GSE 2004 Netherlands, Tour Journal
| GSE 2004 May 2 May 1 April 30 April 25-29 April 24 April 18-23 April 17-18 April 8-16 April 3-7 April 2 |
Sunday, May 2 -- Departure and Thanks Combined with the excitement of our departure, the event was bittersweet as we said our goodbyes to our escorts, including the GSE incoming coordinators Henk Oost and Katja Weitering. Some of our most persistent memories include endless coffee, daily lunches
of bread, sliced meat and cheese, and the politics of water, water and more
water. Most impressive was the Dutch creative ingenuity, sense of fairness
and historic stoicism, which has kept them there fighting
for their land and their place in history. It is clearly no small feat to
have the worlds largest dam, the worlds largest airplane fire simulator,
the worlds largest flower market, and the worlds biggest cheese market,
all within 12 provinces enclosed by a jigsaw puzzle made up of some 16,164
square miles (41,864 square kilometers). And of course any Rotary travel event must be accompanied by some kind of trial. This time, it wasnt just Maria (whose return flight was cancelled by accident) but Derrick as well, who was registered for a different flight from the rest of the group. And Janelle had to negotiate with various people and pay substantial extra Euros to accommodate her extensive new luggage collection, which seemed to disappear at our arrival in San Francisco. But ultimately we all made it home on one flight and in one piece. Yes, the adventure never ends. Its nearly impossible to thank everyone from District 1580, the workplaces, clubs and the families for their hospitality and graciousness, for their time and effort, for the dependable driving and endless tours, and the camaraderie shared. The most thanks goes out to our wonderful host families each of whom welcomed us into their homes and their lives, and even their kitchens. This was, in many ways, the great highlight of our month, and allowed us to share and understand much more about the Dutch way of life and the foundation of their culture and commerce. Sincere gratitude goes to:
And the Host Families:
And of course special thanks goes to Frank Keizer, who walked us through airplane fire, took care of us after the District Conference, and shared the Dutch Idol show with Maria, Janelle and the Dijkman family, and seemed part of our whole experience from beginning to end. And because he swore we would never remember him.
Saturday, May 1 The Final Day Maria made a goodbye breakfast for the de Jager family, including a traditional morning feast roasted potatoes, eggs scrambled with scallions and cheese, and a baguette. Then we headed to an artist studio, whose entire home was converted to a work of art. Later we took a boat and walking tour of the Ilperveld, donning our mud boots and viewing scores of wildlife. On the boat, we also were served a nice picnic lunch. That evening, we headed back to the Dijkman farm for a goodbye with an American-style BBQ, including hay bales, a BBQ firepit and a large catered feast. In attendance were not only our hosts for the week, but the District Governor Hans Van Velsen, and our great friend from Week 3, the amazing bicyclist Thijs Hennikman. After eating and small talk and much sharing, Jaap Cok gave us a short quiz about Dutch history, and Team Leader Derrick offered a gracious thanks.
Friday, April 30 Queens Day An official Dutch holiday, Queens Day has been celebrated on April 30 since the inauguration of the current Queens mother, Princess Julianna, who passed away this past March. Everyone wears the official Dutch color of ORANGE and music and food is everywhere to be seen. Our group started the day with a visit to a local village where we heard children singing national songs and heard speeches and made toasts with a special Dutch liqueur. Derrick provided some help when an older woman slipped and fell on the stairs inside the City Hall, and assisted in First Aid until an ambulance arrived. At that point, we walked over and visited a local fairground, where Brian, Janelle and Derrick rode on the bumper cars, and Maria made a big win on the toy slot machines, proving her motto that you can always find a little piece Vegas everywhere. Our hosts rented some bicycles which we rode to Amsterdam and locked up there, after which we had a great time touring through town and seeing the streets filled with people everywhere. We walked through a local park, where we relaxed a bit, then headed into town, where we listened to some techno music and sat by the water and watched the parade of boats. We ended the night in an Irish pub and taxied home late in the night. Queens Day. Big Day. Big Night.
