Grethe's visit from Norway

Grethe and her family have been old friends of our family for over 50 years. She found time to fly out to Schipol to spend a long weekend with us. Being well travelled, we were surprised that she had not visited the Netherlands before. It was fun showing her around and we planned a "variety" cruise. So we included a small country town, a bit of the Markemeer and Gooimeer, a night on a remote island, the beautiful villages on the Vecht (again a return trip for us) and a run up the "big motorway" Amsterdam Rijn canal. After a week with the central heating on (in August, it must be a first!) Grethe brought the most glorious weather and that made all the difference.

Dode Hond Island, Gooimeer                     Wild deer on the island

Supper in the sun                              Lovely church in Loenen and an organ recital!

Amsterdam

We remember visiting Amsterdam five years ago when we were barge dreamers. We hoped one day we would cruise here on our own ship and so this came to pass. The chart shows so many tiny waterways but it was not too difficult. Our thanks go to bridge and lock keepers who could not have been more helpful. We visited the Van Gogh Museum (superb) and took the trams round the city. The Ship Museum was closed for refurbishment so we shall visit again. We also hoped to catch up with our old friend Ruud but he was away, so another reason to return to this special city.

Entering the city                              Rowers here too, no fear of big ships!

Lovely views of classical buildings            A quiet side canal with treelined streets

The famous harbour for historic ships          Modern too - some extraordinary architecture

Haarlem

Our next stop was Haarlem, where we had barge friends waiting for us. Pat and John on "Hilde" and Jan and Peter on "Ebenhaezer" were already installed in their favourite city. We had a long windy trip from Weesp and on arrival in Haarlem in a convoy with massive commercials, a howling gale and a hairpin bend we were glad of John's help to tie up. After this we all enjoyed an evening out at a super restaurant and a chance to relax and catch up on all the news. We also met Aussies Vicky and Max on "Yavanna" - more great hospitality. Haarlem is a fascinating city with lovely art galleries, historic buildings and churches and dangerous shopping. One morning we noticed a small black and white cat sheltering in a doorway opposite and before long it was on board!  We learnt later that it lives right there in a comfortable home but is just cute and very cheeky! Nearly a case of adoption for Diana who seems to attract any animal, wanted or unwanted. Good hairdresser in Haarlem - after a summer of growing her hair long, Diana had a radical haircut - short again - very pleased with it!

Haarlem, quayside                              "Ebenhaezer" and "Hilde"

We learnt his name is "Kiki"                   Vicky and Max on "Yavanna"

Leiden

Our first new friends when we arrived in Belgium a year ago were Jaap and Frieda. Their home town is Leiden and we couldn't pass their city without calling in. They have been to France and Germany this summer so we were eager to hear the news of their cruising. Lovely to catch up with them and we shall meet again in the winter.

A good enough spot for one night               Zijlpoort, Leiden

Gouda

Gouda is famous the world over for its cheese. It is a really charming and picturesque town. During our four day stay there was an Open Monument Day so it was a great chance to see some of the lovely and grand public buildings and of course the Cheese Museum. The historic harbour here made us very welcome and the mooring was right in the pretty centre of town.

Historic harbour, Gouda ............           with Esme in the distance

Stadhuis, Gouda                                Typical charming street

Dordrecht

We arrived in Dordrecht expecting to spend the weekend in the historic harbour but they had a big historic ships event planned so we went into the Nieuwe Haven where we were made very welcome.  It was nice to meet Fred and Tony, English barge friends who were also visiting and we had a good meal in the clubhouse.  Dordrecht is reputed to be the oldest city in Holland and we enjoyed an organ concert and a climb up the tower of the Grote Kerk which gave us some wonderful views of the city.  Another highlight and well worth recommending to friends was the World War 2 Museum where the very helpful and enthusiastic volunteers made it such an interesting afternoon.  We had a visit from Graham, one of Esme's friends from the past who lives in Dordrecht and we had fun exploring the historic ships in the city.

Cruising down the Hollandsche IJssel           Another big one!

Historic harbour Dordrecht                     View from the top of the Grote Kerk tower

Bird's eye view of Dordrecht                   Visit from Graham

Esme's 84th birthday

A special occasion to celebrate Esme's birthday and top of the guest list was her family from the old commercial days.  It was a good day for a cruise in perfect weather and a chance for Krijn to take the helm on the trip from Dordrecht to Willemstad via the Biesbosch and Hollandsch Diep.  On arrival at Willemstad we enjoyed a look round this pretty town and shared a family meal.  A lasting friendship has been cemented, our guests returned to Rotterdam and we look forward to meeting them again during the winter when we will visit their city by train. 

Krijn at the helm, in his element!             Krijn, Diana, Nel, Chris and Elma

Town ramparts, Willemstad                      Extraordinary window decorations

The route home - goodbye Holland, back to Brugge

At Willemstad we joined up with Jan and Peter on their Dutch barge Ebenhaezer in order to enjoy their company on the cruise back to Brugge.  Our route took us from Tholen in Zeeland via the Oosterschelde and  Westerschelde estuaries to Terneuzen.  We stopped over in Sluiskil to catch up with friends Mary and Tony  then crossed the border into Belgium for the two day cruise back to Brugge where Esme will spend the winter.  Now we have lots of winter activities lined up to make the dark days slip by quickly.  We are already planning our next season's cruising in France and would certainly love to visit the Netherlands again in the future.

Is this the right chart then?                  Cruising in tandem with Ebenhaezer

 

Ready for the "off"                            Dwarfed by freight ship on the Westerschelde

Crossing the big estuary                       Tea time in Sluiskil with Mary and Tony

John, Pat and Frankie welcome us on arrival    Esme nested in to her winter berth