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The Boring Spy
The spectacular photo below was taken on the Acropolis in Athens sometime during the Cold War years. The man-of-mystery in the photo is my father, Anton de Nooy, who died in Johannesburg in 2006 at the age of 86. He was a jovial man and seemed rather set in his ways, perhaps even somewhat boring. The kind of man who always entered our swimming pool in exactly the same way. First pulling up his bathing trunks snugly under his armpits, before diving in and trying to float as far as possible without taking a stroke. On arrival in the deep end, he’d hang on to the edge, grab the steel brush he'd left at the pool’s edge, and start scrubbing algae off the mosaic trimming.
In short, he was possibly the dad-liest person I’d ever known, until his secrets started leaking out of a row of files he’d entrusted to my mother. She has already been the topic of her own book, so it seems only fair that I should also write a book about my father, who I’ve started referring to as “the Boring Spy”, even though I’m not sure if he was actually involved in espionage. He certainly had secrets, though, and that’s what this book will be about. All of which will require a lot of reading and research, but the story is well worth the effort, even though I’m gagging to get back to writing proper fiction about my own struggle with humans and their condition.
Yesterday would’ve been my dad's 105th birthday, which prompted me to post a photo of one of my most prized possessions: the cupboard door off a sideboard that stood in my parent’s dining room for as long as I can remember, emigrating from the Netherlands to South Africa and back. The door is decorated with hotel stickers my dad brought home from his travels to “43 countries”, as he has proudly written at the top of the door. He even compiled a full list of the countries he visited, indicating whether he’d reached his destination by car, plane or boat. Most of the B miles (almost slipping off the page on the right) were racked up in his youth, growing up in the Dutch East Indies. He even travelled behind the Iron Curtain to East Germany, Poland, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Russia.
Hoping to spark a bit of fun on the old man’s birthday, I urged friends and followers on five different platforms to help me celebrate by checking how many of the listed hotels are still in existence. The response was heart-warming and somewhat overwhelming, which is why I've written this blog, to give a full overview of our investigation and credit the sleuthing skills of those who rose to the challenge. If need be, I’ll add further finds, details and photos later.
Let’s start in the top, left-hand corner, shall we?
Hotel Avila in Caracas, Venezuela
Status: Permanently closed.
Remarks: Such a lovely toucan logo! Oddly, the biggest hotel chain in the Netherlands – Van der Valk (o'Falcon) – also has a toucan logo, possibly to add a festive touch to their somewhat style-free hotels. Judging by the postcard below, Hotel Avila had oodles of style, looking like swish resort from the Connery-Moore Era of Bond movies.
Hotel Turcosa, Castellon, Spain
Status: Still operating.
Remarks: The sticker promises no fewer than 220 “dias de sol” (sunny days) per year, so I’m going to boldly claim that this was a holiday destination. There are photos of me on a beach in Spain, which were taken before we emigrated to South Africa in 1969. Possibly the photos were taken in Castellón, which lies north of Valencia on Spain’s east coast.
Status: Still in existence, as confirmed by several friends on Mastodon.
Remarks: Apparently frequented by Aga Khan III, who somehow resembles my father, who also had a penchant for face-filling sunglasses and wore a pencil-thin moustache, even when it had long gone out of fashion.
Astoria Grande Albergo, Turin, Italy
Status: Currently a three-star establishment, as discovered by Rob van Kan on Mastodon.
Remarks: Despite its somewhat lowly status, the hotel is housed in a rather spectacular building, dating back to the 19th century.
Extremadura Hotel, Caceres, Spain
Status: Now called Hotel Rio Convento De La Luz, the place is actually for sale, as discovered by Touaregtweet on Mastodon. There’s also a new Hotel Extremadura in Caceres.
Remarks: Oddly, the first piece of long fiction I ever wrote was a screenplay titled “Extremadura”, which prompted me to travel to the region. I don’t consciously recall reading this sticker in my youth, but perhaps some imprint was left.
Hotel Kung Karl, Gothenburg, Sweden
Status: The hotel may or may not still exist, depending on how you choose to read Anders Svensson's remarks below. Tracked down by TouaregTweet on Mastodon.
