Leimuiden and our Other Home

Leimuiden    52^o13’40.86”N  4^o41’00.02”E   and back to our other home

I can’t really say whether life is getting more interesting this year, or we’re just more aware of what we’re doing.  A few nights before we were scheduled to leave,  a boat pulled in next to us and, after a few minutes, started making a horrible noise.  OOPS, wasn’t them, it was us!!  Now we had a problem with the water pump.  Not life threatening, or anything that needed to be dealt with immediately.  The next morning, Bill decided to take another look.  After losing a gear under the machinery for about an hour, he tightened the belt and the thing was working again.

MY HERO ! !

 Whoopee!!  Guess we’re getting better at this.  More work for us, but also more self-sufficiency and less cost.  Our worry/to-do list for the winter is much shorter and many orders of magnitude less expensive than last year as well.  WaterVogel is tucked in for the year, and we are back in the States.  Being back in Maryland almost feels strange this time.  We are accustomed to less space, fewer possessions, and knowing pretty much where everything is.  It will be interesting to see how this translates into everyday life here this time.  So, till next year folks . . . . 

Alphen a/d Rijn, Lisse, Haarlem

Alphen a/d Rijn, Lisse, Haarlem  

52^o08’24.74”N  4^o39’44.28”E  ,   52^o14’55.76”N  4^o34’02.98”E   ,

52^o22’38.86”N  4^o38’22/01”E

Not a lot to report.  We’re in Haarlem for about 10 days.  It’s a nice place to end our journey for this year, and it’s also close enough to Kemper’s that we can get back in a day, or two at most.  We like it here, even though we’re not at the mooring we found so lovely last year.  The priority was finding shore power, and that was possible sooner than we expected so we stopped on the south side of the city.  I'd forgotten just how lovely the approach into the city is.  Our mooring is different than last year, but still every bit as nice.  

We’re still on the east side of the Spaarn, so it’s quieter than just the other side of the river, and we’re a bit closer to the necessities you find in the city. 

Bill has been painting, at a rather furious pace it seems to me, and the result is that most of the superstructure of the boat has been re-done.  I’m just amazed at the burst of energy he’s had since we’ve been here!! 

We were extremely lucky to find a mooring in our spot from last year as we were passing through Alphen a/d Rijn.  It’s a bit remote from the city center, but there’s a lovely local billiard and darts pub there and we’ve really enjoyed the restful nature of the mooring.  

Then it was on to another former mooring in Lisse.  We managed to pirate a weak internet signal there, so were able to get a few messages out – though it tended to fade out in the middle of a transmission.  We’re looking forward to some down time here as we start to get the boat ready for the winter and then take it back to the Westeinderplassen.  Hopefully, we’ll have a day to visit with Jeannet before we leave as well.

Bill keeps saying that in the Netherlands, the even the weeds are gorgeous.  Here's proof:

We’ll let you-all know more next week, but for now we’re just taking it easy and preparing for our departure.  Till next week, . . . .

Rhenen and Culemborg (and Marnemoende & Gouda - again)

Rhenen, Culemborg, (& Marnemoende & Gouda - again)

51^o57’21.03”N     5^o33’34.94”E           51^o57’42.07”N   5^o13’08.07”E

(Without electricity for a while, so this will have to be abreviated.)

Life likes to stay interesting.  We were on our way back west again.  We spent an evening, a VERY HOT evening, in Rhenen.  The mooring is just a pier off the fields outside of town, but it’s right up close and only a few minutes walk to whatever you need – in our case, a milkshake to provide internal cooling .  We were only there overnight as a stopping point on our way west, but again Dutch towns are just too cute for words. This time, it included an old church on the edge of town next to the river moorings that serenaded us with an elaborate carillon melody on the hour and half hour.

It was also as close to miserably hot as it gets in this part of the world.  Everyone was under shade, not usual for the sun loving Dutch, and we managed to rig some for ourselves.

Then on to Culemborg.  I really only know this town as a place Jeannet used to teach lace classes. I’ve been using Jeannet’s Oma fiets (granny bike) more this year, and it was really helpful getting to the grocery store some distance on the other side of town. Going for groceries was a very different, and more delightful, experience than it would have been in the States.

