Three pilgrimages:

Without going all Eat, Pray, Love on this, I consider the first leg of my journey to be a pilgrimage to find my future. I believe researching, writing and lecturing about Vincent should be my vocation, not my hobby. I'm able to look in the mirror and see I haven't yet put in the heavy lifting to make this happen. That's what this trip is all about! I'm hopeful the blogging will free up my writing. Much of this is going to be raw, unfiltered vomit from my fingers to the screen. I hope I can adequately bludgeon my interior editor into submission. For me the hardest part of writing is this, letting it flow, what I call pooping the clay. After the clay is pooped I can spend hours molding it; crafting sentences this way and that. You, my friends, are going to get the raw poop.

At night, I've been trying to visualize my bike ride through Vincent's Holland. There are of course pictures on the internet to inspire these dreams. I feel the wind in my face, the sun on my neck, the tulips in my nose. I have lined up some lovely hosts along the way. The first night I'm likely staying at a hostel. Amsterdam is expensive! If my friend Connie (the wonderful woman who scored me a buddy pass from PDX to AMS and back for only $538!) joins me, we may stay with and old flame of hers, Rob. He's a naval officer, I believe. Met him once, some thirteen years ago...

After visiting (and protesting at?) the Van Gogh Museum, I'm taking a 30 minute walk into the heart of Amsterdam, Dam Square, to meet Frank, the second-hand bike refurbisher. I've been following his Craigslist posts for a couple of weeks now. He always has a couple of Dutch city bikes for sale. He even writes, " I do provide a 1 month guarantee on the bike in case anything breaks on it ill fix for free." A man who stands behind his workmanship. Gotta love it. Maybe this one will still be available? Only 40 euros and it even has gears! Most of these don't. Well, Holland is very flat, so I guess you rarely need to change gears... still, I think this one is perfect. It has a carrier on the back for my pack (this will be a one-pack adventure). All it's missing is a chain and lock. Sure Frank can hook me up.

I'm not planning on staying in Amsterdam for long. The next day I have a 91 km bike ride to make. I did start training, yesterday, in fact. I put in an hour on the stationary cycle. Broke a good sweat and allayed some fears I'm way too out of shape for this. I plan about five hours to make it from Amsterdam to Arnhem. It was the closest spot I could find to Otterlo and the Kroller-Mueller Museum. I'll take my time on Saturday making it to Saskia's house in Arnhem. It's all I really have planned for this Saturday, but who knows what I may find along my way? 

On Sunday, I'm riding to the museum to finally see Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night. I think these are my best arguments why it should be considered a Symbolist Last Supper. From there, I'll ride back to Arnhem, though this time, further south, as I found a cheaper room that gets my farther along my route, and stay with Susanne. Other hosts through Holland include Novita in Eindhoven, Nathalie in Tilburg, Ger in Breda and leaving Holland, I'll stay with Jackie J in Antwerp and visit my first of three churches named after St. James.

This pilgrimage does not end for a month later when I deliver my presentation in Brighton. It will take me through Brussels, Mons, Paris, Auvers, Avignon, St. Remy, Arles, Saintes Maries, Marseilles, Nice, Genoa, Milan, Bologna, Ravenna, Firenze, Riomaggiore, Rome and London. 

I will briefly describe the second and third pilgrimages tomorrow and Monday.

Bookings so far:

Airfare to AMS and back, four other hopper-flights (Edinburgh to Copenhagen, Copenhagen to Cologne, Lisbon to Porto and Santiago to AMS) have all been booked and paid for. I have three flights yet to book: Rome to London, Budapest to Athens and Athens to Barcelona. These are more expensive and I'm watching the fares, trying to snatch up a good deal if it comes along. I think these are the bones of my trip. The ligaments and muscles will be made up with trains, busses, ferries, rental cars, and old Dutch bike and my feet.

I have booked all (except the first night in Amsterdam) of my room accommodations for the month of June: a week in Holland, weekend in Belgium, week in Paris, week in Provence and a few days in Genoa and Milan. Then I'm lucky to have Saul put me up in Bologna. I also made one booking in July. The first weekend we will be in Firenze. A good friend I met at my first conference in Brighton back in 2013 just happens to be studying at the University of Bologna the same time I'll be there. She's planning on visiting the Uffizi and other spots with Saul and myself. The deal on the room was too good to pass up. It's a two bedroom flat that sleeps six for $100 a night. So we have room for friends! It's a tram ride from the center of Firenze which is good. Less hustle and bustle in the evenings. 

I cannot wait to cook in Italy. But I'm getting ahead of myself and need to go schlep some windows to pay for all of this.

Adieu for now,

Jared

 

At the age of 35, Dante suffered the mother of all midlife crises. He wasn't the first to wonder where the hell his path had led him. He won't be the last. There should be some kind of peace, some kind of balance in living at the fulcrum of your life; reflecting equally forward and back. Like Dante, for me, there is not.

When I add up all my successes and weigh them against all my failures, it's out of whack. I have loved, lived and given much, but not enough. Transitioning to my next phase, an empty-nester, I hear the call of wanderlust. I've heard her whisper before. Now she's wailing a sublime Siren's song and I am the wind.

