-
Untitled
-
Tijuana, Mexico
-
This place was Average
visited 2000
-
posted Apr 23, 2005
|
Comments (0)
-
Home Wreckage
-
Stabroeck, Belgium
-
This place was Average
visited Feb 2003
-
Stabroek is a tiny town north of Antwerp, Belgium, not at all far from the Dutch border. A tiny town where probably everybody knows everybody. By coincidence, this is where I ended up celebrating my 30th birthday. Fair enough, I drag my course mates/friends to the local pub, in order to make the occasion count. Pub number one is a nice enough place. Not used to late night celebrations however, the staff very politely but also very obviously let us know that they want to go home. Finally we decide to take the hint and move on. Being such a small town, the nightlife in Stabroek is however very limited. In fact, the late night entertainment is limited to this pub that just closed on us, and a couple of other establishments. One of these other establishments in on the way back to where we stay. Had it been a vote among us whether to step inside or not, it would probably have been a vote in favor of walking straight by it. Since it is my birthday, I get to make the decision. With my “why not?” attitude I decide that we check it out. Seems like an ordinary venue; a bar disk, a small dance floor, some tables, and even a stage for performing artists. The crowd is mixed, young and old, girls and boys, probably a good representation of this little town (also probably amounting to half the population). The younger crowd enjoys the dance floor, while the more mature clientele explore what the bar has to offer. What the bar has to offer is mostly beer. For some of the customers, large amounts of beer. This excessive intake of alcoholic beverage leads to emotional outburst for one customer who apparently disagrees with his bar neighbor, with the result that they engage in a dispute. This dispute quickly turns quite physical and verbal. There is some pushing and waving of hands, and there is some shouting. As four foreigners, we act as neutral observers and are all wise enough to step aside and do nothing to interfere. After all, this is an away game, and for all that we know this might be a traditional occurrence here. From the reaction of the crowd, it probably is a common occurrence. Although – strangely enough – the place is well-lit, and everything going on is clearly visible to all, only the handful of people directly involved in the little fight act on it. The DJ continues to play his tunes, and the crowd continues what they were doing a minute ago without even taking notice. The drunken fighters are told to take it outside, and they obey without further ado. Personally I found did not find this little incident abnormally strange, and my friends were probably not traumatically harmed by it either. The very verbal Canadian representative of our little group did however in an instant come up with a name/expression/saying for this specific event: “Home Wreckage”. These “home wreckers” will probably never know that they were the origins of this phrase in my association of nightlife in Stabroek. For them, this quite undramatic and not very harmful “home wrecking” business might probably a weekly thing. For me though, it gave birth to a whole new expression...
posted Apr 23, 2005
|
Comments (0)
-
Gezellig
-
Breukelen, Netherlands
-
This place was Great
visited Aug 2004
-
The Dutch language has a word – Gezelligheid – which translates to “coziness”, and refers to something that is cozy, peaceful, idyllic, cool, quaint, or any combination of a number or all of these descriptions. The word is more of a concept than just an adjective. It might very well originate from this little town I pass with my bicycle on a warm and sunny August day. The little town surely has a name, but the sign announcing this name passes unnoticed. My intention – like probably everyone else’s who doesn’t live there – was to just pass through. However, the long ride is taking its tribute, and halfway between Amsterdam and Utrecht, this place invites for a rest. Hence, I park the bicycle and take a seat on a bank in what appears to be the town center, i.e. by the little square surrounded by a couple of stores and a couple of café’s. There’s also a little canal running through the town, and even a folding bridge spanning over the little canal. This particular day the gezelligheid – coziness – appears to have captivated the little town and its citizens. The café’s are crowded with people, and although the canal is very small, no canal in the Netherlands is apparently too small for boat traffic. The little boats passing through the town must pass under the bridge. However, since the canal is so small, and the town is so small, so is the bridge covering the canal. Hence, the bridge has to be folded in order for the boats to pass. Probably due to the smallness of the whole scenario, there was probably no perceived need for building a booth where the bridge master could sit and monitor the canal traffic. Therefore, the boats wanting to pass through have no choice but to line up and wait for the bridge to fold open. The bridge master has every intention of keeping the gezelligheid to a maximum, and in the lack of a booth, he monitors the boat traffic from his spot at one of the café’s, enjoying a beer in the sun. The boats wanting to pass are subject to the goodwill of the bridge master, and the pace at which he consumes his beer. When enough boats are lined up, and the beer is up, he walks over to the bridge, turns a switch or two, and open up for passing. A political or economical decision, demands a small fee to be paid for passing. The method of payment does nothing to deviate from the concept of gezelligheid. When passing, the bridge master takes out a stick, where a typical Dutch yellow clog is hanging from a rope. The boaters then much deposit the toll into the clog the bridge master is holding out. Probably the way toll has been paid here since the town was built. Probably the way toll will be paid for many years to come. All in the name of gezelligheid.
