Jachthaven Valkenburg, Arnhem

Jachthaven Valkenburg, Arnhem       

map coordinates:  51^o58’16/16”N  5^o55’46.49”E

The Dutch have done it again.  Have I said often enough how much I like and admire them???  Have I said how much fun they are??? We came into Arnhem early afternoon on Sunday.  I was a bit apprehensive about our chosen mooring.  It is in an industrial area, again not a beauty spot.  In this case, DEFINITELY not a tourist destination.  It is wonderful.  Think Captain Jack Sparrow meets Key West 1952.

 At 11:45 AM they start playing caribbean music on the loud speakers, complete with steel drums. We decided it deserved a blog entry all its own, especially since internet is included for the duration of our stay.

First of all, the facilities are just too funky for words, with the emphasis on FUN. 

Then there are the storks.  Though they are Dutch icons, the first time I visited the Netherlands they were basically nowhere to be seen. The second time, they were just beginning to return.  Now, across from our mooring spot, there’s a thin peninsula. 

When they are not flying over the Rijn, there have been groups of storks standing silhouetted on the berm.  Smaller than you might expect, and very thin. Difficult really to recognize them, they look like anorexic sticks, but talk about gorgeous water birds.

Then there’s the restaurant.  OK, look at the photos, words are just not going to do it this time. 

And you can check out their web site:  www.restaurent-valkenburg.nl/ 

They seem to have quite a local following, and the place is packed until all hours of the night. Or should I say morning? I don't know how late, we just don't stay up that long, but the lights were still on when I got up around 3am. The food is really (REALLY) good, the area is incredibly peaceful for so close to the center of a large city.  The neighborhood isn’t the best, but we’re just happy as clams here.  The weather is great.  The people here have been particularly friendly, helpful, and just wonderfully easy going.  We love it. Don't I just sound disgustingly happy??? Wish you were all here to share. More about Arnhem itself later.

Wijk bij Duurstede and Wageningen

map coordinates:  51^o58’14.31”N  5^o20’59.84”E  &  51^o57’20.03”N  5^o38’53.49”E

Well, we’ve had an eventful week!   We left Gorinchem on Sunday and stopped at Vianen again before turning east for the Rijn.  The rain followed us.  The first interesting thing, we were accosted by an elderly Dutch sailor in Vianen.  He sailed past us in the moorings about an hour after our arrival and recognized our boat from when it was new!!!  He seemed to have a wonderful time checking out what was original, what was new, and telling us all about it.  Unfortunately, I only understood about a third of what he said as he only spoke rapid colloquial Dutch.  But great fun and he gave us a lot of contacts so we can learn more.  We stayed on a bit hoping to meet up with a friend from French class in the States, but that was not to be.  We've been going through the (medium sized to-) big locks with the really big Rhine freighters, but that's OK.  When everything's big, you just stay out of the way.  The "fun" experience was coming out of Vianen and being told to come into a small oval lock behind one of the big guys.  There were already a bunch of pleasure boats there, so we had to squeak in between his (rotating) propeller and the lock gate, and then hold that position till the lock closed, filled, opened, and everyone else got out.  That WAS exciting.  We're still alive, so I guess we did OK.

Then it was on to Wijk bij Duurstede on the Rijn.  I’ve been to Wijk several times with Jeannet over the years, yet I never spent enough time there to realize what a lovely place it is.  

Still didn’t see much of it this time as we were there to meet Jeannet so I could visit the 2 week lace class she still teaches every summer.

The ladies in the class were really nice and I was able to visit with a dear Austrian lady I first met 19 years ago. That was wonderful, and I even got to make some lace.  We were moored next to a big 100+ year old antique tjalk owned by a friend of her daughter's,

and Mirjiam and Peter were there to welcome us into the harbor, get us settled, and stay for a short visit.

THANK YOU GOD!!! that I nailed the mooring in spite of nasty winds, currents, and one of those big river cruise ships that pulled into the harbor ahead of us and made maneuvering in the congested harbor even more difficult.  Also, a lot of antique boats we didn’t want to damage.   --- I hate looking like an abject fool in front of people I know, it's bad enough when no one knows you and you're just making the US flag look bad. Later that evening, Jeannet was finally able to visit our boat and have dinner with us.

Now we're in Wageningen, in the east of the country, and heading for Arnhem, site of the WWII battle that was Field Marshall Montgomery's disaster.   There's also an open air museum of Dutch regional history and life that Bill needs to see (and I would really love to visit again).  Where we are moored now isn't exactly the most picturesque spot I've ever seen, and it's expensive, but it's got electricity, WiFi, and access via a half hour walk to most things we need.  We’re here for 2 nights to rest and then on to Arnhem, maybe for as much as a week.  We're fighting the Rijn (Rhine) currents and burning a lot of diesel while not making good time.  Though not difficult, it’s very draining.  When we head back west next week or the week after progress should be much better. Where we are now, they gave us the slip with the training wheels when we came in.

