Day 13 – Saturday, May 19
Today was a travel day – departing Clervaux at 7:44 am to Luxembourg City, then to Brussels, and finally on to Bruges, arriving 3:15 pm. I actually missed my scheduled train in Brussels (due to user error – I misunderstood the platform direction), but was lucky enough to hook up with another train going to Bruges just fifteen minutes later. I also – amazingly, but as is almost always the case – had kind folks offering to help me with my luggage at each of the transfer stations (which usually involved going up or down a fair number of stairs, so the help was greatly appreciated). Have (red) luggage, will travel (with help).
I was met in Bruges by my friends Marcel and Carine, a retired couple from Belgium. Carine is a quilter who used to work in a quilt shop and taught classes. Years ago she came to the US to take a class from Susan Shie. In 2012 Susie and I both exhibited and taught at Interquilt in Girona (Spain), and Marcel and Carine traveled south to spend a couple of days visiting with Susie, where I also met and got to know them.
The next time I saw them was a surprise visit in 2016 when I was exhibiting at Le Carrefour European du Patchwork in France, and we’ve continued to stay in touch ever since. They’re going to be my Belgium hosts, travel guides, and chauffeurs for my entire stay. Fantastic. Quilters are the kindest, most giving, and embracing of people.
Of course, I already have my Belgium "must check it out" list: mussels, french fries (with either curry sauce or mayonnaise), chocolate, Trappist beer, lace, windmills, freshwater eel in green herb sauce, Flemish Beer Stew, etc. And did I mention chocolate?
Is chocolate a vegetable (so I can pretend to balance things out)?
Bruges is packed, so we’re actually staying in the outskirts about 5 miles (8 km) from downtown, towards the coast. This local area also has a laundromat (my hotel in Luxembourg didn’t have laundry service), which I headed to as soon as I arrived – clean clothes! I had dinner at a local Chinese restaurant while waiting for everything to dry.
Day 14 – Sunday, May 20
I spent the day with Marcel and Carine sightseeing in Bruges. A really crowded Sunday in late May; everyone was out enjoying the weekend, the (good) weather, and the long days. I’ve heard that Bruges (a World Heritage Site) is sometimes described as half museum, half Disneyland. I may agree.
Speaking of museums, I went to The Basilica of the Holy Blood which houses what is believed to be a sample of the blood of Jesus. I'm intrigued by relics – or more specifically, by the stories about how they came to be, and why they're found where they are. I also wanted to see The Madonna of Bruges, a relatively small marble sculpture by Michelangelo of Mary with the baby Jesus, but the lines were too long. I’ll try again on Tuesday – tomorrow we’re heading to the Coast.
I also visited an old cloistered convent which apparently catered to really short nuns (at least if you go by the height of the doors).
Eating-wise, I had a Waffle with Strawberries for lunch (I somehow left waffles off of yesterday's “must do or eat while in Belgium” list, so I had to immediately address its absence in the only way possible – by eating one). Yum. And for dinner I had mussels and fries (with mayonnaise). Again, major yum, but the fries (and the mayonnaise) reminded me that I just can no longer handle fried or overly fatty foods. The same is true for larger portions of meat, so the Flemish Beer Stew is off the table. And I don’t drink, so no beer (Trappist or otherwise).
I did, however, stumble across chocolate. Everywhere. All in all – and given the quality and pervasiveness of the temptation – I was amazingly good (though happily not perfect). Belgium chocolate really is world class.
One of the most interesting sights was a life-size sculpture of a whale – made from scrap plastic bottles and other debris found floating in the North Sea – trying to escape a canal. Sad. Another interesting sight was me being a major tourist by posing on a throne, wearing a tiara, with a rather eclectic group of medieval hangers-on in the background (one looked suspiciously like Jean-Luc Picard from StarTrek) – a very silly (but fun) Queen-for-a-Day photo op (I drew the line, though, at putting on any of their dress-up costume gowns).
Day 15 – Monday, May 21
Another “vacation” day. Today we visited and toured the coast, tomorrow it’s back to Bruges, and then Wednesday I head to Amsterdam in anticipation of the weekend’s (two-day) fabric painting class.
