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Posts from Kingston, Ontario, Canada

Posts from Base Camp

Travel Flashback: Helsinki, Finland (2012)

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

After a very enjoyable trip to Estonia, we hopped on a ferry from Tallinn to the Finnish capital of Helsinki.

We only stayed for two nights in Helsinki before moving on to Stockholm, so I can’t pretend that we truly “experienced Finland” based on our brief stay in the capital.  However, we also felt very much at home there, possibly because both the climate and the landscape were so similar to what we have in Canada.

Sibelius Monument in Helsinki
Sibelius Monument in Helsinki

We bought a transit day-pass and traveled on what was essentially a “Hop on, Hop off” tram route that circled the downtown core and passed by all of the major sights.  We started with a tour of the Olympiastadion (Helsinki hosted the 1952 Summer Olympics); there was a great view from the top of the tower.

From there, we visited a monument to Jean Sibelius, probably Finland’s most famous composer.  I was not familiar with his music but the monument was still worth a look anyway.  We moved on to the Temppeliaukion kirkko (“Church in the Rock”), a very modern structure built (as the names suggests) right into a massive slab of rock.

Helsinki Cathedral
Helsinki Cathedral

Every tourist in Helsinki visits the Helsinki Cathedral and we weren’t about to break with tradition.  Despite its imposing exterior, it is very spartan on the inside:  there is no fussy ornamentation anywhere.  Sadly, we couldn’t compare it to the (Eastern Orthodox) Uspenski Cathedral as it was being used for a private function that day.   However, we did experience a bit of the Russian influence by visiting an interesting Russian bookstore (where I picked up a scary but fascinating collection of Soviet propaganda posters).  Helsinki is only about 300 km from St. Petersburg and it has been used on many occasions as a movie substitute for Soviet or Russian cities.

Uspenski Cathedral in Helsinki
Uspenski Cathedral in Helsinki

The most enjoyable part of our visit was probably our trip to Suomenlinna, a sea-fortress complex (see photo at the top of this post) built on six islands just south of the city.  Ancient fortifications remain in place here and it is also the site of parks and al fresco restaurants.   We had fun climbing and exploring the ruins; in fact, we stayed much longer than expected and ended up eating dinner on the island rather than in Helsinki itself.  We even saw the last surviving Finnish submarine.

Climbing around Suomenlinna, just south of Helsinki
Climbing around Suomenlinna, just south of Helsinki

Finland’s long struggle for independence was quite evident at Suomenlinna.  Finland has only existed as an independent country since 1917:  for the previous century, it belonged to Russia…and it belonged to Sweden for the 6 centuries before that.  To this day, about 5% of Finns still speak Swedish as their first language.

The last surviving Finnish submarine (at Suomenlinna)
The last surviving Finnish submarine (at Suomenlinna)

I haven’t talked much about the food in Helsinki.  After the extremely low prices in Estonia, almost every Finnish menu induced a serious case of sticker shock and, as a result, we didn’t eat out very much.   This was perhaps a blessing in disguise, as we were taking an overnight ferry to Stockholm that included an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord!

Church in the Rock (Helsinki, Finland)
Interior of the Church in the Rock (Helsinki, Finland)

I’m really not a fan of all-you-can-eat buffets, but the one on this ship was excellent.  The food was of a very high quality and the price reflected the fact that you were expected to eat a certain amount of seafood, etc.  All drinks (including beer and wine, although these were dispensed from kitchen-sink-style taps and didn’t look very appetizing) were included too.  Sadly, we were so caught up in the experience that I forgot to take pictures!  Anyway, after a breakfast on board, we arrived in Stockholm the next morning and didn’t need to eat for a long time afterwards.

Posts from Base Camp

Travel Flashback: Unusual Sights in East-Central Alberta (2013)

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

I took a lot of pictures at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village; I’ve included a few more here (including the picture above) that weren’t in my original post on that fascinating site.  There are many other things to see east of Edmonton, however.

The giant sausage monument in Mundare, Alberta
The giant sausage monument in Mundare, Alberta

Near Vegreville and its giant Pysanka, there is another rural community with a huge monument.  Mundare is neither as large nor as famous as Vegreville but it honours its roots with…a giant sausage!   It sounds a little peculiar but the biggest business in town is indeed Stawnichy’s Meat Processing, right on the main street of Mundare.  There was a substantial Polish and Ukrainian population in the area so Woytko Stawnichy established a small grocery store here in 1959 with one small sausage smoker.

Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village
Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village

Over time, the sausage business prospered and became the focus of the Stawnichy family business.  To better service its loyal customers who now live and work in the big city,  there is even a Mundare Sausage House (and the associated Uncle Ed’s Restaurant) in the provincial capital of Edmonton.  However, the manufacturing facility and the heart of the business remains in tiny Mundare.  We didn’t go deep into the facility but were given some “Stawnichy’s Sausage” pins as souvenirs.  A tip and/or a warning, depending on how you feel about such aromas:  even the reception area smells strongly of sausage.

The Hilliard Hotel - formerly located in Hilliard, Alberta, and now in the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village
The Hilliard Hotel – formerly located in Hilliard, Alberta, and now in the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village

I would have loved to see more of the giant “monuments” in Alberta., such as the world’s largest pierogi in Glendon, the world’s largest badminton racquet in St. Albert, the world’s largest bee in Falher, the world’s largest beaver in Beaverlodge, or the world’s largest golf tee in Trochu.   Seeing all of Western Canada’s strange structures could easily form the basis of a bizarre road trip.  As we needed to return to our home base in Camrose that evening, we reluctantly started to head back via the town of Viking,

Entrance to the "Viking Troll Park" in Viking, Alberta
Entrance to the “Viking Troll Park” in Viking, Alberta

Most Canadian hockey fans will recognize Viking as the home of the Sutter brothers.  Incredibly, six brothers from the Sutter family all went on to play professional hockey in the National Hockey League.   While Viking recognizes its claim to fame, the town is extremely quiet and otherwise typical of many other farming communities in this part of the province.  The name “Viking” comes from the large number of Scandinavian immigrants who settled here.   There is even a “Viking Troll Park”, pictured above.

Modern grain elevators at Viking, Alberta
Modern grain elevators at Viking, Alberta

In our ongoing mission to support independent restaurants, we found ourselves at the “Viking Burger Queen” for dinner.   It was by no means fancy but we quite enjoyed chowing down on some substantial pizzas after a long day on the road.

The "Viking Burger Queen" in Viking, Alberta
The “Viking Burger Queen”  (and part of our tank/truck) in Viking, Alberta

As I’ve mentioned in some of my previous posts, we are about to head out on another adventure.   We are visiting one of the extremities of Canada but will also be visiting another country during the trip.  Notwithstanding the very rough sailing experience described in one of my recent blogs, we will be braving the open seas once again to make this an international trip.  It just might be the strangest international trip you can make by boat from Canada.

Intrigued?  I expect to be posting a little more frequently over the next couple of weeks, although that will naturally depend on the availability of Internet access.   Stay tuned!

Posts from Base Camp

Travel Flashback: The Ukrainians in Alberta (2013)

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

After visiting the Northwest Territories, we stopped off in Alberta to visit family and do some wandering in the less-touristed areas east of Edmonton.

We had reserved a mid-sized rental car but we were in for a surprise when we arrived at the Edmonton Airport…there were no mid-sized cars left.  Our choice: a jeep or a “mid-sized” pick-up truck. As we rather like the protection that doors offer, we opted for the mid-sized truck.  “Mid-sized” for Alberta, perhaps, but absolutely gigantic to our urban Ontario eyes. Anyway, we certainly felt safe in what we affectionately called “the tank”.

Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village
Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village

Having a vehicle allowed us the luxury of seeing some small-town sights:  public transportation is not terribly well-developed in Canada and rural Alberta is no exception.  On our first full day with the truck, we visited two Ukrainian-themed sights:  the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, just east of Elk Island National Park, and the town of Vegreville.   We also visited some other small towns but I will save those for future posts!

This would have been from the very early days of Ukrainian settlement in Alberta
This would have been from the very early days of Ukrainian settlement in Alberta

We spent several hours at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village.  It is a collection of historic buildings from all over eastern Alberta that have been moved to a single location.  It is like you are in a typical Alberta village from the early twentieth century that has a sizable Ukrainian immigrant population.

It’s not just a bunch of relocated buildings, however.  Most of the buildings are “inhabited” by role-playing guides.  We could actually talk to the shopkeeper, the sergeant at the R.C.M.P. detachment, and the labourer at the grain elevator (see photo at top of post)…all of them remaining in character (and even speaking with Ukrainian accents, where appropriate) throughout.

A building supply store from the past (note the Ukrainian text) at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village
A building supply store from the past (note the Ukrainian text) at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village

The churches were anticipated highlights, of course, reminding us of what we had seen in Finland and Estonia the previous summer.  However, we were equally as impressed by a couple of buildings on the outskirts of “town”.  One was a sod house, being an immigrant’s first Canadian home, while the other was a slightly sturdier and roomier house that might have been an immigrant’s second Canadian home.