Probably a good thing as I’m too tired now for much beyond a cold beer and maybe later a walk into town.

Bill commented that I’d posted a photo of my souvenir for the year but not what he found, so here it is:

We’ve been looking for a barometer for the boat but they’ve all been terribly expensive.  We found one at the flea market in Gouda for €7, it works really well, and it’s a classic style – or it would be if we lived in an ancient hunting lodge.  We were also visited by a mother coot mooching stale bread for her late season babies. 

Can’t say I’ve ever seen uglier babies, sorry Mama Coot.

Anyway, that’s it for now. More shortly from Arnhem.

Tot volgende keer!

Vianen & Gorinchem

Vianen & Gorinchem

Map coordinates: 

51^o59’26.29”N 5^o05’26.29”E & 51^o49’53.36”N 4^o58’38.55”E

Vianen was only supposed to be a convenient half-way stop on the way to Gorinchem.  What a surprise!!  It really is a lovely town,

and has the most amazing church.

The windows are just simple glass, not stained or colored, and they do nothing more than let in the light.  It actually lets you understand even better the reason Gothic cathedrals were so revolutionary and gives you a much better appreciation for all that space, though unfortunately photos don’t do it justice.

Our mooring was on a disused off shoot of the canal, and not particularly attractive, but within half a block walk you are on the edge of town and walking along a canal that follows the old town wall. 

One of the things I love about the Dutch is how well they (usually) integrate the really old with the really new.  Some of the wall is truly ancient, and then you come to a new section. 

The style and design are the same, but the newly build part makes no effort to appear old.  And, they apparently have built new housing right up into the wall, yet have left the old part intact. 

The conservator in me really appreciates the distinction, and the fact that most often here using old buildings does not mean compromising their historical integrity.

We stayed a couple of weekend nights in Vianen, and it was the first time we really needed chipped credit cards.  The mooring fee was paid using an automated machine, and even the official who came by to check if we’d paid couldn’t figure out how we should pay.  We wound up staying for nothing.  Other than that, it was really pleasant.  All the services we needed were with a block or two.  They were also the first really rainy days we’ve had this year, so it was nice to hunker down with everything in easy striking distance.

Then, it was on to Gorinchem (pronounced Horkum).  We’re moored on one of the two canals that run through the center of town. 

It was a completely walled town, star shaped fortifications, with a canal around the outer wall.  The southern edge is situated near the confluence of the Maas and the Waal, and it has for eons been a center of commerce, trade, and thus a magnet for conflict.  Bill loves the cannons and keeps asking for one for the boat.

Every evening, a loud drumming announces the passage of the Dragon Boats practicing for races coming up here soon.

 Got to love it!!

We’re beginning to venture into the areas dominated by what the Dutch refer to as the Great Rivers.  I used to tell Bill that if we fell overboard it wasn’t any problem.  It was a canal, just stand up and walk out!  Well not any more . . . .

(That little dot is a boat the size of ours.)

There’s another interesting church in the center of town.  This one has a medieval tower, but a 19^th century Italianate(???) church, and they really seem mis-matched.  An interesting juxtaposition.

A day or two ago we walked the 7 km path around the former city walls.  Lots of water, canals, locks, fortifications, but what really impressed us was the garden area to the east of the city.  Everywhere we’ve been in Europe, admittedly limited, there have been areas set aside for city residents to use for gardening.  In Great Britain, they’d be called allotments.  Here in Gorinchem they are surrounded by water and have a decidedly Monet-esque appeal.

 All generally have some sort of garden shed, sometimes simple, more often on the order of a small garden pavilion or tea house.  Since the “allotments” in Gorinchem are surrounded by water and lily pads, they even have their own occasional water deck! 

[2493]

We’re planning on staying through Sunday, then heading back through Vianen and east to meet up with Jeannet, her daughter Mirjam, and their friend Peter in Wijk bij Duurstede. After that, probably on to Arnhem.  There’s supposed to be a flea market here on Saturday, so we’ll see what that brings.  The plan to just live on the boat last year and start making “improvements” this year seems to have worked well.  We’re settling in nicely and the comfort level is really much higher this year.  Made first batch of brownies this am during a rain storm (cozy!! Gezelig!!).

[There is an absolutely GORGEOUS tjalk going by right now, WAT MOI!!!!]

Anyway, got to run and make dinner.  Tot ziens!