I've worked hard, though not hard enough, and I've sacrificed a lot, though I should have done more to get where I am today. Lost. Staying with my sister and her family. No assets. Few possessions. It's an ascetic lifestyle I seem to return to whenever there's a landslide from one season to the next.

About a week ago I saw my path through the forest. I'm finally going to take the trip I should have done right out of high school.


100 Days in Europe

Although I clean windows by day, my passion, as anyone who knows me will say, is the art and life of Vincent van Gogh. For the last four years I have researched, written and lectured about the Dutch master. It's finally time to write that story.

Yesterday I booked my flight from Portland, Oregon to Amsterdam. I fly out June 2 and arrive the next morning at 8:30 am. I had requested a meeting with the honchos at the Van Gogh Museum. One of them replied, "we don't have time for this." We don't have time for this? That stung. Ensuring that bridge was a full-on grease fire, I promptly replied, "I'll be sure to send you a copy of the book. One chapter you may enjoy, 'The Bastards at the Van Gogh Museum.'"

Fuck 'em.

They're not going to stop me from visiting the museum (or maybe they will? what a story that would be!). I'm going directly from the airport to the museum. It turns out Craig's list is in Amsterdam. I found a guy named Frank who refurbishes and sells second hand bicycles. He's always got three or four on hand and they run about 50 euros. So I'm going to meet Frank, buy a bike and cycle through Holland for a week, visiting all the sites so important to Vincent's story and development. The first day is a 91 km trek to Otterlo. I'll finally see in person the painting that inspired the course of my life.

From there, it's on to Nuenen to visit the Van Gogh Village, then Eindhoven to ride the Starry Night bike path. I'll spend nights in Tilburg and Breda, before riding through Etten and Vincent's birth town, Zundert on my way to Antwerp, Belgium. A total of 350 km, I need to start cycling training yesterday.

In Antwerp I'll visit St. James'. There's a stained glass window of a Stella Maris that deeply inspired Vincent. Cycling done for a bit, I'm taking a train to Brussels where I'll meet a friend I made at an academic conference in Osaka, Japan. I am planning a day trip to Mons to see the Borinage; the mining district where Vincent practiced as a lay preacher before making the decision to become an artist.

No trip to Europe would be complete without visiting Paris. So I have seven days booked in a cozy flat. Much of this trip is booked through Airbnb. I've never traveled this way before... but staying with locals for good prices... what could be better? My good friend Rachel will be joining me and I'm sure we'll do many touristy things: Eiffel, Louvre, Versailles, Arc de Triumph, Orsay, Notre Dame, etc. etc.; and some non-touristy things too. We will visit Auvers-sur-Oise for a day. Vincent and his loving brother Theo are buried there, side-by-side.

As Rachel returns to the states, I'm taking the train to Avignon. From there it's time to get on my cycling shoes again, as I ride 20 km to the town of St. Remy. I will visit the asylum where Vincent lived for a year; where he painted Starry Night. I plan to research the library there. I believe there was a copy of Dante's Divine Comedy on hand when Vincent was a patient there. After that it's a few days in Arles. I would like to research the architectural history of what is today called Cafe Van Gogh. I am curious whether there was a window in the spot Vincent painted one, or if he added it for effect.

I will take a day trip Saintes Maries and gaze out at the same spot where Vincent painted Fishing Boats.

There is so much more to add but windows are calling to be cleaned. Briefly, the rest of the trip entails traveling along the French Riviera, staying in Marseilles and Nice; taking the train to Genoa and then to Milan to see Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper. From there, it's a week in Bologna with another friend I met in Osaka, Saul. We're looking forward to trips to Venice, Ravenna, Sienna, Asisi and of course, Florence, where I expect to be taken with Stendhal's, overwhelmed by the art and ubiquitous presence of Dante.

Saul has to leave July 5 for a conference in Poland. I'm spending two nights on the Cinque Terre, then four nights in Rome. From there, I fly to London and travel to Brighton where I'm delivering the Keynote Address, Vincent van Gogh's Symbolist Art. I'll spend time with family in Manchester and friends in Edinburgh. I've been able to trace my genealogy to my great-great-great-great-grandfather John Baxter. Born in Aberdeen in 1792, I understand their records are excellent and I hope to research as many great-greats as I can find.

I take a flight to Copenhagen and another to Cologne. I'm taking a cruise on the Rhine, past the castles and storybook villages on the way to Mainz and then Rottenburg to visit the Holy Blood Altarpiece. A couple days each in Munich, Salzburg, Vienna and Budapest; I'm flying to Athens to spend a week on the beach, exploring the ruins at my own pace. From there, I'm flying to Barcelona (Sagrada Familia!) and traveling the eastern coast of Spain through Valencia, Alicante and Malaga. Then I'm cutting over to Seville, Lisbon and flying to Porto, Portugal. From there I'm going to visit my third church named after St. James as I walk the camino de Santiago for ten days with the other pilgrims.

I'll be blogging, posting pics and videos all along my way. I hope you follow, and if you're available for any portion of the trip, join me.

Ciao for now,
Jared

Intro

"Midway upon the journey of our life
I found myself within a forest dark,
For the straightforward pathway had been lost."