Yesterday Candace and I woke up very early to head into London to meet the Arcadia group for a little field trip. The event, which we signed up for in January, was a trip to Rochester, Kent for a May Day festival.
It was a rough morning, but once we arrived in the little town it was like the super nerd inside me woke up. I have this thing about revels, mummers, medieval festivals, re-enactments in general, caroling, and funny fat kings eating turkey legs that I find hilarious and too good to be true. Not that I like making fun of this sort of thing - it's more like I want to take part. Badly. In fact, there's a part of me that wishes I was born a peasant in a tiny village so I could get good and drunk and silly and sing songs and dance around the may pole.
But this is the next best thing I suppose. The town, Rochester, is absolutely beautiful itself. Set side the Medway River and at the bottom of a hill holding a real life castle, you couldn't have asked for a better setting. The buildings on the street are also very old so it really was like stepping back in time.
After we walked through the visitor's center, we immediately stumbled upon a troupe of Morris dancers in the street. Complete with live musicians, crazy costumes, face painting, and - literally - all the bells and whistles, it was shocking at first. I couldn't stop squealing with joy and saying "What the hell is going on?!". As we wandered down the street, we saw more groups like this with their own traditional costumes and style. It was almost like a street dance-off. Only Morris dancing.
On top of that, there were food stalls lining the sidewalks and antique stores up the wazoo. A huge portion of the day was spent just walking around, relishing in the sights, sounds, and smells and just enjoying spring.
Eventually we arrived at Rochester Castle on the hill. We couldn't go in, but the grounds surrounding the castle were taken over by a carnival. More food, music, and now lots of kids and families were up here. It reminded me of June in middle school at the Ridgefield Fireman's Carnival. But what a place to have a carnival! There was a gorgeous view of the river as well.
And I have to talk about the food. If you've been reading this blog at all, you'll probably know that a lot of my best experiences abroad have been somehow based around food. Now, even though I didn't try any of the beer, and therefore did not get to be a jolly peasant, I did have other exceptional treats. I had a pork and apple burger with onions and every sauce available, and I think it was honestly the best burger I've ever had. And for only £2.50! I later found the Hog Roast and had the most incredible sandwich - roast hog meat off the spit with home made stuffing and apple sauce on bread. Before we left, of course, I ducked into the local pastry shop and got not one but 3 scones. I'm still working on those.
We were there so early that by the time 4 o'clock rolled around, it felt like 8 pm. I felt like a kid again going to this festival. Not only was it just a great atmosphere, but for really the first time I felt very in touch with the history of England. There is nothing really like the Sweeps Festival in America, and since it was outside of London in a tiny historical town, there were hardly any tourists besides ourselves. I didn't feel out of place though. Just very happy to be in a small, lovely town, enjoying the history and culture of England.
Jessica and I got back from the Netherlands a week ago, but it's been a busy week so I haven't been able to update my blog until now. And what a whirlwind adventure our trip was!
We left on Monday the 29th and took train and an overnight ferry out of London, arriving in Holland around 8am. I personally was sick of air travel and dealing with extra unexpected expenses from cheap airlines. The ferry was a relaxing and fun way to go - I highly recommend it.
Our first stop in Amsterdam was the Anne Frank House. We wanted to get the most depressing bit out of the way. And boy was it depressing. But really fascinating and moving at the same time. I think it's very important to see it if you get the chance. I remember reading the book and trying to imagine the space they were in, but it's really a shaking feeling to step behind the bookcase and go up those narrow stairs. The creaky floorboards and blacked out windows gave you a sense of the danger of the situation. It was a remarkable experience.
After the Anne Frank house we wandered for a while trying to find our hostel. Despite the symmetry of the city, it was pretty easy to get lost. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the atmosphere of the city was not at all what I imagined. I guess because of the taboo associated with Amsterdam, I expected it to be a bit grimey and unsafe. It was the opposite! We wandered through the streets of a beautiful, quaint, happy European city. There were people on bikes everywhere, flower markets, friendly faces - and it was not too crowded by tourism.
