers | other celebrities: Evita, Maradona...euhh, who else, oh yeah: MAXIMA!! | what I recently heard of here in NL: Argentina qualified for 2010 World Cup | maybe to know more about Cordoba and other towns/cities in the future, since travel programmes focus more on Argentina. Great questionnaire, btw! :)

Wow, you are one of the best in the class! You sure know mate tea, but have you tried drinking it the traditional way yet? I would like to see you do that!
You have probably heard about the hills of Córdoba - I have posted myself a couple of pictures from there on this blog; plus, it is where I come from!
The lady that you were talking about was Mercedes Sosa, a popular singer of native music originally from the north of Argentina. She died recently and the news was on many European stations and newspapers since she was rather well-known.
Travel programmes in general, tend to focus more on Buenos Aires, the capital; or Patagonia and Iguazú, which are very popular tourist areas of the country, but not so much on Córdoba - so I'll have to do that part here in this blog!

JaPRA said...

Ok, I admit. I failed that test. I think I recognized three people in the line up (including Princess Maxima?). I love Empanadas, Argentinean steak (with chimichurri)... and yo hablo un poquito Espanol. I wish I could tango.

I would love to see more photos, of course. I hope you are having a lovely time!

But that's not failing, not at all! Yes, Princess Máxima was in one of the photos, she is Argentinean-born, as you probably know. You've had empanadas and Argentinean steak with chimichurri in Texas? That must be a brave man/woman, the one who dares to open an Argentinean steakhouse in ... Texas?
I'm sure there are some tango schools in your area, should you be interested some day! I've seen them even in small towns here in the Netherlands. After a couple of lessons you might be dancing like this:

Vagamundos said...

Hola Aledys. Well, we belong to the disqualified group :) We would never recognize Evita, we never saw Maradona (Pablo Aimar´s idol) play neither Astor performing ;) Puerto Madero??? Does it have good restaurants? If we had been there we would recommend El Campo ;)
Cordaba we don´t know at all so that´s what we want you to show us :)
Enjoy your holydays at the beautifull Argentina.
Besos

You've been Googling for all that information, haven't you?! That's called cheating! Now you have to write 1.000 times, "The parrillada in Argentina, is the best in the whole world." "The parrillada in Argentina, is the best in the whole world." "The parrillada in Argentina, is the best in the whole world." "The parrillada in Argentina, is the best ..."

A "parrillada" that I enjoyed during my last trip to Argentina.

M.Eugenia said...

Qué genial este post, se muchas mas cosas de las que pensaba... la foto del dulce de leche me ha hecho recordar la primera vez que lo probé, fue el día de la fiesta de la primavera en Buenos Aires.
.........Tengo que volver.
Saludos

I still have to read your account of your trip to Buenos Aires! You celebrated the beginning of the spring (21st September) there? Did you go to a picnic in Palermo? I would like to read about that!

Droomvla said...

How about a picture of Patagonia? Someday.... I'm going to see that place. Someday! hahahaha

About the pictures, Evita, Maradona, Maxima (of course! lol), Che Guevarra??? (I thought he was Cuban), tango, bandeneon (bandoneon?), Astor Piazolla (I have CDs hehehe)...

The Patagonia argentina is certainly one of the most beautiful places on earth. I don't have any pictures from there - not from the digital era, at least - and the photos I do have, are in Córdoba, so I don't have them with me here.
Luckily, I have a couple of friends who have been to several places in Patagonia and have lots of wonderful pictures. Here are some of them:

©Ramón Tello. Perito Moreno glacier in the province of Santa Cruz, southern Patagonia (Argentina).

©Ramón Tello. Whale-sighting in Península Valdés in the province of Chubut (Argentina).

©Miguel Nonay. Wale-sighting in Puerto Madryn in the province of Chubut (Argentina).
©Miguel Nonay. Isla de los Lobos in Tierra del Fuego (Argentina).

Anita said...

More photos from Calafate, Bariloche and pls pls pls: Ushuaia !!

I'm planning on visiting Bariloche this year when I go to Argentina to visit my family. I hope I'll be able to go - it's a bit too far from Córdoba, where I normally stay - about 1600 km. But it's one of my favourite places in Argentina and I definitely would like my husband to see it. The same goes for Calafate and Ushuaia. My parents lived in the latter for two years when they were just married.
I have a friend, Patricia, who recently went to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world, or "the End of the World" as they call it. Here is a preview of what she saw there:

If you want to read her account of her trip to Ushuaia (and you speak Spanish, too!), you can visit her thread Ushuaia, Fin del Mundo o Principio de Todo, in the Skyscraper Page Forum.

Xoán-Wahn said...

It's a good thing I knew the answers to all of those questions, otherwise a lot of people would have been very angry with me! Great post, as always!

One thing, though: 'home-made dulce de leche' This just made me hate you a little! How lucky! I LOOOOOVE dulce de leche. I grew up on the stuff, which is odd now that I think about it. Argentine empanadas were also always a staple in my house. The only thing I haven't tasted is mate. I suppose that's as good an excuse as any to catch a flight down to Buenos Aires!

Well, Xoan, I am sure you can get dulce de leche over there! Or if you want to make your own, you'll find the recipe in my blog entry A Taste of Home: .... I just found out by reading your blog that you are an accomplished chef, so this should be easy as ... eating dulce de leche for you!

