White is for the French
'cause they always surrender
This week-end was really special. It was not Christmas or Halloween or some cool party that means "I am gonna eat everything in da house b*tchez!" In fact, on 8-9th of November, there was nothing going on. Except that I was going to Utrecht, in the Netherlands! And why was I going there? Because in France, the Thursday was a day-off. And as the Thursday was a day-off, my school gave us our Monday. Sweet, right?
But why was the Thursday a day-off? In France, on 11th of November, we celebrate what we call the Armistice: according to the Oxford dictionary, it means: "an agreement made by opposing sides in a war to stop fighting". Basically, on 11th of November, France celebrates the end of World War I, which -with the help of its allies of course- the country won.
Well now I can hear everybody saying "Duuuuh woman, but what's the link between thiiiiis and the Netherlands?" but WAIT FOR IT I am about to explain you - ! Hum, never mind. So, because 11th of November was a day-off and that my school had given us our Monday, I was able to do the incredible trip from Paris to Amsterdam, and then from Amsterdam to Utrecht, where that guy lives. From my 3 hour travel on the Thalys train up to the Dutch Capital, there is little to say. Except that, as usual, a very annoying family was in the car, making a lot of noise and that of course, they were French and that, of course, when they got out in Brussels, they left behind them a ton of garbage on the floor and on their seats. Yeah, let’s make sure that everyone in the car thinks French stereotypes are actually true.
✶ ❁ ❃ ✨ Nice transition ✨ ❃ ❁ ✶
Once in Amsterdam, things got harder. I had a train change to make and this implied I had to buy a ticket, but there were two things I was not awarded of:
#First thing I did not know before getting to Amsterdam Centraal
The signs were only in Dutch. Ok, I was not expecting to find signs in French or whatever, just like I was not expecting to find bilingual signs in Utrecht but this is Amsterdaaaaam guys! That is the capital city of the country and a gazillion of French people are going there on week-ends and holidays, so was it really that stupid to be expecting that, in a country so proud of raising up its children with excellent Shakespearian language skills, the signs would be at least written in Dutch AND English? Took me a hundred years to find my way in that maze! Ok, turned out that the right direction was Stationhal, which is quite close to the English Station hall, but still...
#Second thing I did not know before getting to Amsterdam Centraal
The free-standing card readers. But first, let me explain what is this [insert insult here].
The French explanation of the day
According to that guy, the free-standing card readers is a system specific to the Netherlands, which consists of a card reader where you have to check in/out every time you use a public transport service. You have them everywhere: station platforms and halls, metro gate barriers and on board trams and buses, and you have to place your card/ticket onto it, even to check out, or else you can have a fine.
Nota bene: In France, you only have to check in and when you have a ticket, you actually have to insert it in an automatic turnstile, reclaim it and then pass through, while in the Netherlands those card readers are not preventing you of going further away in the station.
This was the French explanation of the day
So, when finally I found my way through Amsterdam Centraal to the Stationhal to buy my ticket, I faced those card readers. Nothing was preventing me to just keep on going my way, but I stopped. Everyone around me was checking their card on those machines and, as "in Holland, do as the Dutch do", I also wanted to check something on it but what? I had no card and I doubted my credit card would work -even though I have to admit I did not try so only God knows. It actually took me like 5 minutes to dare to cross them without checking anything, and this made me feel like an uncivilized French criminal. Ahem. I bought my ticket for Utrecht Centraal and again, I had to face the card readers. However, remember: as I said just before, in France when you have a ticket, the machine eats your ticket before vomiting it again a few seconds later, with dirty ink on it. Nevertheless, there was no such thing on the card reader, ergo I guessed it was only there for card owners and went my way... Turned out that, as that guy explained to me the next day, I was supposed to check in with my ticket too but, you know, France is freaking retarded with transport technologies.
