Sepia Saturday 723 - The Cyclists

I am certain I am the first Sepian cheating. Cheating? Maybe I should explain. My intention to post a contribution once a month or so combined with Alan's invention of a monthly theme, enables me to write a single post merging the four weekly subjects. And that is what I will be doing this week, for the first time. So this month the prompts are about coaches, cyclists, and cars (and cocktails but they need to be better represented in my shoebox archive).

So let me start with the coaches. After my mum passed away we found some pre-war albums with pictures of her high school trips mainly to Germany. My mother was born in Rijswijk, a small town near The Hague, in 1917. The trips took place during the years after the infamous stock market crash in 1929. But that apparently did not stop her parents from letting her go on a trip abroad. In those days school trips to other countries were exceptional for most children.

The first photo was taken in Koblenz, situated alongside the river Rhine and some 150 kilometers from the Dutch border.

The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Ring in Koblenz 1932

My mother Annie de Langen sits above the rear wheels, a little to the left. Next to her is her lifelong friend Ineke Weststeijn. The coach is operated by still existing Kraftwagen-Verkehr Koblenz G.m.b.H. (KVG)*. It is seen here passing the Barbara Denkmal on the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Ring. This military monument commemorates a German artillery regiment stationed in Koblenz in the previous century. But also other nations made use of this monument. After the First World War, the French occupied this region and thought it a good idea to demonstrate their presence.

The French Rhine Army parading in front of the Barbara Denkmal in Koblenz in 1924
(Postcard made by Karl Albert Zimmermann (1885-1943**)

Judging by this postcard, the locals were not overly interested in this noisy display of power. 

Seeing the monument I wondered whether it survived the Second World War. And it did. The following image is a Google screenshot. The location is probably the same but the street name changed.

The Barbara Denkmal on the Friedrich-Ebert-Ring today

The city of Koblenz suffered from frequent bombings during the last World War. If you compare the background in the screenshot with the other two pictures, it is easy to see changes. None of the old buildings made it through the war. It is a small wonder that the Denkmal suffered minor damages only.

Apparently, the school was fond of sightseeing tours. The next year, in 1933, the school trip went to Göttingen, also in Germany. But this time the students traveled in a rented coach owned by a company called VIOS*** from Wateringen near The Hague.

The VIOS bus in Göttingen, Germany in 1933

My mother is seen here looking at us from the bus' rooftop. She is the girl on the very right and next to her Ineke. 

This is the end of the coach section of this post. Also for the cyclist pictures, I start before the Second World War.

Ber Schregel and Jan Miebies in approx. 1938

The photographer apparently was late by a few seconds. Now we see the backs of Ber Schregel, a friend and colleague of my father, and my father Jan Miebies. Their luggage suggests they are going on a camping holiday or maybe to a youth hostel. I recognize the location, it is the Mispelstraat in The Hague, the street where my mother lived. Knowing this street, I can see they cycle south. The only thing that puzzled me was why they were cycling on the left side of the street. But then it dawned on me that I have been looking at a mirrored print ever since I know this picture. So I reversed it again.

At least now I know they left in a northerly direction. It is never too late to set history straight ;-)

The picture that follows shows a married couple to be. They are family members of my wife. Their names are Sibbeltje Klopstra (l) and Aaldrik Kroeze. Although we are far from certain, we believe this photo was taken in the city of Groningen in the early years of the Second World War when it was still safe for men to go outside without being arrested and deported to Germany to forcibly work there.

The somewhat surprised look on Aaldriks face makes me believe this was not a planned situation. This picture is rather the work of a street photographer. In any case, their trip together continued. They got married in December 1943 and had two children. She turned 96 and he was 93!

The first car in this post is also from the pre-war era. Based on the text on the front wheel cap I found the car is an Opel Kadett. It has German plates. This model was in production between 1937-1940. 

Opel Kadett cabriolet****

This information, together with the fact that the friend, Wim Tuk, had a job in Germany, dates the photo below to approx. 1938. My father is seated next to the driver; my mother is in the left-hand rear seat. 

The last car on display is an Austin A30. It belonged to acquaintances of my mother. The boy next to it is my brother and I date this picture around 1955. Possibly my mother borrowed this car to spend a day in the countryside.

My brother and an Austin A30

Please turn to the Sepia Saturday site for contributions of honest, non-cheating Sepians.

Notes and credits

* Next year the company exists 100 years! It was established on March 19, 1925.

