Category: OWHC 2022

“La grande force de défense, c’est l’amour qui engage les amants dans un monde enchanté fait exactement à leur mesure et qui est défendre admirablement par l’isolement” – Renè Magritte.

Surrealism for breakfast!

This morning we woke up poetic and thirsty for art, so we decided to devote our morning to visiting one of the city’s most important collections, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique. We started visiting the Magritte Museum, which not only holds the largest collection of works by the famous Belgian Surrealist but also the most important collection of works from Magritte’s “vache” period. In addition to numerous world-famous paintings in typical Magritte style, we also discovered works from his less well-known periods. For instance, we expanded our knowledge about the advertising collaborations the artist has made throughout his career to support himself. One of Magritte’s masterpieces that surprised us the most was the “Empire of Light”. A nighttime street scene is set against a pastel-blue, light-drenched sky dotted with fluffy cumulus clouds. René Magritte upends a fundamental organizing premise of life with no fantastic element other than the single paradoxical combination of day and night. Sunlight, which is normally associated with clarity, causes the confusion and unease that is traditionally associated with darkness. The brightness of the sky becomes unsettling, making the empty darkness below appear even more impenetrable than it would in a normal situation. The strange subject is treated in an impersonal, precise style that is typical of veristic Surrealist painting and that Magritte has preferred since the mid-1920s.

 

A journey into the last century

Once we concluded Magritte collection, we dove into the astonishing Musée Fin-de-Siècle. The Fin-de-Siècle Museum is dedicated to the 1900s, when Brussels, Europe’s capital, was a unique artistic crossroads and Art Nouveau’s capital. Paintings, drawings, watercolours, prints, sculptures, photographs, films, models, and decorative objets d’art can be found in this cultural history sanctuary. Ensor, Khnopff, Spilliaert, Horta, Rodin, Gauguin, Mucha, Bonnard,…: more than 30 major artists are honored at the Fin-de-Siècle Museum! Plunged into the heart of the effervescent atmosphere of Brussels 1900, we discovered a range of artistic currents, from impressionism to Art Nouveau, and different disciplines, from fine arts to opera.

We were impressed by a wonderful oil painting by Post-Impressionist painter Pierre Bonnard. The title is “Nude Against the Light”, also known as “Backlit Nude” (in French: “Nu à contre-jour”). Marthe de Mrigny, the artist’s naked model and partner, is shown in the work applying eau de Cologne after a bath in a tub. She is silhouetted against the window light, which fills the room with bright warm shadowless light and color. The bather is reflected in a mirror, which is a recurring motif in Bonnard’s work. Another amazing painting that dazzled us is “Dimanche après-midi” by Gustave Van de Woestyne. Gustave organized his life and art around deep philosophical reflections. Even at a young age he was very concerned with existential questions, which were quickly amplified by religion. The artist made several attempts to lead a clerical life, but he was too driven by creative desire to devote his existence exclusively to the church. Instead, he understood the pictorial palette as a tool to spread the word of God by deploying subtle earthy colors to represent Catholic values such as simplicity and humility, love of God, respect for all creatures, human suffering, and hope. The artist embodied this spiritual dedication with an open stance on the world. His eclectic body of work is informed by his receptivity to developments in Modernism. 

Institutional meeting at the Grand Place

After this long morning among masterpieces, we had lunch with Gloria’s friend in a nice park in the middle of the city. Then we walked around till a terrace over the city: we enjoyed the beautiful landscape.
It was almost four o’clock and it was time to head for the town hall at the Grand Place. What a thrill to enter these wonderful buildings and meet Ans Persoons, alderwoman of town planning, public spaces and dutch-language education and affairs.

We talked about many topics, in particular management of mass tourism. Ans explained to us that in the old town many old stores have moved away and made way for souvenir stores or small bazaars. This, in addition to creating problems with the identity of the central areas, is a reason for the emptying of the downtown dwellings. In fact, in order to access the upper floors of the buildings, it is necessary to go through the stores. But currently few people who work in the stores live above their stores. So, the municipality is trying to create secondary entrances where possible, so as to make the downtown apartments more desirable. Another issue is related with Airb&b and the rising rental costs. In addition to that, Ans explained to us the municipal difficulties to combine several different interests, such as accessibility for disable people, cycle paths, monumental conservation and sustainable restorations.
For example, Ans told us that the “Royel des Monuments Commission” carried out a study of the famous Place de la Liberte and lobbied the municipality to uproot the trees currently in the square because they do not belong to the original neoclassical design. Clearly the idea of removing trees from a city is absurd considering the efforts being made to plant new ones!

