zondag 25 november 2012

Napoleon in Poland

Naoleon has been a few times in Poland, in his time called Grand-Duchesse de Warschau. (1806, 1807 and 1812).
It looked very interesting for me to look after whats is left from that episode in Poland itself.
Therefore I took an airplane to Krakow with my travelcompanien. We hired a car and started with a selfprepaired conceptplan in our hands a trip of about 3200 km all around Poland.
(Of course I used Le Guide Napoléon for basic material!).
We had a rather hard, but nice trip of about 8 days in November 2012.
So I lost my iPad and my Garmin (both returned!)
We also visited at the end Auswitz. Thats is horrible to see! I placed no pictures of this item on the website.
You can all see on my latetst website Napoleon in Poland. (www.roelkvos.nl/nappolen)


maandag 17 september 2012

Latest details about the Bas-Rhin (France)

Now I announce my latest website.
www.roelkvos.nl/napbasrhinjun2013
It's about my latest trip with my friend J.van K.
Look at the pictures and enyoi it!

zondag 9 september 2012

Bas-Rhin in France

Now me and my friend are returned from our five-days trip in the Elzas (France). This time we 'did' the Bas-Rhin, the north of the region between Wissembourg and Saverne. Only a quater of all the object of Le Guide Napoléon I scored. There is a lot left fore the next time!
Soon there will be a new website about this.
During this trip I saw many bancs, called 'banc-reposoir du Roi de Rome'. They date from 1811.
Here some pictures and a YouTube-film about it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y389iyoL5AQ (film)




maandag 27 augustus 2012

HAUT-RHIN in France

In August 2012 my husband and I made a trip in the Haut-Rhin (the Elzas) in France.
We have made a 'Napoleon'-trip of seven days. Finding  napoleontic-objects was the theme with Le Guide Napoléon.
Look at www.roelkvos.nl/naphautrhin  for the results.

In sept 2012 I will make a same kind of trip (5 days) with a friend to 'do' the objects of the Bas-Rhin (half).

zaterdag 16 juni 2012

In the beginning of June 2012 I made a voyage to Spitsbergen. Look at the pictures I took on www.roelkvos.nl/spitsbergen1 .





Of course I have tried to make a relation between Spitsbergen and Napoleon.
Afther some research I have found a little story about the English hero Horation Nelson.
When he had have that accident history would have been changed!

Skeffington Lutwidge (13 March 1737 – 15/16 August 1814) was an officer of the Royal Navy, who saw service during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He had a particular connection with Horatio Nelson, who served under Lutwidge as a midshipman on an expedition to the Arctic in HMS Carcass in 1773, and again in 1801 while a captain, when Lutwidge was commander in chief in the Downs. Lutwidge served for a considerable period and in a number of ships, in American waters during the War of Independence. During this time he captured a number of American privateers, and was involved in operations on Lake Champlain. He reached flag rank soon after the start of the French Revolutionary Wars, and served mainly in Home waters as commander in chief of some of the stations on the south coast. He retired from active service with the rank of admiral, and died in 1814, shortly before the end of the Napoleonic Wars. He was the great-uncle of Lewis Carroll.


Lutwidge, by now a commander, commissioned the bomb vessel HMS Carcass in June 1771, and served in the Irish Sea until the Carcass was paid off in April 1773. The Carcass was then refitted at Sheerness between March and April for a voyage to the Arctic, with Lutwidge retaining command. The expedition, under the overall command of Constantine Phipps, who commanded HMS Racehorse, sailed from the Nore on 10 June 1773. The expedition sailed up to and around Spitsbergen, managing to reach within ten degrees of the North Pole, but was prevented from travelling further north by thick sea ice, and returned to Britain in September. Sailing with the Carcass was a young Horatio Nelson, whose position as a midshipman on the expedition had been arranged by his uncle, Maurice Suckling. Suckling and Lutwidge knew each other well, Lutwidge having served under Suckling on a number of occasions, including time spent acting against privateers in 1771. Nelson was given the role of coxswain of Lutwidge's gig. Nelson managed to obtain command of the Carcass's cutter as the expedition progressed.