Sol said...

Hola Aledys
No creo que sea justo que desde Lujan Bs.As. participe de esta MARAVILLOSA encuesta.
Agradezco que haya personas COMO VOS que hagan conocer a nuestro país de la forma FABULOSA que lo hiciste en este post y en TODO tu blog!
Aprovecho para desearte una MUY LINDA estadia y que pases unos dias ESTUPENDOS junto a tus seres queridos!
Saludos
Sol

Thanks a lot, Sol! Very kind and nice words...

thamarai said...

hey I knew at least 70% of the answers to your question..:)..I hope you are having loads of fun visiting family and friends...one of my friends is Argentinian and he too apologizes every time he says how he misses beef..:D.

Well, you will have to forgive me too, every time I post photos of barbecues or mention beef too!
I'm sorry, thamarai....

Apost(r)illada said...

I guess it's not fair if I participate in this poll... Anyway, great entry! Have heard lotsssssss of things about Máxima here in Netherlands. The funny thing is no one really knows here there!

And who would've known, that just a few weeks after you wrote this, you would actually get to see her in person in Groningen!!!
If anyone is interested in Apost(r)illada's account of her meeting with Princess Máxima, you can find it here. (in Spanish)

A Touch of Dutch said...

Beautiful photos! Enjoy your stay!

1.) I've never been, but would love to one day.

2.) Yes, I know exactly where it is in South America :-) Atlantic side, south on the continent, & I can point at the capital, Buenos Aires.

3.) Español!

4.) Buenos Aires & Cordoba.

5.) Dulce de leche & I can't forget about the steaks!

6.) Patagonia.

7.) I immediately think of the tango, but no particular artists come to mind...

8.) Besides Princess Máxima, Juan and Eva Peron.

9.) I remember hearing especially on the news about the Falkland Islands in the early 1980s.

10.) I've been learning all of the great things via your blog :-) So keep it up!

Wow, Isabella! Together with Aggie, you are among the best students in this class! A star for each of you!

~Lopa said...

To be honest, i had read this post yesterday, but i was ashamed of myself as didn't know answer of many of questions put here, putting a que for myself if i know nothing about this beautiful country more than it's name ! But then i realised, but now through your blog I am getting to know it better, and that is awesome...so I am back to read it again...Thanks :)

That's the idea, Lopa! We can learn lots of things through our blogs. I surely need to learn more about your country, too...

EFRUTIK said...

1. South America, most likely I could point it out
2. Sultry Spanish
3.Buenos Aires, of course
4.Dulce de Leche!!!!!! Empanadas, yum, yum, yum. But I want the MEAT!!!!!
5.Not really
6.Tango, actually a story here. My b/f and I last year went to a free Tango session at our Uni., not to brag but I was told by the instructor that I have a future in the dance if I practiced. Sadly, my schedule was so busy we never went back :(. Argentine Tango dancers performed at our university last year, they were phenomenal!
7.Evita, Diego Maradona!
9.Umm to be honest not any time recent…right now it is all about the health care reform and other political junk. Plus in US to hear any international news you would have to dig or have cable networks, sadly :(

I would like to know how it really is living in Argentina. What people are like, how they are towards foreigners and what kind of immigrants live in Argentina
Does everyone really know how to dance Tango?

Enjoy your lovely vacation :)

Well, I wouldn't call THAT not knowing ANYTHING, EFRUTIK! A pity that you couldn't go on with the tango lessons! Some other time, perhaps...
People are in general, very friendly and open, very much like people from southern Europe are. Immigration in Argentina has been very important - actually, what the country is today, is a direct result of all the immigration we received during the last half of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries. And no, not everyone can dance tango -which is a dance and a music typical of a very small area of the country, in fact!

Alejandra said...

Hola!!!! qué lindo!!! bueno, te pido disculpas por nopasar a visitarte, pero estoy con falta de tiempo, ahora tengo la pagina de viajes en Facebook, y cada vez me quda menos tiempo!!! Si necesitas fotos, tomalas de mi blog sin problemas!!!
te cuento que hoy o mañana podré un post que te va a encantar!!! el domingo pasado fue en Cañuelas la Fiesta del Dulce de Leche y me acordé de vos, vas a ver qué fotos!!! una delicia!!! besos porteños.

Thanks a lot, Alejandra! I hope you had lots of fun in that Dulce de Leche Festival in Cañuelas, I would have loved to be there!

workhard said...

I barely know anything about argentina except that u can find llamas..What a lovely place!!! The pictures are really beautiful and the food looks delicious...

Actually, I not only saw lots of lamas in my trip to the north of Argentina during my holiday, but also got to feed them in a farm where we stayed for a couple of days! I will be posting the pictures soon. Thanks!

cordobaliving said...

Aledys, I liked this entry very much. And I'm not alone, judging by the large quantity of comments. Congratulations!

Thanks! I hope you will continue to enjoy visiting my blog from time to time!

And thanks a lot to you all for participating in the quiz and leaving your comments!

I would especially like to thank Patricia Sgrignuoli, Ramón Tello and Manuel Nonay for allowing me to use their photos here! By clicking on their names, you can see more of their photos or read about their travels in Argentina. Thanks for your generosity, my friends!