This one's for Adam

OK folks. I've been working on this blog for 2 days and every time I get ready to publish, it evaporates into the ether. Very irritating. So I'm going to do the best I can and try to edit the photos into the blog at a later date. Doin' my best here. Maybe the text will make you curious for the photos? We'll see . . . .

Adam mentioned in an e-mail that it had been 11 months since our last blog entry. Well, there's a reason for that: we haven't been very well this trip. Bill's been occasionally under the weather, but I've been hit hard. First it was tripping and landing on my face just before we left, which may have caused more damage than we realized. Then there was the miserable heat that hit about two weeks after we got here: multiple episodes of heat exhaustion. Strained back muscles. All small things by themselves, but put together a bit debilitating. To show you the extent, one of the first things I did was buy 3 bars of my favorite grocery store chocolate – two bars are still untouched.

Anyway, we got here in good order (miserable flights, but otherwise . .) and Kempers had the US flag out to welcome us as usual. If you missed the photo in Facebook, one of our neighbors lives on board and once a week he puts out an eel net and smokes the catch. He gifted us with a nice portion. Ugly little faces and funny little gills. I just don't like lots of smoke, but otherwise it was quite good.

There was quite a lot of work not done again this year, but we've got our Dutch radio license all taken care of so we are off to the South. Our first stop was, as usual, Alphen, where we encountered the first of a recurring issue for this summer: bridges that are broken and don't work. Got through and on to Goude just in time for the WaterStad celebration. This is its 10^th year. We'd been here for it by chance once before, and it's grown quite a bit. The sea chanty choirs were not the major part of the party, this year there were old salmon fishing boats demonstrating that way of life, and cooking fried fish for those walking by. And let me tell you, those folks were REALLY having a good ol' time!y

This is the boat Bill wants to build in the back yard when we get back to the States.

We went to our favorite soup spot on the market square, and had tomato soup and my favorite cheese soup with assorted breads and spreads.

The area has improved mightily in the years we've been coming here. The latest is a little cafe that also houses the showers and toilets. For years it was a derelict but they've salvaged the building from the ground about 4 feet up and then just added simple things and turned it into a really pleasant meeting place - + it has WiFi.

Out the canal side, they rent "whisper boats" so you can tour the canals on your own.

Also found a yummy little Arab bakery – I'm always ready for that! In the market, I bought a little blown glass dog. Now not only do we have a boat dog, we have a Saluki on board!

Rob and Jeannette came for dinner before we left. I didn't get a photo unfortunately. Every year they's invited us to a lovely dinner at their home, and we wanted to return the favor, though boat food is a bit limited. They brought a couple of small tomato plants and are still producing and that Bill is especially enjoying. Then we left Gouda and dealt with more broken bridges, some that forces us to make detours and others that just stopped us in our tracks until they could be fixed.

One outcome has been that we've visited tiny towns that we normally would have passed right through, each one cuter than the next. Most of them also have carrillons that play "Name That Hymn" tunes on the quarter hour. Haastrecht was particularly interesting in that the Tour de France 2^nd stage was supposed to pass through a day or two after we did. Great tiny streets to eliminate riders and some of the hottest days yet. Lots a luck guys.

Of course our perspective is a bit different.

We've also been keeping track of changes, just in the 5 years we've been here. Used to be Ketchup was a novelty, now see what you can find in the tiny towns!! Lucky us!!!

We've also met some unusual friends. The Ice Cream Man evidently makes his own ice cream, using milk from his own cows from what it says on the container.

Since then we've been limping from town to town, all originally built as star fortifications on a water ring around to heart of Holland to protect it from Spanish and French attacks multiple hundreds of years ago.

In Woudrichem we found a little cafe in what 300 years ago was the arsenal. Just the kind of light meals we are eating this year and in a totally gorgeous setting.

In Heusden Bill found the best bread I've ever eaten in my life. Multigrain, rich, flavorful, loaded with nuts and dried fruit. They only made it once a week, or we'd have been too stuffed for the boat to float.

And finally we'll end this with a bit of Dutch fashion for Amy. I do love the Dutch.

