Amersfoort: Old and New

The Bookworms meeting this past Monday was in Amersfoort, and since I had never been to the city, I headed over early to wander around and see the sites. Before leaving, I glanced through a couple Web sites of "thing to do" in Amersfoort, including the Wikipedia entry for the city. I didn't see mention of many "must see sites", so I decided to play it by ear, making sure to get a glimpse of the old city wall and possibly the wall houses.

Arriving in the city, I was surprised by the modernity of the train station. As I walked further, however, I realized that the train station was only one example of the modern architecture surrounding the old medieval city. I liked the contrast of the old and new in the different parts of the city.

I walked through the center, which plays home to both modern shopping and charming old plazas/market squares. I grabbed some frites (my favorite so far) and a Fanta at Vlaamse Friteshuis “van Gogh” and sat in the park while I ate. I watched as people walked by and dogs met in spontaneous play groups. Then, I walked around the perimeter of the old city, observing the ancient walls, the amazing reflections in the water, a hot air balloon, modern art work and the cute wall houses (Muurhuizen). 


Here are just a few of the pictures I took on my walk:

Train Station

Part of Old Wall with Entrance to City

Hot Air Balloon over Amersfoort

Sunset Reflection

First Experience with a Book Club

I recently joined the Bookworms group of the IWCU, and by "recently", I mean I just attended my first book club meeting this week.

At first, I was a little skeptical about joining a book club. As a person with an MA in English, I've been discussing literature for years in an academic setting. I was afraid that this new setting would be too foreign and not academic enough for me. Would I make a fool out of myself by identifying some small element of symbolism that no one else saw? Would anyone care about the analysis I would offer? I felt maybe I was out of touch with the way that people read books for enjoyment, even though I often read for enjoyment, myself.

The book for this month's meeting was Julie Orringer's The Invisible Bridge. I'd been warned that the book was large, but was unprepared for what I saw on the shelf at Selexy a week before the meeting. The book was huge.

Book Size Comparison

Of course, the pages weren't as thin as the Bible or the Complete Works of Shakespeare, but seeing a book of a similar bulk, regardless is a little intimidating. I decided I could probably finish it in a week, though, so I purchased it and stuck it in my bag.

After finding out our zoo trip was delayed, I decided to start the book on Saturday morning. I didn't read for the whole day, but I did spend a lot of time lost in the book. Sunday, before and after the baseball game, I also read for much of the day. And Monday, as soon as I got back from the Coffee Morning event, I was back in the book, where I spent much of the rest of the day until I finished around 11pm. I found the book captivating and very in touch with humanity.

I don't want to give too much of the book away in case you decide to read it, so I'll leave you with the description from the back of the book:

"Paris, 1937, Andras Lévi, a young student of architecture, arrives in Budapest with a scholarship, a single suitcase and a mysterious letter he has promised to deliver to C. Morgenstern on the rue de Sévigné. As he becomes drawn into the extraordinary and secret life of the letter's recipient, his elder brother takes up medical studies in Modena, and their younger brother leaves school for the stage, Europe's unfolding tragedy sends each of their lives into terrifying uncertainty.

From the Hungarian village of Konyár to the grand opera houses of Budapest and Paris, from the lonely chill of Andras's attic to the enduring passion he discovers on the rue de Sévigné, from the despair of a Carpathian winter to the unimaginable life in forced-labour camps and beyond, The Invisible Bridge tells the story of a marriage tested by disaster, of a Jewish family's struggle against annihilation, and of three brothers bound by love and history."

I was struck by the similarities in the sentiments against the Jews in the novel (and history) and the sentiments expressed towards Muslims in the present day. During the meeting, we talked about these connections as well as some of the other cultural and social issues touched on in the novel. We also talked about how the choices of the author affected our interpretations of the characters and events within the novel.

Although I was nervous at first, I really enjoyed my first Bookworms meetings and look forward to attending another one soon.