Het treinmonster en andere onaangename verrassingen

The train monster and other inconveniences. The Paris travel journals of Truus and Marie van Eeghen, 1877

This article is based on the unpublished travel journals of two wealthy Amsterdam-based sisters who visited Paris in October 1877 with their father and brother. Truus (21) and Marie (23) van Eeghen stayed in the French capital for a week, which was for the most part a classic ‘Buildungsreise’. However, on several occasions the sisters were unexpectedly confronted with the other, rougher side of Paris. Alongside the elegant boulevards there were still the ruins of monuments destroyed during the recent revolution of the Commune. In their diaries, the Van Eeghen sisters also mention several unpleasant encounters with strangers. It started with the uncouth ‘monster’ they had to share a train compartment with and ended with an angry slum dweller, who publicly cursed the Amsterdam tourists for being rich. All in all, it was an educational trip.