Burlington High School - Rarebits Yearbook (Burlington, Ontario Canada)

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42 RAREBITS ll garmin 1-Inllanh By EDNA RoB1NsoN, IV. Holland-a nation below the sea- A tourist's paradisel Antiquity and modernism are equally represented in this small, energetic country, for the people of Holland move with the times, although they still abide by their tried traditions. But those characteristics of the country and its peoples have not remained so obviously nationalistic as you may think. Holland is a modern country, with modern cities, with up- to-date citizens who are quite capable of speaking to you in your own tongue. The vast majority of Dutchmen can speak three or four languages which in itself shows how willing they are to learn. ' Upon a very few islands and in some parts, far removed from the great high- ways you will still find those primitive people walking about in clothes, peculiar to that part of the country. Here the men will be seen in widely-cut knicker- bockers with-short velvet jackets and huge Marken hats ,on their heads, a long Gouda clay pipe between their lips and a small Delit bottle of gin in each pocket. In these remote places the women wear peasant lace caps with gold ear ornaments and extremely full skirts with white aprons and very 'colorful waists. You may ask And what about the wooden shoes we in this part of the world hear so much about? Well, wooden shoes are typically Dutch and the Dutch farmers in practically every part of Holland, no matter how modern they may be, wear wooden shoes. They claim that they are more practical for work in the fields and consequently maintain this quaint custom. In fact, it is not unusual to see a person in any of the larger cities, wearing wooden shoes, although in every other respect their dress will be decidedly modern. Cleanliness has long been associated with the Dutch people and this tradition still remains. Upon the threshold of nearly every home of the so-called peasant class may be seen three or four pairs of wooden shoes ranging in size from those of the father to those of the smallest child. ln this way no dirt is tracked into the house. The stables and barns are kept so clean that in some of the less modern farms the barns and homes consist of only one building in which the cattle and their owners sleep sometimes in the same room. Holland is a country unique as to land- scape. It has been wrested almost foot by foot from the sea so that it must be defended day and night from the jealous water-its greatest enemy. Therefore, one finds a spider web of dykes which protect the inland country and which are enclosed within the strong sea-dykes that join the dunes, the natural guards along the Dutch seashores. The entire country is covered with a network of waterways, ditches, canals and moats, used by barges. Holland is famous for its canals which add a real touch of beauty to its beautiful landscape. Along the sides of every canal are lines ot barges, among which are mingled a number of house-boats in which the people live to avoidgpaying the govern- ment taxes. Each houseboat is brightly painted and on every window sill is a box of geraniums. There are no freight trains in the Netherlands. All the carrying of freight is done by means of the barges. Everybody has read about the Dutch windmills which are of such great importance to this low-lying country. They are practically all green in color, covered with a thatched roof and shingled around the wide bases. In some of the larger ones the farmers and their families live observing all their quaint customs. The many pic- turesque bridges, the high-vaulted and the white draw-bridges which serve as a background to so many Dutch paintings, add considerable beauty to the land- scape of this absolutely flat country. Every peculiarity of the Dutch landscape is a result of the land lying low amidst so much water. As the humid soil demands moisture-absorbing trees, the willows give a great special beauty to this waterland. The water fowl also render charm to the dykes, beaches and islets. The curious construction of most of the towns and villages that sprang up along the waterway, the architecture of the houses, constructed upon piles in the swampy soil, are essentially Dutch on account of the watery country. On the Island of Marken, one of the many outlying islands of Holland, the ancient habits of the Dutch are still maintained. Here the women draw the