Sod house at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village
Sod house at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village

Being inside the sod house was a real revelation for us.  Until then, it had been very difficult to visualize what immigrant life was like in Canada one hundred years ago:  most buildings surviving from that era belonged to established and relatively affluent Canadians.   Surviving in such a dark and damp house must have been incredibly challenging.  And we saw it in the summer:  how would it have been during the frigid Albertan winter with so little daylight?

A grocery store specializing in products for the Ukrainian community
A grocery store specializing in products for the Ukrainian community

After a lunch of perogies, sausage and cabbage, we drove east along the Yellowhead Highway to the town of Vegreville.  Small Alberta towns are known for their oversized “sculptures” that reflect the special features of that community.  Vegreville had a substantial Ukrainian population, so the decision was made to commission a massive Pysanka (Ukrainian Easter Egg) as part of the R.C.M.P.  Centennial celebrations in 1974.

The world's largest Pysanka (Vegreville, Alberta)
The world’s largest Pysanka (Vegreville, Alberta)

The Vegreville Pysanka is quite famous – it has even appeared on Canadian stamps and been visited by Queen Elizabeth II.  But it’s not just big:  it moves!  It also was quite a technical accomplishment, as the design was the first computer modeling of an egg.   While we didn’t stay in Vegreville for very long, it was still a nice way to “cap” our Ukrainian immigrant experience.

My next blog entry will focus on some other highlights (though not necessarily famous ones) of our Alberta visit.  In the meantime, we are busy planning for our international journey in July!

Posts from Base Camp

Travel Flashback: Andermatt 2012

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

A couple of months ago, I wrote about skiing in the famous Swiss ski resort of St. Moritz.  We did it on the cheap by staying in a rather “rustic” pension in the nearby village of Celerina.  Seeking even more Alpine fun, a couple of us moved on to the remote village of Andermatt for some additional skiing.

Andermatt could not be more different from St. Moritz.  No champagne and caviar: everybody was here to ski.  A lot.  Andermatt is one of those smaller-scale resorts that attracts hard-core skiers because of the extensive off-piste opportunities.

Pausing halfway between Andermatt and Sedrun
Pausing halfway between Andermatt and Sedrun – clearly having a miserable time in the March sun

How hard-core were the skiers here? We’re usually among the first on the slopes, but here we never saw anybody else at breakfast. The breakfast room opened at 7:00 a.m. and everybody was out of there by 7:15 a.m. when we arrived.

Although the total number of lifts and pistes wasn’t on the same scale as Zermatt, for example, the vertical drop was still huge. It was also possible to ratchet over to the nearby resort of Sedrun, as it was included in the same lift pass.

You can ski right through real villages here! This is just above Sedrun.
You can ski right through real villages here! This is just above Sedrun.

Whether we were in Andermatt, Sedrun, or somewhere in between, we never had to line up for the lifts.  I didn’t see too many day trippers here:  it’s just a little too far from big cities, at least by central European standards.  With no crowds, it was relatively easy to ski every single marked piste in the combined ski areas…and then return to our favourites over and over again.

Figuring out the best route down - high above Andermatt on the Gemsstock
A mock-serious moment high above Andermatt, scoping  out the best route down from the top of the Gemsstock

We also saw a lot of unusual things.  One fellow (who, like a number of the skiers here, was a real individualist) brought his dog with him on the chairlift.  That was cute, although I wondered how he would ski while carrying the dog.  The answer:  his dog RAN down the pistes!  I’ve never seen anything like it.  It was a fairly large retriever and he just took off after his swift-skiing owner all the way down.   I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dog that happy.  He had the goofiest grin on his face as he jumped into his owner’s arms at the bottom of the next lift. In a smaller resort like Andermatt, this kind of thing can happen.

The narrow main street of Andermatt: lots of snow even in mid-March!
The narrow main street of Andermatt: lots of snow even in mid-March!

The town itself was pretty sedate, especially after the slopes had closed for the day:  it was nothing like the pumping party scene you might find in the larger Austrian resorts.   I remember how loud the squeaking snow sounded as we walked back to our hotel at night.  You could see thousands of stars in the sky and really feel like you were “off the grid”.   This was also one of the few Swiss resorts where we could afford a hotel room with our own bathroom.

The bottom of the piste...and our hotel in Andermatt!
The bottom of the piste…and our hotel in Andermatt!

Staying here for an entire week here might be pushing it, unless you hired a guide to explore the back country.  However, as you can probably tell from the pictures, I had a blast being a scruffy powder hound here for a few days…an enjoyable contrast to the Belle Époque elegance of St. Moritz.

