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Post by pieter on May 1, 2022 7:05:51 GMT -7
Folks,
I went to the Eastern region of Twente in the Low Saxon Overwijssel Province to visit my 96 year old aunt in Hengelo near the German border. It is about 87 kilometers (about 54 miles and 104.3566 yd) in the North East of Arnhem. After visiting my aunt with my sister, her 22 year old son and 4 year old daughter, I also met my cousin Kees and his partner Jan from Amsterdam. Kees is the son of my aunt. It was quite busy for the 96 years old lady. So we stayed for a short while. Jan told us that Bad Bentheim is near Hengelo (Overijssel) and thus we went there and had a wonderful afternoon.
Bad Bentheim is a town in the southwestern part of Lower Saxony, Germany, in the district of Grafschaft Bentheim on the borders of North Rhine-Westphalia and the Netherlands roughly 15 km south of Nordhorn and 20 km northeast of Enschede en Hengelo. It is also a state-recognized thermal brine and sulphur spa town, hence the designation Bad (“Bath”). Also to be found in Bad Bentheim is the castle Burg Bentheim, the town's emblem.
Bad Bentheim's first documentary mention came about 1050 under the name Binithem. There are various etymologies put forth for the town's name. It could refer to the rushes (Binsen in German) that grew on boggy land in the area in earlier times. It is also supposed by some, as with the Dutch region of Twente, that the name could go back to the Tubanti. Bad Bentheim, a former count's residence, looks back on a history rich in tradition. For centuries, this market town was the hub of the like-named county (Grafschaft) of Bentheim. In 1945, the British occupational authorities stripped “brown Bentheim” of its district seat and transferred it to the working-class town of Nordhorn, which was more centrally located.
The town's emblem is the mighty castle of the Counts of Bentheim, the Burg Bentheim, which was first mentioned in a document from 1116. About 1711, curative sulphur springs were discovered, from which grew the spa with its thermal brine and clinic.
In 1895, Queen Emma of the Netherlands and her 15-year-old daughter Wilhelmina spent several weeks at Bentheim's baths. Before this, both Otto von Bismarck and Kaiser Wilhelm I had stayed there. In Otto von Bismarck's honour, a sandstone statue in his likeness was raised on the square that also bears his name, Bismarckplatz, in Bentheim's inner town. It still stands today, right beneath the castle.
Since 1865, Bentheim has held town rights. In the course of municipal reform in Lower Saxony, the town of Bentheim, the Samtgemeinde (a municipality made up of several centres) of Gildehaus (whose member communities were Gildehaus, Achterberg, Hagelshoek, Holt und Haar, Waldseite and Westenberg) and the communities of Bardel and Sieringhoek merged on 1 March 1974 to form the unified Town of Bentheim. Since 1979, it has been called Bad Bentheim. The constituent community of Gildehaus has been a state-recognized health resort (Erholungsort) since 1982.
After the Second World War, the whole area, along with many other border areas in Germany, would have been annexed by the Netherlands under the Bakker-Schut plan in 1945, but this plan was scuttled by US objections.
Bentheim's sandstone, known as Bentheimer Gold, which is or was quarried in the main town and Gildehaus, was shipped beyond the old county's borders between the 15th and 18th centuries into the Münsterland, to East Frisia, into the Netherlands and to Belgium and Denmark. A few examples of important buildings made of this sandstone are the Royal Palace in Amsterdam, the theatre and the Church of Our Lady in Antwerp, the Catholic Church in Århus, the Martini Church's tower in Groningen (completed in 1482) and the City Hall in Münster.
Supposedly, the pedestal on which stands New York’s Statue of Liberty is even made out of Bentheim sandstone, but other German towns, among them Obernkirchen, claim that they furnished the stone for that undertaking.
