A STEP BACK IN TIME

                                     A Different Way of Life

      It was a scenic ride to the town Broek op Langedijk, the Netherlands, established in 1063.  The area was swampy and after building a 4-mile dike people settled along it. Originally there were 37 islands and after digging and dikes, started in 1100, the number of islands climbed to 1500.   Originally the area covered 50 square kilometers. The canals are used for transportation by punt---flat bottom boats.  
     In the 17^th century pig farming gave way to vegetable farming. The soil is very rich and there is no need for fertilizer. The area is noted for its vegetable farming, primarily root vegetables plus cabbage. A huge amount of cabbage is grown here which used to be stored in cabbage attics. Most houses  had hoists on the side of the house to lift the cabbages up for storage.
      Because of water plants the canals need to be dredged every three years. If they are not, it’s not long before the plants close the canal and two islands will join each other to form a larger island. The canals are one-meter deep, and the lake is seven-meters deep in the center. All the islands are named.
      Auctions started in 1887 when the auctioneer stood on a wooden platform and vegetables were sold from small boats. In 1903 a clock was added and the auction building built.  The last auction  was in 1973; then all of the area plus buildings was turned into Broeker Veiling Museum.
     Built over the water, the impressive mooring halls, with 1,900 wooden posts to support the imposing wooden structure, is a national monument. The boat hall was covered in 1922. It was massive with wide sturdy walkways throughout. Moving from one part of the museum to another we stopped in the boat hall to see how the boats were constructed.
      Made of oak, they were  painted with tar containing crushed shells making the decks less slippery.
      Following a museum tour, we enjoyed a boat trip to the interesting Realm of the Thousand Islands where we were introduced to a fascinating area in the province of North Holland. Many of the islands are owned by the state for a nature reserve. Over 2500 people live in the Realm. While on the boat we noted the definite aroma of potato chips and learned the stack belching smoke was a Lay’s factory. They sure smelled good!
      We had an intimate lesson on Dutch trading in the 1912 historic auction room. It was fun to experience and witness the excitement of a traditional auction. The auction room was very light with large windows and a roof sky light. This was the oldest water vegetable auction in the world. I wonder where there might have been other ones.
      It was an interesting afternoon learning about another way of life.

THE ITALIAN ALPS

                                          THE ITALIAN ALPS

            The alpine village of Cogne, Italy is nestled in the Italian Alps at the edge of Gran Paridiso National Park. Cogne is a delightful little village of 1500 people. There are 32 small family-owned hotels with 28-38 rooms .The village first found prosperity seven centuries ago with magnetite (iron ore) mining, an industry that once supported more than 20,000 Valdostans in the valley below.

            After the closing of the mine, the village nearly became a ghost town until it started attracting visitors and capitalizing on skiing, hiking and other outdoor sports. The village has strict building codes. There is a moratorium on building anything more in the park. Eighty percent of the village and its buildings are owned by local residents. The local dialect is called patois, which is a derivative of French.

            The name Cogne comes from the word "coin" (corner) because of its shape. One of the largest municipalities in the Valle, it is located in the southern part of the region. The town, surrounded by pine, larch and fir forests, is framed by mountains in the background. Rocks and glaciers are colored by rhododendron, juniper, blueberries and alders. The diverse fauna is protected by the Park.

            There are over 80 kilometers of cross country ski trails and 9 kilometers of Alpine ski tracks. Rock climbing is a popular sport and fully equipped area shelters are available. In winter, Cogne is the best spot in the Valle  for cross-country skiing, and was in the running to host the event for the Turin 2006 Winter Olympics. In summer, it is a gateway to the Gran Paradiso for thousands of hikers and climbers.  

            They still make exquisite hand made lace in the village.  Rather unusual wood carvings are available also. The entire village is cobbled with 3-4” square grey granite cobble stones that are easy to walk on. The village is up a few feet from the level of the river, so it was always a walk down to the big parking lot that served as a bus stop. Early each day we took a local bus to our hike starting location---and often walked back to town for lunch.

            Lillaz (5304’) was a hamlet where we started walking through a nice park stopping periodically for a geology lesson.   We followed the Urtier River through wooded areas that eventually led to waterfalls. There were several running and large rocks provided steps on a path up to the highest 492-feet fall.  After much picture taking we hiked down on the other side of the falls to walk through  pine forest before picking up a 6-K trail along the river back to Cogne. The sound of the water was a nice diversion while walking on a lovely sunny clear day.

            The hamlet of Gimillan (5900’), one of the Valley’s most renowned resorts, is built on a terrace. It is a  frazione, a type of territorial subdivision, in the Province of Aosta, Usually sunny, it provides a wonderful view of the Gran Paradiso chain and of Cogne center. Any season is good in the Italian Alps, and this smallest region of Italy is known for its friendly hospitality and delicious cuisine. 

            The hamlet of Valnontey lies totally within the boundaries of the park. We hiked along the river of the same name, then spent a couple hours playing mountain goat over a narrow  undulating trail full of tree roots and rocks through coniferous and larch tree forests. It was a good cardiac workout as I huffed and puffed my way along.  Believe me our walking sticks became our best friend! We stopped in a couple of lovely meadows where we saw chamois and during the morning we saw a good dozen of them grazing. Of the elk family they are about the size of a goat. We also saw and watched a family of marmots. They burrow like prairie dogs and are fun to watch.

            All through the mountains on our Alps hiking trip we noticed an unusual structure over various parts of some roads. Some were long enough to simulate a tunnel, but they were open on the down side and supported by a post every few feet. The mountain side of the structure seemed to meld into the roadside, and the roof slanted ever so slightly toward the opposite side . After inquiry, I learned they let an avalanche continue past the road with all the snow dropping over the edge. It kept the roads clear in avalanche prone areas. Clever and simple solution!

    It was a wonderful, fun time in this spectacular corner of Italy!