Nelson and the bear

By 1800 Lutwidge began to circulate a story that while the ship had been trapped in the ice, Nelson had seen and pursued a polar bear, before being ordered to return to the ship. Lutwidge's later version, in 1809, reported that Nelson and a companion had given chase to the bear, but on being questioned why, replied that "I wished, Sir, to get the skin for my father." Nelson referred to Lutwidge as 'that good old man'.

zondag 20 mei 2012

zaterdag 19 mei 2012

La Vendée (France)

The first two weeks of May 2012 I have spend in La Vendée (France).
The purpose was to score 37 Napoleontic objects.
They are mentioned in Le Guide Napoléon.
First I did my preparations at home: try to find all the object in Google Earth and make a practical route.
You can see all the results on: www.roelkvos.nl/vendee
I hope you will like it, me and my wife, we did.

dinsdag 3 april 2012

What did Napoleon do 200 years ago? (1) April and May 1812.

Long ago I bought a badlooking French book. It is French written in 1947 by Louis Garros. You can follow the live of Napoleon day by day! From 1769 till 1821.That is very interseting, I believe.

I shall start in april 1812, so that it has some 'actuallity'!
I have translated the text in Dutch for simplicity.

You can read this text the best on computer.
On iPad2 it is not so good readable.





Napoleon in de jaren 1811 en 1812


Bron: Quel roman que ma vie!
Itinéaire de Napoléon Bonaparte
1769 – 1821
Louis Garros
1947, 518 pag. Franstalig


1811 – 1812 : pag. 350 – 403.
Vertaald door Roel K Vos (april-mei 2012)

Blz. 365 APRIL: De gehele maand te Saint-Cloud.

03 april 1812 vr
Vergadering Staatsraad.

04 april za
Legerschouw van de Garde te Courbevoie.

05 april zo
Hij ontvangt Murat, met wie hij op kille voet staat. Verzoening.

06 april ma
Jacht in het Bois de Boulogne. ’s Avonds spelen artiesten uit het Theater Feydeau in het Hoftheater de opera Felix.

07 april di
Jacht in het bos van Saint-Germain.

11 april za
Terwijl hij jaagt in het bos van Saint-Germain, heeft hij een onverwachte ontmoeting met generaal Bertrand bij het Weeshuis van het Legioen van Eer van Loges.

14 april di
Jacht in het bos van Saint-Germain, daarna bezoek aan de militaire school van de Cavalerie.

16 april do
Hij begeeft zich naar de Tuilerieën, neemt een schouw af, houdt daarna een regeringsvergadering.

17 april vr
Hij keert terug naar Saint-Cloud.

18 april za
Jacht te Raincy.

19 april zo
Familieraad (bijeenkomst).
Dit is ongetwijfeld de ‘buitengewone bijeenkomst’ , waarover Pasquier praat, gehouden bij de Keizer, zegt hij, om de ernst van de tekorten te bespreken.
Er is die dag ook een geheime bespreking over de staatsgevangenen.

20 april ma
In het park schouw van het 4e Bataljon van het Regiment van de Belle-Isle, dat naar Berlijn wordt gezonden.

23 april do
In het park omstreeks 12 uur schouw van het Hollandse Expeditie Bataljon.

23 april di
Hij stelt een privé audiëntie in de Tuilerieën in. Prins Kourakine, Russisch ambassadeur heeft drie dagen eerder vanuit St.Petersburg de tekst ontvangen van een ultimatum en overhandigt dit aan de Keizer.





woensdag 22 februari 2012

Question

I like to read about Count Emmanuel de las Casas who was with Napoleon on St.Helena.
He wrote his Mémoirs published in 1823 in French and English.
Two examples of the French version you can see below.

The first is from 1965 and has the collection number A7798.
Eight volumes.

The other one is also in French, four volumes, without year of apperance, but I think about 1860.
See pictures below.

I also have a google-book as a fascimile in old English from 1823.

