Boating in Holland – Part 3

Boating in Holland – Part 3

Boating in Holland – Part 3

The start of this holiday is – on this link.

What to do and see in Gouda? Head straight to the VVV (Tourism Info) and get a copy of their map.

Cheese market in Gouda

They have a historical walk you can do yourself. Well preserved old buildings such as the City Hall, Market Square, Sint-Janskerk (St Johns Church) are located along with other key buildings. A bit further out you can visit a hofje (communal garden) or three, a lock on the canal and a couple of museums.

There was a vintage market happening the day we were there. Our boat is 21 years old. It has a CD player. I found a stall selling second hand CDs – 4 for €10. I bought eight CDs. Bon Jovi, Eagles, Level 42, Tears for Fears, Simple Minds, Elvis, Fleetwood Mac and Bruce Springsteen. We also topped up on provisions. When we collected our clean laundry my other half was well and truly laden down on the bicycle. He rode home and I walked after him. We had a shower and I got cracking making us a salad supper. Next thing a flotilla of Danish boats came into the marina. Twenty five boats left Denmark but only

Stadshuis Gouda

five were able to tie up in our marina. One boat double banked with us. Very civilised mariners – so my partner said. They dropped their ensign at sunset. And ONLY walked over the front deck. Stuff I didn’t even know was important.

Thursdays they re-enact the cheese trading process at the square in Gouda and we were keen to see it happen. Locals dress up in traditional clothing and pretend to make, weigh, sell, do

Street market Gouda

what-ever, with Gouda cheese. We watched for a bit and then went with our friends to a cafe where we did a bit of planning. We collected their luggage, did a mini shop up, and went back to the boat. Supper was veggie and falafel wraps on the back deck. And Belgian beer. And wine.

We got going in the morning and made our way to Rotterdam. The inland waterways and canals are always perfect and calm. No rolling about. But the River Maas is tidal. And very busy. Big working barges create a wash and our little boat was rocking about good and proper. We ducked into Veerhaven and found one of the last spaces to

Skyline in Rotterdam

moor. That said, there is ALWAYS more space if boats start double banking. We finished our on-board lunch and went exploring with our friends.

We found the VVV (tourist info), got maps and info. Then we found a cafe and had not one but TWO rounds of beers. Round One we each had a different beer but Round Two we all had Texels Beers. Texel is the most populated of the Frisian Islands. It’s like one of the the Hebridian Islands would be to the United Kingdom. We try to have a different local beer but we also can’t help but be drawn to our favourites. It’s really annoying when we find a fabulous beer and then can’t find it ever again. Kasteel springs to mind and I fear Texels too. Grrrr.

On our way back home we stopped in at Albert Heijn

Lunch on the back deck

supermarket and bought provisions for a braai (bbq) supper. I made an aubergine parcel to bake on the fire and a big fat green salad. The others had salmon seasoned with lemon, olive oil and black pepper. Not going to lie, sitting chatting on the back deck, under the stars, eating good food and drinking wine is not a bad way to spend an evening.

Cube buildings Rotterdam

Day Two in Rotterdam we had a late start. Brekka was toast and cheese or Marmite or peanut butter. And tea and coffee. My other half and I set off leaving our friends behind to do their own thing. We started at the Maritime Museum. Spent at least 4 hours wandering around there. Then we went to find the Vegan Organic Bistro – Gare du Nord – to book for later the evening. After that we went to Mini World, a model train exhibition. We got there too late and decided to rather come back the next day. Our walk back to the boat was via China Town where we found an Asian supermarket. We spent €10 and came out with 1 kg fresh tofu, 400g tempeh, a large handful of fresh ginger plus large packs of seaweed cake, dried mushrooms (or so we thought) and desiccated coconut. We must have walked for almost 6 hours before we got back to the boat.

Back at the boat, we showered, got ready, and walked another 3/4 hour back to Gare du Nord. How did

Tram Rotterdam

we live before happycow.net? We find the most amazing places all over the world on their website. Gare du Nord is an old train brought back to life as a restaurant. They grow their own food. And teach kids from local schools how to make veggie food. They charge €19.50 per head for a 3 course meal. Our starter was a Spicy Sweet Potato Soup. Main was Bulgar Wheat with Wilted Kale, “No Meat” Lentil Balls with Tomato Sauce and a

Trying to read e-mails with one bar strength

Veggie stack with Pea Puree. Desert was a Citrus and Blueberry Tart.
We had an organic wine from the south of France which cost €17.50.

After our meal we took the tram back to our boat and sat talking until, I can’t actually remember, but I think it was 1.00am.

