Modern 'art' in a 800 year old town

[Francois_Dumas]

I am referring to my 1150RT of course as the 'art' object

 

I wrote something in ride well (which to me often is about riding not so well <grin>) about my trip out into the polder in force 7 gale with F8 gusts.

 

I turned the bike around and headed back over the old sea dike to Hoorn, the town I was born (not my fault).

 

Hoorn was grante 'city rights' some 650 years ago now, and already exists for over 800 years. We have a lovely museum (that got robbed last weekend, actually. 23 old masters were stolen with a total value of over 10 million Euros!! That hurt. I worked there when I was at school ).

Anyway, I digress.

 

The beauty of Hoorn (to me) is its old harbor quarters. Many of the 16th century houses are still there, many were restored to their old glory. Some of the defense works are still standing, like the old Harbor Tower at the entrance of the harbor.

 

Hoorn was the Navy HQ of The Netherlands in the Golden Age (16th/17th century), harboring the Admiralty and the VOC (the company that sent their merchant ships to the Indies and colonies).

 

A rich history with many tales to tell, good and bad, and much of it is still visible today. I thought it a fitting 'coulisse' for my BMW on a day when it was too windy to have fun out on the dikes!

 

Here are some pictures (bigger size on Smugmug of course).

 

This is the 'art' bit......

 

 

The old 'Waag' (the place where goods were put on the scales, operated by the city, so unbiased measurement was assured). Now houses a nice restaurant.

 

 

The 'conqueror' of Indonesia. Not a nice man, but important, so he got a statue.

 

 

The museum I told you about. It was the HQ of the Admiralty in old days and fully restaured, including gold inlay on the gates

 

 

The tower guarding the harbor entrance..... also houses a very nice restaurant nowadays

 

 

I couldn't resist, I love signs of pubs and the likes.

 

 

Part of the old inner harbor with the now unused fishing boat fleet. Fishing has all but died in the IJsselmeer and only a handful of guys can still make a living. Most of the boats you see there are now rented to groups in the summer season and make day trips on the lake.

 

 

The harbor 'front' with some of the old houses that used to house all sort of shops on the ground floor. Now converted to (very expensive) living quarters)

 

 

As you can see the 'new' tower was built in 1532..... ummmm... it was new THEN !

The new bell tower was placed in 1740 and the old clock sits in the museum attic.

 

 

Ships outside the harbor

 

 

Shot showing the harbor entrance out to the 'sea'.

 

 

So, not exactly the 'regular riding' pictures, but I guess we all ride a bit less in winter. The trips I made so far resulted mainly in having cold fingers when making my pictures and not much riding......

Hope you liked watching them anyway....

 

Francois <insert little waving Dutch guy here>

[Patience]

Awesome pics, Francois! It'd be really neat to live in an area with so much history. Thank you for sharing a bit of your trip.

 

Oh... and..

 

So, not exactly the 'regular riding' pictures, but I guess we all ride a bit less in winter.

 

Pshaw!

[ESokoloff]

 

 

Pshaw!

 

 

What are you doing WRITING

You should be RIDING instead

[weaselwayne]

Dear Francois,

Sir, you never cease to amaze me. From first hand reporting of new BMW motorcycles to the wonderful pictures of your beautiful country .

To me you are a great World Ambassador for this board.

 

Now get out there and ride, take some more dang pictures and post 'em up

 

Thank-you so much.

[Francois_Dumas]

LOL ! You;re the exception Adam !!

[Francois_Dumas]

You're too kind. I am happy you like the pictures

 

Kind regards,

Francois

[dhb]

Francois,

I like your concept of "Art" and the photo essay, too. Thanks for posting it.

 

Dave

[johncarves]

"So, not exactly the 'regular riding' pictures,"

 

WRONG! They are GREAT riding pictures. The sights, sounds, smells, etc. are all an intergal part our this great riding experience. I know what your bike looks like, I know how it handles, all it's weak points, all it's great strenghts. What I don't know is what you "see" or experience when you ride.

 

Actually your photos give me a slight heartache and a great sense of joy (at the same time). What a wonderfull world, I have such limited experience in it. Thanks for the photos.

[chrisd]

Terrific work, Francois. Very nice photos of a beautiful place. Thank you. BTW, what does De Klinker (in your first photo) mean?

