2019 Holiday Homes

Between 1958 and 1961, Jaap spent his childhood holidays with his family in a small coastal village. They rented half a bungalow at 44 Dorpsweg in Callantsoog for the occasion.

They are pleasant memories, but also those of the coziness of that time: stew, Formica tables, boring architecture, speedo swimming trunks, and a red-white-blue striped sun cap, Germans in beach pits or, in bad weather, in yellow wellies. Callantsoog was very bare with no trees and a deserted, barren grass field as a village square. Jaap didn’t do much more than swim, dig holes or, play with his Lego. On Wednesday afternoon the family walked to Grote Keeten, to watch children’s television in the café while enjoying ‘chips with mayonnaise and drinking Ranja. When there was a southerly wind, they went back by bus. Nothing worse than the bright beach sand in your face. Father continued to work in Amsterdam during that period. He slept at home during the week and was in Callantsoog at the weekend. Then the family made trips to Schagen for the cow market and Alkmaar for the cheese market.

That atmosphere can still be felt everywhere along the coast. Jaap searches for these memories and the remains of earlier times.

(project still running)