It was a quiet, relaxing day. Lots of walking. We visited a fish market and bought some tiny “Shrimp of the North Sea” (which are like extra small versions of the baby bay shrimp that I grew up on; pre-cooked, you just peel off the shells and munch away).
In Ostend we also visited the “Atlantic Wall” which is an area (plus a museum) that contains fairly well preserved WWI and II German bunkers, tunnels, etc. The size and complexity of the battlements was amazing, and its hard to believe that this was but one part of a larger system that was intended to extend all the way down through coastal France. It was fairly creepy, but we need to know about such things, and to remember.
Ostend was interesting for another reason, and I have no knowledge of the history or story, but along the beach all these newer (very tall) apartment complexes have been built butted up against (literally squeezing) older traditional two or three story, very narrow homes with the most beautiful and intricate exterior woodwork (see the photo – we also couldn’t figure out the red “sculpture” in the plaza that looked like a giant wad of crumpled gift wrap). All in all it looked like a land-use planner’s worst nightmare.
Finally, when I got back to the hotel i received word that two of my more recent quilts were just juried into The Lincoln Center’s (Ft. Collins, CO) New Legacies: Contemporary Art Quilts exhibition to be held this coming July 6 through September 1, 2018. This is quite a prestigious show. Once again, woohoo!
Day 16 – Tuesday, May 22
Today we basically just walked all around Bruges, visiting whatever looked interesting. A nice, quiet day, without the weekend crowds. We visited churches, checked out the lace museum (amazing), ate chocolate (also amazing), spent time viewing dioramas of early Belgium life, bumped into the Beer Wall (which is exactly what you would think it is – a long exterior wall made from beer bottles), and saw Michelangelo’s Madonna of Bruges (the only Michelangelo sculpture found outside of Italy). BTW, there really is something uniquely special about his work (I also saw some of his sculptures last year when visiting Rome after my Turin exhibition).
And in one church I saw the weirdest thing – an alter with embedded human skulls, bones, axes, etc. I didn’t find out the story, but – bizarre.
I also tried a bite of Flemish Stew (which Marcel had ordered) – delicious, but it would wipe me out to try a whole bowl; I'm just not used to eating much meat. I also got really tired of all the cigarette smoke – it’s everywhere, and it particularly impacts the pleasure of outdoor cafes.
I additionally got a close-up look at the whale that I talked about a couple of days ago (the previous photo only showed the whale’s back, taken a fair ways away from a canal boat) and I was constantly surprised to see what it was actually made of: crocs shoes, galoshes, patio chairs, salad spinners, you name it – anything and everything plastic (that can be found floating in our oceans). It also looked like the whale is getting ready to eat poor Jan Van EYCK (the name on the statue). Note the size of the whale; in the photo below, you can see a couple of people in front of the whale's fin.
Finally, one of my key impressions is that there’s so much art everywhere you go – little statues, figurines built into the sides of buildings, etc. It’s all very pleasant.
Day 17 – Wednesday, May 23
Today was supposed to be an easy travel day, taking the train from Bruges, to Brussels, and then to Amsterdam. Or at least that was the plan. I made it to Brussels, no issues, but then for still unknown reasons I had to change from my scheduled express to a different train – with lots of stops – which was also to be routed through Rotterdam. It broke down, though. Long story short, I made it, but spent more (stressful) time doing so than I had expected. Ain’t travel great?
So I don't have much to report or photos to share – other than noting that I had a great Japanese dinner with Ginny Fleck, the Director of DIY Textile School where I'll be teaching this weekend, who patiently waited for me at the train station, then took me around, taught me how to use the tram to get to my room, etc.
Making up for today, tomorrow morning I have reservations for the Van Gogh Museum.
Day 18 – Thursday, May 24
Today marks the halfway point of my trip (with the length of this trip, it's hard to imagine that I'm coming back – to France – in September). Lots of quilting-related events and workshops still to come; I just have to successfully navigate the down days between exhibitions and workshops. How I suffer!