Remarks: "Hotel Kung Karl was a hotel located on the corner Köpmansgatan-Nils Ericssonsgatan. From the beginning it was located on the north side of Köpmansgatan in the Köpmannen quarter where Hotel Europa (Hotel Scandic Europa) is now located, but in 1896 a new hotel was completed on the south side of Köpmansgatan, in the Kronobageriet quarter . When the new hotel was ready, the old hotel was renamed Hotel du Nord. It is therefore about two different hotels with a certain connection as the owner of the former, IF Söderström, came to lease the latter. The old hotel building, Hotel du Nord, was demolished in the 1960s and Hotel Europa was built in the block. The new hotel from 1896 was demolished in 2007 after the hotel was taken over by Hotel Opera and also given this name. A new hotel was subsequently built which was named Hotel Opera or Grand Hotel Opera ."
Hotel Phönix, Hjørring, Denmark
Status: Still exists, without having to rise out of the ashes.
Remarks: The town of Hjørring is located near the port of Hirtshals in northern Denmark, which is connected by ferry lines to multiple other Scandinavian ports. My guess is that the old man had to get his car aboard an early-morning ferry to Norway.
Status: Still operating, as discovered by Rob van Kan on Mastodon.
Remarks: Originally commissioned by Joseph Stalin, the name Hotel Ukraina will no doubt be a thorn in the side of Russia's current leader. According to the Wiki page linked above: "The hotel is one of the 'Seven Sisters' and stands 206 metres tall, making it the tallest hotel in Russia, the tallest hotel in Europe, and the 52nd-tallest hotel in the world."
Hotel Quirinal, Johannesburg, South Africa
Status: Now an appartment complex for hotel staff, according to the article linked above from 1997.
Remarks: My father used to point out this hotel whenever we drove through Hillbrow in Johannnesburg. "Listed in the 1964 guide as having 118 rooms. By the early 1990s, the building was a well-known brothel and drug den. In 1995, Brenda Fassie’s partner, Poppie Sihlahla, died of a crack cocaine overdose in the hotel."
Hotel São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Status: Now probably operating under a less generic name.
Remarks: Judging by the view through the keyhole, this is probably this place, partly because of the other buildings surrounding it. The entire skyline has probably changed since the 1950s, so I may well be wrong.
Appartementshotellet CC15, Oslo, Norway
Status: Now an apartment complex, as concluded by several friends on Mastodon.
Remarks: This hotel was named after its address: Camilla Colletts vei 15 (CC15) in Oslo. It was owned by Best Western Ambassodor, but has now been transformed into appartments.
Grand Hotel Orbis, Warsaw, Poland
Status: Still operating, as discovered by Rob van Kan on Mastodon.
Remarks: "The Grand Hotel Orbis was a Warsaw institution, built in the “Socialist Realism” style in the 1950s, and opened in 1957. The elegant grey brick façade was designed to match the surrounding government district."
Eden Hotel, Karlsruhe, Germany
Status: Still operating, as discovered by Rob van Kan on Mastodon.
Remarks: According to one blurb I found online, this pet-friendly hotel is within walking distance of a zoo and boasts a lounge bar, winter garden, shop and restaurant serving "German cuisine".
The Palm Garden, Britannia Hotel, Trondheim, Norway
Status: Still operating under its original name, as confirmed by Corien Glaudemans on BlueSky and TouaregTweet on Mastodon.
Remarks: "Britannia Hotel first opened its doors to its glamorous guests in 1870. Vibrant in its splendour, the hotel soon became a unique gathering point, where the latest news and trends were shared between visiting dignitaries and Trondheim residents." Here's a classic shot of the hotel's Palm Garden.
Hotell Excelsior, Stockholm, Sweden
Status: Still operating, but now known as the Crystal Plaza Hotel, as discovered by TouaregTweet on Mastodon.
Remarks: "The Crystal Plaza Hotel building is around 120 years old, and was constructed in two phases: between 1896–1898 by architect Lars Johan Laurentz (1851–1901), and between 1907–1910 by architect Carl Alfred Danielsson-Bååk (1872–1967)."
Hotel Vaakuna, Helsinki, Finland
Status: Still operating, as discovered by TouaregTweet on Mastodon.
Remarks: "The functionalist hotel Vaakuna opened for the Helsinki Summer Olympics in 1952."
Albergo Residence, Brussels, Belgium
Status: Probably no longer in use as a hotel, as discovered by Rob van Kan on Mastodon.
Remarks: Rob writes that the building at 57 Avenue de la Toison d'Or (Golden Fleece Ave.) in Brussels looks like it dates from the 1950s, while the building on the sticker is probably the Palace of Justice, which is located nearby. Cheats.
Hotel Codan, Copenhagen, Denmark
Status: Still operating, but now under the name Scandic Front Hotel
Remarks: "Designed by Harald Petersen, Ole Buhl and Ole Falkentorp, completed 1950", which means it had probably just opened when my father stayed there.