 

 

Chris

[Wheels Rollin']

Stunning, Francois... Thanks so much for sharing these with us << smile >>... I really enjoy seeing the beauty in other parts of the world an' yours is certainly that...

 

-- Bill

[Erick]

BTW, what does De Klinker (in your first photo) mean?

I assume Francois is either out riding, or still woking on his shed projecct, so allow me to reply: a "klinker" is a stone brick, generally used for the pavement or boardwalk.

Like this:

 

But also, "klinker" is the equivalent of the english word 'vowel'.

[Francois_Dumas]

Glad ya'll like my snapshots so much

 

De Klinker means ' The Cobblestone' (sp?)... the stones that the old town square is made of (and many of the other alleys and streets around the harbor. In old times ALL the streets were made of thse stones.. that were all imported from Scandinavia..... we don't have any rocks in this ol' country <grin>

[Francois_Dumas]

Hmmmmm.. I see Erick beat me to it and we have some different notion of 'klinkers' What his picture shows ia a 'sidewalk tile'...... The thing we have in common though is that both 'his' tile and 'my' cobblestone are regularly used by criminals to throw through shop windows to force 'easy and quick access'

 

P.S. Now, Erick, go and put that thing back in before someone stumbles over it !!

[Erick]

P.S. Now, Erick, go and put that thing back in before someone stumbles over it !!

I'll do what BMW owners do to hide scratches...just put something over it, like a sticker or such.

 

[santaferider]

Francois,

 

I too, like old european pub and restaurant signs. This "De Hoofatoren" called my attention, particularly its bottom part, which is making me thirsty even if it's 8:40 am

[santaferider]

Francois,

 

This is about what we look at when we want to see and 800 year old town in our area.

 

[Francois_Dumas]

And no Heineken in sight anywhere.........

[Erick]

If you saw a can of Heineken in Marcelo's 800 year old town, would you trust (and drink) it?

[santaferider]

Erick, all you might have been able to find there in those days was some corn bubbly fermented through the natural process of chewing the corn and spitting the mash into the water previously poured in the kilned clay pot. I don't think it would taste as good, or that I would trust it as Heineken.

[Erick]

I don't think it would taste as good, or that I would trust it as Heineken.

This is going to be completely OT, but: I'm amazed that you Americans consider Heineken a tasteful beer!

Well, sure, for a lager, it's not bad. But obviously, you've never tried the hundreds of Belgian trappist beers!

[santaferider]

Erick, brewing is an old art, so I don't think Francois would consider this a hijack.

 

But obviously, you've never tried the hundreds of Belgian trappist beers!

 

Oh I have, Erick, I have... and you can find many of them in America. Santa Fe is a small city but just out of the top of my head I can think of five places where I can go and buy them.

 

As I grow old, I find myself favoring crisp, well brewed lagers in the style of Stella Artois; however I still enjoy Duvel, if I don't have to ride or drive, because it will get to you like the devil it is.

The monastery style brews are good, and I enjoy a few, but they are too unctuous to drink them consistently. They don't fit, in my opinion, the 90F plus of the Southwestern desert. Neither does a Tcheck Pilsner, by the way, and I bathe in them when I am in Europe. But if I can get a bottle of Hubertus to go with squab, I'd be in seventh heaven!

 

America is a huge country with many people. I know many Americans who would not drink a lager, and we have hundreds of micro-breweries producing ales and porters of superb quality.

 

Of course, I know you didn't mean to generalize; you just wanted to throw a lure to see if I'd bite

 

Bottoms up!

[Erick]

Of course, I know you didn't mean to generalize; you just wanted to throw a lure to see if I'd bite

Oh, but I did! Generalizing is fun...there's always someone who bites.

In reality, I've only shook hands with, at the most, about thirty or fourty American citizens. So, whenever I generalize about Americans, it's got to be taken with cups of salt.

 

And about the beer: wouldn't white beers like Hoegaarden be perfect for New Mexico?

[santaferider]

wouldn't white beers like Hoegaarden be perfect for New Mexico?

 

Ah! now we are talking. Le Grand Cru des bieres!

 

If we could find it here in its original freshnesh, its coriander and citrus spice would go great with our famous Green Chile Stew!

 

Now, tell me, do you have some Gladiator hidden in Tusnelda's glovebox?

[Les is more]

Call me crazy but it smells like a hijack to me.

[Erick]

Now, tell me, do you have some Gladiator hidden in Tusnelda's glovebox?