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RAREBITS 41 the rays of the afternoon sun, that claim one's last look before departing. However, one's ,enthusiasm for Paris is apt to carry one beyond the space allotted. There are so many places in the old city which make history live again before one's eyes. There is, for example, the Conciergerie, a prison famous in the Revolution of 1789. Here the unhappy Austrian, Marie Antoinette, spent the last days of the awful nightmare, which turned the gay, laughing beauty to a sad-eyed figure of tragedy. There is the Place de la Con- corde, one of the finest squares in the world. Here in 1795 was erected the guillotine, and the jeering crowds in the square below watched with horrible glee the execution of their King, Louis XVI, his Queen, his sister, Madame Elisabeth, besides a host of less illustrious person- ages. Surrounding the same square at a later date were built the monuments representing the chief towns and depart- ments of France, and here from 1870- 1918 the undying embers of the French hatred of Germany were fanned by the yearly renewal of the wreaths and immortelles covering the ,statues of 'LPIUNDR the lost provinces of Alsace and Lor- raine. It must be apparent that our mental etchingsn have had a decidedly historical tinge. This is tobe expected but far be it from us to forget other gay little memories that pop up their frivolous heads in the midst of more sombre pictures. There are the cafes, those pre- eminently French institutions, where you sit on the sidewalk on uncertain spindle- legged chairs, eat your ices well flavoured with the dust of the street, and watch the world go by. There is the Grand Opera if you incline to classical opera, the Opera Comique,if you are less seriously inclined or you may visit the Folies Bergere, if you feel like being amused without any effort on your part. Finally dear to the feminine heart, are those long glittering arcades with their tiny shops, where you may buy almost anything in the world and pay almost anything for it. As we have said, the charm of Paris is its cosmopolitanism. There is some- thing there for everyone: and each of us must interpret for himself the spirit of this age-old, ever-young city. Uv- W. --11-I 4 l'l'ol.E iq rig

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RAREBITS 45 barges along the canals with long- piked poles, and also load the barges with hay while the men sit by and super- vise the work. The grain is threshed in the antique fashiong indeed, along these lines practically all their work is done. This is truly a picture of the Holland of the Middle Ages. - Amsterdam, the largest city in Hol- land, is typical of the Dutch people. To compare it with one of our Canadian cities would be a comparison that one would not dare to make. In the older sections of the city the canals form the streets but in the more modern parts fine cement roads are being constructed. The canals throughout the business section are lined with cobble stone streets so that it is evident that the antiquity of the Dutch canals is grad- ually giving away to the more modern methods of travel. Practically all the buildings consist of four stories owing to the fact that the soft soil is incapable of supporting more weight. There has been constructed in the last few years a large number of new buildings such as modern apartment houses and modern American homes, which give the im- Eression of great prosperity. Every ome, no matter how small, has its garden of flowers and what colorsl Indeed, Holland is noted for its bright colors. Most of the houses are painted in bright greens, reds, and blues, prac- tically always against a white stucco background. Nearly all the better homes have their small white tea-tables and chairs out on the lawns where tea is served on the warm summer after- noons. In Amsterdam there are 170,000 bicycles, that is one to every three people living in the city. On both sides of the newly-constructed highways there are bicycle-paths as well as foot-paths. This is only an indication of the popul- larity of bicycle travel in this country of tree-bordered highways. Every high- way is bordered with at least two and sometimes three rows of beautiful trees. The beer-gardens of Amsterdam, char- acteristic of all central European cities, line its main streets. Here you may sit for hours right out on the street under a variegated awning and sip your beer as slowly as you wish for in Holland you never have to hurry. No doubt some of you will be saying O for a day of Holland I' ' Many of the houses in Amsterdam are situated right in the water. When their occupants step out of their back doors they must step into a boat or they will have a wet reception. During my stay in Amsterdam the people of Holland were celebrating their Queen Mother's birthday and as it is an occasion of great festivity the entire city was decorated for the occasion. Along all the canals were streamers of lights which reflected their brilliance into the water below. The real beauty of the canals could not, to my mind, be demon- strated in a more fitting manner. It was truly a sight worth remembering. I visited a church in Amsterdam which was built in 1475 and I was struck by the extreme simplicity of the building. It was most unusual to see so simple a church so near the mighty cathedrals of Belgium, France and England. The home of Rembrand von Rign is another place of interest although it is painfully plain. According to tradition the art of Holland is preserved in the beautiful art galleries where you can spend days ad- vantageously and then leave with a feel ing that you have missed something of real interest. The Hague, the Government centre of Holland, is a purely residential city. The beach here is wonderful, large crowds frequenting its sands daily. In place of sun umbrellas the Dutch have substituted wicker baskets with a wicker covering over them to supply the necessary shade. I had the rare privilege of visiting the Queen's palace. and going through her private suite of rooms, all the walls of which were covered with very valuable tapestries. The Peace Palace also in the Hague is one of the most beautiful pieces of architecture in Holland. Holland is a country worth visiting- It feels nationally but in its ideas it is international. Every foreigner will find something there of his own race, of his own views but with the Dutch stamp. Holland is not, as I once read, a Dutch cream cheese floating on the Zuyder Zee. Wien Neerlands bloed door de adren vloeit, ' Van vreemde smetten vry. En voor zyn land van liefde gloeit Verhef den zang met my.