Despite the best of plans, I didn’t make it to the Van Gogh Museum today; hopefully tomorrow (over the weekend I’m teaching), or possibly early next week before heading to Celle (Patchwork Gilde Deutschland) on Wednesday.
As usual, I walked a ton, but I’ve also become a regular and confident tram rider. I spent much of the day (again, with Ginny) at a massive (four or five block long) indoor and outdoor street market (apparently Amsterdam has a number of these). It had a little (or a lot) of everything, including excellent selections of fabric, particularly cottons (fairly cheap compared to the US), silks (about the same), and linens (stratospheric). It also had street food, of course, including stroopwafels (also known as caramel cookie waffles) made from two thin layers of baked dough with a caramel syrup filling; no chocolate, but still significantly yummy.
Street food is also affordable, in contrast to the mind blowing (using a likely coffeeshop term; see below) cost of more formal, multi-course "sit down" meals. Last night's Japanese dinner (close to where I'm staying) was a delightful and affordable exception (we shared vegetable and smoked eel rolls, both really excellent, plus seaweed salad). Tonight I had salad and roasted Rhubarb that my B&B host cooked up. I think I'm managing the richness of the food pretty well – though I'm sure I'll have another stroopwafel, or three, before leaving (and I'm sure that Germany will have its own dessert-y surprises).
I haven’t yet stopped at any of the many cheese shops, nor, of course, at any of Amsterdam’s infamous coffeeshops (aka cannabis cafes), where legal marijuana is the main menu item, not coffee; tea (chai) is about as stimulating as I get. And I’m quickly learning how to stay out of the way of bicyclists, who are not shy about letting you know when you're where you shouldn't be.
Day 19 – Friday, May 25
Today (as always) I walked all over, wandering through smaller streets and neighborhoods on the way to the Van Gogh Museum. On the way I also went back to yesterday’s market, this time getting a ** huge ** spinach and feta luncheon crepe – 14 to 16 inches in diameter, then folded over … so good.
Before talking about the Van Gogh Museum, I want to first highlight another museum that I visited yesterday – Our Lord in the Attic. A secret church in an attic. Absolutely unique, and wonderfully compelling. It is a restored Catholic Church dating from 1663, and was hidden on the upper floors of a wealthy cotton merchant’s house (in what is now Amsterdam’s infamous Red Light District). It was built in response to edicts that Roman Catholics were prohibited from celebrating mass publicly, though a blind eye was turned if worship happened privately in house churches. At one point (in the 1600’s), there were as many as 150 such hidden churches; today only this one survives, and it is remarkably well-preserved.
The combination of traditional values coexisting within today’s Red Light District exemplifies what makes Amsterdam so special, and is testimony to the Netherlands' strong and liberal tradition of (religious, and other) tolerance.
On to the The Van Gogh Museum. Amazing. The permanent exhibit housed a ton of his more “traditional” work (which of course was not appreciated during his lifetime), and highlighted how his art changed and evolved over time. A second visiting exhibit highlighted the influence of Japanese art on his work (who knew?), along with a fair number of pieces exemplifying the relationship. Just a wonderful museum and experience. No photos were allowed, of course.
Day 20 – Saturday, May 26
Today was just a good day – painting with enthusiastic students in an art studio fronting a small canal with boats going by, and great weather (perfect for drying fabric). We could hear people on passing boats asking each other “what’s going on?”. Fabric painting, that's what – lots of it – then hanging it on the rails next to the canal to dry.
All the students really loved the “no rules” focus of the class, i.e., be taught and learn the basic techniques, and see examples and demos of how certain results are achieved (I showed some of the quilts that I’ve been traveling with, plus fabric samples highlighting specific effects), but then, no additional constraints, formal templates to follow, or expectations. Instead, experiment, and play. Let each student get a hands-on understanding of what works, plus real insight as to how and why it works (or doesn't). And learn from all the other students doing their own experiments, and sharing their discoveries. Create marvelous pieces of fabric for future projects..