We are currently at the confluence of the Maas and the Maas Waal Kanaal, heading up river to Maasbracht where we plan to leave the boat for the winter. More from us when we get a chance. Tot ziens y'all.

31 July 2014

Well, we are back at our home marina again. We left Lisse, and were meandering through Alphen to the southern environs of Amsterdam and further, when we realized that our house batteries were completely shot. We really only use them for the water pump, but there was the potential that the problem could impact the integrity of other parts of the system, so we returned to have them swapped out. In the process, we learned quite a lot about our electrical system, so it was a worthwhile use of time. We upgraded our batteries somewhat so now we can run our fridge for a day or two without shore power. We're planning to set out tomorrow AM to continue an abreviated version of our previous plans.

Here's what's been happening in the interim:

 

Our first stop after Lisse was our favorite free spot in Alphen, near the billiard pub. This year there was a sign there saying they'd installed shore power!

However, when we asked, we were told they'd installed the sign but never got around to the rest of it. We were moored "further" from the pub than usual as you can see.

Across the Rijn, there was a lovely example of Dutch priorities: there was a garage for the boat, but not the car.
 

The second night we were there, two boats that were traveling together pulled in either side of us. We were invited for coffee after dinner, and treated to a concert by one of the kids.

He was actually rather good, and brought back memories of our kids at that age, especially Adam.

Next day, we discovered the battery problems so it was back to Kemper's to see if they could fix them quickly – well, not so much. We didn't have anything else to do so we spent Sunday in Amsterdam, mostly just walking and enjoying the quirky neighborhoods.

Next day, it RAINED ! ! !

One of the worst two or three rainy days in the years we've been coming. We just hunkered down, and made ourselves cozy. Also made a custard tart from a give-away flyer at one of the grocery stores.

We were supposed to have the batteries swapped out yesterday, so we vacated the boat and took the bus to Leiden. Saw where they're going to install the new (100 year old) English organ in the Hoogelands Kerk – we sponsored a pipe to celebrate Adam & Amy's wedding. Had lunch along the Rijn canals with free WiFi,

 

and it was market day, so we had a nice look around. McDonalds is ubiquitous in Europe, but I must say if the rest are going to go the way of the Leiden McD, I can almost live with it.

 

Came back to learn that they hadn't gotten around to our batteries. Needed to do that today, OK, but then Carlos shows up this AM to tell us (me) to drive the boat over to the lift to make it easier, and by the way can I back it in please. I HATE TO BACK UP THIS BOAT ! ! ! but I did it wayway. All the way from the far end of the marina to the workshop and crane.

Backwards. I really don't like to do that but we'll call it a learning exprience, OK?

 

Anyway, tomorrow it's off to Alphen again and then around to Amsterdam south and probably Weesp. A lovely quiet mooring, and space and time to do all the work we just haven't bothered to do so far this year.

Best to all, and hope you are all healthy and happy. Tot ziens, y'all ---

18 July 2014 – Lisse

Current position: 52*41'59.33N, 04*34'03.74E
 

We have finally left Haarlem, and are taking the long way to Weesp, east of Amsterdam. Bill's choice, I think all the road noise in Haarlem was begining to wear on him. Right now, we're back at the little club marina in Lisse. FREE INTERNET!!!, electricity (ice cubes as well as refrigeration), and super tranquil and quiet.

This is a happy man!

 



Our last days in Haarlem, we found a new source of free internet (do you see a theme here?). There's been an explosion of places offering free internet to lure you in to various establishments. We spent almost 3 hours in a small church-converted-to-a-brewery-and-cafe. We arrived a bit before lunch, so started with a beer and waited until we could order a meal. Between posting our previous blog entry and eating, we've finally slipped into the European habit of lingering over meals. In addition, the setting was fascinating: as the Dutch seem to do better than anyone else, they had converted the setting to something modern, and yet had preserved the integrity of the old and kept the Dutch character of the whole both in the old and new. 
 

No, that photo isn't upside down, they'd put some sort of carpeting on the dropped ceiling over the entry.

 

Just for Adam:  on the way back we passed a shoemaker who specializes in making "large size shoes."

 

We tried the middle eastern bakery that is connected to the laundrymat. Best eastern baked goods I've had in AGES, and they managed to keep the sweetness down without the pastries becoming dry. Definitely want to go there again.
 