We had time to kill before meeting our friends at the hostel, so we headed to the Rijksmuseum. It was small, but it packed a punch. The lower floor was dedicated to Dutch history and artifacts, while the upper floor was decked with incredible masterpieces by painters from the Dutch Golden Age such as Rembrandt, Jan Steen, and Vermeer. It was my first time seeing Rembrandt portraits, so that was a real treat.
Once our friends arrived we did a bit more wandering. We felt better in a bigger group to explore the more shady areas of the city (that were still pretty watered down by tourism - don't worry). It was interesting to see this quaint city become so different at night. It takes on a completely different personality. We called it an early night, however, because we were all tired from a day of travel.
On Wednesday morning, we headed to the Van Gogh Museum. This museum was very well designed and thought out: Walking through it took you through the different stages in Van Gogh's career. I had no idea that he was only active as a painter for 10 years. The first floor was dedicated to the artists that preceded Van Gogh. These were the Dutch artists that he trained with and drew inspiration from. The second floor was dedicated to his work according to year and place. This way you could wander through the entire second floor and witness how his work blossomed and changed, and at the same time stayed true to his style. At first I was disappointed that the museum did not provide more information about his personal life, but I soon changed my mind. Towards the last years of his life, it was clear from his use of color and more vigorous application of paint that he was struggling: The art says it all. My favorite paintings of his final years were "Wheatfields Under Thunderclouds" and "Wheatfield With Crows". One seems to evoke a sense of peace with an endless horizon, while the other one I found deeply disturbing and suffocating. Can't wait to go back to the MOMA and take a better look at "Starry Night".
Jess and I then wandered into Vondelpark, which was nice but would have been a more pleasant walk if it weren't so chilly and windy. We saw some ducks. And a parrot in a tree! We think it was a lost escaped pet.
In the evening, the five of us explored the Red Light District. That was something for the memory books. Its the sort of thing you hear people talk about, but you don't really understand it until you've seen it. I'm not going to go into detail, but lets just say I'm glad we didn't linger!
On Thursday morning, Jess and I decided to leave early because we had to get to Den Haag for our next hostel. We stayed a night in that city because a) the overnight ferry was booked and b) it gave us on opportunity to see the Nederlands Dans Theater - a world famous dance company that I've been dying to see after watching a DVD of them in Italy.
Trying to find our hostel was more difficult than expected. It was tucked away at the very end of a beach, which would have been nice had it not been unbearably cold and windy. Despite this minor setback, we made it into Den Haag with time to go to the Mauritshuis, the museum housing Vermeer's "The Girl With the Pearl Earring" among many other fabulous Dutch paintings. We got to see more Vermeer and Rembrandt, which we were both happy about.
Feeling thoroughly satisfied and cultured, we walked a couple blocks over to the Lucent Danstheater to catch the evening performance of "True to II" by the NDT. The show was unbelievable. I've never seen a dance performance like it. It was set against a beautiful orchestra playing classical pieces, but the choreography was a dynamic mix of form, structure, gesture, and playfulness. It was a delight to watch - I could watch this company for hours and days on end. Hoping to get some DVDs when I get back to the states! In the meantime, here's a clip from the website of one of the pieces we saw called "CACTI".
The next morning we were on the ferry all day, but it was nice to kick back after our adventures in the Netherlands. We got to see "The Princess and the Frog" and "Sherlock Holmes" on the boat, so I can't really complain.
We managed to pack quite a lot into only a few days. I can't wait to go back to Holland though. I know there's more to see and do in Amsterdam and I definitely want to get to know Den Haag even more. That city has so mcuh to offer and we didn't even know it!
I'll be posting another entry soon about Dad and Grandpa's visit. Until then, here are pics and videos from my trip across the North Sea.
I am a rising senior at Sarah Lawrence College.
This blog is about my yearlong study abroad experience. I traveled to Italy, Switzerland, Czech Republic, France, England, Scotland, and The Netherlands. I studied at Accademia dell'Arte and Royal Holloway University of London.