Posts from Base Camp

Travel Flashback: Verona, Italy 2013

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

Walking through Verona, Ontario reminded me that I recently enjoyed a visit to the “original” Verona in northern Italy. I hadn’t planned to visit Verona but it was the closest airport to Val Gardena (where we were about to ski) and the rest of our ski posse wasn’t flying into Verona until the next day. Would we be able to spend 24 hours in Verona? Easily!

For many English speakers, Verona is familiar because of Shakespeare. There are “The Two Gentleman of Verona”, of course, and there is also “The Taming of the Shrew”. However, it is probably best known as the location of “Romeo and Juliet”.

"The" balcony at Casa di Giulietta in Verona, Italy
“The” balcony at Casa di Giulietta in Verona, Italy

Yes, there is a courtyard where you can wander in and see Juliet’s house (La Casa di Giulietta) and Juliet’s balcony.  Interestingly, Shakespeare was not the first person to write about Romeo and Juliet: the first version was written by Luigi da Porto in 1530.  There is actually some historical basis for the story, as there were in fact two feuding families (the Capelletti and Montecchi, rather than the Capulets and Montagues) who lived in Verona at the time.

The Verona Arena is right in the middle of downtown Verona
The Verona Arena is right in the middle of downtown Verona

Whether La Casa di Giulietta has any true historical connection to Shakespeare’s play is extremely questionable…but it certainly looks like a proper medieval balcony in a courtyard. And, for true romantics, it is possible get married here: civil ceremonies are performed on Mondays, when the house is closed to tours.

Sunset at the Verona Arena
Sunset at the Verona Arena

For me, however, the highlight of Verona was its Arena.  It dates back to 30 A.D. and is the third largest of its kind (the Colosseum in Rome is the largest).  It doesn’t look that large from the main piazza but that is partially the result of a sinking structure…or a rising city.   Once we got inside, the true scale was revealed.

A hidden corner of downtown Verona, seen from just inside the walls of the Verona Arena
A hidden corner of downtown Verona, seen from just inside the walls of the Verona Arena

Walking around the tunnels was somewhat eerie, as I thought about how much history had played out here in the two thousand years since it was built.  The lower levels of Rome’s Colosseum were not accessible during our visit there in 2014, so I am really glad that I had the chance to explore the structure in Verona.  It also was much less crowded than the Colosseum…and we could climb all over the place as it is still used for special events.

View across the Adige River in Verona
View across the Adige River in Verona to Castello San Pietro

Many operatic performances (featuring legends such as Maria Callas) have taken place here but lately it has become a popular location for concerts by rock’s aristocracy.  Recent concerts have included Pink Floyd, The Who, Paul McCartney, Sting and Peter Gabriel, to name a few.  The Arena could accommodate 30,000 spectators when it was first built but for safety reasons the capacity is considerably less today.

Via Mazzini, in downtown Verona (also visible on right side of the photo at the top of this post)
Via Mazzini, in downtown Verona (also visible on right side of the photo at the top of this post)

There’s much more to Verona than just the Arena and Shakespeare.  We climbed up a small “mountain” for views over the city and found ourselves dodging more than one Roman relic.   Even walking through the relatively new shopping district at dusk was magical:  the white marble streets (just like in Dubrovnik) lent a special glow to the evening.

While there is plenty to see here, Verona in March was not overrun.  At this time of year, there seemed to be a nice balance between real Veronese life and happy tourists.  Life felt good here:  while I may not return to Venice or Milan anytime soon, I can see myself making an effort to get reacquainted with the “original” Verona.

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Travel Flashback: Journey to the Arctic Circle 2008

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

Despite its wintry name, all of Iceland lies south of the Arctic Circle…except one tiny island called Grímsey.  The Arctic Circle passes right through the island:  the only settlement on the island is south of the Arctic Circle but a 15-minute walk north takes you to the Circle itself.

Grímsey is beyond remote:  it is 40km north of the coast of “mainland” Iceland and is about 3 hours ferry from the already remote port of Dalvik.  Only 86 people live on Grímsey and we had previously heard all sorts of “grim” stories about death and depopulation on this island with an area of just 2 square miles.

The starkly beautiful coast of northern Iceland
The starkly beautiful coast of northern Iceland

We were staying in the northern Iceland town of Akureyri and thought that it would be a shame to be so close to the Arctic Circle and not actually cross it.  So we took a bus to Dalvik and then hopped on what looked like a calm and efficient ferry for the journey to Grímsey.  After a few hours  on Grímsey, we would catch the ferry back to Dalvik.  It was the middle of the summer; surely we could look forward to a pleasant day on the water and on the exotic island.