Oudewater & Marnemoende

July-6-2012         map coordinates:  52^o01’24.53”N 4^o51’50.70E and 52^O02”43.75”N5^o01”07.26”E

We stayed in Gouda a lot longer than we expected to.  Last year was a struggle to manage power.  This year we had shorepower and it was a lot more relaxing.  Also, Rob and his wife Jeannette invited us to dinner at their home and it was just a lot easier to stay put.  The dinner was really lovely.  Jeannette is a wonderful cook, and it’s possibly the best meal we’ve had in the Netherlands.  We always enjoy their company.  We also were in town for the flea market that week where I found my major souvenir for this trip, more on that later.  Even Bill enjoyed the market!! 

Then we were off to Oudewater, the witch city.  So far we are pretty much retracing part of the route from last year, but we do know what to expect.  Oudewater is a lovely, peaceful mooring. 

 Free too.  We really like it there, the only problem is no electrical hookups.  After three days, and hot (well, warm, it is the Netherlands) weather, the ice we’d made to carry over the fridge was all gone and everything was warm.  It was interesting to realize again how each place we stop has its own personality.  In Oudewater, folks pull up to a mooring and in about 5 minutes they’re settled in like it was home.  

In one case, there was a couple who pulled in in front of us on a rather small boat.  Within 5 minutes they’d tied up, taken off most of their clothes, and set up a little patio area for themselves on the grassy bank next to their boat.  It included the two adults, 3 dogs, one very large bird cage with one rather small parrot, two lawn chairs, a small cocktail table, beer and wine, a large plate full of nibbles and a varied selection of reading material.  School has just let out for the summer, and turns out the local teens prefer the area for swimming.  Every afternoon, groups would show up and strip down on the banks near the drawbridge and start throwing each other in.  Lots of kids out again in rubber boats, some can’t be much more than 8-10 years old, spending the whole day on their own with their friends running back and forth on this little river.  Amazing.

Our major problem with “culture shock”, if you can call it that, is that we’re still on our US mental schedule.  That puts us a bit out of synch.  The dutch sleep in late, we’re up early.  When we’re ready for bed, they’re just starting to party (and boy do they do that well!!).  And we’re always feeling a bit lost if we don’t have something that needs to be done.  Bill has been doing a lot of painting.

   If we were to take nothing else from this whole exercise in the end, I hope we finally learn how to relax.  There are many things I admire about the Dutch, and their ability to just live well with a good deal less pressure than we have seems central to it all. 

Anyway, from there we’ve moved on to the Marnemoende marina, just outside of Ijsselstein and Nieuwegein.  No food here, except at the rather upscale restaurant (which always seems to be booked full anyway), but everything else.  For us, it’s electricity, showers and laundry.  The weather reports have been calling for thunderstorms and lots of rain for the last week, but this was the first we’d seen of it.  Even then, it was only for a few minutes, and otherwise yesterday was gorgeous again.  Today is starting out foggy and with low overcast clouds.  All we have to do is get the laundry back to the boat dry, so this is just fine.  Almost a nice change from the sun we’ve had so much of this year.

Sorry we haven’t had so much about the typical tourist churches/museums/quaint cities stuff so far.  We pretty much covered that information last year, but soon we’ll be striking out in new directions so will include more then.  Next week we’re either heading toward Arnhem near the German border, or Gorinchem (pronounced Horkum, go figure) in the south.  We’ll make that decision at our next stop.

And now for a pop quiz:  at the Gouda flea market, I stumbled on a little device I’ve been coveting for years but never really thought I'd find.  

Can you guess what it is, and can anyone figure out how in the world I’m going to get all that cast iron back to the States?????

Till next time, tot ziens . . . .

Gouda

Gouda     6-21-2012    map coordinates     52^o00’35.65”N   4^o42’11.69”E

Oh my, Tuesday was a glorious day.  We started the engine at 9am and had planned to do a short easy 2 hour trip to Alphen just to get started.  The mooring place we had hoped to use was filled, but we knew that was a possibility so had a couple of second choices.  Thing was, all of them, and I do mean ALL of them, were obstructed by dredging operations.  5 hours later, we arrived in Gouda.  So much for our easy 2 hour trip.  But the beauty was that it all came back.  No panic over uncertainties, no worries about not being in control of the ship, nothing.  The weather cooperated.  It was probably the calmest wind conditions we’ve ever seen here.  It was sunny, with just enough clouds to eliminate glare off the water.  Everything went beautifully and smoothly.  The weather has been fantastic as well.  Warm, or at least warm enough.  Gouda would not have been our first choice of a place to re-visit, but it’s a bit like coming home. 

                We know the schedules, the routines, where everything is. 

  We’re continuing to upgrade the ship, I’ve almost got my summer garden in,

 and there’s a water heritage weekend in the historical harbor through Sunday. 

 Right now, we’re in the middle of a raging storm,  which is actually kind of cozy.  Forecasts are calling for thunder storms, wind gusts of up to 100k/h, possible hail.  Bring it on. 

