3 September. Sixhaven to Almere Haven.

Our search for a second-hand outboard motor led us, via markplaats.nl to Almere Haven which is not that far (ie 29km) up the meer so after a quick shopping trip we headed out into the Ij. It was Sunday so thankfully no commercials were out on the water but, my goodness, there were a lot of pleasure craft about enjoying the gorgeous day which was sunny with a light breeze. The sailboats would probably have preferred a bit more wind, but we were happy. 

Before we left the centre of Amsterdam, though, we decided to try and find the botel barge belonging to a Dutch couple, Eugene & Joke, we met on the island last year. They had stayed with Piet and Jelka for a couple of weeks looking at houses and had come over to us for dinner one night. We had a vague idea where their barge was and to my great surprise, considering how many barges there are in Amsterdam, we found it straight off. We tied up alongside and had a quick coffee and tour of the boat with them.

Having a coffee with Eugene and Joke who we met on Faial last year. Their botel business is called "Captain's Place". They had five young welsh guests but Eugene still managed to give us a quick tour. 

Once through the lock and into the Markermeer it was sails for as far as the eye could see. I reckon just about every sailboat in every haven was out on the water. Thousands and thousands of them - very pretty. 

There were lots of pretty boats like these out sailing today. That is Durgerdam in the background - just outside Amsterdam. There was also the occasional odd sight out on the meer today ...

... I wouldn't have liked to be aboard this in a chop.

Our route took us past Pampus Eiland which had been recommended to us a number of times and as we were in no hurry we decided to stop and take a look. A nice young man directed us to a great spot right in front of the restaurant terrace where a hundred or more people were enjoying the sunshine and a coffee and applegebak. "We better not F--k this up with everyone watching", urged Skip and I am happy to report we did not. He eased into the spot as if on a greased track. Phew.

 The landing stage in front of Pampus Eiland.

Pampus Eiland is one of the main forts which used to protect Amsterdam's sea approaches. The place had been left to ruin after the war but once Amsterdam's Waterlijn (series of water and fort defences) were declared a Unesco World Heritage it has since been preserved and is now a popular place for Dutch day trippers. I can report that it was most interesting and we are pleased we finally got to stop and visit.

We set off again up the meer and just before making the turn into Almere haven we came across another lovely island with nice protected moorings inside. Skip decided he would rather spend the night out on the island than in the marina, so we found ourselves a good spot on a lovely grassy bank surrounded by trees and it is just a shot hop across to Almere in the morning. 

31 August, 1 & 2 September. Cologne.

So, we decided to take a holiday from our holiday and hopped on a train to Cologne in Germany. 3 Hours from Amsterdam Central Station.

We found a really nice hotel 2 minutes from the Cologne station within the shadow of the spires of the Dom (or cathedral) called Hotel Domspitz - an appropriate name 'cos it was only a 'spitz away from the Dom :) 

As I booked it really last minute - ie that same morning - it was a really good deal and the breakfast was fabulous. Our room was in the eaves and was cute as a button.

After a quick walk around town - gotta say not the most attractive city we've ever been in other than the river frontage - we took the hotel's advice and ate at a very local joint called Max Starck. Skip was particularly taken with the beer service system which involved 20cl glasses of the local tipple Kolsch. Now normally he would scoff at 20cl glasses of beer, but in this case one never waited for a refill as the waiters were constantly patrolling with these carriers of glasses and everytime they spotted an empty it was automatically replaced until you put your hand over the empty glass. It took us awhile to figure out the system and by then we had had at least 4 refills :) :) :)

The waiters kept track of how many refills you had by marking a beer mat on your table with a slash every time they slapped another glass on the table.

For the most part the menu was indecipherable. Schnitzel we understood, the rest was Greek (ha ha). I had to resort to going outside with the menu and phoning our German friend Rosi back on Faial for a translation. We eventually got to one item (Rheinhamchen) even she couldn't identify so that's what I ordered just to see what would arrive. And  what appeared was a rather unsightly, but delicious, boiled ham hock with a pile of sauerkraut and mashed potatoes. No normal person had a hope in heck of finishing it and even with Skip's help I did not.