Click – here – for Part 4 of this travel blog.

For more on other places we have visited, go to the top of this page and open – My Holidays and Trips.

See you soon.

Greenie.

Boating in Holland – Part 2

Boating in Holland – Part 2

Boating in Holland – Weesp, Alphen a.d. Rijn and Gouda

Weesp

This journey begins – here.

My husband gave me advance notice that we had to leave early the next day. He gets up and makes breakfast and I hold off until the last minute, then rush to get dressed and eat so we can leave in time.

Fortunately our friends on the boat are early risers. They had already been for a walk long before breakfast. We kicked off in good weather and headed for Weesp. Pronounced like waist but with a P at the end. Amazing, when the boat is still, it’s quite warm, but the minute the boat moves, the wind chill factor kicks in and you need an anorak.

The back deck

We tied up in the city of Weesp along the canal. Great location except the facilities block was about 1 kilometre away. We all piled off the boat and went walk-about. First we had soup and sandwiches at a nearby cafe, then we found the VVV (Dutch tourist info) where we got a map. The bloke at the VVV suggested we go to the “gardens”. Mmmmm, not quite gardens, but an interesting spot.

There was an old fort with a draw bridge going back to 1861. A map showed a collection of forts in an arc located around Amsterdam. After

Soccer Cup fever

walking whatever direction looked interesting, we went back to the boat to relax. Some of us had a nap, others read a book and one was pottering around. I had a nap and went for a short run. We trekked off to the showers and came back to make supper. Veg pasta with a big fat salad. And of course the obligatory sun downer drinks on the back deck talking about whatever. It was 21st June – Midsummer – so the sun only went down around 10pm. We went to bed around sundown.

The next day we had no idea where we would end up. My other half was wanting a wild stop. Not my first choice with a group on the boat! But there

Mooring at Alphen aan den Rijn

weren’t exactly any marinas en-route to Gouda. We found a stop next to the side of a road and tied up. A family friend came by to visit us. He took us out for a mini drive and supper. He spoke about life in the Netherlands. I love living in South Africa. Can’t imagine living anywhere else. But I can’t help but be envious of a country that has infinitely less corruption. The Netherlands have long term plans and funds actually get allocated and spent. They are incentivised to make green and healthy choices. Education is a priority and you can see it. I can only hope that one day South Africa will be like that.

Shangri La at wildstop near Uithoorn

We intended to find what we thought was a marina in Alphen aan den Rijn for our next stop. We tied up next to what looked like a French style cafe. It wasn’t. Turns out there were no facilities bar a rubbish bin. But we stayed because we liked the location. We all had a nice hot shower. (There was plenty hot water on the boat from motoring.) We put on our glad rags and headed to the local cafe. Holland was playing the third match of the 2014 Soccer World Cup against Chile. We geared up to watch the game at the cafe and got well and truly caught up in soccer cup fever. Local football fans dressed in bright orange clothes and

off to do laundry in Gouda

accessories filled the cafe. The cafe laid out snacks on the house.

The game began. The first 70 minutes were uneventful. Chile had the upper hand with ball control. They were at the point where they make substitutions . . . . when all of a sudden Holland scored a goal. And a few minutes before the end of the game they promptly scored again. Was lots of fun to be in a country winning such a big game. We went back to the boat and chatted on the deck until late. It’s hard to know when to go to bed as the sun goes down so late.

The following day we had breakfast and walked with our friends to the train station. They were going to Rotterdam and then Paris. We went back to our boat and journeyed on to

Gouda

Gouda. I don’t know why I expected Gouda to to be a small historical village. It’s actually a really big place. Perhaps because there weren’t too many marinas on the map? We found the only marina in Gouda and tied up. The havenmeester (harbour master) kindly lent us his bicycle so Patrick went looking for a laundrette. I went for a mini run. That evening we both had a long shower and caught up on comms. I made us a humongous salad with falafel for supper.

Another round of friends were joining us shortly. We had to get the linen washed. The marina didn’t have a laundrette but gave us directions to one. We strapped our big blue IKEA “washing bag” to the bicycle and initially I rode it, but my legs were too short for the pedals. My other half took over and rode the bike while I walked behind him. We left our washing at the laundrette and went to explore Gouda. Do you know I actually think Gouda is nicer than Amsterdam. Why? A lot less tourists. Hardly any Coffee Shops. No Red light District.

Gouda

Gouda also has canals. And windmills. And cheese tastings. It’s full of Dutch people.

Got to Part 3 of this travel blog – here.

For more on other places we have visited, go to the top of this page and open – My Holidays and Trips.

I will be back soon.

Greenie.

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