Cheers, Pieter
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Post by pieter on May 1, 2022 7:06:54 GMT -7
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Post by pieter on May 1, 2022 7:34:52 GMT -7
Folks,
Being in Germany I always have to have a Bratwurst (a type of German sausage made from pork or, less commonly, beef or veal), German cheesecake and of course a German Monks beer. When we were in Bad Bentheim yesterday there was just a Mideaval festival going on an we bought tickets for the castle and climbed the tower and the walls and entered the various buildings of the castle saw the interiors (interior design), the exterior architecture, the various rooms, it's furniture and wall and ceiling decorations (ornaments) and sculptures, painings and ancient wall papers and murals. After visiting Bad Bentheim yesterday I now decided to go more to Germany, because I like Germany. My cousin Jack was for the first time in Germany and he liked the German highway, farm lands, architecture, street lights, signs, the way the Germans organise their landscapes and etc. For some reason when you enter Germany from the more crowded densly populated Dutch highways you get into a relax mode. The only thing was that I was not sure how fast to drive in Germany. In the Netherlands you see speed limits everywhere. 100 km per hour by day and 120 km per hour between 19:00 AM and 06:00 PM and 50 km per hour within cities, towns or villages. On German highways and roads I saw less speed signs, I saw some 70 km and 80 km speed limit signs on some roads. The signs are blue in the Netherlands and white in Germany. Most people in the castle (visiting) tourists were Dutch tourists. What I recognized was that German folks speak louder, but that they are very relaxed, hospitable and nice people.
Germany is very relaxed driving. I love the German highway. I my border region the hilly landscapes, the forests and the highways, roads, towns, villages and hamlets have German influences and the Low Saxon dialects near Arnhem have heavy German influences. I Huissen dialect near Arnhem people say; "Ik geht even een brotchen hoalen bie de bakker" (I am going to fetch a sandwich -little bread- in the bakery -baker shop-), and I Dutch we say "Ik ga even een broodje halen bij de bakker". The border region is a mix of German and Dutch elements. On the border side all over the long German-Dutch border you will hear Dutch on the German side or Low Saxon dialects with heavy Dutch influences. Even some towns, cities and villages have Dutch sounding names.
Crossing the border into Germany in my Ford is some sort of Mindfullness, as soon as I am on the German highway I relax and I am liberated from the densly populated Netherlands. I like driving in the Netherlands, but prefer driving in Germany and Belgium. More space and less control and over organisation of every inch of land. Maybe I am aware of that because I have had a very Dutch centric past decade. Spend most of my life in that small European nation. Germany is close by, but for some reason I did and do not easily cross the border. Maybe to focussed on the Western Holland part of the Netherlands and Zeeland in the South-East from my Middle Eastern-Dutch position in the Netherlands. Most of you folks like somewhere in the USA, Mexico or Poland.
It is a European habit to compare countries and cities with each other. I live so close to the border that I should visit Germany more often. I found out yesterday that I, my sister and her 22 year old son love Germany. So we will certainly repeat it. And my Amsterdam Art Academy and Art/History teacher student time friends Ernst and Marinus want to go with me to Berlin. As an old band of brothers. I certainly want to explore Germany more. I have seen little of Germany, because I was so focussed on the Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg), the non-German lands in Central-Europe (Polamd, Hungary and Czech Republic). Germany was to much a passing through area, driving to Belgium, driving to France, driving to Italy, driving to Southern-Bohemia, driving to Austria and etc.
There is nothing wrong with Germany, Pieter, come on, you should go much more to Germany, I say to myself. It is interesting in the sense of Art, Art history, general history, shared Dutch-German history, literature, poetry, architecture, the Northern-Renaissance and because I like the German expressionists, Max Ernst Surrealism, the German Romantic painters (Caspar David Friedrich), the German Jugenstil, Bauhaus architecture, Dada, the German (Berlin) Roaring Twenties, the Neo-Expressionists and Neue Wilden (the New Wilds; Anselm Kiefer, Jörg Immendorff, Georg Baselitz, Markus Lüpertz, Walter Dahn, Martin Kippenberger, Albert Oehlen) and Gerhard Richter and German cinema (Sönke Wortmann, Matti Geschonneck, Didi Danquart, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Wim Wenders, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Werner Herzog, Margarethe von Trotta, Rosa von Praunheim and Volker Schlöndorff. I expressed my fascination with German cinema, Germany as a country and Germany as a free space before. that German space we Dutch lack.
