Roger Gaess writes exquisitely. The conversations in the book are among the things that made reading ‘Whatever Comes My Way: Travels in The Netherlands’ a fun experience. The reader can tell that Roger Gaess is a people person. From cities, small towns, municipalities, off the beaten tracks and every remote location, the author covers everything that needs to be covered for anyone who wishes to travel to The Netherlands.
At its core, Whatever Comes My Way is a travel guide. But if you’re looking for the next Fodor’s or Frommer’s, look much further! This is a guidebook for those who like to explore the bones of an area. Gaess treks through the Netherlands with a small amount of research and a healthy dose of curiosity as his guide. His knack for pinpointing the uniqueness or irony of a situation really shines.
This is a book about a country from one man's point of view because he wants to share his experience with the world. Not because he has to share it. The difference is heart. Readers will learn about various aspects of the Netherlands that traditional travel journals or tomes might leave out. Gaess shares his experiences with the townsfolk, tales of the off-beaten path that tourists don’t typically traverse and the history of his own life. This is not a cold, detached book. His writing transports the reader to the Netherlands to experience the country for themselves; a task not all travel books can do. Some can describe countries, but they don’t establish a connection between the reader and the location. This book does that.