✶ ❁ ❃ ✨ Nice transition ✨ ❃ ❁ ✶
Made it finally to Utrecht, where I basically got the same ticket problem and where I got lost AGAIN, looking for the Stationhal in a station that was undergoing renovations, without any internet connection to contact that guy -btw thanks Whatsapp that relies on real telephone numbers to work, otherwise I would have died- but this is not really interesting. Now that I am finally in the Netherlands, let’s get to the entire point of that post.
The next day -Saturday-, after weeks of emphasizing strongly on how much I would like to go to beach, after a Friday night of emphasizing strongly on how much I would like to go to beach and after a Saturday breakfast of emphasizing strongly on how much I would like to go to beach, that guy finally took me to Hoek van Holland strand.
The Frenchie vocab lesson of the day in a "how I remember it" style
Hoek Corner
Van Of
Holland Holland
Strand Beach
This was the Frenchie vocab lesson of the day
in a "how I remember it" style
Okay so to go to there, really simple. Just go to Utrecht Centraal, buy a ticket -do not forget to CHECK IN- and get on a train to Rotterdam. Do not do like we did: we missed our train for Rotterdam because I was so slow at running, and then we waited where the missed train was. Turned out the next one was leaving from a different platform. Oups. Once in Rotterdam, find a train for Hoek van Holland. Nota Bene: if you find one to Hoek van Holland strand, it's even better: will save you like... a 100 meter-walk, yeaaaaah. Get on your train and wait until you reach the eindbestemming -the last stop. Get out on the platform, and do not forget to CHECK OUT! UNDERSTOOD? Good.
About Hoek van Holland strand now. The place was AWMAZIIIIIIIING I have to say; I was really excited about going to a sandy beach, even if it was early November -because at my parents' place, we only have ugly rocky beaches- and the icing on the cake, it was a sunny day. So, you get it, it was great fun. We had a walk around in the dunes, on the beach, I walked in the sand with my bare feet and even went into the water up to the belly. "Wut, are ya crazy woman?" Maybe. However... A) It was not as cold as I expected it to be and b) I actually planned only to try the feet but the waves were far bigger than I thought. So I got wet far more than planned. Stop laughing please. Ahem. So, as I was saying, we were having a great time until that moment while, going to a café next to the sea, talking about flag colors or something -cannot really remember-, that guys made a joke and said that white on a flag was for the French. I did not get that immediately, thinking "hum, white? We have white on the French flag because that color was the king's one, but we do not have a king anymore so, duuuuuuh?", and he told me "Yeah. A white flag. 'Cause the French always surrender."
This was a joke, coming from a really good friend that, I knew it, said that only to bug me. However, I found that cliché really interesting and how much ironic in that situation. I was there on holidays BECAUSE the Thursday was a day-off in France, because we were celebrating the end of a war that was one of the most important period of our recent history, and of the world’s one, a global war in which the Netherlands stayed neutral while the French were on the victorious part. Do not misunderstand me: I am absolutely not a pro-war person, but in that moment, I felt hurt. Hurt because WWI is still seen as a trauma for the French, hurt because my country had been invaded at that time and that thousands of soldiers, from everywhere on Earth, died in France because they would not surrender.
An armistice is not to surrender. To surrender kind of implies you are not brave enough to fight for yourself, when an armistice is when you just can go on anymore, but you have tried everything before giving up. And that is what World War I was about up to me. Maybe I am wrong, but this situation, this sentence that lasted only a few seconds, that that guy probably forgot about 10 seconds later, stroke me strongly. I just had to react to that.
I do not know if the French actually surrender and surrendered more than other people, but on the commemorational week-end of the end of the Great War, I felt like no one on earth had the right to say such thing, about any of the soldiers that fought in that war. And as that guy roommate said later one, while talking about an absolutely different thing that I am going to pull shamelessly out of its context: "Actually, the Dutch surrendered faster than the French in World War II." Well, now I know why both our flags have white on it!
Hoek van Holland strand ♥