When we boarded the ferry in Dalvik, we staked out a couple of window seats in the indoor lounge, thinking it would be warmer and more comfortable.  We enjoyed sailing past the towering cliffs of northern Iceland and looked forward to the rest of the crossing.   Once we hit open water, however, something very bad happened.  Despite traveling quite fast for a ferry, the boat began churning and lurching violently from side-to-side and from back-to-front.  This lasted for hours.

Downtown Grímsey
Downtown Grímsey

Thinking we were safer inside, we soon both noticed that we weren’t feeling so well.   I’m really not sure how much detail I should go into here.  Is it enough to say that even the crew was seeking out paper bags for personal use and that one of us spent two hours in a bathroom stall?   Do I need to mention what the indoor lounge smelled like?

Anyway, we eventually arrived on Grímsey and spent some time in the island’s restaurant in order to rehydrate.  Colour eventually returned to our faces and, feeling less horrible than we did on arrival, we set out for our northward walk to the Arctic Circle.

Remote path beyond the Arctic Circle
Remote path beyond the Arctic Circle

We passed the circle without incident (right on the Circle, there’s a tiny bridge with a “M*A*S*H*”-style signpost pointing to various international destinations) and found ourselves on a remote path near the top of a cliff.  A puffin briefly landed right beside us with a mouthful of capelin.  Around the next corner was a sheer cliff housing thousands upon thousands of seabirds.  We mostly noticed the interestingly-beaked puffins, of course, but there were birds of every description.  There are apparently one million seabirds on the island altogether.

One of many puffins we saw north of the Arctic Circle
One of many puffins we saw north of the Arctic Circle

The winds were blowing, the land was bleak…and the grass was a vivid green.  There were no trees but it wasn’t quite as barren as one would expect north of the Arctic Circle.   Still, we felt like we were at the end of the world and felt some pride for having overcome considerable adversity to get here.

On the way back to the ferry (pictured at the top of this post), we understandably began wondering how we were ever going to survive the return journey.   We overheard that staying outside on the deck was actually the best way of dealing with the lurching boat.  Apparently, being inside with fixed straight lines (windows, walls, doors, etc.) accentuates your disorientation and makes seasickness worse.   We resolved to bundle up and test this theory:  the alternative was simply too grim to contemplate.

Leaving Grímsey behind on our journey back to the mainland
Leaving Grímsey behind on our journey back to the mainland

Eschewing the indoor cabin (which still wasn’t very fresh), we took our places on the exposed outer deck of the ferry.  It was cold and windy and soon enough the boat was churning almost as much as on the way out to Grímsey.  But we never felt sick!   Feeling like a couple of wise old salts, we happily disembarked in Dalvik and reminisced almost fondly about our epic Arctic journey.  However, as you might appreciate, we didn’t take any more boats for the rest of our holiday in Iceland.

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The other Pierre van der Hout

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

Today’s genealogical post is a little different…but there is still a travel element.

I had long assumed that I was the first and only “Pierre Vanderhout” in the world, as our family’s genealogy has been documented in book form back to the mid-1500s and there wasn’t any other Vanderhout (usually written as “van der Hout” in Dutch) named Pierre.  However, it appears that I am not the first person to bear this name.

On February 26, 1678, Guillaume van der Hout was christened in Leiden, the Netherlands. The parents were  Pierre van der Hout and Caterine Pierre. The witnesses were Elizabeth van Danne and Gregoire Cresson. This event was recorded by the “RK Kerk de Zon” in Leiden; the document can be found here (the relevant entry is numbered “9005”).

Typical intersection in Delft, the Netherlands
Typical intersection in Delft, the Netherlands

This was only the beginning of an unusual story.  I couldn’t find any other genealogical information on these names:  there was nothing on the direct descendants of Guillaume van der Hout nor on the direct ancestors of this other Pierre van der Hout.   All I had to go on was the name of the church.  “Kerk” means “church” in Dutch, while “de Zon” means “the sun”.   I didn’t pay much attention to the “RK”;  I had assumed it was a reference to the Reformed Church (a Protestant church that is quite prominent in the Netherlands).

However, some further research revealed an unusual twist.  “RK” was actually a short form for “Rooms Katholiek”, the Dutch words for “Roman Catholic”.   So, the “Sun Church” in Leiden was actually a Catholic church.  That was a surprise, as the genealogy suggested that the first few centuries of van der Houts were all Protestant.