Week 4 (April 25-April 29) Our final week seemed to come so quickly, but we began the week in one of the most idyllic locations at the beautiful farmhouse of Dick Dijkman and his family. This afternoon provided some much-needed relaxation as we sat in their yard, enjoyed conversation, helped to feed their animals, and rode in the horse cart. Although we were informed this week would be more or less casual, team members agreed that this was our most diverse yet most demanding. And we spent the week together, sharing cross-industry vocational visits. Monday we met Dirk Van Den Broek, supermarket mogul, owner of the biggest low price supermarket chain in Holland. We visited the warehouse, heard an industry presentation, discussed marketing with Dirk, and then got a personal tour of a market and the sister liquor store. Never doubt the success if Dirk, who has successfully branded his own name into something synonymous with Luckys. We were lucky enough to get our own red Dirk bags! Later that afternoon, we had an introduction to the Dutch regional television system, Radio+TV North Holland. Diane Albertus and Barbara Resink discussed the rules, regulations and requirements for Dutch public television, which doesnt leave much room for innovation but provides local information on demand. Maria and Janelle were able to wrest some free time Monday evening to visit some college friends of Marias and make a long-desired cultural visit to the Anne Frank House. Sadly, we missed Tine de Jongs birthday, but we toasted her and hope to make a birthday celebration one day! Tuesday we had a super day which we started in the Queens lounge room of the Ajax Stadium, with coffee and an amazing view. The full tour included an invitation to visit the control room, which is typically not allowed. The special treatment we have received throughout this month has been extraordinary.
We also had brief walking tour through a street market, where Janelle was able to invest in some new luggage for her extensive purchases. We then made a tour of the infamous Heineken Brewery -- which graciously held Janelles new suitcase behind the front counter. Later, we met in a private library with the Director of Marketing, who preached the virtues of Heineken, and of course served us plenty of beer. Business and pleasure, all in one day.
Wednesday the team (minus Maria) had the opportunity to tour through the Amsterdam canals by boat with historian and artist Jaap Cok, Geert Bakker, Jan de Jager and others. That afternoon the group received a presentation by the foster parents group from Holland, Plan Nederland. Although Jan had left the presentation materials in the car, the group greatly enjoyed the dinner and presentation that night with RC Westertoren and were able to share some of their history and insights more spontaneously. Special thanks to Odilia de Jager who took care of Maria when she was down for the count and rented a wonderful Dutch movie, Twins, to entertain her (and of course got her the one thing she was craving besides sushi: PIZZA).
Thursday the group learned about the Dutch educational system, and got a thorough tour and discussion about the University InHolland in Diemen. We also got our group picture taken for the local paper. We were than taken to Amsterdam where we ran around gathering Orange things for the Big Day, and quickly used up our allotted 2.5 hours of shopping time. Later, we received an introduction to the Royal Frans Maas Groep (a pan-Europe transportation and commerce company) and then dined and toured on a boat through the Amsterdam canals, making a brief stop mid-tour to pick up more wine because we had finished everything on the boat. Cheers to the Dutch!
Other events included a tour of the amazing regional trash incineration facility (translated as The Garbage Funeral), which is one of the most progressive environmentally sound facilities in the world. Trash from the region is gathered and brought to the facility where it is dumped into three huge incinerators. The incinerators heat up water which is routed by pipes to a separate area and converted to steam, which is then used to produce electricity. Its a model we should use here. Using trash to produce energy for the region, and the charred ash waste for paving the roads. Minimizing Waste. Very impressive. Our hosts for the week -- Eduard Leutscher, Geert Baker and Jaap Cok -- outdid themselves with an absolutely loaded schedule. They deserve a tremendous amount of gratitude not only for organizing everything, but for accompanying us to nearly every event possible.
