(no subject)
This weekend some friends and I went camping on a Dutch island on the North Sea (Terschelling) to attend a theater/performance art/installation art/music festival called Oerol (sounds a bit like "Earl"). The island made me want to have been born there--the black and white sheep, the hungry goats, the tall black horses, the mossy cedar forest, the abundant honeysuckle and cranberries, the windy dunes, the sea, the birds, the little houses each with their own name, the bikes everywhere and the very few cars, and the tall rugged men in Wellingtons smelling faintly of fish. And once a year the island fills up with artists.
First we drove three hours North in our rental car, to the Dutch coastal town of Harlingen. We parked in an abandoned lot (fingers crossed that the car would still be there when we got back) and marched off to the ferry terminal, stopping at an Albert to buy stroopwafeln and other less important supplies.
Harlingen looks a bit like if you took a corner of Amsterdam, squished it vertically, repaved the roads, and replaced the coffeeshops with art galleries. We watched a tractor parade chug down the harbor road.
Then we boarded the ferry and an hour later arrived at the harbor in West Terschelling. We wandered through town, failed to find rental bikes, walked a bit until we found a bus stop.
A bit of a submarine.
The harbor through grass-covered dunes.
We set up our tents at the camping grounds, at the center of the long narrow island. The thing about the festival that was both fantastic and slightly frustrating in our bike-less state is that it is all over the island, which is about 20 km long and 3-5 km wide. There were theater venues and art installations and "bonnefooilocaties" (surprise places) everywhere. The other thing about the festival is that almost everything is in Dutch, except where the artists are not themselves Dutch. But the programs, the maps, the text accompanying installations, and most of the productions are in Dutch. We didn't know this beforehand.
But we still had a marvelous time. This is a shot of the main festival location, which was the central place for street theater and small non-play acts and where all the tickets for the plays were sold. There were also many places to buy alcohol, and a few places to buy food. And giant square sky-blue beanbags that were fiercely competed over.
One very entertaining act--a marching band/theater company that performed some kind of comic family drama (narrated in Dutch and music). Other highlights seen here included a British comedic singer-songwriter, a Spanish all-female dance/theater troop (that was amazing!), a Dutch two-actor play performed on tightrope, and a silent but very emphatic marching band.
A small castle made of cases of the sponsoring beer, Brand.
The best kind of parking lot.
And then we wandered around the island, visiting the various art and surprise locations. This one was not so exciting (a bunch of pine cones strung up like beads), so I decided to make it slightly more exciting. (and I have to admit that I debated with myself about sharing this picture, because, despite how much I'd like not to, I still have a few body image issues). Most of the other installations were not really photographable, but there were some very interesting ideas. And the forest was beautiful with a thick moss carpet underfoot.
And then we walked out of the forest and into dune country. The dunes are gorgeous--springy with lichen, moss, and a heather-like plant, riddled with rabbit holes and bird nests.
Sara and I walked the three hours back to the harbor rather than backtrack and take the island's one bus, to meet two of the "men of her life" coming in on the ferry (one who she went to Paris with the weekend before, the other who has a girlfriend but who has been flirting with her for months--yeah, that was uncomfortable since she hadn't told either of them about the other and each one wanted all of her attention). The walk itself was great, though.
We spent an hour or so trying to find food before settling for beer at a very crowded pirate/shipwreck museum/pub. Working my way to the bathrooms, I had to kiss a few men (on the cheek) before they would let me squeeze past. We stumbled exhausted back to the tents. And the next morning we woke up, made coffee on a little butane burner, and went back to the festival for some hours.
The last thing we did was walk clear north to the sea. It was gorgeous--a long white sand beach down to a line of foam and the shallow water (and many jellyfish).
First we drove three hours North in our rental car, to the Dutch coastal town of Harlingen. We parked in an abandoned lot (fingers crossed that the car would still be there when we got back) and marched off to the ferry terminal, stopping at an Albert to buy stroopwafeln and other less important supplies.
Harlingen looks a bit like if you took a corner of Amsterdam, squished it vertically, repaved the roads, and replaced the coffeeshops with art galleries. We watched a tractor parade chug down the harbor road.
Then we boarded the ferry and an hour later arrived at the harbor in West Terschelling. We wandered through town, failed to find rental bikes, walked a bit until we found a bus stop.
A bit of a submarine.
The harbor through grass-covered dunes.
We set up our tents at the camping grounds, at the center of the long narrow island. The thing about the festival that was both fantastic and slightly frustrating in our bike-less state is that it is all over the island, which is about 20 km long and 3-5 km wide. There were theater venues and art installations and "bonnefooilocaties" (surprise places) everywhere. The other thing about the festival is that almost everything is in Dutch, except where the artists are not themselves Dutch. But the programs, the maps, the text accompanying installations, and most of the productions are in Dutch. We didn't know this beforehand.
But we still had a marvelous time. This is a shot of the main festival location, which was the central place for street theater and small non-play acts and where all the tickets for the plays were sold. There were also many places to buy alcohol, and a few places to buy food. And giant square sky-blue beanbags that were fiercely competed over.
One very entertaining act--a marching band/theater company that performed some kind of comic family drama (narrated in Dutch and music). Other highlights seen here included a British comedic singer-songwriter, a Spanish all-female dance/theater troop (that was amazing!), a Dutch two-actor play performed on tightrope, and a silent but very emphatic marching band.
A small castle made of cases of the sponsoring beer, Brand.
The best kind of parking lot.
And then we wandered around the island, visiting the various art and surprise locations. This one was not so exciting (a bunch of pine cones strung up like beads), so I decided to make it slightly more exciting. (and I have to admit that I debated with myself about sharing this picture, because, despite how much I'd like not to, I still have a few body image issues). Most of the other installations were not really photographable, but there were some very interesting ideas. And the forest was beautiful with a thick moss carpet underfoot.
And then we walked out of the forest and into dune country. The dunes are gorgeous--springy with lichen, moss, and a heather-like plant, riddled with rabbit holes and bird nests.
Sara and I walked the three hours back to the harbor rather than backtrack and take the island's one bus, to meet two of the "men of her life" coming in on the ferry (one who she went to Paris with the weekend before, the other who has a girlfriend but who has been flirting with her for months--yeah, that was uncomfortable since she hadn't told either of them about the other and each one wanted all of her attention). The walk itself was great, though.
We spent an hour or so trying to find food before settling for beer at a very crowded pirate/shipwreck museum/pub. Working my way to the bathrooms, I had to kiss a few men (on the cheek) before they would let me squeeze past. We stumbled exhausted back to the tents. And the next morning we woke up, made coffee on a little butane burner, and went back to the festival for some hours.
The last thing we did was walk clear north to the sea. It was gorgeous--a long white sand beach down to a line of foam and the shallow water (and many jellyfish).