My question now is:

Is Le Mémorial de Sainte-Hélène translated in Dutch?
In witch year?
Where can I get or read it?
Can anybody tell me?


zaterdag 18 februari 2012

My exercises in French

Below the text I spoke in my course of French.
Ten lessons to follow.

Aujourd’hui je veux parler d’un livre.
Ce livre s’appelle Le Guide Napoléon.
Il n’a pas des photos ou des images, il a seulement des textes.
Beaucoup de textes en deux colonnes.

Il s’agit de Napoléon et son contemporains, pas en passé, mais en présent.
Il nomt quatre milles des lieux autour du monde, ou on peut trouver des traces de Napoléon.
Ce pourrait être des statues, des plaquettes, des bâtiments, des musées, des églises, des tombeaux, des bibliothèques, ect.
Naturellement on trouve la plupart en France, mais on a aussi réservé quatre pages pour Les Pays-Bas.

La première partie de ce livre s’occupe avec des objectes de Napoléon par département et pas ville.

La deuxième partie s’occupe avec des autres pays européenne et dehors ou on trouve quelque chose de Napoléon. Quelquefois on ‘s étonne. L’Allemand et l’Italie avaient beaucoup d’objectes. Mais aussi l’Angleterre, certes l’ennemi de Napoléon, n’est pas oublié !

La troisième partie suivre la trace des Campagne de Napoléon. Strictement on a décri la route de ville en ville avec ses spécifications. Actuelle maintenant, parce que c’est exactement deux cents années passée, que Napoléon partait pour la Russe.

Ce livre, que j’ai acheté a Strasbourg en 2008, est devenu pour moi un guide de voyage. Les années dernières je voyage seulement avec ce livre comme boussole.

Ainsi j’ai fait pendant un mois un voyage à Sainte-Hélène en 2009.

En 2010 j’ai à la Route Napoléon encore une fois en camper, après un visite à Elbe et Corse.

En printemps 2011 j’ai voyagé de Smolensk à Moscou. Il y avait beaucoup de neige.

En automne 2011 j’ai visité avec mon fils Fernand la capitale de Litanie appelé Vilnius. Là aussi on peut trouver des traces et objectes. Un Hollandais, qui demeure là, avait déjà préparé une route pour nous. Cela facilitait beaucoup les recherches.

Vous comprenez : beaucoup des voyages pour moi avec ce livre dans la main.
De chaque voyage napoléonien je construis un web site. Je situe des photos et une description.
Principalement en Anglais on a plus des visiteurs.
Depuis deux milles dix les photos ont une gps-position. Avec l’aide de Google on peut retrouver cette objectes exactement.

La partie des Pays-Bas en Le Guide Napoléon a besoin une correction. Les auteurs ont me demander de tracer tous les objectes, les contrôler, faire une photo et fait des remarques nouvelles. Maintenant je suis un correspondent hollandais pour le Guide.

Toutes les affaires prends beaucoup de temps, car il faut beaucoup de rechercher. Mais : je suis en retraite, j’ai de temps !







maandag 6 februari 2012

Cold, very cold!

Just this week it is very cold in the Netherlands.
During nights it is about - 11 till - 16 Celcius, during daytime about - 5!
The fanatic Dutch skaters already thinking of the Elfstedentocht (Eleven town tour) in Friesland (in the north of Holland). I think personally that it will take about a week before het Sixtienth Tour will start. Then you can see an unique and long tv reportage about it. Hectic all around!

This all reminds me of the Berezina during the end of Novembre 1812.
It was also very cold, - 20 Celcius.
Now I can feel a little bit of that tragedy in real!

zaterdag 14 januari 2012

Napoleon on the spot

In jan. 2012 I visited the last exibition for this moment in the Netherlands about Napoleon.
It was at the Schiemanshuis in Rotterdam.
Napoleon stayed here from 25 till 27 october 1811. He was 'on the spot' so to say.
All the printings I saw were caricatures on Napoleon.
The most from England (of course!), but also some from Holland.
Below you see some of these.
The last picture are the keys of Rotterdam as offered to Napoleon.