Day Twelve: Amsterdam, the Netherlands

This was the last day of my trip.  I returned to Amsterdam, where I began my journey through the Low Countries.  After twelve intense days of sightseeing I was ready for a slower paced day.  On this last day, I decided to take in one of the best museums in Amsterdam, the Van Gogh museum.  This was an excellent choice for my last day.  Not only is the museum beautiful in its physical design, but also it presents Van Gogh’s work in the greater context of how he developed as an artist and how he interacted with his peer artists.  Although I had studied Van Gogh in college, I had not really understood the network of relationships between all these artists:  Pissarro, Seurat, Toulouse-Lautrec, Bonnard, etc. The museum does an excellent job of creating the context artistically and personally of Van Gogh’s work and his overall significance in shaping modern 20^th century art.  The museum has such a vast collection of both his work and his contemporaries’ work that it can highlight and historicize his work in a very information way.  Great museum and a super way to end an fabulous trip through the Low Countries and Normandy!

Day Eleven: Amiens, France

Amiens Cathedral

Interior Nave Amiens Cathedral

Today I visited the city of Amiens, in the Picardie region of Northern France.  The chief highlight of the city was the huge Gothic cathedral, which is the size of a football field.  The cathedral is very well preserved and beautiful.  While visiting the cathedral, I learned that Gothic cathedrals were very colorful back when they were built.  The statuary was painted with bright, vivid colors.  At Christmas the city puts on a laser lightshow that shows how the cathedral looked back during the Medieval period. 

Gargoyles Amiens Cathedral

Amiens

WWI Memorial

Amiens also has a strong Flemish character to its architecture, reminding me of the Low Countries, with small canals running through the heart of the city.  It’s obvious that Picardie, the Northeast region of France, was closely tied to Flanders and its wealthy wool merchants. 

The surrounding farmland was very lush and rich.  There were many WWI monuments, cemeteries and memorials.  They are still finding unexploded ordinance from the Battle of the Somme, which was fought right outside Amiens.  Over a million men died or suffered casualties during the battle, but today the farmland where the battle was fought looks so peaceful.  It’s hard to imagine the terrible carnage that happened here during WWI.

Day Ten: Bayeux and Rouen

British WWII Memorial and Cemetery

Before I left Bayeux, I made a stop at two important memorials:  one a memorial and cemetery for British soldiers who died during the Allied Normandy invasion in WWII and second, a memorial dedicated to the journalists and photographers who have been killed while covering various conflicts around the world, dating back to WWII.  Both of these memorials were deeply moving to me.  The British memorial and cemetery was very different from the American cemetery and memorial at Omaha beach.  It was less dramatic and much simpler in many ways, but each grave was carefully tended, with flowers planted at each tombstone.

Journalist killed in 1947

The journalist/photographers’ memorial was a lesson in twentieth-century warfare.  There is a stone tablet for each year with the names of every journalist and photographer who was killed in that year.  As you move through the decades you can trace the history from today’s wars in the Middle East, to the Balkan wars, to Central American and African conflicts, to the wars of Vietnam and Southeast Asia, Korea and finally WWII.  In each year you can tell by the names of those killed where most of the conflicts took place.  It’s strange to see such a stark record of war.  Disturbing.           

Fallen Journalists Memorial Bayeux

Detail from Rouen Cathedral

Interior of Rouen Cathedral

Next I drove to Rouen to visit to the beautiful Gothic cathedral in the center of the old part of town.  Monet made this cathedral famous by painting it in every different variation of natural light.  The cathedral was heavily damaged by Allied bombing during WWII, but has been mostly restored, although that work is still incomplete.  The cathedral houses the heart of Richard the Lionhearted and contains beautiful statuary and carvings inside and out.  

Memorial to Jean D'Arc

Close to the cathedral is the square where Joan d’Arc was burned at the stake.  To honor her memory, there is a very modern church built at the same site by the famous architect Corbusier.  It is a striking contrast to the “old-town” which surrounds the square.  

Detail from the Plague Cemetery

After communing with Joan’s spirit I walked to the “plague” cemetery, which is actually an ossuary where the remains of plague victims were buried in a mass grave.  Today an art school surrounds the stone courtyard that lies on top of the ossuary, but all around the edges of the courtyard are carved wooden skulls, serving as a reminder of the grisly earlier function of the courtyard.  Walking around the old part of town it was clear how Rouen had functioned as the wealthy commercial center of the Anglo-Norman Kings’ domains in France.  There are reminders everywhere of the historical roots of this old city.

Day Nine: Mont Saint Michel and Caen, France

Abbey Mont Saint Michel

Cathedral of Saine Etienne

In the morning I drove down to Mont Saint Michel, first stopping in Avranches to see the abbey from a distance and then driving to the foot of the abbey for a closer look.  The morning was cold and rainy, but the abbey was still a sight to see rising out of the marshland.  The tide was low so you could drive to the foot of the abbey.  The crowds of people rushing to see the abbey were impressive. 