Also a week ago, Jeannet's son Rob and his wife Jeannette had us to dinner at their summer house in Speuld. We took a train to their house in Waddinxveen

 

and the drove WAY out in the country. You pass through Dutch villages that are almost the way they were decades ago – except weekenders with money have moved in to some extent so I suspect they're a bit more manicured looking, but still . . . .       Jeannette had a little booklet she's made showing their hunt for a country place. It gave us a chance to appreciate just how much work they'd put into making it theirs.

It was nice to begin with, but now it is simply spectacular – expecially the garden! One of the things I learn over and over here is the beauty of a small place that you can turn into a true jem, rather than something big that is never completely finished like seems to happen in the States.

This year, Jeannette prepared a meal of asian foods. Every year, she outdoes herself feeding us. This meal was even better than the TOKO meal we'd enjoyed so much in Haarlem, and the soup was especially good.

 

I NEED THAT RECIPE ! !

And, after a couple of decades, it's finally dawned on me why the Dutch look at American's so funny when we ask for "ice water". Ice, or "ijs", means ICE CREAM here, so we're actually asking for water with ice cream in it. Now we've finally learned to ask for water with ice cubes (ijs bloketjes). (And just how dim am I that it's taken me this long to figure out?)
 

We'll be leaving Lisse in a few days. Our next stop will not have shore power, but we're trying to be ready for a big storm that's scheduled to hit on Sunday. We're aiming for the little park just past Alphen on the Aar Kanaal. That seems to be our mooring of choice to hunker down and hybernate. 
 

Will try to keep in touch and let you all know how life here is going. Right now the news on Dutch radio is all about the Malaysian Airlines 777 that was shot down over Ukraine. It feels odd to be cut off from the news coverage, we've been so used to that in the States. Also seems odd that Schiphol is only a few minutes away, and that plane was overhead less that a day ago. Prayers for the families, most of whom are from here.

Tot ziens y-all, keep in touch . . . .

5 July 2014, Haarlem

Adam requested that we post links to our location when we can, so here is what I've sent him so far:

GPS links:

If you go to google earth, right now we're at 52.22.39.84N, 4.38.18.60E and there's a little boat parked just where we are now, though the whole place is crammed with boats instead of there just being one or two.  If you go to 52.13.41.44N, 4.40.59.29E not only is that our mooring spot over the winter, that's actually our boat in the picture!!! You can tell by the solar panels.

Now, on to updates: Today has been such a joy. It was supposed to be rainy all day. Started out overcast and hot, then rained off-and-on for most of the day, and then about 3 the sun came out and it's been breezy and sunny ever since.

This was going to be a busy day: first off, it was the first market day we'd had since we'd been here, and there were three of them! First was the general market in the main square. No lettuce plants, probably too late in the season so I'll have to start the rest of my garden this year from seed. Got Bill a mint plant so he can have fresh mint tea (more on that later) then headed for the antique market by way of the organic market. Found some lace bobbins at the antique market. Oddly, I'll find then eventually, but Bill always finds them first. Got some good buys on that, as well as good memories. Then, back to the boat via the grocery store for a few things not available in the market. Had some of our market purchases for lunch, then went up the road to take a shower in the little glass enclosed house in the middle of town

– yes, that's right. The glass "seems" to be frosted, but it's a bit disconcerting to know that there's a drawbridge just outside the door and everybody and their brother are passing by on the way to the market. And if you're looking closely, yes that IS a big foot on the roof.

Next, we went across the way to the little cafe on the corner next to the boat. Last year, the street and buidling were totally torn up being refurbished. This year, it's a little cafe with tea, coffee, beer, salads, sandwiches, light meals etc. It also has internet, so we go over there every second day or so to keep in touch with folks. Chances are, this update was sent from there. Some of my favorite places (expecially my favorite bookstore) have gone out of business in Haarlem since last year. Luckily, we've found some new ones: the cafe across the road,

literally just a skip from the boat, where Bill has become fond of fresh mint tea; a favorite bakery that has macarons and possibly the best Belgian waffles (Lierse style) I've ever had,

and we found a really wonderful TOKO.