 By chance we found a nice Italian sparkling rose to have with dinner,  that may have something to do with the mellow mood.  For comic relief, we’re listening to Dutch talk radio and what Bill refers to as Dutch soap opera radio, some kind of crime series.  More later, tot ziens . . . . 

Leimuiden    6-16-2012         map coordinates:    52^o13’41.43”N     4^o40’59.23”E

Well, this morning has been interesting.  We’re still at Kempers.  Depending on the weather, we’ve been working hard and preparing and improving the boat.  Nice days (more so far than last year) we work outside or walk into town or both.  Not-so-nice days, we work inside or hibernate.  About all we have to do now is repair the name on the starboard side, plan our first route, and then wait for a day when weather and wind cooperate so we can start our travels for this summer.  Looks like we’ll be heading east on a path parallel to our track from Gouda to Utrecht last year, then try to meet up with Jeannet somewhere so she can see this boat.  After that, we still have no idea where we’re headed.  But, at least it’s a start.

What’s been interesting about this particular Saturday is all the new boats.  About 7am, all sorts of boats started arriving and almost literally piling up at the repair dock in the marina. 

Big, little, 

new, old,

well kept and a few not-so-much.  Seems this is the 9^th year  that the Westeinderplassen, the lake just south of the Amsterdam airport, has hosted a day where volunteers bring their boats and take folks with physical or mental handicaps and their caregivers out for a day on the lake.  They were hoping for at least 60 boats, and they may well have made their target.   Also later there will be music and dancing in one of the big worksheds.  I’m assuming food as well.  I don’t think we’re going to crash the party, but we’ve been enthusiastically welcoming the participants and cheering them on.  Give the Dutch credit, they do know how to party and they do it often.  Some really gorgeous boats, old and new (I’m partial to the old), 

and they have a rare and beautiful day for it.  Well done!!!

Right now, it looks like Tuesday through Thursday of next week will be decent traveling days, so that’s our tentative plan.  Will have more to report after we start moving.  Best to all, and HAPPY ANNIVERSARY to Adam and Amy!!!!

LEIMUIDEN   6-6-2012

OK we’re back.  It seemed to be a very long trip this year, and it probably didn’t help that our flight didn’t leave Dulles until almost 9pm.  We finally have  phones and internet sorted.  And we've been working our little behinds off. 

First order of business was a bed to sleep on.  Last year we tore out the whole forward sleeping area,

literally down to the hull,

and I spent the whole 8 months between then and now researching the best way to hack IKEA for something to sleep on.  That worked great!, I just didn't manage to calculate for something small like getting the door to the toilet open more than a crack.  We stewed over that for a few hours, then Bill came up with the solution:  who needs a door? (???)  We canabalized a seldom used tablecloth and the toilet now has a curtain  --  and is actually much more pleasant.  The bed is worth it.  Last year we slept on a triangle of mattress that wasn't big enough for one.  Now we have what feels like acres of space.  There's no room for anything else

but who cares???  Of course, making a trip to IKEA to buy the stuff, putting it all together and then figuring out how to make it work took up one very, VERY long Saturday.  Sunday was enforced downtime.  Nothing is open here (from Saturday late pm to Monday mid-day) and it was pouring rain all day, cold and windy, so we hibernated. 

(I did get some weatherstripping up on the doors.)  Monday was the great expedition to buy a refrigerator.    YES!!!!    I FINALLY HAVE ONE!!!!    Got it into the back of the rental car, strongarmed it through the construction zone (Kempers Marina is undergoing major renovation), down the docks and onto the boat without dropping it over the side, and THEN we had to tear out cabinets to make space for it, AND THEN change which side the door opened on.  Without instructions.  Not even in Dutch.  Another very long day, but productive.

Yesterday we went to see Jeannet in Doorn.  Lovely lunch, and I wish I’d taken the camera for photos of the restaurant.  Her daughter, Mirjam, had her wedding and reception there almost 20 years ago.  In the woods, but with a big field to one side that later in the year will be covered in heather.  It’s a 2 story circular building and the conical roof on the second floor is painted blue with a little poem that says “enter sir, enter madam, here the sky is always blue”.  I think we got there as they had just opened for lunch and by the time we left we were almost the last diners out.

 

Today we head for the marine supply store.  The door to the wheelhouse is a mess, so we need supplies to strip and re-varnish that.  A few other things, like trying to swap out the lighting bulbs for LEDs.  Bill wants some ground anchors.  Then just a few minor things and we’ll be waiting for decent weather so we can take off for the summer.   – Of course, there’s still a shower to organize, and the new flooring stored under the bed that we’ll need to install, but I suspect that will be an all-summer-long project that we’ll just work on bit-by-bit.  We’ll see.  ---Tot Ziens