ABSTRACT
Journael van de reys na Flaederen – literally, the journal of a trip to Flanders – is an unremarkable travel journal, barely six folios in length and written in a clumsy, childish hand. It was found together with the last will and other papers of Johan Vultejus, bailiff of Liesveld and IJsselstein, and tells the story of an anonymous Dutch boy, who embarked on a summer trip to the Austrian Netherlands in 1731. At first sight, it is a highly conventional narrative, with bland descriptions of the cathedral in Ghent, the archducal court at Brussels and the lace-shops in Antwerp, yet, it is, in a sense, also unique, as the journael provides a rare insight into the travel experience of an early modern child. 1 Moreover, it hints at the emergence of a new travel culture that was as different to a traditional Grand Tour as chalk from cheese. Experts have only recently begun to trace the rough outlines of these emergent travel patterns, that were, slowly but surely, taking shape in the eighteenth century. New destinations emerged, as London, Paris and Amsterdam – and, on a lower level, Berlin, Dresden, Brussels or Nancy – became favourite termini for brief leisure trips, 2 while a cours pittoresque (a picturesque journey) along the Rhine also became fashionable. 3 Domestic travel was also on the rise. During the eighteenth century, British travellers discovered Wales, Scotland and the Lake District; a similar trend reshaped French, German, Dutch and Flemish travel behaviour. 4
