Holidays. It starts as unpaid leave, and only after the Second World War do many Dutch people get an extra vacation allowance on top of paid leave. Slowly, the Dutch manage to overcome their fear of eating differently, of roadside problems and other languages. The makers of Andere Tijden composed a beautiful broadcast about the development of tourism over the years. A broadcast that gives a revealing insight into the development of prosperity, the Dutch standard and the associated naivety, political developments, the evolution of fishing villages into concrete complexes, the sham argumentation to circumvent Franco's executions and other time images, which represent the atmosphere per decade and really let the viewer come in. And the producer edited images that make every classic enthusiast happy.
Peppered with classics
Our eye naturally fell on the many mobile heritage, certainly a symbol of freedom and independence in the 1950s and 1960s. The Dutch holiday pioneer traveled motorized to the South in the 1950s. With scooters, Beetles with self-built kitchen on the back, Taunussen P2, a genuine Citroën DS, an Opel Olympia Rekord with semi-convertible roof or a Peugeot of the 403 Familiale type (including mother-in-law), a journey was undertaken which was considered a true adventure. They all appeared pleasantly in the picture. Also nice to see: the moving holiday-makers searched - also inspired by a healthy portion of Calvinism - for a parking spot to stretch their legs and to take home-made snacks and coffee. A beautiful image, a feast of recognition from the time that holiday happiness was not yet common. And roadside restaurants and sanitary facilities were still in their infancy.
DC-9 and cheap occasions
Mass tourism still seems far away when these images are shown. But it comes up. Holiday traffic grows with increasing prosperity. It chases the mundane travelers towards DC-9. In the XNUMXs and XNUMXs, this is an alternative but expensive way to quickly bridge thousands of kilometers. Tour operator Nespanda also offers cheaper flight and accommodation packages. On the other side of the wealth spectrum, road safety is partly endangered by the owners of cheap second-hand cars, which were purchased purely for the holidays. It leads to intensive traffic controls.
Sympathetic everyday cars and ... buses!
Meanwhile, mass tourism is developing - in the broadcast. The car remains leading as a means of transport. In the meantime, the traveling fleet is developing with the times. T2 vans, a VW Type 3 with caravan, a Ford P7a coupé, a Renault 6: these are just a few examples of the now classic fleet of vehicles passing by in black and white and in color. An unloaded Opel Kadett B, a Datsun 120 A, a Renault 12 and a Skoda 1000 with trailer symbolize the traveling "normal" family from the second half of the seventies. and the first eighties. The contemporary classic of every day is guiding within the sense of satisfaction with which working Netherlands goes on holiday. However, the downside of mass tourism is becoming increasingly apparent. Traveling by bus - including recognizable lamentation, stimulated by Frits Bom and his mates - then forms the introduction to the final chord of a beautiful broadcast. It is signed with images in which topless is the norm on the beach, people are standing hut to hat at the campsite, other travelers complain about increased prices and victims in Torremolinos are baffled at the Consumer Bus about a lack of service. It is the final chord of a great broadcast that shows that vacation is no longer a luxury, but an instrument for stirring up dissatisfaction.
Looking back
If you have not yet seen the broadcast: you can view the striking masterpiece with historical images from the Netherlands and Spain here see. It is well worth the effort, a feast of recognition that makes it difficult to finally return to ours from "Other Times".