Honored to have been able to attend this meeting, we said goodbye to Ans and headed home, where we had a chance to chat some more with Anna and her husbands, the kind Italian couple who welcomed us into their apartment. 

Dive into European history

For two European Youth Parliament members like Gloria and Allegra, Brussels means firstly the home of Europe. So, our adventure begins at the House of European History, the foremost museum dedicated to the transnational phenomena that have shaped our continent. It connects and compares shared experiences and their various interpretations by interpreting history from a European perspective. The House of European History is a place for learning, reflection, and debate for people of all ages and backgrounds. Its primary goal is to improve understanding of European history in all of its complexities, to promote the exchange of ideas, and to challenge assumptions. The House presents Europe’s history in a way that highlights the diversity of perspectives and interpretations. It keeps both shared and divided memories. It exhibits and collects information about the history and foundations of European integration. The House of European History is an academically independent project of the European Parliament and part of its visitor offer. Its international collection, exhibitions, and programs provide unexpected and inspiring encounters. The idea is to strengthen the European dimension in debating, exhibiting, and learning about history through outreach and partnerships. The House’s multifaceted interpretation of the past, as a place for encounters and exchange, builds bridges to questions relevant to today’s Europe.

 

The permanent collection is organized in the following sections: 1) shaping Europe, 2) Europe a global power, 3) Europe in ruins, 4) Rebuilding a divided continent, 5) Shattering certainties, 6) Europe now. We traveled from one section to another listening to audios, watching videos, reading original documents and much more. It was very interesting to find out how much common ground there is among European countries, as well as to learn more about the recent history of European nations farther away from Italy and about which we knew less.

 

Bumping into dear colleagues

With great enthusiasm we left the museum and headed for the European Parliament. Right in the square dedicated to Altiero Spinelli we happened to meet a close friend of Gloria’s: Filippo, also an active member of EYP. Together we went to the headquarters of the European Youth Forum where we met Francesco, a friend and colleague. Together we conversed about our project and their initiatives related to the theme of climate change and cultural heritage. The meeting was really prolific because we got the interesting view of this NGO, which is the platform organisation advocating for youth rights in Europe. It is made up of over 100 National Youth Councils and international youth NGOs from across Europe.  The European Youth Forum works to empower young people to participate actively in society and improve their lives by representing their interests towards the European Institutions, the Council of Europe, the United Nations and other partners active in the youth field. 

 

The magnificent Grand Place

Later, we left Francis at his work and headed with Filippo to the city center to admire the famous Grand Place. The square has been influenced by architecture from the Baroque, Gothic, and Louis XIV eras, giving it an eclectic feel. Because of its eclectic character, UNESCO designated the Grand Place as a World Heritage Site in 1998. Historically, the Brussels Grand Place was a marketplace where traders and citizens exchanged goods. The streets that surround the square are named after foods. As in the case of butter (Rue au Beurre), herbs (Rue du Marché aux Herbes), cheese (Rue du Marché aux Fromages), and so on. Market stands gave way to the grand buildings that surround the Grand Place today as the city grew. The Maison du Roi in French means “King’s House,” but the Broodhuis in Dutch means “Bread House.” After France bombarded Brussels in 1695, most of the buildings were rebuilt or restored.

 

The most popular Belgian boy

Then, we walked around the city center and came across the Manneken Pis. It is a figurine of about 50 centimeters, depicting a naked child, urinating from the top of a fountain. Manneken Pis was carved in stone in 1388. Since its placement in the 14th century, they tried to steal the statuette on several occasions, until an ex-convict managed to steal it. Thus it was that a bronze copy of the original stone statue, made in 1619 by Jérôme Duquesnoy, a famous Belgian artist of the time, was placed on the fountain. Subsequently, attempts were made several times to steal this copy, and today, it is not known for sure whether the statuette is really the one that Jérôme Duquesnoy made or whether it is another copy. In 1698 a governor gave Manneken Pis his first dress, a tunic. This was the first of 650 suits given to him by government presidents visiting Brussels. In the Museé de la Ville, located in Maison du Roi, you can see the young hero’s clothes, small regional outfits or costumes, such as that of the bullfighter and Elvis. At various times of the year, the Brussels City Council dresses the Manneken Pis in original clothes. We saw the Manneken Pis wearing an officer’s outfit!

