July 5, and still in Haarlem

5 July 2013

Have finally been able to download photos (very laboriously), so over the next few internet days will try to edit current and previous postings to add photos.  Celebrated July 4 with a dinner of burgers, coleslaw, potato chips and beer.  Flew the flag prominently when it wasn't raining.  Today has been gorgeous, and finished painting the "salon." Antique water pump finally died after almost two years of complaining, and we were overjoyed to learn that we could replace it ourselves with not too much effort and with a new and much more efficient model.  The guy who runs the local ships supply store right on the Spaarn has always been helpful and was very encouraging through all of this.  I'm sure we could find parts and supplies less expensively elsewhere but we really enjoy him and he's so helpful that we're happy to subsidize the service.  The bridge just south of us froze this morning, and has only been opening occasionally for mostly commercial traffic

 

and MAYBE letting pleasure boats through if they have the time.  When it closes, it closes with a tremendously loud THUNK!!! The backup has been, in the words of one of the bridgetenders, CHAOS!  We're happy to just sit here, paint, and watch the zoo unfold.  It's been a lovely stay in Haarlem, despite the construction right outside our wheelhouse door and more than a few days of rain.  The waterfront will be really lovely when they get done, especially if they put in a few trees.  And even with night work hours, we've been somewhat protected from all the noise by the side of the canal.  And it's just such a quiet, peaceful sense of community on the water at night after everyone has finally settled in (which usually means about 3-4am for the Dutch!!!).  Complete with carillon serenade if you happen to be awake on the hour.

 

Anyway, it's been a bit of an ordeal getting these photos (yes, all four of them) loaded and getting the painting done today, so perhaps that's it for now.  More in a week from north of here, maybe sooner if we luck into a spot with WiFi.  Till then, best to all - - -

2 July 2013

May have finally figured out how to get photos up, so if they are posted with this entry you might want to go back to previous ones and see what we've managed to edit in. Today is overcast, but warm and lovely otherwise. Yes, weather does seem to play a large part in our lives here. Think we've decided to stay on a bit longer. Haarlem is a lovely city, we know where things are, we're comfortable here (except for the construction on the quai-side but we seem to be shielded from the worst of that), and it's relatively inexpensive. Mostly, I've got painting to do right now to finish my self-appointed chores for the summer. Went walkabout this morning to deal with a whole host of minor housekeeping issues, and, wonder of wonders, Bill didn't get a mental overload from the whole experience. Perhaps we're finally reaching the "settled in" stage. May head for the historical museum tomorrow or the next day. We've been here so often that we've seen pretty much all of what interests us here, but I'm always interested in the history, and especially the pre-history, of the area. Best guess is we'll stay here for internet-day on Thursday, the flea market on Sat, and probably (depending on the weather) leave on Sunday (even though Bill doesn't like to travel on weekends) for places north. Amsterdam or Zaandam, whatever the best opportunity presents.

1 July 2013

Yesterday was a joy, finally. Warm weather for most of the day, sunny, a bit windy but nice. Walked into town in the afternoon and discovered a huge used book market in the square. It used to be that Sundays and Monday mornings everything was closed up tight. Now, at least in the larger places, it seems most shops are open Sundays like they are in the States. More convenient, but less of a local feel to life. We put up shade on the back deck and spent the afternoon reading outside with appetizers and light drinks and then later with a dinner of "leftover soufflé"

while we watched the locals indulge in an orgy of boating up and down the Spaarn. That's their way of celebrating the sun. The river is as crowded as a mall at home the day after kids have finished school for the summer. This morning started nice, but has gone back to overcast and cool. Looks like in a few days we're headed up north to Zaandam, around part of Noord Holland and then back down to spend some time in Amsterdam. Yesterday back in the States Amy's sister Beth was married. Spent the day thinking about them and wishing them the best. Still trying to get photos up, more later . . . .

Back in Haarlem and its pouring AGAIN!

21 June 2013

Having an internet day today. Thursday night on the east coast, Bill's radio club has a check in and he can reach that over the air by computer link. So, 2am he gets up and starts the computer for the day. The per byte cost is hugely prohibitive, but we're found a plan where once we've hit about $6 in charges they stop charging for the rest of the day. We just use it as much as we want that day and call it internet day for the week. Today is a good day for it, grey and rainy. Reminds us of the first year in Haarlem where it poured nearly every day. We'll probably just spend the day mostly in and save the city crawls for later when (if??) the weather improves. We're still not sure where we go from here, though I'm trending toward north - either cross the IJ river and head north of Amsterdam, or maybe east and then north into Friesland if we're feeling brave and ready for a really active summer. I love Friesland, Jeannet remembers it was the first place we wanted to go the first time I visited over 20 years ago. Very small, very country, very peaceful. Hopefully I can get this posted, will come back with photos once (if) we get that figured out. Tot ziens y-all and take care of yourselves.