Cheers, Pieter
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Post by pieter on May 1, 2022 7:38:03 GMT -7
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Post by pieter on May 1, 2022 13:20:40 GMT -7
Another place nearby in Germany is Kleve. I have to visit that town have never been there.
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Post by pieter on May 1, 2022 13:34:00 GMT -7
I have been to Kassel and love that city. Went 3 times to a Documenta exhibition there. In 1992, 2002 and 2007.
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Post by karl on May 1, 2022 15:31:29 GMT -7
Pieter
It makes me happy you were to enjoy your self whilst in Germany. Some of those areas you were to visit, my self have not been such as Bad Bentheim as least that I remember, it was good you were to visit also the Castle and the Medieval Festival also, those are fun to attend and get fat eating all the rich foods and drinking beer, my self am partial to the Dark Beer for it is usually heavy and a bit sweet.
You have mentioned the roadways and driving, yes, the speed signs are white, and usually near the very large cities are the overhead speed and traffic message signs, for the speeds can change due to congestion or accidents in front to be cautious for. Thinking back, I am ashamed the stupid speeds as a young man we would ride our motorcycles on the Autobahn, young people do not understand they can die and I was not different.
Kassel is a very beautiful city in deed as you were there, with this, several art Gallerys. Not sure at this time, but some years past, artist would in summer use some of the parks to paint at and stand them up to dry, since they had not been sold, a price had not been set, so often once to know one another, a person could purchase a very nice painting at a very nice price, just not sure if they still do that.
Whilst watching the Kleve Perle am Niederrhein video simply broke my heart, for it resembled Denmark so remarkably well. Please do not think me wrong, for I did so enjoy watching it.
Karl
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Post by pieter on May 2, 2022 2:03:26 GMT -7
Karl,
I was so extremely addicted to the Heimat series of films written and directed by Edgar Reitz, Heimat 1, Heimat 2 (Die Zweite Heimat), and Heimat 3 (Dritte Heimat and Heimat 4 Die Frauen that I learned a lot about the German history of the 20th century and also of episodes of that history. Die Zweite Heimat I saw 2 times, Heimat 1 and Heimat 3 one time. Next to that Zeugen des Jahrhunderts of the ZDF was fascinating, and special German magazine editions of German history. In the past I regularly bought a Frankfurther Allgemeine Zeitung, Die Welt and Die Zeit newspapers, bought Der Spiegel and watched German ZDF, ARD, WDR, German RTL (Commercial tv station), the German section of the ARTE cultural tv chanals and today regularly Deutsche Welle(DW) on youtube. With half German friends and German acqaintances and German tourists in Zeeland, Amsterdam and Arnhem (Arnheim), Germans are never far away. Ofcourse also in the professional field you have Germans who work in the Netherlands as artists, lawjers ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britta_Böhler ), musicians, students, scientists, professors, sport people, German children of expat parents on international schools, German foreign correspondents who bring news from the Netherlands to Germany. Today the Dutch Royal House (Monarchy) is more popular in parts of West Germany than in the Netherlands. Not surprisingy because the Dutch monarchy has heavy German roots.Most blood of the Oranges (Oranjes) is German with some Dutch and German elemrnts and today with Queen Maxima Argentinian and Basque influences. A lot of Dutch people live on the German side of the Dutch German border in houses in Germany that they bought (much more affordable house prices thsn in the Netherlands), and most tourists saturday in the Castle of Bad Bentheim (Burg Bentheim) were Dutch tourists. Of course there are a lot of Dutch German marriages, friendships, fraternities, cooperations and contacts, correspondences, communications, ancient trade ties, cultural connections and political connections. The Germans and the Dutch are close today. Dutch people like Germans today, so much that when Orange lost in international soccer competitions some Dutch supported Die Mannschaft (The German team), while others were in favor of the Belgian, Portugese, Spanish or the Italian team. Never the French or the British. But the Mannschaft yes. A lot of Dutch professiinal soccer players play in German teams. Of course the Dutch also love the Mercedez Benz, Volkswagen, Porche, Audi and other car museums in Germany. And they love to drive in their Mercedez, BMW, Audi, Volkswagen, Porche, Opel, European Ford which is produced in Germany. And Dutch peolle shop in thr German supermarkets Aldi and Lidl and love to go to the German baker in their town if there id one.
