Day two brought the marchers...
to the area between the Meuse and Waal rivers.
There was talking, singing and laughing in this land of Meuse and Waal.
It's Pink Wednesday, 19 July. I am Jessica Bode and this is Defence News.
The Four Day Marches are fun and entertaining.
But it also gets busy, especially around the camp with its thousands of people.
Neighbour Wiekie can tell us about her experiences.
Apart from the 47.000 marchers...
hundreds of thousands of people have come here to cheer them on.
You are one of them, Vera.
You are here for someone in particular. -Yes, my partner is participating.
He's a soldier, so he's in the camp.
And you've been inside the camp. You have been there too, Wiekie.
You were invited to come have a look, because of your interest in the camp.
What was that like? -I enjoyed it.
I've heard all the stories about Camp Heumensoord for the last six years.
And about the exciting things that happen.
Now I finally know what goes on where. That was nice.
Your boyfriend is in the army and he's done this before.
I think this is his fourth time.
And now you have seen where he stays in between marches.
Wiekie you live in the neighbourhood of Camp Heumensoord.
How long have you lived here? -I've lived here since 1997.
I live near Beukenlaan, the street where the soldiers march by.
At the moment, I actually live in Tokyo, but I came back for the Marches.
So you are a fan. -Of course. I wouldn't miss it.
During the Marches you are outside. -I'll be in front of the house.
I support the soldiers in the morning and I go see the civilians at Houtlaan.
And from 12 in the afternoon, I watch the soldiers coming back.
You can see the difference. They start fit on Tuesday.
I can imagine that during the week... -Yes.
You can see in their faces how hard it is.
You can tell it gets harder for them, that they get tired.
They are fitter in the morning than the evening.
Can you see that in your boyfriend? How does he feel?
Yesterday was a pretty good day, but he said it was harder today.
He has to march in line, because he is involved in a competition...
where he has to stay in line. -He wants the flag.
He doesn't really let it show...
but there was someone in the back whose feet were obviously aching.
Does he have blisters? -I think so. He always gets those.
Do you get to see him when he's staying here?
I'm not allowed in the camp, but yesterday I took my sister and her dog...
to the entrance to say hi. That was nice.
That is nice. Wiekie, you are excited, I can tell.
How do you feel about how busy the city gets?
When you get here, all the parking spaces are full.
There is barricade tape and bins. -That is a bit of an issue.
I always make sure that I park my car in a good spot.
Not outside my house, because I want to put my bench and chairs there.
I do that almost a week in advance.
That is when it starts. -Yes, is starts to gets busy then.
Are some people sceptical or is it just a fun event?
Most people I talk to simply really enjoy it.
I always invite a lot of people outside my house.
We just with there with our coffee and enjoy ourselves.
Before we started filming, we had a nice chat together.
You told me a special story about a Norwegian soldier.
Can you share that with us? -Yes.
He passed my house in 1997.
I attracted his attention.
We ended up talking.
It was really nice.
And since that day, he's joined me on my bench every year.
My neighbour and I made a rule: You can sit with us...
if you have your picture taken with one of us.
I have almost 25 years’ worth of photos of him and me on my bench.
Today, he walked extra fast so he could see me before the interview.
That is really special. He keeps coming back.
They start marching at daybreak. They start very early in the morning.
Do you notice? You sleep nearby with family.
Do you notice? -Yes, for sure.
The house where I sleep is 200 metres from where the soldiers start.
And of course they sing loudly together.
But yesterday there was someone who could sing really well.
I listened in amazement for five minutes.
And then I decided to cheer on my partner.
So you got up early. The catering people at Paresto get up early too.
They have a lot of mouths to feed. Charlotte checked out how that works.
It's 2.30 in the morning and most of the country is still asleep.
As you can see behind me, there's a lot of hustling happening.
The first marchers start in an hour. You can't do that on an empty stomach.
Let's take a look at what the people at Paresto are doing...
to make sure everyone's well fed when they hit the road.
I'm not sure if I should say good morning or good evening?
We're unsure as well. It really doesn't matter what you say.
It's the same thing this week? -Yes, it's the other way around.