Hearing the “no rules” focus – which was quite a shock to them at first – one of my students took a banana peel and laid it on some wet painted fabric just to see what the result looked like. A first for me, but I love that my students (all 16 of them) are so engaged and free-ranging in their ideas.
Looking at the photos, I think the amount of painted fabric shows that we were all eagerly learning in the best, most enjoyable way possible.
As an aside, I used my iPhone and the Public Transportation option in Google Maps to guide my commute (using trams) to and from the studio. How 21st century (plus how civilized to have a real public transportation system in the first place).
Day 21 – Sunday, May 27
After a morning show-and-tell, where the students shared some of their first day’s “most interesting” fabrics (“best”, weirdest, most surprising, most textured, etc., you name it), my students said that they wanted both more painting techniques information as well as (based on showing my quilts yesterday) information on how do strip piecing, reverse appliqué, and insetting, so I ended up demo’ing all sorts of different techniques throughout the day. It kept me on my toes! But we also, of course, continued our day-two focus on painting, until the class ended. Everyone went home with lots of fabric. Well done to each and everyone of my students.
During my morning commute I also picked up apple pie for everyone for lunch.
Tomorrow one of the other featured artists that I met at Luxembourg – my new friend Marijke van Welzen – and her husband Issac are picking me up and will take me on a personal tour of Delft (which is about 70 km – 45 miles – southwest of Amsterdam, between Rotterdam and the Hague). Everyone says it’s a small, wonderful town that I’ll love, that it’s one of the prettiest, most quintessentially Dutch towns in the Netherlands. It’s said to have lots of canal-lined alleys crammed with cafés, restaurants and shops. It should be a wonderful day.
BTW, I’ve been staying in a lovely old home in Amsterdam. The owner is a retired physician who now volunteers at a four-bed hospice. She is an absolutely delightful woman who both attended my workshop, and has been taking wonderful care of me (including making me dinners)!! I’ll continue to stay with her for a couple more days before leaving for Germany on Wednesday, and then again for a couple of days when I return before heading to my last event up in Groningen (which is about 180 km – 110 miles – northeast of Amsterdam).
Day 22 – Monday, May 28
Today I visited Delft with Marijke and her husband, who drove all the way from their home south of Delft to pick me up in Amsterdam, then drove me back to Delft, then to their home to visit Marijke’s quilting studio, and finally back to Amsterdam (after which, of course, they still needed to then turn around yet one more time and drive all the way home again). Wow. Thank-you so much!
I (we) had a wonderful and fun day. We started off with coffee (tea for me) and dessert – a great way to start the mid-morning! We then visited both Delft’s “Old Church” as well its “New Church” (built in the 1300’s, 300 years after the Old Church; kind of like how an older twin – born only two or three minutes before his or her younger sibling – lords it over the other for life). We then visited the Art Nouveau Museum, featuring art from the late 1800’s to early 1900’s; it also had a technology section exhibiting devices like the first microscope. The strangest items were huge paintings of surgeons dissecting their (hopefully deceased) patients.
We stopped for refreshments a number of times (it was hot). Delft was also the first place I’ve visited with canals without railings; cars park right up along the canal (without any “beware” or other warning signs) and – in general – people here are actually just expected to use common sense and be responsible for themselves and their actions. What a concept! How novel!
I checked my calendar (and tickets), and I actually don’t leave for Germany until Thursday – I have two additional days to play tourist. So tomorrow the plan is to just go out by myself and wander Amsterdam’s old town area, in particular checking out:
– De Foodhollen – a large collection (20+) of mini side-by-side restaurants serving artisanal bites of (excellent) food from all over the world.
– 9 Little Streets – a quaint, picturesque canal district (three streets crossing two canals) featuring boutiques, cafes, quirky stores, etc.
– RijksMuseum – the Dutch National Museum dedicated to the country’s art and history from the Middle Ages to the present day.
If De Foodhallen is really as good and fun as advertised, I’ll probably go there first, have a few bites, go elsewhere, come back for more bites, head out again, and then finally come back yet again at the end of my wanderings before “tramming” it home. I've heard, though, about an amazing patisserie in the 9 Little Streets area, so my plans are definitely flexible.
