A Push for a Moment

Odd Things in Dutch Student Meaning Outing

Jos Runarka — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 07:48:09 +0000

On 21.01.2011 students and professors from whole Netherlands gathered in The Hague to protest the higher education budget cut plan from the new government.

This is the biggest demonstration held since 1968. We don’t expect any riots, since the student culture in The Netherlands are different than any other European culture.

At the end of the demonstration there is a small riot in the central of the city, but it was quick over. We do not want to show typical demonstration pictures, but odd and funny things we saw. Enjoy!

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Ritual of a City

Jos Runarka — Sun, 21 Nov 2010 08:33:43 +0000

Leiden Onzet 3 October

Every year Leiden celebrate their independence from Spain from a 80 year war (1568 until 1648) which is historical not completely true, according Judith Pollmann a historic expert on Leiden Onzet. It was more a civil war between followers of Willem van Oranje, who fled to Germany and start organizing a rebellion from there, and the dutch people who did not want to fight Spain due to their believe. The major of the city Leiden, Pieter Adriaensz van der Werft was taken from power for two years by Willem van Oranje, because van der Werft want to capitulate to Spain. The legend that he offer the people of Leiden his body as meal was started by his family. There were also no complete hunger in the first and second siege by Spain, which is told differently by the legend. Apart of those background, people in Leiden every year celebrate this moment and having fun for 3-4 days. At the beginning of the ceremony most people in Leiden eat a typical meal, the Hutspot a dish of boiled and mashed potatoes, carrots and onions. It start on the 2nd of October evening at 17:00. After having a meal a big parade held through the city, The Big Taptoe. Leiden and Germany celebrates 3 October for different reasons, one for being united after the World War II and the other after surviving against the siege of 80 years of war with Spain. This marks our two years stay in this small city after leaving Germany.

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Mirror of New York

Jos Runarka — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 04:06:36 +0000

Rotterdam the New York of The Netherlands?

New York was renamed from a Dutch city New Amsterdam on the island Manhattan. The Dutch and British made an agreement and sold the island Manhattan to the British in exchange with the Banda Islands in Indonesia. For the Dutch the archipelago that now forms the Republic of Indonesia was far more important than Manhattan and the old city New Amsterdam that became the fancy, glamorous New York we know now. For them, the Dutch, spice was more important and gave them a golden age in which famous Dutch Masters like, Rembrandt, Jan Vermeer, van Gogh took advantage of it. Rich merchants gave them order to create paintings that later would be famous worldwide. This is only possible with the colonizations of this archipelago. Lot of people from former Dutch colony such as Suriname, Antillean, Indonesian now migrate to this small country. So you find different kind of races in The Netherlands and especially Rotterdam: Hindustani, Antillean, Manado, Moluccas . Despite of the past, now people have to learn to live together. Have better understanding on other cultures and respect each other.

Rotterdam was and is still the harbor city of The Netherlands. In the past people migrating to the USA or New World, sailed from Rotterdam. It was a beautiful city until it was destroyed at the beginning of the World War II.

A pity! Now they are rebuilding their image, the same the city of Hamburg and Berlin did after coming from the ashes after the war. We would like to document this city and it’s people and to show you a city with it’s multicultural identity. A Dutch city with the first major from a foreign background. A city that could be a metropolis in the next future. All picture taken by me and my wife Ambarum Sari.

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The Dutch and Their Beloved Water

Jos Runarka — Sun, 13 Jun 2010 10:49:00 +0000

Water marks the character of The Netherlands and their people. From their beginning the dutch are faced by water and must lived with it and make it an advantages to them. Their activities on water is what interested us. So much kind of them. On every kind of weather they go on water, even in the freezing winter. Seems they are weather proof. This makes them pioneer in every sector that has to do with water. The dutch love to go out in groups using a sloep (sloop), a small fishing boat used in the old days and now for leisure. Those boats are made of polyester and mostly build outside of the Netherlands.

Images are taken by me and my wife Ambarum Sari during our stay in The Netherlands.

