Gezellig

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The Dutch language has a word - Gezelligheid - which translates to “coziness”, and refers to something that is cozy, peaceful, idyllic, cool, quaint, or any combination of a number or all of these descriptions. The word is more of a concept than just an adjective. It might very well originate from this little town I pass with my bicycle on a warm and sunny August day. The little town surely has a name, but the sign announcing this name passes unnoticed. My intention - like probably everyone else’s who doesn’t live there - was to just pass through. However, the long ride is taking its tribute, and halfway between Amsterdam and Utrecht, this place invites for a rest.

Hence, I park the bicycle and take a seat on a bank in what appears to be the town center, i.e. by the little square surrounded by a couple of stores and a couple of café’s. There’s also a little canal running through the town, and even a folding bridge spanning over the little canal. This particular day the gezelligheid - coziness - appears to have captivated the little town and its citizens. The café’s are crowded with people, and although the canal is very small, no canal in the Netherlands is apparently too small for boat traffic. The little boats passing through the town must pass under the bridge. However, since the canal is so small, and the town is so small, so is the bridge covering the canal. Hence, the bridge has to be folded in order for the boats to pass. Probably due to the smallness of the whole scenario, there was probably no perceived need for building a booth where the bridge master could sit and monitor the canal traffic. Therefore, the boats wanting to pass through have no choice but to line up and wait for the bridge to fold open. The bridge master has every intention of keeping the gezelligheid to a maximum, and in the lack of a booth, he monitors the boat traffic from his spot at one of the café’s, enjoying a beer in the sun. The boats wanting to pass are subject to the goodwill of the bridge master, and the pace at which he consumes his beer. When enough boats are lined up, and the beer is up, he walks over to the bridge, turns a switch or two, and open up for passing. A political or economical decision, demands a small fee to be paid for passing. The method of payment does nothing to deviate from the concept of gezelligheid. When passing, the bridge master takes out a stick, where a typical Dutch yellow clog is hanging from a rope. The boaters then much deposit the toll into the clog the bridge master is holding out. Probably the way toll has been paid here since the town was built. Probably the way toll will be paid for many years to come. All in the name of gezelligheid.

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