**Barbara-Denkmal (Koblenz). (2022, August 10). In Wikipedia. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara-Denkmal_(Koblenz)

*** Founded in 1922, also VIOS still exists!

****Bestand:Opel-kadett-1936.Jpg - Wikipedia. In Wikipedia. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Opel-kadett-1936.jpg

Sepia Saturday - Bicycle, bicycle

Voor de Nederlandse tekst, zie na de Engelse tekst.

This weeks Sepia Saturday theme is cycling, be it Olympic or otherwise. Being Dutch I regard bicycles (in Dutch: fiets) as part of our national genes. However, whenever I hear the word 'bicycle', almost immediately the famous Queen hit starts infecting my brain. And it stays there all day!

Bicycle bicycle bicycle 
I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle 
I want to ride my bicycle 
I want to ride my bike 
I want to ride my bicycle 
I want to ride it where I like

Fantastic song, one of my favorites!

Anyway, also a genetic inheritance needs to be maintained. So our son took his first driving lessons when he was around 3 years old.

Son Robert on his first bike, a tricycle,
back in 1970

At a certain point kids are 'contaminated' with fashionable things. So if your friends are riding cool bikes, you must have one as well. Without, life is just unbearable. And if the price is that you have to tolerate your little sister on your banana seat now and again, so be it.

Robert and his little sister Paula on his show bike
around 1973

The next picture comes close to the Sepia Saturday theme picture of this week. The bikes are almost similar and so is the background, the smiles are a little less. I would guess this picture is taken shortly before or more likely, after WWII possibly somewhere in the city of Groningen. Although there is little background to be seen, there is not a single automobile in sight.

My wife's 1st cousin once removed Sibbeltje Klopstra 
and her husband Aaldrik Kroeze

If bicycling is part of your national genetics, you should at least have won the Tour de France once. And we did. Twice.
The Tour is the most demanding cycling event in this world. It lasts for about three weeks and the participants are covering some 3,500 kilometres through windy coastal areas, the Alps and the Pyrenees. The last one this summer was won by Belgian born Englishman Bradley Wiggins. Lance Armstrong (from Plano, TX) is the only 7 times winner, an absolute record.
Both Dutch winners found their images reflected on stamps. And that is no small feat, for a living person that is.

Tour winners Janssen (1968) and Zoetemelk (1980)      

Earlier I referred to British rock band Queen. But having (a) Queen is not the exclusive right of the Brits. Here in The Netherlands we also have a Queen. And what is more, she knows how to ride the bicycle. Shown below is Queen Beatrix when she still was a princess.

Princess Beatrix on her "fiets" in 1963

For more Sepia Saturday Stories, please click here.

Samenvatting
Deze week is het Sepia Saturday thema: fietsen. Dat mag Olympisch wegrennen zijn of iets geheel anders. Als ik het Engelse woord voor fietsen hoor (bicycles) moet ik altijd aan de Engelse rockgroep Queen denken. Hun Bicycles is een echte oorwurm, zo'n melodie die de hele dag in je hoofd rond blijft zingen. Helemaal bovenaan de tekst van deze fantastische hit.
Omdat fietsen ons in het bloed zit, beginnen de kleintjes al vroeg. Onze zoon deed dat op een driewieler op 3-jarige leeftijd. Maar ja, driewielers zijn mooi, totdat je vriendjes op veel flitsender fietsen verschijnen. En dan moet jij er natuurlijk ook één hebben, ook al moet je toestaan dat je zus er ook wel eens op wil zitten. Nou ja, als dat de prijs is...
De volgende foto heeft veel weg van die op de Sepia Saturday site van deze week. Ik vermoed dat de foto kort voor of na de 2e wereldoorlog in Groningen is gemaakt. Zij is een achternicht van mijn vrouw en hij haar (toekomstige?) echtgenoot. Tijdens de oorlog op zulke fietsen rijden was niet zonder risico. Dus daarom denk ik dat deze foto daarvoor of daarna is genomen.
Een echte fietsnatie heeft natuurlijk Tour de France-winnaars. Wij hebben er twee, Jan Janssen en Joop Zoetemelk. En als je het zover hebt geschopt, dan kom je met je gezicht op een postzegel. En als je dat overkomt terwijl je nog in leven bent, dan is dat geen geringe prestatie. Want met uizondering van de Koningin, doen we dat eigenlijk niet.
En over de Koningin gesproken, want wij hebben ook een Queen, die is ook zeer wel in staat om te fietsen, getuige deze foto van 26 maart 1963.
Meer Sepia Saturday verhalen van mijn mede-bloggers, vindt u hier.