Day 23 – Tuesday, May 29
Well, the best laid plans … but I had the best fun possible just walking the streets of old town and seeing what I bump into, and stopping and chatting at lots of the wee shops. The 9 Little Streets area isn’t just a few canals, but canals everywhere; in this oldest section of town you can’t go more than a block or two before coming across another canal. It’s really delightful, and I happily just walked up and down the smallest streets because they seemed fun, and you just don’t know what you’ll discover.
I didn’t make it to the De Foodhallen, the main reason being that when arriving at the 9 Little Streets area (I went there first), I saw a guy through a window (in a tiny hole-in-the-wall shop) working with thin, flat dough on what looked like a huge upside down wok. It turns out that the folded and stuffed pancake I had several days ago (which I loved) was Turkish, whereas this one was Lebanese – who knew – with sumac, thyme, and sesame seeds mixed in olive oil and spread over the dough (similar to pizza dough but very very thin), then rolled up like a burrito with hummus, cheese, and cucumber. Also excellent, just different (I bought some of the spice mixture to bring home). I sat at the bar for a long time just watching and talking with the “chef”; it turns out that all the workers there are art students, so we talked about our respective “genres”, shared pictures of our work, etc. Half the fun is not just the food, but the interaction that goes with it (if you reach out, and luck is with you).
Lots of different ethnic foods are to be found in the area. I also finally visited my first cheese shop, where I bought some lovely Gouda for Marietta (my B&B host). Plus I found the “amazing patisserie”, noted in yesterday’s entry, where I had a very yummy individual-sized lemon meringue pie.
On a different note, while wandering down a side street, I noticed some folks coming out of what looked like a beautiful old courtyard. So I invited myself in, and found what I subsequently learned was The Begijnhof, a medieval inner courtyard where women of the Catholic sisterhood lived. This particular complex was founded during the middle ages. It looks like a convent, but instead of nuns it housed Beguines – lay women who didn’t want to become nuns (i.e., they chose not to take vows or retire from the world) but who nevertheless lived a religious, communal life.
One of things that really perplexed me (for a while) at the The Begijnhof were the old stairs with floor rails along the sides (see photo). I finally figured it out: the rails are a modern addition to make it easier to roll (instead of carrying) your bicycle up and down. Smart.
So, I didn’t make it to De Foodhallen today; the Lebanese crepes totally filled me up, and my cheese tasting and pie didn’t help. Plus I wanted more smoked eel “sushi” rolls and seaweed salad for dinner. Hopefully I’ll visit tomorrow (if I don’t get waylaid again). I also found that I need reservations to get tickets for the RijksMuseum, so I’ll work on that tonight.
Day 24 – Wednesday, May 30
Today I finally was able to get to (and into) the RijksMuseum – the Dutch National Museum.
I saw a huge Rembrandt, which was fun, but the best part (at least of what I saw – the place is huge, and I kept getting lost) were the various (giant) detailed scale models. Most amazing were doll houses (at least 5 feet wide and high) made to the same detail as a real home, and a ten foot model of an old wooden warship. I just loved the detail in both of them; (technical) detail is kind of my thing (i.e., what I respond to). I just love perfect, detailed craftsmanship, whether its my my quilts or perfectly miniaturized doll houses or ancient ships (or whatever).
But I finally got burned out / over-stimulated after about 3 hours. I was so lost that I had to ask how to get out.
I then took a bus back to the 9 Little Streets area to have lunch (maybe I’ll visit De Foodhallen next week when I’m back in town for a couple of days, but it was pretty much in the wrong direction today, so I stayed away). Next, after a good lunch, I bumped into a couple of amazing shops, the likes of which I’ve never seen before: both a duck shop and a cow shop. Very odd (and fun). Two totally separate stores where only duck or cow toys are sold. No extraneous or non-thematic products. See the photos of the duck shop.
Otherwise a quiet day, getting ready for heading out to Germany (and getting back to work) in the morning.