To conclude our day, we decided to have dinner together before Filippo went back to Maastricht where he lives. We took advantage of this time together to exchange some more ideas about our project and some thoughts about the city of Brussels!

 

Magic walking around Bruges 

The sun shined high over the canals of Bruges and the scent of chocolate filled the streets of the city. We could not resist long walks through the picturesque streets of the city, stopping occasionally to admire the fairy-tale landscape around us. Immersed in an ancient atmosphere, we photographed the most beautiful sights, sent postcards to Italy, and drank coffee in the shade of a weeping willow tree on the canal bank.

 

 

We thoroughly enjoyed the magical morning, before heading to the town hall at 12 a.m. to meet the Climate and Energy Department team. Once we got in front of the meeting point, we were left speechless by the magnificence of the palace facade. The monumental City Hall (1376-1421) is one of the Low Countries’ oldest structures. For more than 600 years, the city has been governed from here. The Gothic Hall, with its impressive vault and 20th century murals depicting Bruges’ history, is an absolute masterpiece. Using original documents and paintings, the adjacent historic hall sheds more light on Bruges’ governance over the centuries. 

A meeting at town hall

At the second floor of the town hall, we had the honor to talk with Schepen Minou Esquenet, aldermen of climate and energy, environmental policy, smart city and facilities management, and with Leentje Gunst, department head of building design. They explained to us that one of their main duties is to develop a masterplan to manage, preserve and restore more than 500 monuments. In particular, large concentration of monuments causes a huge flow of tourists from all over the world, whose presence undermines the proper physical preservation of places, but also the cultural characteristics of the city. An example of this problem is the emptying out of the center: the inhabitants of Bruges and the typical stores have moved further outside or even outside the city walls in order to be able to enjoy more peace and quiet. Instead, the center has been filled with tourist stores selling low-quality chocolate, souvenirs, industrially produced lace, and cafes with international menus. The historical buildings close to the monuments became mostly airbnb accommodation. That’s why the Municipality of Bruges tries to encourage an overnight stay for several nights in order to promote a visit to the city spread over several days. Moreover, they have taken up citizens’ demands and shaped the so-called golden triangle in which to concentrate tourist attractions so that the rest of the old town is quieter and more livable. In addition to that, Minou and Leentjie talked about their will to regulate the airbnb rentals limiting them to a period of 30 days per year for each apartment. 

As had been the case in Amsterdam, here we were shown various problems that arise in trying to improve the sustainability of older buildings. Most of the palaces cannot be subjected to exterior changes because of legislation on the preservation of cultural heritage. The gas crisis is also creating difficulties because the inevitable drop in temperatures inside the buildings could damage artwork, ancient furniture, and the oldest and most delicate architectural structures. For this reason, the municipality has already taken steps to install dehumidifiers in every room. 

Beguinage

Once our meeting was over, we decided to use our remaining time to visit another place on the unesco heritage list: the Beguinage.

The Bruges beguinage dates from the 13th century, specifically 1245, and is one of the best preserved. The majority of its buildings are not as old, dating from the nineteenth century, but the original layout of the Beguinage has been preserved. 

A Beguinage was a community of women who followed the apostles’ example of poverty, simplicity, and preaching. These are lay orders that make no binding vows. They could break their vows and leave the Beguine community at any time.