Next day we got on yet another train and headed down the Rhein aways to the town of Konigswinter. Here the terrain changes from flat to mountainous, albeit not exactly alpine. The Sebenbirgebergen it is called. There is a cog-railway up to the highest peak with the picturesque ruins of a castle on top called Drachensfell. 

 Drachensfell.

 The views from the visitors' centre are pretty spectacular.

That's Bonn  in the background. 

We had lunch ... 

 ... and wandered around the Schloss Drachensfell a tad further down the berg. No photos of the interior 'cos it wasn't allowed, but truth to tell it was rather dark and gloomy.

A Martin in front of Martinswinkel. Naturally we had to stop off for a beer.

 From Konigswinter we took yet another 16 minute train ride to the small town of Linz-am-rhein which is terribly cute .....

.... and even cuter. Would have been nice to stop awhile longer at one of the roadside watering holes but we had to rush a bit to catch the ferry back to cologne ...

The ferry back to Cologne.

We had a great view from our table of the passing scenery ...

... although not all the riverside scenery is pretty. Much of the Rhein is industrial but I won't bother you with any pictures of factories.

30 August. Alkmaar to Sixhaven.

Not much to report today. It poured buckets all day as we worked our way south towards Amsterdam. It is due to rain for the next day or so, so we have decided to get on a train and go to Cologne for 2 nights. Sixhaven is the ideal place to leave the boat as it is just a short ferry ride to Amsterdam Central Station and a safe spot to leave the boat.

I'll be back on Saturday with the next update.

29 August. Alkmaar.

Skip's birthday today. The folk at the yacht club sung him happy birthday before we set off. Really nice friendly little club. We would be happy to stay if we hadn't wanted to make Alkmaar by early afternoon.

The canal was more interesting today, with a number of bridges we were able to pass under with the awnings down. Hot, hot, hot, so the awnings were going up and down and up and down most of the day.

We had been to Alkmaar a couple of trips ago and hadn't liked it, so were a bit wary. But I had read that the 29th had an evening cheese auction and it looked like fun so we decided to give it another go. And a good thing too, because actually it is a lovely little town with lots of shops down pretty little streets with lovely old buildings crowding over the canals. We thought about why we had disliked it the first time and came up with:  a.)  we had been unable to find a good mooring, as they are sparse -  b.)  it was raining the whole time we were here - and c.)   it was a Monday morning and everything was shut.

Today we found a good space on the wall in front of the Waterpoort. 9 Euros for a 10m boat with electricity at a 50c pay meter. The road running alongside is BUSY, but that meant it was convenient for the centre.

Zoe's new paint job. And I am happy report that we no longer have to scrub the bow after very voyage.

The cheese auction started at 19.00 and we arrived at the Waagplein square dead on time to find the square FULL with people standing 6 deep around the edge so we were unable to see anything other than what was happening on the big screen. I noticed that on the opposite side of the square roadside café's had chairs and tables out to the edge of the action so we pushed our way around and found a prime spot right up against the railing. What great entertainment. The cheese auction has been happening here weekly, essentially unaltered, since the middle-ages. Normally it is every Friday morning, but this year they introduced 8 evening auctions and happily one today. Presumably when it rains this all takes place in a shed somewhere.

 The Alkmaar Cheese Auction. This is Waagplein (weigh square). The building on the right is where the official scales are housed. 

 The producer (on the right) and the buyer (on the left) clap hands together - clap, clap, clap - while yelling out numbers to each other. When they finally agree on a price, instead of a clap they shake. Deal done and the cheese is sold.

First the cheeses are inspected by a team of experts. How it looks, how it tastes, the consistency, water content, salt content etc. Pieces are removed with a special cheese corer which extracts a small sample all the way through.

 Once the sale is made, 8 cheeses at a time are loaded onto the sleighs and taken into the weighing house to be weighed and then transported out to the buyers wagons waiting at the other end of the square. Each cheese weighs between 12-13 kilos and the wagons themselves weigh 25 kilos. So on average the bearers are hauling around 120 or so kilos.

 The sleigh bearers run at a funny speedy pace called a "dribble". It is a specific trot which reduces the to and fro movement of the sleigh so as not to trip them up. Looks odd, from a spectators point of view.

The various colours of sash on their hats denote from which cheese guild they are from. Of course, they play to the crowd, eliciting cheers and applause.