Tomb of William the Conqueror

Next I turned back north and went to Caen to see more of the city’s medieval sites.  First on the agenda was the Cathedral of Saint Etienne, built by William the Conqueror, who is buried there.  Adjacent to the cathedral is the Abbey des Hommes, which doubles today as the city hall of Caen.  It was Saturday, so there were many couples dressed in their finest, getting married--an interesting juxtaposition of old and new.  Then it was onto the castle built by William, the ruins of which serve as the home to Caen’s art museum. 

On the way back to Bayeux, I visited the Chateau Fontaine-Henry, which is a steeply roofed chateau that dates back to the late medieval period.  The house has been added onto many times, but it has remained in private hands down to this day.  Although the chateau is open to the public as a museum it is also still a private home.  It was interesting the see the family photographs amidst the treasured works of art and furniture in this lovely space.   The owners also had beautiful and friendly black labs.

Day Eight: Normandy D-Day beaches and Bayeux

Sightseeing today began in Arromanches where the Allies built a harbor to supply the Normandy invasion.  It was impressive to see the remains of many of the mulberries (large concrete, football-field size chunks of concrete) still at sea.  The WWII museum in Arromanches was very helpful with large models of the harbor and the way it worked. 

Next was the American cemetery at Omaha beach.  The visitor center there had moving displays focused on the narrative of the war, the Normandy campaign and individual accounts of the many of the men who fought and many who died in Normandy.  Walking among the graves was a somber experience.  The weather was cold and rainy, somehow appropriate for the day.  The anniversary of D-Day was just a few days ago, so it is easy to imagine a similar day fifty-seven years ago. 

After seeing the cemetery I drove down to the beach, where I walked out to the waterline.  The beach was huge.  Walking on the sand gave me a strong feeling of the challenge that faced the men on D-Day.  Before today I had not realized how deep the beach was.  Another thing I noticed today was how firm the sand was—that would have made it easier for soldiers to fight.  This is a beach you could run on if you had to. 

Last on this day was a trip to Point Du Hoc, which was very interesting, a lunar landscape created by the aerial bombing of the German pillboxes (gun placements.)  The craters created by the Allied bombing were huge, and it was bizarre to see French school children running in and out of them as though the crater field was a playground. 

After the beaches it was time to head back to Bayeux and pay a visit to the town cathedral and the famed Bayeux Tapestry.    The cathedral was built in the beautiful, classic Norman/Gothic style with huge flying buttresses.  It is supposed to the second largest cathedral in France after Notre Dame in Paris.  Close by the cathedral is the museum that houses the Bayeux Tapestry, which tells the story of the Norman conquest of England in 1066.  The tapestry was amazing.  There is no way to replicate the visual impact of how long the tapestry is--much longer than walking the length of a football field.   It is also beautiful in the artistry of the stitching.  Having taught about the battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest for many years, it was wonderful to finally see the tapestry for myself.

Day Seven: Caen and Falaise, France

I visited the World War II museum in Caen today and learned things I did not know before about the French Resistance.  There were excellent displays on the D-Day and Normandy campaigns. This should put me in good shape for seeing the Normandy beaches tomorrow. 


Next I traveled to Falaise, birthplace of William the Conqueror, where the castle in which he was born still stands.  The castle was heavily bombed during the WWII Allied Normandy invasion and it has been rebuilt in places; restoration work still continues today.   There is a new ‘keep’ that gives the visitor a good feel for a medieval fort/castle built in the Norman style.  Inside the keep, the walls were high; it would have been very difficult to assail. 

Day Six: Honfleur, France

 Honfleur is a beautiful old village, dating back to the Middle Ages, that sits on the mouth of the river Seine, with a distinctive style that is encapsulated in its cathedral.  Unlike many cathedrals built during the high Middle Ages, the town’s cathedral was built like the hull of a wooden ship flipped upside down.  Here the local economy was tied to fishing.   The streets are still narrow and cobblestone, difficult to navigate with a car, but ideal for pedestrians.  Amazingly, Honfleur was not destroyed by WWII fighting.  A great day.

Days Four and Five: Bruges, Belgium

Bruges is a UNESCO World heritage site.  There are over 600 buildings that are protected for their historic value.  Bruges is an old city.  It feels older than Amsterdam, perhaps because it ceased to be important as a city for trade when the port silted up, so it was left in somewhat of a medieval time-warp.  Bruges was one of the most important cities in Northern Europe during the high Middle Ages.  It was the first to become politically independent with its own charter. The city at its peak had a population of 35,000 people, which was large for a medieval European city.  Today the historic city is well preserved, with medieval and renaissance era architecture blending together.  The layout of the streets and the overall design are just the same as they were over 600 years ago.

The influence and wealth of the city’s historic merchant class is very present even in the modern city.  Many notable works of art were commissioned by the town’s merchants; in many cases these self-same men were worked into the art work, standing as witnesses to Christ’s birth or a similar theme of religious art.                        

 Bruges has many beautiful museums and churches, including one church that is a pilgrimage site for the Holy Blood of Jesus, which is still viewed as a holy relic today.  It was on view when I visited the Church of the Holy Blood.  