The Beguines were a group of single or widowed women who wanted to live a religious life outside of the confines of a convent or monastery. As a result, many north Belgian and Dutch cities established beguinages where these women could live and pray. The beguines led a hardscrabble existence, earning their living at first with looms. No vows were taken, but they followed a strict regime overseen by a mistress who protected the establishment’s independence. The last beguinage nun left in 1927, and it has since been occupied by a community of Benedictine nuns.The Beguinage is accessed via a small bridge and a gatehouse built in 1776.  The first church on this site was built in 1245, but it burned down in 1584, and the Gothic replacement, built in 1605, was given a Baroque facelift around 1700. It is dedicated to St. Elisabeth of Hungary, patron of many beguinages, and to St. Alexis, reputedly the son of a wealthy Roman family who chose poverty and charitable work over riches: desirable virtues among Beguines. This church is still active, with daily services led by the Benedictine Sisters who live in the former beguinage. Silence is requested, as it is in the rest of their home. St. Joseph is commemorated on the altar to the right. The gilded Madonna and Child below is a Medieval treasure from the chapel: “Our Lady of Consolation” or “Our Lady of Spermalie” dates from 1240. A small museum recreates the living quarters of a beguine in the corner to the left of the beguinage’s entrance. We lit a candle in the church, took a moment of reflection then said goodbye to this place of faith.

 

Bye bye Bruges

Our time in Bruges was almost over! We went home to say goodbye and thank you to Magdar and Stan, packed our bags and ran to the station to catch the train that took a little over an hour to Brussels.

The arrival in the Belgian capital was magnificent: wide Parisian-style streets and hubbub of international people greeted us as we exited the metro. 

Also in this city we found a supportive and loving welcome from, this time, one of our fellow Italian citizens who has been living in Brussels for a few years now. Anna hosted us in her large house where we were able to rest from our trip. With her we talked amiably about our project and the initiatives we carry out, while Anna told us about her work in the capital of Europe and anticipated the wonders and history of the city.

Great expectations for the next few days!

Apple picking!

In September apples start to be in-season and we went to pick them!
Magdar and Stan, the couple that hosted us in Bruges, proposed that we go with them in a forest close to the city and to join the community in apple-picking. What a great idea and a wonderful experience. None of us had ever picked apples before, so we were like children enjoying our first time.
The activity is organized by the Municipality of Bruges, which makes the municipal apple trees available for everyone one day a year. The orchard was full of families and groups of friends. At the entrance the staff gave us a basket and a stick with a net, a specific tool for picking apples.
We really had a good time while filling our basket and eating some fruit!

We conclude our morning excursion sitting in a nice dehor to drink a coffee with whipped cream and chatting about our lives. There was so much to share with them!

 

Exploring Bruges: the old city

Once back home, we had lunch all together. Later, we left our hosts enjoying their Sunday and we walked towards the city center. We bought “Musea Brugge Card”, with which you can visit all open locations of Musea Brugge for 72 hours at a reduced price. 

The first place that we visited was the Church of Our Lady, a magnificent medieval church that was built over at least two centuries, beginning in the 13th century. At a height of 122.3 m it includes the second tallest brickwork tower in the world (after St. Martin’s Church in Landshut, Germany) and is the tallest spire in Belgium. The church is a classic example of brick Gothic, but it is also unique due to a centuries-old connection with the Gruuthuse palace through an oratory in the chancel. The church chancel houses an impressive triptych of the Passion by Margaret of Austria’s court painter, Bernard van Orley, as well as the 15th and 16th century mausoleums of Charles the Bold and his daughter Mary of Burgundy, who died tragically in an accident.
The altarpiece of the large chapel known as the Cappella sacra, created in the 18th century in the Baroque style, enshrines the church’s most celebrated art treasure—a white marble sculpture of the Madonna and Child created around 1504 by Michelangelo. Payments made to Michelangelo by Florentine bankers Baldassare and Giovanni Balducci between 1503 and 1504 provide evidence of this date. Because the block of marble used to sculpt the Madonna weighed nearly a ton, carving locations would have been limited. Michelangelo most likely began carving the sculpture in Carrara, where he spent nearly a year in 1505. The Madonna was finished in 1506. It was most likely intended for Siena Cathedral, but it was purchased in Italy by two Brugean merchants, Jan and Alexander Mouscron. Due to a monetary disagreement, Michelangelo had the statue privately transported to the Mouscrons in Bruges instead, and it was donated to its current home in 1514.