District Conference April 24 For us, The Team from 5170, the District Conference proved to be a reunion of sorts, as we were able to greet so many people we had met during the first three weeks of our stay. We expanded our presentation to highlight the great benefits of the GSE program and our experience thus far. Our Dutch compatriots made their own presentations, which showcased the Dutch humor and incredible gift for complete and absolute candor. Lesson One: Never be afraid to speak your mind. Later, we spent the afternoon with some members of the Dutch outgoing GSE team, who had just returned from California, and shared dinner in Amsterdam before returning to the Conference site and embarking on our final week: to the home of our new hosts.
Week 3 (April 18-23) For our third week, Janelle and Maria were installed at the home of Christian Democrat Representative from North Holland, RC member Anne-Marie Worm-de Moel and her husband Ed, while Derrick and Brian were hosted by Gerry Teerenstra, who sportingly allowed them to stay the week -- even though he was thinking he had volunteered to tour us around for a day. Despite Mondays rain, we got a wonderful historic tour of the historic city of Alkmaar, which is 37.6 km or 23.5 miles from Amsterdam and celebrating is 750th anniversary.
Not only did we get an introduction of the city and a tour of the City Hall, we were fortunate enough to be present on someones wedding day, and were able to witness the bride and grooms arrival by fancy car and their entrance (along with the entire wedding party) into the wedding room --- where, interestingly enough, we realized Dutch weddings are held with the bride and groom seated.
We also had the opportunity to see one of the oldest renovated churches in the area, and the great 18th century organ in the Laurenskerk, with detailed explanations by our knowledgeable tour guide, Joanne. Wednesday we visited the farm of Simon Ruiter a real working farm with friendly horses, and cows ranging in age from baby calves to fully grown cattle and a wide-eyed bullock (thats a baby bull to those who dont know).
And interestingly, we saw not only the systematic process for feeding and milking cows, we learned exactly how bull sperm is implanted in a cow. And yes, we have the souvenir to prove it.
Marias vocational day was unique and fascinating as she spent the afternoon with RC Member Frank William, who introduced her to the Nederlandse Moslim Omroep the Dutch Muslim Broadcasting Group. (And shes still waiting for those promised videos) Its fascinating to learn that each specialized group is given a certain amount of hours on Dutch media, and the NMO has quite a challenging role. They try to provide tools to local Muslims living in Holland, and also conduct research to make the broadcasts current and relevant. Thanks to Janelle for Thursdays dinner. Our food-maven was hungry for a meal and some cooking, so we offered a full Mexican feast to our hosts, other team members, and their host as well. So this made Thursday a full day with vocational visits all day and then real grocery shopping with Anne-Marie, and cooking and chopping and steaming to create we had a real Mexican feast. This included rice and beans, chips with Marias homemade guacamole, shrimp fajitas and shots of tequila. Overcoming great odds, we successfully fed the masses. Try finding chiles and cilantro in The Netherlands. One of our best moments teaching Anne-Marie how to shoot tequila. She liked it so much she had another.
Other professional visits for the week were outstanding For example, Maria met with the Film Partners Group with Otto, courtesy of Elmar Lenior. The group produces the infamous Dutch reality show, Big Brother. This week brought us to the local Alkmaar train station, where met up with our weeks host, Arend Sijpestein, who rented some bikes for us to take another Dutch journey. So we embarked this time on a shorter bike ride --- about 20 kilometers, or 12.4 miles, to the beach outside Bergen, and then back through Bergen to Alkmaar, recognizing streets along the way. Other events included a fabulously healthy dinner at BLOOMING, a lovely hotel and training and conference center in our favorite town of Bergen, courtesy of Tillie van der Poel. Maria and Janelle each bought a beautiful soft blanket there. Friday we were hosted to a brunch at the home of Jan and Chatal Roobeck. A tasty feast on a beautiful deck. Jan himself then took us to the Alkmaar Cheese Market, the oldest and largest cheese market in the world (or at least in Europe), where hundreds of cheeses are carried in and out by a group of dairy longshoremen (or "cheese porters") in white uniforms and straw hats with colored ribbons, and carry wheels of cheese to and from a 14th Century Waag, or weighhouse, on historic wooden barrows suspended from their shoulders.