You sleep during the day with a night shift to take care of the soldiers.
This is the first batch of soldiers walking past the buffet?
How long does this last? -Until 8.30 in the morning.
I can see that the eggs are boiled. At what time does the kitchen start?
We start around 10.00 in the evening, when the party is still going strong.
That's when the baker delivers 1250 loafs of bread every day.
It's hard to imagine how much is consumed.
They take around 12500 slices of meat with them.
8000 slices of cheese, 5000 bananas.
You have to tear them loose. -All in one day?
Otherwise, it takes too long. It's a lot of everything, really.
What makes this work so enjoyable?
Because you look so refreshed. You seem to be having a lot of fun.
We do this for the marchers. They really appreciate it.
They know there's a good meal waiting and that they're taken care of.
So that they can complete their mission, let's put it that way.
Grateful work? -Very much so.
What's on the menu this morning?
We have boiled eggs and freshly baked croissants.
Each day with something extra special. -A four star menu.
A little pampering, right?
The bananas are here. You can see they've been separated.
The soldiers can grab them and keep their pace going.
And you can see the stockpile of full banana boxes in the back.
Incredible.
These drink packs are torn loose. Usually they are packaged together.
We have to separate them so that they can easily put them in their pockets.
And this isn't even the full stock?
No, back there are three freezers, twelve meters long each.
We keep our other stock there so we can refill when we run out.
While I'm here, can I be of any help? It's getting busier.
Great. We can start right here by pulling these bananas apart.
Do you have a technique?
Place them neatly next to each other.
Take plenty, everyone.
Anyone? They're fresh.
It really works.
A little reminder that it's only 3.15 in the morning. Look at this?
I think it's a good thing we refilled those bananas.
I saw you watch in amazement. -Nice, all those bananas.
I can imagine, that if you're an outsider, like the two of you...
a local resident, or at least not in the military...
that you have no idea what happens in a camp.
Right. -That you look at it with amazement.
You don't really think about it.
Just imagine having the task to separate all those bananas.
Your tour in Heumensoord gave you a better idea...
what happens in your own backyard. What stood out to you the most?
Well, the mountain of bananas was certainly very impressive.
And it's always fun to see the hospital.
Hearing their stories, like popping blisters and such.
We received a great story about what kind of education you should follow.
That's a good story for the kids. Learn a trade and then join Defence.
Popping blisters is something else. -Very necessary.
I have a thing about feet.
I asked if they really enjoy popping blisters, and they actually do.
So we have our own hospital. What stood out to you?
I thought the living room was very pretty.
That's for military groups with less than 250 people, I believe?
They really made a living space so they can stay together.
That stayed with me.
We happened to talk about the camp having a pond with rubber ducks.
There's a story behind that. The rubber ducks are still missing.
That's still a problem. Initiatives have been made for new rubber ducks.
Thankfully.
Have you two walked the 4Day March?
Both of you? So you can share your experiences.
How often did you walk it? -Twice. In 1994 and 1995.
It's been awhile. -One after another.
Twice in a row, yes. I enjoyed it a lot.
It's the atmosphere? -You can see it for yourself.
I already live in Nijmegen.
You don't really know what goes on during the 4Day March.
If you live in Nijmegen, you need to have walked it yourself.
Vera, you don't live here. -No.
But you did walk it? -Yes.
I grew up in Oosterbeek, that's not too far from here.
My father walked it for as long as I can remember.
He didn't walk it at age eleven, but at least for as long as I can remember.
Eventually I wanted to walk it myself.
My brothers and sisters had already done it.
So I made up my mind. I went with my twin sister, who lives nearby.
I thought it was great, but never wanted to do it again.
Now that I'm walking around here, I'm planning to do it again next year.
Maybe you can convince your boyfriend. Of course, his detachment is here.
Correct. -He might walk it with you?
Yes, that's kind of how the idea came about.
Rub it in. -We still have a year.
A whole year. -It takes time.
Being a spectator is fun too? -It really is fun, yes.
It's really magical, supporting people as they walk by.
It's so lovely that your words can make someone else smile.
Making a nice comment when someone's struggling is nice to witness.