 

 

Our second step has been the Gruuthusemuseum. In the museum, we travel through three pivotal periods in Bruges’ history. First, there is the city’s Burgundian heyday, followed by the previously underexposed period of the 17th and 18th centuries, and finally, the ‘rediscovery’ of Bruges in the 19th century neo-Gothic style that is so characteristic of the city today. More than 600 exhibits, each with its own story to tell, bring these three periods to life. From magnificent tapestries to Gothic stained glass, elegant wooden sculptures to refined historical lace, period paintings to a 17th and 18th century dinner table set with silver cutlery and luxurious Chinese porcelain. The theme running through the exhibition is ‘Plus est en vous,’ which was the motto of Louis of Gruuthuse, the man who gave the palace its stunning grandiosity in the 15th century. 

 

What surprised us the most was the private chapel located in the museum. With its original 15th-century oak plank floor and panelling, this extraordinary chapel connects the palace and the Church of Our Lady.  When we ended our visit, we felt immersed in the atmosphere of times gone by.

Exploring Bruges: contemporary art

Just rounded the corner, we came across other interesting museum. Properly, it’s St John’s Hospital, one of the oldest preserved hospital buildings in Europe. The first traces can be found in the middle of the 12th century. St. John’s Hospital houses an impressive collection of artworks and medical instruments that tell the story of early hospital life and depict how hospital wards looked in the mid-17th century.

We have been really lucky because there was an exhibition, titled Underneath the Shade We Lay Grounded, took place on the ground floor and in the hospital’s impressive wooden attic. The artist is Otobong Nkanga, a Nigerian-Belgian contemporary artist. Nkanga’s groundbreaking exhibition aims to engage visitors, the historic St John’s Hospital, and Bruges in an intense dialogue. Nkanga hopes to ‘heal’ visitors’ injuries and ‘cure’ them through their connection with her art and a dialogue with the works of, among others, Hans Memling and Jan Beerblock from the Musea Brugge collection. The concept of grounding is central to this exhibition, and it runs throughout the entire exhibition display. She reconnects people with their material, spiritual, and cultural roots in this way.

The sweet ringing of bells

When we left the Hospital, we saw that the golden hour was coming, so it would have been the perfect moment to enjoy a panoramic view from Belfort and to eat some Belgian fries.
The Belfort is the most striking tower in Bruges dates from the 13th century, stands 83 meters tall, and is a world heritage site. Climbing all 366 steps we have been rewarded with a breathtaking view of the city and its surroundings. On our way up, visit the treasury, which once housed the city’s charters, seals, and coffers. A few steps further on, we saw the impressive music drum that powers the carillon as well as the keyboard that the city carillonneur uses to play the tower’s 47 carillon bells.

 

Real Belgian bear

After a long and full day such as this, we deserved to enjoy the finest belgian beer. So, we went to a hidden alley in the middle of the inner city of Bruges to find “Staminee De Garre since 1984”. An establishment with its own typical atmosphere and where time seems to have stood still. We drank an amazing Tripel van De Garre (11%), a full bodied beer of high fermentation, which is rather soft and has a slightly bitter aftertaste. The brewing process of the triple goes through five stages and takes several months. It begins in the brewing room and ends in a room where the temperature is a constant 22°C.

Really happy and tired, we said goodnight to Bruges! 

Where is Mosè?

The morning started off without Gloria’s cat, Mosé. We have been forgetful leaving the boat’s entrance a bit open during breakfast and the cat escaped out. So, we began seeking him all around the harbor, looking at every boat and every corner, asking people if they had seen him. 

After an hour we found him in a hedge between two fences delimiting the harbor. We tried to get him out by attracting him with cats’ biscuits. But no way, Mosè was leaving his best life in that hedge and he had no intention to go out. The only solution was to enter between the two fences. Gloria did it, while Allegra was checking every Mosé’s movement. Unfortunately, the hedge was made of thick and thorny plants, so Gloria had some difficulties, but in the end she managed to grab the cat. 

Movies, movies, movies 

As winners we went back on board and started getting ready to go out. We quickly ate some Italian spaghetti with tomato sauce and then we went to the Eye Filmmuseum, which is very close to Sixhaven Harbor. 