Nope. No beer while riding!

But I just found one in the fridge:

 

[santaferider]

shhhhh Leslie, you were supposed to smell beer

 

but let's go back to the 800 year old towns. This is is an overview of Pueblo Bonito, part of the Chaco Canyon system of over 16 towns, some inside, some on the rims of the canyon. Francois and Erick, the round "holes" lined in stone are called "kivas" and they are ceremonial rooms where the townpeople met to get in touch with their ancestors. The kivas were completely covered, but for a small square skylight from where they climbed back outside from a primitive ladder, to symbolize mother earth giving birth to their ancestors.

 

[Francois_Dumas]

Hijack !? LOL ! I will have to find a different subject I guess... Cows and Beer are 'out' .... ROFLMAO !!

 

But I don't mind.... communicating is what these forums are about, no? As long as everybody is having fun doing so, I am happy

[Erick]

Francois and Erick, the round "holes" lined in stone are called "kivas"

...as in "caves", I guess!

Very interesting picture and story, Marcelo. Yes, I can understand the old religious importance of this area.

However, nowadays....errr....are there any roads along those walls? Would be a great place to practice blind corners and dangerous intersections techniques.

[santaferider]

...as in "caves", I guess!

 

no Erick, trying to equate the Anasazi language to English is quite impossible. A modern version of this language, the one spoken by the Navaho-Diné people was used during Second World War instead of code (which the Germans were good at breaking) to rely sensitive messages. The Germans never figured it out, I believe.

 

To learn more about a kiva go to:

 

http://sipapu.gsu.edu/great.kiva/old/imtour.html

 

Chaco Canyon, where I took the photo in question, is both a National Park and a World Heritage Site. As opposed to other National Parks, you can roam the park at will, all that you are required is to fill a backcountry permit indicating where are you going to go, for SAR purposes. There is only one road in the park, a 4 mile loop ending in Pueblo Bonito (the subject of the photograph) from there, you park and walk if you want to see the other towns.

 

Access to the park is through a very well maintained dirt road (about 24 miles of it) which is constantly bladed, so Tusnelda would have no problems negotiating it at about 60 km/h. Rosita and Celeste have been there, many times.

 

Camping in Chaco Canyon is close to a religious experience.

[Francois_Dumas]

Ah yes, the 'Windtalkers' WW2 used to be a hobby of mine (not the war, but knowing all about it).

 

Really interesting info Marcello, I would love to go there once. If we ever do get your way I'll make sure to carry our walking gear

 

I've never been that far south I think, certainly not in interesting places like that and your pictures and stories are much appreciated !

[santaferider]

thank you Francois. To my inquisitive mind, all places in the world are interesting. My town is about as half as old as the one you depicted, and our architecture very simple. Yesterday, I went for a short ride and took this photo:

 

 

It will be hard to know that, in between the two juniper trees and at the base of the mountain, sits a city holding 76,000 souls.

 

Thanks to our building codes restricting height, style and materials, you don't see it because it completely blends with the environment. If you tell someone in the East Coast that you live in Santa Fe, it isn't rare that they answer "ah! isn't that the place where you can't see your house?".

 

Anyway Francois, I enjoy your photos and stories too. Please keep them coming. And by all means, if you ever come this way, I'd feel privileged to show you this enchanting land.

[chrisd]

thank you Francois. To my inquisitive mind, all places in the world are interesting.

Anyway Francois, I enjoy your photos and stories too. Please keep them coming. And by all means, if you ever come this way, I'd feel privileged to show you this enchanting land.

 

Ditto, Francois. However, here, 150 years old for a building is OLD! But this place is enchanting, too, in its own way. You, or anyone on this forum, are welcome here and I would be happy to show you around. Although Oahu is a small island I'm a pretty good tour guide. Let me know.

 

Chris

[Francois_Dumas]

Thanks Marcello !!

I am ashamed to say that the only thing I know about Santa Fé is what I learned from cowboy movies and books... I used to have a toy steam locomotive with Santa Fé painted on its sides

 

Your town is exactly the same size as mine.... and we don't have high rises here either..... the churches you saw are the highest buildings in the area

 

HI is Hawaii, right !? I'd love to see some pictures of your island Chris ! A good friend of mine made me really jealous when he visited a few years ago, took a helo ride and rented a Jeep.. sending me some beautiful pictures of his vacation !!