"De Spaansche Vloot" (The Spanish Fleet), a nearly 400-year-old restaurant in 's-Gravenzande, the Netherlands
“De Spaansche Vloot” (The Spanish Fleet), a nearly 400-year-old restaurant in ‘s-Gravenzande, the Netherlands

When we were in the Netherlands last summer, we visited some churches that dated back 800 years.  I decided to find out if the “Sun Church” was still around, as it would be interesting on a future visit to see where this other Pierre van der Hout had once been.  This led to another surprise:  the Kerk de Zon was a secret church!

While the Netherlands was a tolerant country even in the 17th century (attracting persecuted religious groups from all over Europe), tolerance was a relative concept.  Non-Protestants were free to practice their own religion as long as they did not draw too much attention to themselves.  This meant that their places of worship could not be outwardly identifiable as such; they also could not enter and leave en masse.

Nearly deserted beach near 's-Gravenzande, the Netherlands
Nearly deserted beach near ‘s-Gravenzande, the Netherlands

So, was the 17th-century Pierre van der Hout somehow written out of the family tree because of religion?  The multiple French names in the records of the Kerk de Zon provide a more likely answer.

Pierre van der Hout (or his ancestors) probably came from a French-speaking part of Europe and had a different surname.    However, as they continued living in the Netherlands, it was common to adopt a Dutch surname to help assimilate into Dutch society.

Pierre’s family may have picked “van der Hout” simply because it was a common surname in that part of the Netherlands.  However, picking a new name was often very literal.   As “van der Hout” means “from the forest”, Pierre’s original French surname may well have been something like  Desbois or LaForest.

Distant view of Grote Kerk in Maassluis, the Netherlands. This is the church where my ancestor Isaack Adriaensz van der Hout (born in 1580) placed the keystone
Distant view of Grote Kerk in Maassluis, the Netherlands. This is the church where my ancestor Isaack Adriaensz van der Hout (born in 1580) placed the keystone

While I could not find any other references to the 17th-century Pierre or Guillaume van der Hout, I suspect that the family’s descendants were around for a long time.   Why?  I managed to find a person named “Guillaume Pierre Johann van der Hout” – he was born in 1874 in Delft, the Netherlands (see photo at the top of this post) and is the only other “Guillaume van der Hout” I could locate.

Here, finally, is the travel angle…the only record I could find for Guillaume Pierre Johann van der Hout was an immigration record kept by the police of Antwerp, Belgium.  For reasons unknown, he left Delft to live in another country.  On this page, at number 97.416, you can see how this unusual story continued into at least the late 19th-century.   I hope to investigate this further; in the meantime, it seems that anybody with my name is destined to move around!

[The photos in today’s post are all close to where my namesakes lived in the Netherlands.]

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Travel Flashback: The Fjords of Norway 2010

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

Our 2008 trip to Iceland was so much fun that we decided to continue our Northern theme and visit Norway in 2010. Once again, we braced ourselves for high Scandinavian prices…and found them! Our trip began in the coastal city of Bergen and ended in the Norwegian capital of Oslo.  In between: lots and lots of fjords!

Hiking above Balestrand and the Sognefjord
Hiking above Balestrand and the Sognefjord

From Bergen, we took a relatively high-speed boat up the Sognefjord to the resort village of Balestrand. The scenery along the way was impressive but not astounding:  near the ocean, the Sognefjord is too wide to make you feel completely surrounded.   Balestrand was still a very pleasant base for our exploration of the area, however, and we were able to explore a number of the narrower (and more dramatic) fjords from here.  We stayed in a characterful hotel overlooking the Sognefjord and had a delightful al fresco dinner in an orchard just down the street.

The boat we took from XXXX back to Balestrand
The boat we took from Fjærland back to Balestrand

Balestrand also had an interesting aquarium with an even more interesting promotion:  a ticket to the aquarium came with a free  canoe rental.   Well, we just had to take advantage of that!  While it certainly wasn’t part of our plan, we can now say that we have been canoeing in the fjords of Norway!

Stave church at Vik, Norway.
Hopperstad stave church at Vik, Norway.

We took two interesting trips from Balestrand.  The first was to the Hopperstad stave church at Vik.  These wooden churches are obviously very vulnerable to fire, so there are only a few surviving examples.   This one is approximately 900 years old and is built on the ruins of an even older church.  Internal photos are not allowed but I can tell you that it is very dark inside.