Eye Filmmuseum is the leading Dutch cultural institution dedicated to filmmaking. The museum is located ia building with a modern and unusual cut, which was inaugurated by the Queen of the Netherlands in April 2012 and was designed by Austrian architects Roman Delugan and Elke Delugan-Meissl. It includes four movie theaters and a 1,200 m² exhibition space. The structure is envisioned as a highly tensed and dynamic geometric solid. Smooth, crystalline surfaces reflect light in a variety of ways, subjecting the building’s appearance to permanent optical changes throughout the day. Movement and light are clearly manifested as essential parameters for the film as a medium in architectural production. In a formal and atmospheric symbiosis, the museum building responds to its surroundings and the distinctive neighboring Oeverhoeks tower. Two motivations guided their design: plural perspective and physiological effect. Along these lines, the entire structure alludes to the cinematic experience as a game of light, space, and movement. The building’s white roof alludes to cinematography, and the façade reflects light in constantly changing conditions.

 

EYE’s main goal would, in theory, be the preservation of film heritage for future generations, both of Dutch films and foreign films shown in the Netherlands. EYE’s collection of films on film, and the technical expertise of its conservators and restorers in the field of restoration are internationally renowned[1]. But the EYE is primarily concerned with showing contemporary films and promoting new cinema produced in the Netherlands at major international festivals, often forgetting its archival vocation.

EYE houses the largest film library in the Netherlands. The Institute’s collection consists of 37,000 films, 500,000 photos, 41,500 posters and scripts, collections of private materials belonging to filmmakers, and thousands of film-related objects. The collection, which ranges from silent films of the late 19th century to contemporary productions, to which many Dutch but also foreign titles are regularly added, is regularly ignored by EYE’s film programmers and curators of exhibitions presented at the Museum. The only exception, almost confirming the rule, was an exhibition devoted to the impressive Desmet Collection, which was included in the UNESCO Memory of the World list in 2011. 

 

We were impressed by a three-channel HD video installation by Kahlil Joseph. He is interested in the physical possibilities of presenting his films and in the moving image in all its forms – from video clips to commercials and news footage. The artist said that he makes the stuff he wants to see and in the process he blurs the boundaries between art, journalism, documentary film, and cultural criticism. We were enthusiastic because his style was so seductive and hypnotic. 

Moreover, we were interested in his way of challenging the mainstream – predominantly white – media representation of the lives of black Americans. Indeed, the video installation was about a not well known subculture: black cowboys. In particular, the video illustrated the Black Rodeo, which is held annually in the tiny town of Grayson in Oklahoma.

Before leaving the Museum, Allegra bought some playing cards with beautiful illustrations of Hitchcock’s movies. 

 

Bruges is calling!

Then, we had to run to the boat to pack our bags and go to the station where we had an appointment with Blablacar. 

Since Gloria had to wait five days in Harlingen between Elena’s departure and Allegra’s arrival, the itinerary has been changed. Sadly we couldn’t reach Bruges by boat anymore. That’s the reason why we picked up a ride in the car to get to Belgium. 

The shared car trip was an opportunity to get to know an Argentinian girl visiting Europe and an orchestra singer from Amsterdam. We listened to really good and new music!

At nine p.m. we got to Bruges, where a kind, sweet and helpful couple was waiting for us. After reading our request on a facebook group, they decided to host us in order to help the realization of our project. We appreciated this act of kindness immensely and tasted the good taste of solidarity. They have even made an apple cake to welcome us!

Our arrival in Belgium couldn’t be better!

The city

New day, new city. Today we left by train with our bikes from Amsterdam Central Station towards Den Haag. Holland’s third-largest city, Den Haag is a majestic and regal location, filled with sumptuous palaces, home to embassies and luxury residences, as well as boulevards and green parks. The Hague, whose official name is ‘s-Gravenhage (‘Count’s Hedge’), is the seat of the Dutch government and the residence of the royal family. It was also the country’s capital until 1806, when Louis Bonaparte established his government in Amsterdam. Eight years later, with the expulsion of the French, the government was again moved to The Hague, but Amsterdam retained the title of capital.

During the 20th century, the city became the seat of numerous international legal bodies, including the United Nations International Court of Justice, where important trials are regularly held that propel Den Haag into the headlines. The city is also home to all foreign embassies in the Netherlands, and is inhabited by a large community of foreign residents.