posted Apr 23, 2005
|
Comments (0)
-
Galgenwaard
-
Utrecht, Netherlands
-
This place was Great
visited Aug 2004
-
Galgenwaard is the name of the soccer stadium in Utrecht. Pronounced in the local dialect, it sounds like you’re either swallowing or spitting up something non-edible. A rather nice venue, built over half a century ago, but rebuilt to resemble a modern stadium, with a acoustic that is quite impressive. The fans of Utrecht don’t have the greatest of reputations – they are usually put into the trouble-maker category. Not very fond of fans – or players for that matter – from other cities than Utrecht, particularly not Amsterdam. When “Oranje” – the Dutch national team – for once visits Utrecht for an international match, the fans do nothing to hide their dislike for out-of-towners. Lichtenstein is visiting Holland this evening. Lichtenstein as a soccer country has experienced about as much success as Jamaica in ice hockey, England in Wimbledon tennis, or the US in manufacturing drinkable beer. In other words, a walk in the park for the Dutch superstars. Turns out in the end that it would be an easy win, without sweating it more than necessary. The crowd is not extremely excited by the developments of the match. When the match doesn’t provide any excitement, the hard-core fans decide to entertain themselves by making fun of selected players. Contrary to what one would expect, some of the crowd pays very little attention to the players of the visiting team. Instead, they start shouting anything but compliments to a player out of Ajax of Amsterdam. As my Dutch language skills at the time were pretty much non-existing, I don’t fully understand the meaning of the chant, but the message is clear: Rafael van der Vaart (the pretty boy Ajax Amsterdam player) should immediately exit the game and instead engage in some physical activity with a close female relative. The lack of respect for players of opposing teams can in some instances – although it is not defensible – with some insight of the issue and semi-logical reasoning make some sense. This complete disrespect for a player of what is supposedly the own team is however quite astonishing. Not exactly the ideal picture of what the game is all about. Not exactly the message you want to convey for the young audience. Makes one wonder where fan culture is heading. Also makes one wonder how this team is supposed to function as a – team, with a selected group of the supporters spend more energy on mocking the own players instead of supporting them. No wonder that the Oranje team basically never wins a tournament...
posted Apr 2, 2005
|
Comments (0)
-
Untitled
-
Orlando, Florida
-
This place was Average
visited 1999
-
Galgenwaard is the name of the soccer stadium in Utrecht. Pronounced in the local dialect, it sounds like you’re either swallowing or spitting up something non-edible. A rather nice venue, built over half a century ago, but rebuilt to resemble a modern stadium, with a acoustic that is quite impressive. The fans of Utrecht don’t have the greatest of reputations – they are usually put into the trouble-maker category. Not very fond of fans – or players for that matter – from other cities than Utrecht, particularly not Amsterdam. When “Oranje” – the Dutch national team – for once visits Utrecht for an international match, the fans do nothing to hide their dislike for out-of-towners. Lichtenstein is visiting Holland this evening. Lichtenstein as a soccer country has experienced about as much success as Jamaica in ice hockey, England in Wimbledon tennis, or the US in manufacturing drinkable beer. In other words, a walk in the park for the Dutch superstars. Turns out in the end that it would be an easy win, without sweating it more than necessary. The crowd is not extremely excited by the developments of the match. When the match doesn’t provide any excitement, the hard-core fans decide to entertain themselves by making fun of selected players. Contrary to what one would expect, some of the crowd pays very little attention to the players of the visiting team. Instead, they start shouting anything but compliments to a player out of Ajax of Amsterdam. As my Dutch language skills at the time were pretty much non-existing, I don’t fully understand the meaning of the chant, but the message is clear: Rafael van der Vaart (the pretty boy Ajax Amsterdam player) should immediately exit the game and instead engage in some physical activity with a close female relative. The lack of respect for players of opposing teams can in some instances – although it is not defensible – with some insight of the issue and semi-logical reasoning make some sense. This complete disrespect for a player of what is supposedly the own team is however quite astonishing. Not exactly the ideal picture of what the game is all about. Not exactly the message you want to convey for the young audience. Makes one wonder where fan culture is heading. Also makes one wonder how this team is supposed to function as a – team, with a selected group of the supporters spend more energy on mocking the own players instead of supporting them. No wonder that the Oranje team basically never wins a tournament...
posted Mar 28, 2005
|
Comments (0)
|
| | | |