Rapidly retreating glacier
Rapidly retreating glacier

The second trip was a “Glacier Tour”to Fjærland.  The boat trip to Mundal (the village in Fjærland) was amazing:  the fjords looked like the ones in all the tourist brochures.  The photo at the top of this post was taken on the way.   Alas, the Glacier Tour itself was rather underwhelming.  We didn’t get very close to the glacier itself, as it has been retreating for a number of years but the tour infrastructure (road, glacier museum, etc.) has naturally  remained in the same place.  It was a pleasant day but we will definitely be more selective about glacier tours in the future.

Terminus of the railway to Flam
Myrdal, Norway:  terminus of the Flamsbana railway from Flåm

After a few days in Balestrand, we made the long journey by boat and train to Oslo.  We took the Flamsbana from Flåm to Myrdal; it is advertised as the most scenic train ride in the world.  While it is undeniably beautiful, it is perhaps a little overdeveloped for tourism.  For evidence, see the photograph below.  The train stopped for photographs at a dramatic waterfall and, on cue, a collection of mystical maidens suddenly emerged to the musical accompaniment of a stirring symphony and re-enacted a folk tale.   Very cheesy.

Mystical maidens emerge from the mist on the Flamsbana railway
Mystical maidens emerge from the mist on the Flamsbana railway

Actually, we shouldn’t have been surprised.  The Flamsbana is part of the “Norway in a Nutshell” tour:  it is a highly coordinated (and choreographed) route designed to show some of Norway’s greatest natural highlights.  While it would be fine for somebody who only had a day to see the fjords and mountains, we felt somewhat “herded” on this part of our journey.  We preferred spending a few days in the fjords and exploring on our own.   Norway is a beautiful country and it doesn’t need to rely on gimmicks to impress.

Stay tuned for more flashbacks and other travel surprises!

 

Posts from Base Camp

Records on the Road

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

Last Saturday was “Record Store Day” and we drove to Ottawa to see what was available in the record stores of our nation’s capital.  It reminded me of the interesting music I’ve picked up in my travels: each record has its own story, above and beyond the actual music.

The photo at the top of this post is one of my favourite finds.   For some unknown reason, the Soviet record label Melodiya decided to release a 4-track EP (7″, 33 rpm) containing seemingly random tracks from Paul and Linda McCartney’s 1971 “Ram” album.  When I was “crate-digging” in a Tallinn, Estonia used record store, I found this pressing from Riga (now in Latvia, but then part of the U.S.S.R.).  While I can’t speak Russian, I know the sounds of the Cyrillic alphabet and was able to phonetically confirm that this was in fact a release from the former Beatle.  I picked up some fascinating Soviet LPs there too…but I’ll keep the focus on 7″ records today, as they are easier to pick up while traveling.

A Czechoslovakian 7" single from Dean Reed, the "Red Elvis"
A Czechoslovakian 7″ single from Dean Reed, the “Red Elvis”

Speaking of the Soviet era, I picked up some fascinating 45s in Prague last September.  Some were just Czechoslovakian pressings of hits by Western artists but the Dean Reed 45 pictured above was something I would never find in Canada.

Dean Reed went nowhere in the U.S.A. as a singer and traveled the world in search of fame and revolution.  He ended up based in East Germany, where he was proudly paraded by the authorities as a genuine American rock star and revolutionary.  He did, in fact, enjoy immense popularity in the Eastern Bloc…at least for a while.  His ersatz-Elvis recordings sound rather hokey now but there wasn’t much else available.  Alas, he drowned under mysterious circumstances outside of East Berlin in the mid-1980s.  If you’re interested in his bizarre story, there is a book (“Comrade Rockstar”, by Reggie Nadelson) about Reed and it has long been rumoured that Tom Hanks would make a movie about this forgotten musician.

Karel Gott's "Beatles" single
Karel Gott’s “Beatles” single

Karel Gott also found success in the Eastern Bloc during the 1970s but, unlike Dean Reed, still enjoys some popularity today.  Like many people who lived during that difficult time, he made certain compromises in order to  preserve his career in a totalitarian state.  The above single does not feature the Beatles, but the A-side is a Czech-language tribute to the Fab Four (although it sounds nothing like them).   I found this single in the same grim record store that yielded the Dean Reed record.  Both were very cheap: I suspect it is because they come from a time that many people would like to forget.

Johnny Clegg's 1987 "Asimbonanga" single was not attracting attention in Helsinki
Johnny Clegg’s 1987 “Asimbonanga” single was not attracting attention in Helsinki

Johnny Clegg is one of my favourite musicians.  Best known in North America for contributing “Scatterlings of Africa” to the Rain Man soundtrack, he bravely led racially-integrated bands during the Apartheid era in South Africa and continues to release genre-crossing and thought-provoking records today.   I wrote about Johnny last year in this post.  Alas, it doesn’t appear that he is very popular in Finland:  I found the above French pressing of his “Asimbonanga” single in the bargain bin of a Helsinki record store.