Welcome to the Europe House

Indeed, we are here because of institutional commitments. Since Gloria is an Ambassador of the European Climate Pact, we have been hosted at the Europe House, home of the Representation of the European Commission and the European Parliament Liaison in the Netherlands. Here we met the Coordinator of the House of Europe, Amber Scheele, to whom we presented Navigandum per hereditatem project and started discussing presenting our report. It would be the perfect place where to talk about our experience!

In addition to institutional activities, the House of Europe is an information point where you, as a citizen, can just walk in and see, in an interactive way, what the European Union can do for you. This is the place where you can learn about Europe. You can also stop by this meeting place and take away leaflets on all kinds of topics related to the European Union. There are also people ready to answer your questions. If you want to voice your own opinion, you can do that too at the House of Europe. Debates are organized, and the meeting and debate room can accommodate more than 100 visitors. Under certain conditions, civil society organizations can use this space free of charge.

 

After chatting with Amber and visiting the beautiful building, we had lunch in front of the ancient Parliament, the Binnenhof. The Binnenhof is a group of buildings located near to the Hofvijver lake in the heart of the city. Along with the Ministry of General Affairs and the office of the Dutch Prime Minister, it serves as a meeting venue for both chambers of the Netherlands’ States General. The Gothic fortress, which was mostly constructed in the 13th century, served as the counts of Holland’s primary residence before it was transformed into the political hub of the Dutch Republic in 1584. The top 100 Dutch heritage sites include it. The Binnenhof is one of the oldest still-in-use Parliament buildings in the world.

 

A full immersion into Dutch Art 

But it started raining little later, so we decided to enjoy the city visiting the famous Mauritshuis Museum, which is particularly known for its collection of paintings, which includes masterpieces by artists of the Dutch Golden Age-including Joannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Carel Fabritius, Jan Steen, and Paulus Potter-as well as other Dutch and European painters such as Hans Holbein the Younger, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Peter Paul Rubens, and Anthony van Dick. The museum houses also the most well-known of Vermeer’s works, Girl with a Pearl Earring. It is a “tronie,” a painting of an imagined figure, rather than a portrait. Tronies often feature a specific kind or character, in this example a female dressed exotically with an oriental turban and a surrealistically big pearl dangling from her ear. Light was Johannes Vermeer’s specialty. The girl’s gentle features and the glimmers of light on her moist lips in this photograph demonstrate this. Of course there is also the brilliant pearl.

 

Visiting Mauritshuis, we also had a chance to look at Rembrandt’s amazing works. The Dutch Golden Age painter changed his style and techniques throughout his life. Among his first masterpieces, there is for sure The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp (1632). When Rembrandt was commissioned to create the portraits of the Amsterdam surgeons, he was only 25 years old. The doctors are shown in action by Rembrandt, and each of them is focused on a different object. The stark contrasts between light and dark give the scene more dynamism. The teenage artist showcased his renowned technique and his exceptional aptitude for painting lifelike portraits in this group portrait. 

Instead, if we look at the end of his life, we find a new expressive freedom. For instance, in Self Portrait (1669) it’s amazing how he painted the face with such forceful brushstrokes. Rembrandt suggests a real-life guy with his thick, almost model-like layers of paint. This is truly a work of art.

This collection of Dutch art permitted us to discover much more about the Holland style and cultural background. So, we concluded our day in Den Haag artistically fulfilled.

Picturesque canal network, rich history and thrumming cultural scene. Here we are in  the capital of the Netherlands: Amsterdam.

But before diving into the city, we had some technical duties to perform. Indeed, it is the perfect moment to replace the broken part of Tetide’s engine. A gentle man volunteering at the harbour helped us finding a mechanic expert. So, Gloria removed the part and then we went into this repair shop. They need to order a new gear; that’s why they asked for few days to fix everything. 

At the Monuments City Department

After taking care of our boat, we could deservedly enjoy the city. We ate our sandwiches with a gorgeous view on the canals, and then we reached the historic De Basel building where we have an appointment with the Monuments & Archaeology Department City of Amsterdam.

Beside the municipality activities, the building mainly acts as the Amsterdam City Archives, the world’s biggest city archive and, according to many, the most attractive. It features a library, vast audio, video, and photo archives, as well as a historical topographical collection with millions of maps, drawings, and images. Visitors can explore Amsterdam’s past to discover more about how the modern city was created. Additionally, the Archives host both transient and ongoing exhibitions and provide guided tours.