That's what got me through.
It didn't matter what the spectators told me during my march.
The fact they were there made it fun.
The same goes for the military. Their walk is with 10 kilos of packing.
And the military has even more rules.
The requirements soldiers must meet will be answered by Charlotte.
Male soldiers on the 40 kilometre march literally carry a heavy burden.
They have to carry a ten kilo load on their backs.
If you try to cheat, you'll get caught at the checkpoint.
We're at a checkpoint to see how it works.
9.6.
From a distance, this was really painful. What happened?
This young man's bag was too light. It wasn't much to light, but still.
If you have to empty your pockets and put everything in your bag...
you aren't carrying enough with you. That is against the rules.
That is not okay. What happened then? You wrote something down.
Will they be sent back to America? Is there another chance?
Yes and no. I established he isn't carrying enough.
So he is disqualified, but he can lodge an appeal in Heumensoord.
He can explain why it happened to him.
At Heumensoord, they can decide if it's a good enough excuse to keep going.
Can I ask you something?
You were allowed to continue? -Yes.
How much was it? -13.3.
And for you? -Only 7, but I'm over 50.
Then you don't have to carry ten kilos. You can't tell.
Thank you.
Germans are very punctual. -Yes, that is true. We try to be.
The detachments can win both the cross and the coveted flag.
It's a prize for detachments...
based on how well they march, how neat their uniform is.
Behind us, a group of people is scoring them. We'll go check.
Gentlemen. Good morning. -Hi.
You have a serious look on your face. -It's a serious business.
I explained that there is a flag...
that is awarded to detachments that look their best.
How can we best describe it?
The best ambassador for the army.
Where could people make mistakes? What do you look at?
Detachments that don't keep their surroundings in mind.
Pushing people out of the way is the wrong thing to do.
If you don't have a good sense of what's happening around you.
If there is a festive vibe, you shouldn't look cranky.
What of someone gets it all wrong?
If they walk by and you think: This is not okay.
What happens then?
We have a yellow card.
This is really serious. Look.
You want to receive the cross.
If you don't adjust your behaviour or your uniform...
you won't get the cross.
Your job probably isn't a popular job.
Watch us speak to people. -We always eat alone.
Nobody will sit next to you. -Not next to me.
He's popular. -Even very old friends of mine.
When they see the yellow band it's over.
After this, you won't have friends. Well, him.
I hope you didn't hear anything about a yellow card.
Not so far, no.
Your boyfriend is in the reserves. They want the flag, right?
That is right. They wear a red kerchief, so he's recognizable.
They've been marching in line.
You have to follow a lot or rules as a soldier.
The moment when that one guy didn't have ten kilos.
That was heartbreaking. My partner is very mindful of that.
He puts his old chemistry books in his bag to make sure it's heavy enough.
That is pretty amazing. People use sand and water, but not chemistry books.
They are really big books. That is enough.
If those weigh ten kilos he can add food on top of that. So that is...
Well, it is a tough job.
Whether it's thirty, forty or fifty kilometres...
with or without their kit, it is tough. -Very tough.
That is a given. -That is how it is.
The weather plays a big role of course.
We've had nice days, warmer than expected.
What the weather will do tomorrow...
and whether it will be good or bad is something the weatherman can tell us.
Today is Pink Wednesday, day two of the 4Day March.
Great weather for marching, and people are following the pink dress code.
What about the weather? Tonight it will be 11 degrees. The wind will decrease.
So you can enjoy your bed and be well rested for tomorrow.
Tomorrow is an important but also taxing day.
It's the Seven Hills Road. So take care of yourself.
Make sure to have plenty of food and liquids.
And enjoy seeing the people sitting around the Seven Hills Road.
What about the weather?
Tomorrow it will be around 23 degrees celsius and mostly dry.
Sunshine and clouds will supersede each other.
Make sure to enjoy another beautiful day on the Seven Hills Road.
Until tomorrow.
You heard it. It's a good day to be a spectator.
I want to thank you for your time in the studio.
Tomorrow is another day. The seven hills.
The toughest day of the week. We're back tomorrow.
I hope you'll be watching.