Reality is stranger than fiction: the Rutles "I Must Be In Love" single
Reality is stranger than fiction: the Rutles “I Must Be In Love” single

I never imagined that the above single could exist.  The Rutles were a Beatles parody band created by some Monty Python alumni and eventually were the subject of the brilliant rockumentary “All You Need is Cash”.  The soundtrack is also outstanding and highly recommended for Beatles fans.  The parody was so well-received in England that I found this single in a London record shop last November.  It was an unexpected souvenir of the same trip that took me to Abbey Road and various other Beatles landmarks.

Coming up next week:  I’m on the road again!  Using some accumulated Air Miles, I’m visiting a place that I somehow overlooked during my year of extended travel.  Stay tuned for the big reveal!

Posts from Base Camp

Who Reads This Blog?

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(Kingston, Ontario, Canada)

Have you ever wondered who else reads this blog?  While the blog software doesn’t tell me who specifically is reading the blog, it does tell me in which countries the blog’s readers are located.  So don’t worry – I don’t know who you are…unless you post something!

Incredibly, there have been visitors from 97 countries so far!  Many of these countries have very few views (it would not be reasonable to expect thousands of hits from Vatican City or Réunion) but the numbers are significant for the first 30 or 40 countries.  It should come as no surprise that, by far, the most readers are in Canada.

The Matterhorn, as seen from a small alpine village in the Gornergrat/Sunnegga area
The Matterhorn, as seen from the small alpine hamlet of Findeln in the Sunnegga area

It also probably isn’t surprising that the U.S.A. and the U.K. occupy the second and third positions.  Rounding out the all-time Top 20 are Brazil, Germany, Croatia, the Netherlands, Costa Rica, Switzerland, France, Italy, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Czech Republic, the United Arab Emirates, Spain, Sweden, Peru, Ireland, Poland and Australia.

The rankings definitely change over time.  Croatia really spiked during my visit there last spring but has been falling ever since.  For 2015, I’ve noticed increases in France, Australia, Thailand and Russia…but decreases in the U.K., Costa Rica and the Czech Republic.

My friends will do anything to take the perfect photo of the Matterhorn
My friends will try any angle to take the perfect photo of the Matterhorn

Most notable, however, is where there are *no* hits at all. Given its large population, it is interesting that not a single person from China has visited my site (other than people in the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau, which are tracked separately)…yet I have  numerous hits from nearby Vietnam, Taiwan, Mongolia, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.  Despite significant numbers across Northern Europe, I also haven’t connected with Latvia yet.

The other side of the Matterhorn (as seen from Italy)
The other side of the Matterhorn (as seen from Italy)

One does have to be careful with interpreting the data.  There is an apparently benign but also persistent automated “webcrawler” based in Brazil that is, I believe, exaggerating the numbers in that country.

I can also get information on which “searches” have led to visits to my site.  The most popular search that does not include my name has been “London Oxford Street”.  But multiple views have also resulted from “Megadisco Machu Picchu”, “schöne bilder von Paul Young 2014”, “van der ley cheese Groningen” and “place d’erlon Reims night”.

Arrival at the Valtournenche ski area above Breuil-Cervinia, Italy (just after crossing over from Zermatt, Switzerland)
Arrival at the Cime Bianche ski area above Valtournenche, Italy (just after crossing over from Zermatt, Switzerland)

There are also many searches that resulted in a solitary visit.  Some of my favourites include “abandoned wood bobsled”, “context of the movie Invictus South Africa in 1992-1995”, “gray research sound effects console”, “Inus Mor and rabbits sea lions”, “Budapest hockey and soccer teams jerseys”, and “casado con carne en salsa” (as well as plain old “casado con carne”).  If I ever start up another band, I am going to seriously consider calling it “Abandoned Wood Bobsled”.   I am really curious about the story behind that search but it will probably remain a mystery forever.

Another view of the Italian side of the Matterhorn (with lots of tiny skiers below)
Another view of the Italian side of the Matterhorn (with lots of tiny skiers below)

Today’s photos are from my 2011 visit to Zermatt.  I don’t think it would make a lot of sense to do a separate travel flashback for my second visit there…but I did want to share some of these pictures.  If you like them, take a look at my previous post for more words and pictures about skiing in the shadow of the Matterhorn.