Karl I still have to learn a lot about the German highway, how fast are you allowed to drive in general on the German highway. I think I drive slow for a German because I am used to the 100 km per hour you are allowed to drive on Dutch highways. 30 km per hour in neighbouthoods and 50 km per hour in general within cities, towns and villages.
Cheers, Pieter
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Post by karl on May 2, 2022 9:48:42 GMT -7
Pieter Yes, I do believe you are due for some holiday time, and as your interest goes, Germany should fill your wishes. Your impressions of Switzerland and Austria certainly mirror my own experience, although in after thought of Bavaria close to Austria was a similar experience of my own. But to each, may go differences in personal experiences. For some years past as once mentioned of my motorcycle travel in Austria was not until a good days ride to find people that accepted my presence. These people were village folks and a bit reserved until to break the ice with friendly talk whilst smiling. They were not dressed in any thing mountain, but just regular street clothing and very clean and nice homes. I did so like them and I think they felt the same with my self. If it has been many years since last your visit in parts of Germany, it may not the exactly the same, for as many years pass, so goes changes. But then, who knows, it may not have changed that much for you. In city driving, most speed limits are probably not that different from The Netherlands as being for the most part, 50 kilometers per hour, regular roadways are mostly 100 Kilometers per hour. The Autobahn is a suggested 130 Kilometers per hour, although in open areas, it is what ever you wish to go. Although if to be in an accident, speeds over that may go against a person. Just be careful when to switch to the left fast lane, no matter how fast a person is going,, there seems to be some one else driving faster. www.tripsavvy.com/driving-tips-for-germany-autobahn-1520147#:~:text=Rules%20of%20the%20Road%201%20Distracted%20driving%3A%20Talking,reduced%20to%2030%20kph%20...%20More%20items...%20 There are some detractors of unlimited speeds on the Autobahn, but I would tend to believe they are promotors of self driving electric cars. Speaking of electric cars such as the Tesla, although I have no experience with them, but understand those things are real speed demons when let out as traffic allows. Karl
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Post by pieter on May 7, 2022 3:02:15 GMT -7
Karl,
This movie made a deep impression on me seeing it at the big screen of the Arnhem Focus Filmtheater Art House cinema. It's atmosphere stayed for days with me and I was in quite a sombre mood. Such a beautiful and in the same time incedibly sad movie that left me with moral and ethnical questions. I discussed the movie with a liberal councillor and socialist councillor whom both had the same movie. And we started a ethnical philosophical and political discussion due to that movie. About choices in difficult times, questions like 'What would you do?", about Fascism, Nazism and Stalinism and Maoism in our time. It was before the Ukraine war, but tensions in the world and mora dilemma's were part of the discussion. Syria, Palestine, Israel, Austria, Germany, our own occupied Netherlamds (1940-1945), the large collaboration with the Nazi's of various sections of the Dutch society, the Dutch police, former army soldiers and officers that joined the Waffen-SS, our Nazi movement NSB, the NSB paramilitary militia WA (Weerafdeling) and Landwacht in their Black Nazi collaborationalist uniforms, Dutch Gestapo and SD officers (next to the German and Austrian Gestapo and SD officers), the Dutch railways that transported Dutch Jews to the Nazi concentrationcamps in the East, and Dutch entrepreneurs and factories that profitted from the German war Industrie (the Nazi Military Industrial Complex) and thus the Western allies didn't only bomb German industries but also Dutch Industrial zones.