Thanks to Chantals connections, we got a backstage view and our whole team got weighed on the cheese slap, totaling a whopping 298 kilograms at 2.2 pounds per kilo, well let you do the math. Originally intended to bring cheese buyers and sellers together more than 600 years ago, Dutch cheesemaking has been a mass-market industrial operation since the 1960s. But did you know that the only difference between Gouda and Edam is that Edam is made from partially skimmed milk whereas Gouda is always made from whole milk? Everything else, including their aging is identical. See, cheese trivia never goes bad
That afternoon we were able to tour the Broekerveiling, a historic vegetable auction and market where farmers would lease island-like plots of land and then boat in to the auction house with their boats loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables, all harvested on the plotted islands. The boat ride through the plots was made extra special by one lone former, who prefers to tend his garden without pants. True Dutch freedom.
Later that evening the Roobecks served us a wonderful multi-course dinner with French wine, and guitar and singing entertainment by the multi-talented and passionate Jan Roobeck. You cant top ending the week with your own private rock concert. Our goodbyes were made at a group dinner by the water at a lovely cabin-style restaurant in Driehuis, De Vriendschap. It was really a great ending to an outstanding week during which we made many Rotary Club presentations, and welcomed the curious questions as well as the applause. And for the note of the week: Did you know that they have Frog Police in Holland? Yep, its a crime to disrupt the running of the frogs as they move from the sand dunes back to solid land. So, late in the evenings during mid-spring, the Frog Police don their fluorescent glow-in-the-dark vests and patrol the streets, stopping drivers so that any frog, alone or in a single file line, can pass. There are also frog tunnels which were constructed to pass under the road -- but like any reptile, frogs often have a mind of their own and like to travel whatever way is most convenient. Holland the land of naked gardening and frog freedom. Arend Sijpestein deserves enormous credit for a well-organized and what was probably the best-paced week a balance of vocation, culture and entertainment, including starting the week with some downtime in the hotel. The wisdom of experience shines through.
April 17-18 Mid-stay our team was thoughtfully installed at a lovely hotel in the seaside city of Bergen, Parkhotel Bergen. We enjoyed a tasty dinner with the President and former President of RC Bergen, Martin & Gerard van Wijk, and Martins lovely wife, with whom we all enjoy a great wine selection and interesting conversation. Thanks especially to Martin and family who sportingly invited us over and allowed us to access the Internet and explore his home including his wifes amazing weaving room. Afterwards, we experienced one of our first actual nights out, which found us drinking, dancing and singing in a local bar. We loved Bergen. Sunday was a great highlight for all of us as we were personally escorted to an Amsterdam Ajax game by Willem Schurman and Otto Magel (The Score: a 1-1 tie). This was REAL international soccer in a true stadium, with a sunken area between the stands to keep people from running onto the field, and a whole seating section set aside for hooligans surrounded by netting and Plexiglas barriers. Nice.
April 8-16 End of Week One We ended our first week with a climb up the Aalsmeer water tower, a visit to the beach town of Nordwiijk and a quick trip to The Hague to the Holland Art Fair. First Trip to Amsterdam Maria attended a vocational visit to the SBS Broadcasting stations (accompanied by Cleo, a former GSE team member), while the rest of the team visited the ING offices with Katja, and were able to view the company's exclusive art collection.
That night we all enjoyed a festive dinner at Pasta e Basta - where waiters and waitresses randomly break into songs - including opera, pop and some French folk tunes. Needless to say, multiple bottles of wine were consumed. The Week of Dikes & Men Our second week was marked by exceptional vocational visits, beautiful historic towns, more water history, and an exhaustive 40 kilometer (that's 24.8 miles to you, folks) bike tour, which the Dutch called a "nice, friendly excursion. Chaperoned by our fearless leaders, Thijs, Marja, Pieter, and four year old Marjolein, we managed to pedal our way across most of North Holland. Our tour guides demonstrated their patience by allowing us multiple picture and re-fueling stops along our path. Riding past medieval castles, alongside rivers, and through sand dunes made for an idyllic Easter Sunday. Kudos to Janelle, who sportingly made it through, and spent the last hour of the 6-hour marathon ride singing incoherently and valiantly smiling through the pain. Somehow I don't think the Americans are hosting the visiting GSE team to a tour like that, but who knows? Perhaps we're shocking them with enormous numbers of doggie bags or something.