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The Dutch Way of Moving

Jos Runarka — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 04:08:03 +0000

People in the Netherlands use bicycle a lot. They use uncommon forms of bicycle for transporting them self or goods. Most popular of them are called the “oma fiets” or grandmothers bicycle with large diameter wheels and back pedal brake. With this feature they can cycle in a very comfortable way. Transporting goods can be quite unconventional for the unfamiliar person. Seeing a cyclist using a helmet in the Netherlands is a rarity and there are no laws enforcing the use of one either. The Netherlands is relatively flat, so an average cyclist will face no difficulties cycling in this country but there are other elements to be endured such as the formidable Dutch weather. This land is famous for its cycle tracks and it is possible to get to any place in the Netherlands entirely via cycle tracks, but cycle track is not always available in every city. So drivers have to concur with cyclist. Dutch cyclists however can be more aggressive than car or bus drivers, especially bus drivers has to fight with those cyclist and some are real street acrobats as you can see from some of the pictures below! There are special bike parks at the central station and these can take a lot of bicycles.

Two images credits to my wife Ambarum Sari.

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Common Passion

Jos Runarka — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 10:55:26 +0000

At the Houten Antique and Old Camera Exhibition 2010

yesterday Sunday 28th March 2010 we went to Houten at Utrecht for the Antique Camera Exhibition 2010. It was a cloudy day with sometime rain falling on to our faces. A typical dutch weekend!

We visited once such an exhibition in Hamburg on 2007 so we are excited what kind of this will be. Our expectation match with what we are expected. A hall with several tables and old guys presenting their collection of all those year. Most of them collected the gear about 35 years! May be their partners insist them to get rid off their beloved gears. The exhibitors came from overall of Europe. There are some interesting objects and most are old plastic or metal Japanese cameras from the old glory of silver halide. There are some Linhof’s and wooden box cameras. Linhof began by making camera shutters, and Linhof developed the leaf shutter, which became part of Compur Shutter. There some Leica’s, but the condition are questionable. Asking for a price more higher then a well renowned dealer and in a questionable condition, but sometimes you will find a good bargain. So we pass everything and just documented the situation there. The last two images credit’s to my wife Ambarum Sari.

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The Saturday Ritual

Jos Runarka — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 11:02:25 +0000

Every Saturday most people in Europe have nearly the same ritual, wake up a bit late, take a breakfast and doing shopping. Leiden offers every Saturday one of the most visited market in the Netherlands. Surrounded by a beautiful old city the market get it own value in the eyes of visitors, which is not only buyers but also tourist as well. This market is well zoned according to what they sell. There are vegetables zone, fish zone, bread etc….With the day the market gets more crowded. I tried my best to make a documentation about it, but hey not every photograph should be styled in a clean manner according art. I saw some photographs of a well know Magnum photographer which in our eyes is “ordinary” not that stylish as those old photographs of this photographer. It is more a personal documentation.

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Another Lunar Cycle

Jos Runarka — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 08:54:15 +0000

A new hope, a new beginning and a new spirit. Today 14th February 2010 all Chinese over the world celebrating their New Year 2010 (more info here). The celebration starts yesterday 13th February 2010. So their people at The Hague…

This year the celebration was even bigger than last year celebration. This might because of the new opening of the two gates recently. There are three kind of street performance. The Lion Dance, the Dragon Dance, and another performance held by two persons walking on long wooden stick, wearing traditional chinese mask and clothes. To my observation the enthusiasm of people are bigger this year.

These are images taken during the celebration on the streets at the Chinese District (see our article Entering the Year of the Tiger).

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Whispering Bee’s

Jos Runarka — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:39:21 +0000

Last year we were at a honey bazaar and we met this old man explaining us about the dying bees. This will be a disaster for all living forms on earth.

No flowers, no fruits etc…..Why are they vanishing? Due to pesticide, may be also due to a lot of human influence/interference on nature?

For more information you may start from this link.

Credits the two first images to my wife Ambarum Sari.

Leiden 2009

Photographer: Ambarum Sari

Leiden 2009

Photographer: Ambarum Sari

Leiden 2009

Photographer: Jos Runarka

Where is my Spring?

Jos Runarka — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 09:27:08 +0000

I am getting tired of this winter and cold. More than 15 years I have been in Europe. That was not the idea at the beginning, but as life has it own mistery so will it be. The cold and snow is coming back again in western part of Europe. In Germany the temperature drops until minus 20 degree Celsius at the eastern part of the country and heavy snow is falling all acros the country! Part of The Netherlands face this winter too. Last Friday night, snow was falling down to the city and on Saturday morning delivers a white Leiden to our eyes, but…also a very slippery street!