That's a little Indonesian deli/carryout/restaurant/market combo. We stopped by after we had beer and coffee at the local cafe to use the internet. Picked up a whole lot of little boxes of delicacies for dinner: Rendang (beef stew in coconut milk), kip sate (chicken in probably peanut sauce), sweet & sour green beans & tofu, nasi (rice,this time fried), and a samosa and a loumpia to share. More than enough for at least two meals! and perfect with a local beer.

After dinner tonight, we'll try to stay up to follow the latest Dutch World Cup game. We picked up some plastic orange pennants at the local bargain store and have decorated the boat.

Hope we don't jinx it. The Dutch for some reason didn't have great expectations for their team this year, but the place still erupts in total crazyness when they win. Great fun. (Update: we turned off the radio with a score of 0-0 at midnight. Since the whole city erupted around 1am with honking cars, horns, celebrating people, and fireworks, I'm supposing at this point that the Netherlands won.)

Tomorrow we catch trains and trams to the outskirts of Amsterdam so I can take the test to (hopefully) qualify for a valid European marine radio license. That's pretty much the last thing we need to have to get through Belgium and into France, so everyone cross fingers, pray, think good thoughts, whatever. I'm as ready as I'll every be, but something can always go wrong. Will know this time tomorrow. Till then, Tot Ziens y-all - - -

6 July 2014 Update

Well, passed the marine radio licensing exam. It wasn't difficult, but I was a nervous wreck. Mostly didn't know what to expect, but now I just have to wait for the license to arrive and deal with repairing and licensing radios. Took a RYA (aka Royal Yachting Association) on line course through a Dutch group called Aquaplanning, and then sat for a practical and written exam. Extraordinarily nice and helpful folks. So, that's one more box ticked off and one less hurdle to our boating adventures. Now on to more travel, best to all . . . .

June 30, 2014 – Lisse

Not too much has happened yet this year. I have a marine radio license exam in Amsterdam this weekend. We need that to register and use the radio on the boat, and it seems that none of my US licenses are acceptable. It's been a long road to figuring all this out, but hopefully this is the last hoop to jump through to get everything in order. We also got a late start this year. This year's last minute panic was that the airline cancelled one of our connections, so we had to reschedule everything 2 days before we were originally scheduled to leave. After a L-O-N-G series of flights into Schiphol, it took us a couple of days to recover from all the scrambling. Doesn't seem to be quite so much to do to get ready to cruise this year, or maybe we're just more laid back about it.

 

 

Kempers' has consolidated their operations onto just the one site near Leimuiden, selling their other properties. We're still happy with this as a home base, even thought the internet can be problematical. They had the flag out to welcome us, and a few days later a Brit flag joined the Stars & Stripes.

 

 

 

We took our time getting ready to leave. The days have been not as warm as last year, but still very comfortable. We've had our "Ah yes, I remember why we're doing this!!!" moments.

I've been cramming for my radio exam, and there was also the matter of arranging it with the group organizing it. We're headed for Haarlem, which is in easy striking distance of Amsterdam, and then just a bus ride to the outskirts where the exam is being held.

We're in Lisse now, at the little Lisse sailing club on the Ringvaart

 



that has some Passanten spots that we can easily just pull into. They've been making improvements, including, it seems, mostly reliable internet connections. We'll see how that works when I try to download this.

We set out yesterday based on weather information that said the next few days were going to be sunny and clear, with low winds. A few years ago, I asked Wilma at Kempers if there were any weather forecasts that were more reliable that others. She just laughed – and kept on laughing as she walked away. Below see what a forecast of sunny, clear and no wind is like:

Our internet arrangements have changed again this year and we're not sure yet how they're going to be working out. We'll try to keep in touch as best we can, hoping for nice folks like the Lisse club and the various libraries to supplement our access. Till then, Tot Ziens y-all.

13 August 2013 Gouda

Sorry this blog has has so little to share this summer. The internet connections have been abysmal, and it's put a crimp on the spontaneity of our entries. It's also been an extremely lazy summer, something we've enjoyed no end.

