Sometimes the party just finds you. During a week in Amsterdam, I took a trip to Utrecht on a Sunday afternoon, intending to climb the tower at the Dom church. The peak of the climb finds you over 900 meters above Utrecht, making it the highest church tower climb in the Netherlands, and one of the highest in Europe. It seemed like an excellent way to justify the day’s provisions of fresh Dutch cheese.
I’m no stranger to church climbs, and I actually love counting my steps as I wind upward in a tiny spiral staircase, usually built for nuns or monks easily a foot shorter than I am. I was really excited about the climb, until I discovered that you are only permitted to scale the tower as part of a group guided tour, and you have to leave all of your possessions (including your camera!) in the visitor information center. Looking around at the groups of families with young children in the office and calculating the likelihood that any of these people would want to proceed at my preferred pace (for better or worse), I clutched my bag and scooted back out to the main square.
Dry your eyes, readers, for the tale has a happy ending! As I furrowed my brow over a cappuccino, wondering what the heck I’d now do in Utrecht on a Sunday, I noticed a couple decked out in full goth gear at a nearby table. Not just wearing Joy Division t-shirts and eyeliner, mind you, but full corseted, raccoon-eyed, lace-gloved glory of gothocity. Remembering my own days at The Bank in New York, I smiled to myself and felt cheerier.
Then I walked through the square and noticed more and more people similarly attired. Even in a university town, a large-scale gathering of glamor goths on a Sunday afternoon is out of the ordinary. Then I saw the signs: Summer Darkness!!
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Summer Darkness gothic festival in Utrecht, to be held on July 27-29, 2012. If you can get there, do. Goth god Peter Hook (co-founder of Joy Division and New Order) will be performing, so there is sure to be a crowd. When I attended, it appeared to be mostly local bands, and it was a relatively small affair held outside in front of one of the university classroom buildings. An array of vendors sold clothing, jewelry, and drinks in the adjacent parking lot, and there was a fashion show to kick off the afternoon’s entertainment.
The real spectacle, of course, was the crowd, all kitted out in their somber best for the big event. The universal theatricality of it all completely wiped away my initial disappointment with the town, and that afternoon drinking cheap wine and contentedly bopping to minor keys was one of the most at home moments I have had in all of my travels. My only problem was containing my goofy grin – it was a goth party, after all.