 We ended up staying longer than planned again. This time because we seem to have developed leaks in both the engine oil system and the transmission system.  Talk about exciting!!!!!  We couldn’t find a local mechanic, so stabilized the problems long enough to get back to Marnemoende, where we knew there was one.  Bless Peter!  He found the “problems” right away, and they were small things that he said should cause no real trouble or damage, so we were on our way again with his fixes in place.

We’re now in Gouda. Yes, again.  We planned to stay there a couple of days so Bill can telecommute to a meeting with his amateur radio buddies back at Goddard.  August is just jammed with boaters on the water, so we didn't get electricity and couldn't use the computer after all.  (I'm using the cafe in the library to post this, otherwise no electricity till Lisse, hopefully the middle of next week.) Then on to Haarlem.  We’re hoping our favorite mooring is available, and plan to deal with one of the last two pesky issues we need to resolve to be able to head south some day.  If that goes as well as everything else has this summer, we will be very pleased with life indeed!  Besides, Haarlem has one of our favorite restaurants and we’re ready for a good meal out.  The weather has cooled off a bit the last day or two. Still, compared to last year it’s downright balmy.  The Netherlands is the most densely populated country in Europe, but they’ve managed to keep a very rural feel to much of the country as well.  Much of the landscape we travel through is pastoral with only an occasional small built up area. Every time I’ve been here, I’ve been reminded how closely the Dutch live with their domestic animals.

Fields with horses, sheep, cows, you name it, are only minutes outside of major cities.

Need to post this so we can get on with the fun stuff in life.  Tot later, y-all.

Arnhem

Arnhem, near the German border

We’ve already posted an entry detailing the wonderful experience we’ve had at the marina outside of town.  Now, we’ll try to tell you a bit about what we’ve done while we are here.

We spent one day at the OpenLucht (Open Air) Museum just north of town.  I’d been there almost 20 years ago, but Bill needed to see it.  There’s a wealth of information about daily life in the Netherlands in the past, and it also gives you a good understanding of the differences in the regions.  Travel has helped me appreciate much more the regional differences in the States, but it has also pointed out the subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, differences in regions of countries much smaller than our own.

It also teaches all sorts of interesting tidbits.  For instance, the reason this house is painted this shade of blue is because it keeps away flies. 

Well, that’s what they say anyway.

The museum is celebrating its 100^th year, and the additions since the last time I was here are impressive.  They try to collect buildings from different regions of the country.

They range from the small sod huts used by the lowest levels of society at the time, to whole

farmsteads, large and small,

and have recently added two buildings from the Jordaan district in Amsterdam.  There are a series of 4 workers houses, decorated in the styles of different times right up to the 1960_s.   It’s a bit like Williamsburg, Mount Vernon, and the Smithsonian Museum of American History all rolled into one. 

They claim you can see most of the museum in 3 hours depending on how much time you spend in each exhibit, and they do not suggest you walk the whole route.  One of the  more recent additions is the old trolley station from Arnhem and an antique trolley system that takes you around the park.  

We walked it all, only missed a very few exhibits at the end because we were tired, and did it in about 4½ hours.  Yes, we were tired, and yes, our feet hurt – a lot.


Another day, we did the tour of the two local museums addressing the Battle of Arnhem and Operation Market Garden in 1944.  Being a lapsed historian, I wanted to try to understand the dynamics of the battle on site.  Our mooring is just upstream of "The Bridge Too Far," 

now called the John Frost Bridge in honor of the British commander who initially took the 

north end of the bridge and held onto it for so many days against overwhelming odds.  The bridge is just downstream of our moorings and was the last landmark we

passed under as we came upstream on Sunday.  There are a number of museums and 


cemeteries, but we only visited the two most prominent.  Probably the most poignant
reminder was a memorial outside the entrance to the Airborne museum in Oosterbeek:

You can click on the photo to enlarge it and read the inscription.


And finally, on a lighter note, we discovered another sort of monument on the way back to Arnhem:  

We know it's the real TARDIS because it prominently advertised itself as being out of order.  Since Bill has given Amy his sonic screwdriver, we were not able to gain entry.  


Tomorrow we begin our return down the Rijn through Gouda and Haarlem before we leave the boat south of Amsterdam again for the winter.  Postings may be fewer, both because we've been to these places before and because we'll be moving faster and have fewer internet connections.  Till next time,  take care all . . . .

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!