In a better attempt to be more active in my new community/country, I have been dragging Gearoid and his new American colleague Haley to local festivals.
Three weeks ago we went to the Gebroeders van Limburgfestival which happened to be a middle ages festival in Nijmegen. Gearoid and I have actually never been to a Renaissance type of festival, mainly because the entrance price was too expensive for us. In the States, when you imagine this type of festival you think of giant roasted turkey legs, apple dumplings, velvet costumes, and beer drunk out of tankards. It’s actually kind of funny because the US is so young that it didn’t have a renaissance or a middle ages. Those festivals are apparently based on Americans’ desires to eat giant bird legs and depictions of medieval England in movies.
So what is a middle ages festival like in a city that is 2000 years old? Apparently the middle ages were pretty boring. We saw some interesting things- silver working, a man chopping wood, some kids shooting bow and arrows but overall the atmosphere of the festival was pretty ho-hum. Maybe because as an American I had romanticized the Middle Ages based on books I read and movies I’ve seen. People who actively participated in the festival wore garb of the time (which mainly looked like long dirty shirts), pitched tents with fires burning outside, and hid their modern drinks in old-fashioned cups. It was also an educational experience. We saw a variety of birds, learned the intricacies of weaving, and listened to “popular” music of the time. The main event, however, was a jousting tournament. Riders in “full” armor rode with swords and lances to- now wait for it- collect hoops and chop apples. Sarcasm aside- I know I wouldn’t be able to chop an apple while on horseback - the fact that this was people’s entertainment way back then shows how much work and daily living occupied their time that apple chopping on horseback was exciting. The “knights” (oh, by the way- all of the jousters were women)did go after each other with lances but after racing towards each other in “chicken (as in the game)” fashion you heard a noise resembling a pencil breaking as the tip of a lance was splintered by the winner’s lance. Unfortunately, rain cut the excitement short and we were forced into a modern café by the downpour. Although it was an interesting experience, most likely we won’t join in the festivities next year.
By the way- no turkey legs were present. Flat bread, root vegetables, and sausages on crackers seemed to be the food of choice at the festival and possibly during the actual Middle Ages.
While walking to the actual festival, we happened upon this group preparing to play traditional "Middle Ages" music.
The birds were amazing to see but I felt bad for how scared this white owl was. They all had a leash around a foot securing them to the ground.
It was cold, about to rain, and I had had my fill of the jousting "excitement." Plus that red flag kept whipping me in the face.
Two weeks ago, Nijmegen had a Salsa/Caribbean Festival. Gearoid, being as usual anti-dance, stayed at home while Haley and I headed to the city center. The festival began during the day when “Caribbean” drummers performed in various places throughout the city center entertaining the masses who were doing their Saturday shopping. We visited the center around 8PM and were surprised by an unexpected divide (keep reading and I’ll explain). We met up near Lux, a popular café/art film theater. In front of Lux we got our first taste of the festival. Among the Dutch people were Africans and Caribbean people. Stands selling Island ware and food lined the way to an active stage and even more active dance floor. It was very gezellig(mini-Dutch lesson- gezellig technically doesn’t translate but the closest meaning in English is cozy/atmospheric. The Dutch use it all of the time and ask if such gezellig places can actually exist outside of the Netherlands). I honestly haven’t felt and experienced such a multi-cultural setting in the Netherlands as I did in front of the Lux that night, with the exception of my volunteer event at the refugee center.
Despite, the gezellig and inviting setting outside of the Lux, we ventured to see some of the other Salsa/Caribbean set-ups occurring in the city center. By the grote markt/Big Market, we found the great divide aka the Dutch version of the Salsa/Caribbean festival. There were only Dutch people present (i.e. blonde, blue eyed, tall white people) including the performers. The performers were a band of drummers in bright rufflely costumes playing a variety of drums. Despite the occasional head bob, no dancing was occurring. The audience stood around listening, drinking Dutch beer, and eating Dutch food. It was a completely different festival from the first one we visited. Needless to say, after a chuckle about the great divide, Haley and I headed back to the gezellig festival where we watched incredibly sensual dancing and even partook in mediocre lukewarm boogieing ourselves. Sorry I don’t have any pictures of this festival! Pictures of the next festival will make up for it.
Our final festival, I will call a Fall Harvest Festival. My landlady told me in August about the small town of Tiel where she grew up and how each year they have a parade of floats made with fruits and vegetables. I was immediately interested and convinced a skeptical Gearoid that it would be fun. A newspaper article depicting pictures of a giant ostrich made entirely of fruit convinced him that this parade would be a lot more interesting than it sounded. I have to admit that while describing our trip to others, hearing myself say “floats made of fruits and vegetables” sounded pretty lame. However, it was amazing and I literally oohed and aahed over what I saw. The beginning of the parade started with children who decorated their bikes and wagons. I was amazed by the precision of which they placed lentils and cherries. I found this part of the parade so impressive that when the big floats came around I was floored. My favorite was a collection of gorillas and my exclamation of the baby gorilla on the mama’s back brought chuckles from those around me. I was then reminded that I was looking at a fruit/vegetable sculpture and not actual gorillas. Sorry that the pictures don’t do justice to the amazingness!
These are mosaics made with fruits and vegetables along the canals.
An ice cream cone made of fruits and vegetables!
Spaceship
A windmill that actually turned!
There were strangely enough a lot of Native American and Mexican themed floats.
My favorite- the gorillas
The baby was made of purple cauliflower, grapes, berries, and beans.
The tall ladies were pretty elegant and impressive as well.
I have no idea what these mushroom/tree things are. They are pretty cool though.
Atlas carrying the world
I didn't get a good picture but this White Queen was battling a Black Queen and the float had thematic music that added to the entire experience.
I was just impressed at how well behaved these geese were.
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The detail on the floats and mosaics was so impressive. The floats were made of wire or Styrofoam and then covered completely and precisely with legumes, fruits, and veggies. Some of the floats that had a feathery appearance used wheat to give it that look. I'm excited to go again next year!