The vocational visits included ride-along with the Amsterdam harbour patrol(Derrick), a visit to the Nova Colleges (Brian), a tour through Van VessumBakers (Janelle), a meeting with a documentary filmmaker, as well as a trip to the European Institute for Media and Technology (Maria). We owe a great debt to Flip Stembert, this week's coordinator - better known as "the homing pigeon". After a week at an inhuman pace, he worked with us to adjust the program and helped us to gain some precious moments for relaxation and reflection. Most importantly, he coordinated a great week which allowed us to experience a balance of vocation, culture and Rotary - without draining our enjoyment and energy. Excursions for the Week: Madurodam/Delft - We spent Easter Monday (better known as "Second Monday", an official holiday), in Madurodam, an attraction that shows highlights from Holland in miniature. Later that afternoon, we went to Delft, a historic village with a cathedral from 1318 where former royalty is buried (the Dutch Westminster Abbey), and where handpainted porcelain is made. Haarlem - Our first full day in the historic town of Haarlem was quite impressive. Guided by the knowledgeable Pieter Biesboer, director of Haarlem's Frans Hals museum, we saw the town hall, town square, and of course, the museum. Pieter pointed out that public executions were held in the square up until the middle of the 19th century when Holland became the first European country to ban the practice.
Velsen Town Hall - Pieter, former burgomaster of Velsen, showed us the council chambers and the burgomaster's office and explained how local poitics in Holland is similar to the U.S. Virginia, who worked in Velsen as an alderwoman said that city officials typically work more than 80 hours per week. Oosterschelde Dam and the Life Guard Boat Ride - Boat locks and storm surge barrier, built to protect Zeeland and Dutch coastline from the flood - which in 1952 killed more than 1800 people, 200,000 livestock, and destroyed 30% of the Dutch coastline.
The Royal Netherlands Sea Rescue Institution was established in 1824 and undertakes approximately 2500 actions annually, saving more than 3000 people each year. Unlike the U.S. Coast Guard, they are privately funded through donations. More than 40 life guard stations cover the coast, and despite employing more than 800 people, only 10 of those are paid professionals.
Some Observations We continue to be amazed by the resilience of the Dutch to make a stand against the sea. We also appreciate the generosity and efforts of the Rotary Clubs of District 1580 to create such special and unique opportunities and visits for us, particularly the boat ride with the Royal Life Guard and the tour through Haarlem's historic Town Hall. We have been hearing more about their service projects as well. On another note, we have encountered GPS in nearly every car and have been amazed that the Dutch, though possessing an impressive history in navigation, often take unintenional, roundabout, scenic tours on their way to our various destinations. It may surprise you to know that the Dutch are world-renown map-makers. Until next week
April 3-7, 2004 First Week After our de-briefing and receiving our itinerary from our coordinators Henk Oost and Katja Weitering, we headed first to Cruquius - a steam-controlled pumping station which was one of three sister pumping stations built to remove water from Haarlem Meer, the inner area of Holland. This was the marvel of 1850. Instead of using 147 windmills, the Dutch could use three large steam pumps - or, as the museum curator put it, the Dutch chose the breath of the devil over the breath of the Lord since it was cheaper.