It was a magnificent place for a meeting. We have been welcomed by Inez Weyermans, project leader at Municipality of Amsterdam, Bureau Monuments & Archaeology. She mainly works for the Unesco heritage of the city: the canal belt.

The end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th centuries saw the construction of the historic urban ensemble known as the canal district of Amsterdam. It consists of a system of canals to the west and south of the ancient old town, the medieval harbor that encircled the old town, and the Singelgracht, which was moved interior along with the city’s defensive borders. It was a long-term project that required draining the swampland, building a network of canals in circular arcs, and filling in the empty places in between. These areas allowed for the growth of a uniform urban ensemble that included gabled homes and a number of monuments. The biggest and most uniform urban extension at the time. Up until the 19th century, it was used as a model for extensive town planning and was a source of inspiration for people all over the world.

Inez explained that the canal belt raises several issues which have to be handled by the Municipality. 

Firstly, she illustrated us the city’s attempt to involve the local community in their cultural heritage. Indeed, Inez underlined the need to increase the historical acknowledgment by the citizens and, especially, by the new generations. In order to reach this goal the Monuments & Archaeology Department together with Amsterdam Museums had developed an educational programme for all the Amsterdam’s schools. It provides for three lessons for 12 years old students: the first one is held at the De Basel building by a specialized teacher; in the second one children go around the canals by boat; the third one is a focus on the Holland colonization. This issue, indeed, has become increasingly important by virtue of the fact that the Golden Age obscures the nation’s colonial origins and is in some ways the story of the winners. In addition to hiding slavery, it also obscures overall poverty. Not everyone participated in the Golden Age, not at all. Promote wider inclusion of what you consider to be “Dutch” if you wish to safeguard a free and democratic system. People assume they are familiar with the Golden Age’s narrative if you mention it. What the traditional historiography fails to mention is that barely 1% of society was affected. People in Holland were suffering from poverty, there were ongoing internal battles, and slavery was also present. The current population of the Netherlands includes offspring from both the 99 percent and the 1 percent. That’s the reason why the UNESCO department wanted to include this lecture within the educational programme.  

Secondly, she told us all the difficulties in tackling the climate impact on the country. She explained that there is a programme office dealing with this topic and working in a cross sections way. For instance, they collaborate with the Monuments Department and with technicians to do maintenance of canals, bridges and banks. Drought and rising seas play a dramatic role in making matters worse. In particular,the municipality of Amsterdam seeks to take preventive action and has a heart fort the issue since the canal system has been a national heritage site since 1999.

At the De basel building we had the chance to meet also Annette ten Doeschate, the sustainable heritage coordinator of  the Spatial Quality Committee of Amsterdam Municipality. Among her activities, she works at the digital desk giving directions on heritage policies and simplifying the legal and technical frame for the citizens. The idea is to make more feasible private initiatives for the renovation of buildings, especially when citizens want to decrease environmental impact. Indeed, their wills often collide with public bans and complicated regulations. That situation mirrors the conflict between old heritage legislation and new guidelines for climate change. Thanks to her position, Annette can better understand what should be modified in the legal frame and what technical innovations the city needs. Indeed, she also communicates with the police making departement to make it aware. 

Moreover, her team had developed many instruments to facilitate pro-clima actions. For example, they mapped and classified all city’s buildings according to their possibility to install solar panels, according to their economical and cultural value, and according to many other criteries. Mapping makes administration more accessible!

Finally, we discuss with Inez and Annette the current impact of climate change on the city of Amsterdam. They told us that no physical signs are already noticeable. However, the Municipality wants to prevent problems with a good water management, investigations on future risks, and protection of the buildings most at risk. 

A real Amsterdam pub

This meeting has been incredibly interesting! So, we deserved some spare time at Caffe Hoppe. The Hoppe is one of Amsterdam’s best-known brown cafes. Located in the lively Joordaan district, this bar, which opened in 1670, offers a wide selection of local beers as well as traditional Dutch gin.

Café Hoppe has been located on the Spui since 1670. Hans van Mierlo laid the foundations of the liberal D’66 party here,and even our recently abdicated Queen Beatrix honored the café with a royal visit when she was still a young princess. 

Here we spent amazing time with our new friends we met some days before in Harlingen.