20 June 2013

Just arrived Haarlem. Probably the least pleasant (noisiest, busiest) mooring we've had here, but also probably the most convenient. Right across from the nice, quiet mooring last year, but this side has a major road, no shade (good we've got our own), and the noise of a major intersection under construction as well as the road.

I seem to have lost the entry I had prepared from our trip to Leiden last Saturday. It was the Kempers spring weekend where they offer a day on the water in volunteer boats to folks with handicaps and their caregivers. It started out as a thoroughly miserable day, rain, horrible winds. The windy days here have probably been the worst we've seen in 4 years. However, as we prepared to leave for a bus trip to Leiden to deal with computer issues, the sun came out, the wind - well, it didn't die down much at all, but at least it was almost bearable - and for about 8 hours it was a cool but lovely day. Their day ended, we walked back from the bus stop, and about that time all the nasty weather picked up again and we had the rest of our worst day here ever.

So, computer problems sort of solved, we're here in Haarlem. One of our favorite places, good restaurants, interesting stuff, nice markets. We know where the laundromat is (a VERY big deal), and in a pinch I've walked to IKEA. Every year I'm astonished by just how lovely the southern approach to the city along the Spaarn is. Old houses, new, large, small, all with lovely gardens and super-well-taken-care-of. Our present situation is somewhat less spectacular:   road with large construction project, including attendant noise. We DO have a rather nice view of the central tower of the St Bavo church out the wheelhouse window. Will include photos at some point so you-all can compare our present circumstances to the very Dutch view from our first year. And I promise that while we're here we'll try again to figure out a way to download photos. Still working on it. Till then, take care everyone ---

PS --For animal lovers, we just had a pet ambulance go by, great idea! And about 4pm the resident swans go on a little daily parade down the river trying to scavange bread bits from the boaters. Feels like we're home.

Leimuiden      17 June 2013

We're still in Leimuiden waiting for the winds to die down a bit before we can leave, probably to Haarlem via Lisse in a day or 3, but after that we have no idea where we're headed.  FINALLY got some internet today, -- we hope, -- after a trip to Leiden by bus on Saturday to begin to sort out all the problems and another call to customer service this am.  Saturday was the day Kempers has a day where they take handicapped individuals and their caretakers out for a day on the water.  Nasty and windy am and evening (evening possibly the worst wind we've ever seen here, trees bent over . . . ) but sunny for the middle of the day.  Otherwise, just painting, getting things set up here, doing a rough fitting of the new back deck awning.  Biked into Kudelstaart last week for paint and groceries.  Other than that, we're still trying to get this new mini computer set up so maybe we can keep in touch.  Stay tuned for more, if I can get it uploaded.  For now, all take care . . . .

9 June 2013  Leimuiden

Well, we're here.  This year's last minute mini disaster was the computer.  It crashed the night before we were leaving and nothing, and I mean nothing, would make it work.  We spent the early morning of departure skurrying to buy a stop-gap computer and get it set up to enable us to pay bills, Bill to contact his radio buddies, and do minimal e-mail.  Among the things we didn't have time/forgot to do was download the program to transfer photos to the computer for the blog.  So, we may have to wait till we return home to add photos.  The next issue is that we seem to be in a trough between a bunch of almost mega yachts and new buildings here that is blocking signals.  We can't figure out if the problem with internet connection is due to the new computer or the location. So, you out there who actually ready this may be a bit disappointed this time around.  I'll do my best to keep the news coming when possible, but so far it's been a real challenge. 

We do finally have the phones working, new numbers again this year which is always an irritation.  We've been here about 4 days and are nearly settled in.  Have been to visit Jeannet.  She forgot to renew her driver's license and is thus transportation challenged until she can satisfy the authorities that she's still safe to drive.  We had a picnic with her at her summer house. We only had a car for 3 days this year, instead of a week, and did manage to get most of the necessities dealt with.  Thank you to all who prayed for warm weather.  It's been sunny and warm since we arrived, turning cooler and windy yesterday, and now the sun has disappeared.  It's given us an excuse to stay indoors and organize, and most of that is finished.  Bill's even gotten his radio set up sooner than he expected.  My summer garden is planted. Now we can just relax and watch the other boats going in and out until it turns sunny and warm again (tomorrow or Tuesday) and then we have to get back to work painting and cleaning. 

I will do my best to figure out how to load this onto the net and get some photos attached.  Tot ziens, y-all

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.