There is a large park, some 3000 hectares (7500 Acres), that lies between Haarlem, Velsen, and Amsterdam. Beth and I use the park extensively for biking, hiking, running, and kayaking. I know the area well enough that if you were to drop me on any of the hundreds of kilometers of paths that crisscross the park, I’d be able to quickly get my bearings and tell you were I was at - even with the nondescript pancake-flat landscape.
Of course it helps that I’m a bit of a map junkie. Sometimes I’ll sit and study a map before I head out for a ride to look for new routes or other highlights that I might not have seen before. It was during one of these study sessions, more than a year ago, that I spotted a tiny village named Ruigoord. The map shows it as nothing more than two short streets with an old historic church at their intersection. Technically it wasn’t even in the park, but it was close enough that it still showed up on the map. Instead of green, the village was surrounded by the grey shaded blocks that indicate an industrial area. But those two orange roads with a little cross at their center always looked interesting to me, a little remnant of hope holding out against the insidious encroachment of development. Over the last year I have specifically set out on two occasions to find it - both times without success.
This past Friday I thought that I’d give it another try. And this time, I ignored the map. The landscape outside the park has changed dramatically since it was printed. Old roads and paths no longer exist. New, bigger roads have been laid. Gigantic warehouses with “Starbucks” printed on the side have blossomed like fungus from landscape. This time I found it.
Ruigoord still is. And though I no longer belong there, I am glad that such a place as this exists. To me, it represents what I thought was good in the world. Back when I was young.
www.ruigoord.nl
Port entry to Ruigoord
The old church of Ruigoord. Now a theater, a dance hall, a gathering place
Pilgrims of the Summer Solstice
Setting up for Solstice
Puppet and ball dancer - very cool!
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