Much of the area of this district is in a POLDER - a land mass below sea level that was formerly a lake which had the water pumped out. In fact, the water is still pumped out and if not, in just five years, the lake would be full again and people and homes would be lost. We wonder whether San Francisco residents would be so inclined to pump out the bay for more space and housing... hey, it's a thought. We then visited an art gallery, where paintings done by a Rotary member of the District are so detailed they look like photographs. Next to this gallery was a unique garden area, organized in separate "rooms" - with many sculptures from local artisans and Africa. Nearby, the black sheep didn't like us nearly so much and baa-d madly at us to move away. We didn't need to hear more. We understood. Later that evening, we met our host families and dined at a theater in Huifdoorp, De Meerse. Then we were treated to an outstanding modern musical performance of Bach's "Mattheus Passion" - performed not by singers but by four musicians playing the singing parts on violin, woodwinds, bass, electric guitar and marimba. This is a Dutch Easter tradition and despite our lingering fatigue, we all agreed it was a great show. We got up early the next day to see the largest flower market in the world - the Alsmeer Flower Auction - boasting 90 million flowers (in 12,000 varieties), 3 million plants, all from 120 countries, and grossing nearly $1.9 billion per year. This flower "stock market" is a unique phenomenon and we walked most of its 1 million square meters of space. It was a golf cart fantasy.
Later that day we met with the mayor of Aalsmeer, learned about city politics and took a boat ride around Westeinder Lake. After that, we visited one of the newest rose cultivation facilities and later gave our first presenatation to the Rotary Club AMU. Rain followed us Tuesday and Wednesday, when we saw a practice airplane fire drill at the Schiphol Airport
and then visited one of the most prestigious production facilities in the world - the Von Lent Yacht Yardship. We couldn't take pictures and we can't say more or we'd have to shoot you. But let us say that every detail is hand-picked, the process takes 2-3 years and the yard builds just 1-2 yachts per year. The yacht we saw near completion boasted a sauna, a tanning room, a screening room, a descending helicopter pad, and an additional helicopter pad on the top level in case "friends" want to stop by. Massive turbo engines were added to make the yacht *faster* -- while most yachts of that size could only go 12-15 knots per hour, this owner wanted to go 30 knots. So goes the life of leisure... Dick von Lent was a gracious host and we peppered him with questions regarding his business. Wednesday we visited the region's main fire station and witnessed a practice rescue.
Then we headed to the Haarlemmermeer Historic Museum, where we learned more about the polder, how it was created and the way of life for the farmers and workers. It was much like the Gold Rush, with land grabbing, pseudo-fiefdoms and many people trying to create a new life on hard land. Our final tour was at the Showcase of Jacob van Zijverden, which was a fantasy world of gorgeously huge tropical plants, tall and hanging, a large pond - all in an enclosed glass house with an opening roof. Derrick was fantasizing about what kinds of parties he could throw there, all the while shaking his head about the lack of fire safety. Thus far, we have seen the world's biggest flower auction, the world's biggest fire plane simulator, the world's biggest yacht company (and likely the world's biggest yacht) and the world's biggest polder - along with gracious hosts and thoughtful guides. We are grateful for their time as well as their English - and are becoming accustomed to lots of coffee to carry us through the days. Did you know we're 6 meters below sea level? More to come.
Friday, April 2, 2004 Departure Friday, April 2, 2004 - For the three team members coming from the South Bay, arrival at SFO was relatively pain-free. Unfortunately, a very unhappy man (or perhaps someone just relatively insane) elected to ponder his existence for 13 hours on the Bay Bridge. So, while this deep thinking took place, thousands of drivers, including a driver accompanying the fourth team member coming from Berkeley, sat among a pile of nearly parked cars on the road to the Bay Bridge. It was horrific, despite the modern beauty of the shimmering sun against the glass and glare of the lines of cars. Basic math told Maria and her generous driver that this would not work. Quick thinking - combined with some driving along the grass and the freeway shoulder - re-routed the desperate and perspiring duo to the nearest BART. Ultimately, it took nearly 3 hours to get to SFO, by which time the designated plane was airborne. Three hours late she arrived and by 7:30 pm all team members were reunited in Uithoorn, Holland, at a lovely hotel (from 1420) on the water.
Credit goes to British Airways, who conveniently offered a flight just 2 hours and 30 minutes later, and accommodated most of the stranded passengers, and to Maria for some creative maneuvering to the head of a long list of stand-bys. Despite this auspicious start, we believe Roy Russell sums it up best with the observation that, It's always an adventure with Rotary.
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