 The museums in Bruges highlighted the Flemish Renaissance artists, especially Jan Van Eyck and Hans Memling.  One of the most interesting museums is actually the former hospital of Saint John, which dates back to the medieval period and was run by nuns.  There is also a convent of Beguines, semi-nuns, which was very peaceful and beautiful in its simplicity.  Having come from Amsterdam, I am struck by the strong contrast of the Catholic culture in Bruges as compared to the Protestant reformation influence in Holland.  Here the only desecration to the local Catholic churches came from Napoleon Bonaparte and the French Revolution.  One of the oldest churches in Bruges, the Church of Saint Donatus, was sold off by the French during the Revolution and demolished.  Recently a hotel was built over the same site and in the process of building a new foundation the remains of the original city walls and church foundations were found, as well as a water well filled with medieval “trash”—a great archeological treasure trove of everyday life over time.

Days Two and Three: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

This is a holiday weekend in the Netherlands, so Amsterdam is crowded with Dutch folks, plus the weather is lovely—sunny and cool, so everyone wants to be outside.  I saw Amsterdam by boat, traveling up and down the canals in the old parts of the city.  Buildings range from the houses built in the 15^th century to modern architecture.  Amsterdam is a city that is rich in history but does not cling to the past—its forward thinking and progressive.  The spirit of entrepreneurship that began with the founding of the city led by merchants is still very much alive.   

            I also traveled to the Jewish History Museum, which is a museum dedicated to telling the story of the Dutch Jewish historical experience.  The museum connects four former synagogues from the old Jewish quarter.  Amsterdam was the home of Holland’s largest Jewish population.  In the 1930s there were 140,000 Jews living in the Netherlands; today there are 44,000.  The museum tells the story of the earliest Dutch Jews from their arrival in Amsterdam, after their expulsion from Catholic Spain and Portugal in 1492.  Later many Jews came to Holland from Eastern Europe to escape pogroms in Poland, Russia and Germany. Jews in Holland could practice their religion in peace and without fear or a ghetto, but they were limited in their occupations.  All of the trade guilds were closed to them, so Jews ended up working as merchants as either international traders, buying and investing in shares of overseas trading operations or for those with less money, they worked as street peddlers.  Some entered the diamond trade, since it was one of the few trades that developed after the medieval period, hence it did not have a restrictive medieval guild.  The elite of the community were well off, but the majority of Dutch Jews were poor due to the lack of economic opportunities.  This situation improved somewhat in the 19^th century, but even up until 1939, most Dutch Jews lived in poverty.  During the German Nazi occupation from May 1940 till April 1945, the majority of the Jewish population were deported and most died in German concentration camps.  After the war, when the survivors returned, the Dutch government and people did little to help them.  Not until 1973, did the government accept any responsibility for the welfare of the Jewish survivors of the Holocaust; the Dutch people were reluctant to deal with their role in cooperating with the Nazis.


Today many Dutch Jews still do not feel comfortable with being openly Jewish, since there is still latent anti-Semitism in Holland, despite the international image of the Dutch as being open and tolerant as a society.  For me this puts the emphasis on “tolerate” meaning “will allow” but not include or be made to feel welcome.  My grandmother’s family was Dutch and Jewish.  I was always taught to be proud of this heritage and believed that the Jews in Holland were treated better than the rest of Europe; now I have somewhat mixed feelings.  They were treated better, but even in “enlightened” Holland, they were not really accepted.  Visiting the Anne Frank House just underscores the precarious position that all European Jews faced, what it meant to be a minority and vulnerable to the whims of your neighbors, who may tolerate you for a time, but can turn their backs on you when you need them most.  Traveling in Europe as a Jew is hard. There are constant reminders of the recent past, making it difficult to reconcile the beautiful scenery and old world charm with the painful reality of the Shoah.  Although the Jewish History museum is an interesting museum, I could not help but feel saddened by all that was lost; somehow the museum, standing in these four repurposed but no longer holy sanctuaries represented a way of life and a community that is a shadow of what it once was.

Haarlem, The Netherlands

I visited Haarlem on a sunny day in June.  The town's history dates back to the 15^th century but the town grew more important in the 16^th century.  Saint Bavo's Cathedral (the main cathedral) shows the effect of the Reformation.  All the original Roman Catholic artwork and iconography was removed or painted over.


  The Cathedral also shows the influence of the town’s merchants.  An example of this was the “unruly dog” keepers’ chapel.  The chapel was built with the funds of the town merchants, not the local lords.

 I also went to the Teyler museum, which is the oldest museum in Holland.  The museum was also financed by a local merchant, showing the importance of the merchant class in the Netherlands.  

Getting ready to leave.

Tomorrow,  I will begin a trip to Normandy, France and the Low Countries--Belgium and the Netherlands.  These regions are rich in history.  Normandy was first made famous by William of Normandy, better known as William the Conqueror, but in more recent memory people remember it for the famed D-Day landings of June 6, 1941.  Belgium and the Netherlands each has its own rich history stretching back to the thriving commerce of medieval Europe and the establishment of the Dutch as a world power in the 17th century.  Everywhere I go, I plan to explore the rich interplay between past, present and future.  Can one hear the echo of footsteps over time?  Join me and find out.