Of course I had also pleasant memories of my winter Holiday in Saalbach Hinterglemm in 1989 with my Vlissingen highschool class of 1989. Saalbach-Hinterglemm is a municipality in the district of Zell am See (Pinzgau region), in the Austrian state of Salzburg. It is well known for its skiing and other winter sports. A four piste network consisting of Saalbach, Hinterglemm, Fieberbrunn and Leogang is located in the municipality, adding up to 270 kilometers of ski slopes. It is short transfer to resort from Salzburg Airport. Saalbach-Hinterglemm is a municipality in the district of Zell am See (Pinzgau region), in the Austrian state of Salzburg. It is well known for its skiing and other winter sports. A four piste network consisting of Saalbach, Hinterglemm, Fieberbrunn and Leogang is located in the municipality, adding up to 270 kilometers of ski slopes.[3] It is short transfer to resort from Salzburg Airport. I really loved Saalbach-Hinterglemm, but as a silly teenager drank to much Stroh Rum (known for its very high alcohol content) in combination with Austriann Zipfer beer. I became incredibly drunk and ill and got house arrest by our teachers team. The next day an anti-dose of Austrian beer made me get up my feet again.
This Vlissingen kids were a bunch of fools and idiots together, and ofcourse we secretly climbed girls rooms and hid ourselves in the closets of the girls making them scream when they opened the doors. Seeing a bunch of crazy teenage boys from their class hidden in the closet. Thank god we were not the only fools and idiots that skiied while being typsy, there were some terribly drunken British and Swedish lads as well. The Brits were such crazy lads that I laughed with tears rolling down my cheecks. Guys with underpants and funny hats on their head, one drunken brit standing on top of the ski piste while another one watched him donw the hill the guy from the top hitting into the guy downstairs while they rolled down the mountain in one comick black, grey white bowl of snow and men. We really thought they would die or be badly hurt, but they were just full of bruzes, and to drunk to feel their pain. British lads can be really really drunk. But Swedes and Dutch people as well. Dutch people like to avoid drunk compatriots that spoil their holiday abroad. In some way these Germanic people (British, Swedes and Dutch) can be somewhat crazy abroad. Sometimes Dutch people can be ashamed of the behavior of compatriots abroad and are not that fond of loud British and Russian tourists abroad as well.
For some reason Dutch people think that German and Belgian tourists are quiet and decent. I don't know if that is correct? Of course you have thousands of decent Dutch tourists as well. It is just some low lifes from less affluent shabby peoples neighbourhoods or some ricj spoiled elitist snobbish brats that can spoil a holiday for compatriots. Often Dutch people leave a hotel and camping if they spot unpleasant compatriots and go eleswhere. You can compare these lesser elements with American Redneck, vulgar, White Trailer trash, some American researcher or professor called them 'racial trash'.
It is in Vienna that I personally didn't find the atmosphere pleasent in the summer of 1994. Maybe I was over sensitive because of my grandmothers past in Mauthausen camp during the war, but she had visited Austria under better circumstanses when she was younger in the period 1900-1918 when Southern Poland was still Austrian.
Maybe Western Germany and Northern Germany are closer to the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, France and Denmark, places I am familiar with. Bavaria and Austria are more Alpine, closer to Switzerland and have a different mentality and mindset. Today I have nothing against Austrians and Swiss people. These were just experiences of the past. After having been in Southern France and Italy when I entered Zürich (Switzerland) in the same summer before I went to Vienna (we went from Zürich to Vienna by night train) I felt that Swirzerland and Zürich were cold or cool compared to the warmth and energy of Southern France (Nice and Cannes) and Italy (where we went and stayed in Piza, Florence, Rome and Venice).
Cheers, Pieter
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