Cyclists on the footpath: a translation exercise

Recently, R sent me a little package which contained a copy of our local newspaper, which we get in our mailbox every week free at home in Australia, the reading of which often accompanied my breakfast or nature's cuppa. Seeing this newspaper in my apartment in Nijmegen brought back two strong feelings - one of homesickness, of the relaxed kind of time wasting that seems to be only possible at home, another of embarassment or some kind of cringe because it seemed so ridiculous and out of place.

However, since then I have received the latest issue of the local free Nijmegen newspaper (De Brug Nijmegen). Looking at this it seems to be that it's no more or less ridiculous. In particular, an article on the front page caught my eye about cyclists being prosecuted for riding on the footpath, to get around some construction work. Having ridden this particular (illegal!) route myself a few times, I got interested and it seems Nijmeegse are perhaps just as amusing for their over involvement in politics as Northcotians are for their lack.

Since my dutch is coming along rather well and I'm getting lots of pats on the back for it, I decided to try and translate the article - it's probably not as amusing in English, but I've tried to stick as closely to the original as possible.

A bit of background: on my usual route in to town, I noticed last week that for one block the road is fenced off because it is being resurfaced, following others I simply rode along the footpath for this block, although I did notice others go off and do the other 3 sides of the block instead. As you can see from the article, I was one of the lucky ones as the police weren't around the (numerous) times I flagrantly broke the law. But as you will see from the article some of the cyclists who got booked weren't happy about it. Note acronyms refer to (real!) political parties.

Politie moet gewoon haar werk doen (The police have to do their job)
De Brug Nijmegen, Wednesday 16 May 2007, volume 48, number 20, page 1.
"The police have to be able to do their job" states Mayor Thom de Graaf. "There was nothing wrong with the bicycle-checking patrols that took place on the Heyendaal street. People are not allowed to ride their bikes on the footpath".
Mayor De Graaf was responding to the bicycle-checking patrols that took place last week on Heyendaal street and caused a commotion. The police were right to have stood on the corner and booked the cyclists who rode up the kerb. According to the cyclists they didn't really have any choice: there was construction work on the road so only the footpath was available. One student videod the situation and published it on www.geenstijl.nl.
According to the mayor it got hyped up. "The police book people to keep order. The situation has been blown out of proportion. "
During this time the PvdA-faction lodged written inquiries about how the business was handled. The independent youth wing of the VVD also responded to the situation. According to the young liberals the police did the right thing. The construction work was taking place right next to a school ground which the bicycles were riding past, creating a dangerous situation. "It is generally recognised that cycling on the footpath is forbidden and because of that it is shameful that the booked cyclists are not willing to take responsibility (for their actions)" said chairperson Marloes Kuijpers.

Amusing? Or only for me?

Here's the original if you want to give me any tips:
Politie moet gewoon haar werk doen

NIJMEGEN - "De politie moet gewoon haar werk kunnen doen", meldt burgemeester Thom de Graaf. "De fietscontroles die zijn uitgevoerd op de Heyendaalseweg waren niet verkeerd. Men mag niet fietsen op trottoirs."
Burgemeester De Graaf reageert op de fietscontroles die vorige week werden uitgevoerd op de Heyedaalseweg en waar commotie is over ontstaan. Die politie zou 'om het hoekje hebben' gestaan en vervolgens de fietsers de over de stoep reden hebben bekeurd. Volgens de fietsers hadden zij echter geen andere keuze: er zijn wegwerkzaamheden en de stoep was alleen vrij. Een student heeft deze situatie met zijn camera vastgelegd en gepubliceerd op www.geenstijl.nl.
Volgens de burgemeester is het een hype geworden. "Die politie deelt bekeuringen uit om situaties te handhaven. Ik denk dat deze situatie nu wordt opgeblazen."
De PvdA-fractie heeft inmiddels schriftelijke vragen ingediend over de gang van zaken. Ook de onafhankelijke jongerenorganisatie van de VVD heeft gereageerd. Volgens de jonge liberalen is het juist goed dat de politie controleert. De werkzaamheden vinden vlak voor een school plaats waardoor het fietsen over het trottoir gevaarlijke situaties oplevert. "Het is algemeen bekend dat fietsen over het trottoir verboden is en daarom is het schandelijk dat bekeurde fietsers hun verantwoordelijkheid niet willen dragen.", aldus voorzitter Marloes Kuijpers.

12 Adventures in Nijmegen

Photo: from a dutch Naturists (nudists) site.

Not that I would want to compare Nijmegen to Antwerp or anything but the guide book '12 Adventures in Antwerp' has inspired me to rack my brains and think of 12 exciting things to do in Nijmegen. I'm going to make a start here, and I might not finish until I've finished my time here (at the end of the year) but I think I'll get there.
(drum roll)

Number 1: De Thermen
A sauna-complex that has been rated number 3 in the Netherlands (not sure how to but I really want to find out which are numbers 1 and 2!). There are many different saunas - very nice of different temperatures with nice wood smells in them. Also different spas. My favourite part is the steam room in a middle-eastern theme: blue and white tiles, a turkish-style fountain, pin-point lights in the ceiling that change colour and a round pool to sit in when you get too hot and very soothing music. De Thermen aren't very expensive - you can go in for 20 euros, but you might be tempted to relax around the artificial fire in the restaurant/bar and spend money on food and drinks later. The food isn't bad. If you have your own bathrobe and thongs (flip-flops) bring them. Clothes are generally forbidden, it is mixed at all times but you must wear a bathrobe in the restaurant/bar. The website has the address:
http://www.thermen.com/index.htm

There is another sauna-complex in Nijmegen: The sanadome. This is part of a resort hotel with more of a corporate-feel and much busier. It's main appeal is a big round pool outside - especially nice in the winter. De Thermen only has a small outside pool between the building and a fence.

2. Duivelsberg Pannekoekenhuis (Devil's mountain Pancake house)
In the warmer weather, it's a nice bike ride up to this Pancake house in the forest. I recommend the buckwheat pancake with blackberries. I un-recommend the savoury pancakes (although the flesh-oriented might be tempted by the local bacon and apple pancake). It's only open until 8pm I think, but it is nice in the evening as the sun sets.

http://www.pannenkoek.nl/intro-duivelsberg.html

3. Musicmeeting
A world music festival, held over Pinksterweekend every year. See blog above for all the details.


..... to be continued