We spent a couple more days in Amsterdam, mostly walking around and enjoying the people watching. It finally rained more than a few drupples. We thought about going to the Anne Frank house, but the lines were out the door, down the street

and down a couple of blocks so we settled for a beer and nibbles instead at one of the canals in the Jordaan. Then it was off to Weesp.

We'd been there two years ago, so knew where the best moorings were.

This is a photo for a chum of Bill's who claims we haven't posted a photo of the boat, or at least not one he's noticed. After a very quiet week in Weesp, we were off again to the south of Amsterdam and a week of very quiet moorings along canals with nothing but a ring to tie up to, perhaps somewhere to leave the trash, and real birdsong in the morning instead of trucks and traffic.

Gouda was an interesting mooring experience. I've been doing better I guess, Dutch sailor types have been telling me I've done well docking in some rather tight places. Our current spot is tight between an antique wood boat in back and a nice pristine new boat in front. We're so close that the flagpole in back rubs against the antique boat's spar.

We'll most likely be here for another week. We're hoping Jeannet can get here for a visit. She's had problems with her ankle and can't get around so well this summer, but she's hoping that one of her children can drive her as we have a relatively easy access mooring here.

Sorry there's not more to report. Till next time, take care of yourselves, best ---

July 28 2013 Amsterdam

This week we've moved from Alkmaar, first to Purmerend, then on to Amsterdam. Purmerend was just a convenient stop on the circuit through lower North Holland, but was quite a nice stop. Nothing much to do but rest and relax, oddly the thing we seem to have the most difficulty learning to do each year. It was our first free mooring, a 3x24 meaning we could stay for 3 days. No electricity or water provided, so we managed to last into the second day before we ran out of ice cubes, and we needed them to deal with the hot weather. Our mooring was just under the lock where we turned to head south again toward Amsterdam.

 It was actually quite enjoyable. If we'd wanted to stay longer or if electricity or water had become an issue, we could have pulled into the municipal moorings a bit further into town, but this was just fine. The weekly market was not in the center of town for a change, but rather spread through all the outlying streets and began just down the street from out mooring - extraordinarily convenient. There was a gaggle of geese that seemed to think they owned that section of the canal. Most mornings they'd head down one side of the canal and up the other honking loudly for handouts,

 though there was one goose who seemed disinterested in the bread scraps and far more interested in us, so much so that I finally had to close the wheelhouse door to keep him from coming in.

 We had a chance to try out our full regalia of shade devices.

It's been very very warm here the last few weeks.

On Wednesday, we moved on to Amsterdam. Our marina is just across the IJ from the train station. We have an 8-10 minute walk to the free ferry across the river, and then we're right in the center of town. One of the things that has proved surprising this year is that Bill, who usually enjoys the countryside far more, has been enjoying the cities. Again, the commercial marinas seem to be in the more industrial part of town, this time just (barely) off the main channel where the big cruise ships pick up their passengers.

Luckily, our other neighbors are the usual, and not so usual, waterfowl.

The transportation norms are a bit different here than in the States. You are seeing a lot of micro cars that probably wouldn't be deemed safe on the road at home. They're so small they fit on the pedestrian "only" ferries more easily than the scooters!

Yesterday we went to the Van Gogh Museum. You hear a lot about the long lines if you don't get advance tickets, but we didn't seem to have a problem with that. Must be because we're earlybirds. When we left, the "quick" entry line was about 3x longer than the line to buy tickets when we arrived. The line to buy tickets was snaked around the corner. The museum has obviously changed in the 20 years since I've been here. Now there's much more emphasis on the development of style and influences, some of it quite surprising,

and techniques, materials, and conservation research.

Found a lovely little quilt shop just a block or two from the royal palace, great location and wonderful choices of fabrics.

and a little way further 2 shops dedicated to vintage/antique food service.

It's been so hot here that we've been hoping for rain, if you can believe it! Finally arrived for a short while yesterday

and we found shelter, like everyone else, under the umbrellas of a street cafe to celebrate and have a slow lunch. Overnight we had our first real downpour, but the sun is starting to show itself now and there are tiny patches of blue in the sky, so I'll close this and we'll head into town. Beer shop/museum today, but no hurry about seeing everything. That's the joy of knowing you'll be back. Best to all, take care of yourselves tot ziens ---