If you are lucky enough to have a spot close to the railings, you can enjoy plentiful free samples.

The harbourmeesteress had directed us to a less touristy restaurant where we enjoyed a great steak and slow-cooked lamb-shoulder birthday supper. Mmmmmm.....

The restaurant we ate at, Heerlyke Nel's, was upstairs above the Cafe Stapper overlooking a small canal. There were plentiful small boats to-ing and fro-ing providing us with an entertaining floor show from our window-side table.

27 August. Groet to Den Helder.

Today's 32 km route up the Noordhollandkanaal was hot and BORING. Dead straight canal with nowt of interest on either side. There were a couple of roll bridges and and a few low ones which needed the awnings down but that was about it.  And boy was it hot with the bimini down. 

We had a couple of potential mooring spots in mind in Den Helder, but the one that appealed the most, in theory, proved to be beyond a lift bridge that opened but only once in awhile so we travelled back down the canal a km or so to the WV den Heldt. As it turned out  it was a good choice. 

Den Heldt Yacht Club, Den Helder.

The yacht club has seen better days and some of the docks are a in a "discondition" as they would say in the Caribbean, but we found a good spot in front of a nice garden belonging to a attractive home with a power point so we were happy. There was no-one in the harbourmaster's office, nor on the docks, except for a couple of 9-yr-oldish  kids playing with buckets and water who luckily knew the code for the gate - 1785 - which meant we could get out of the club with the bikes.

We took a 20 minute ride into the town through the backstreets because we got lost, but eventually ended up in the centre. Wow, what a great place! We had already figured out that Den Helder is the Netherland's main naval and helicopter base so all the warships, submarines etc were no surprise. It is also a base for the support vessels of the North Sea oil industry, the north sea fishing fleet  and multiple off-shore wind farms. 

So a busy, busy, harbour. But it also houses the old harbour with the naval and rescue museums around. Once we had found our way into the center we discovered that it was "Historic Weekend" and the center was full of old  cars, lorries, buses, trucks, caravans, tanks, and every other motorised form of transport imbetween. Even a '57 Chevy (!!!!!! Les, take note). This was sunday afternoon and they had been at it for two days already, so things were winding down, but we still got a good idea of what everyone had been up to all weekend.

There were many WWII motorised vehicles of different sorts, including this tank. Most USA, but also RAF etc.

And then, when you thought you had seen it all, there was this .....

 We wandered around for awhile taking in the scene when the sound of blues drew us to a quay side watering hole where the 'St Louis Slim" blues band were playing. They are BRILLIANT. "No way I can keep my feet still." I warned Skip as we went in, and we danced to the blues for the next couple of hours. I did wish that Allan and Fay had been with us because it called for some line dancing :)

Our feet were already tappin' when someone at the neibouring table offered to take this picture. The band playing inside were fantastic.

28 August. Den Helder. Texel.

Years ago I read a murder myster set on the Dutch out-island of Texel and ever since I have had a hankering to go there. And as Texel is only a short ferry ride from Den Helder here was my chance. The ferries leave every half hour so we made an early, for us, start and caught the 9.30 ferry. The ride is only 20 minutes so it was not long before we were cycling along in the dune reservation of Texel. The island is very popular with the Dutch - nature, wildlife especially birdwatching, and somewhere that scouts etc spend their summers. Not the most exciting place, it has to be said, but that's not why one would come to Texel.

 Considering the crossing is only 15 minutes, the ferries are quite fancy with buffet, bar etc.

The market was setting up in Den Berg when we got there.

So, there are a lot of sheep on Texel, and every other shop sells sheep related whatever. This was only one of MANY!

Bacon and Egg sandwich with chocolate milk. Happy Skip.

My trusty cycle route atlas plotted  us a route to the main town of Den Berg, where happily we discovered that Monday morning is market day and the cute town centre was filled with stalls selling all sorts of lovely goodies and the bars, cafés and restaurants were doing great business. We eventually found a good table in the shade (hot, hot, hot) and had a tasty lunch of "uitsmuiter mit spek & kaas" for Skip and salad for me.

By 2pm our bike batteries were starting to complain so we headed back to the ferry and Den Helder and after filling up the water tanks we were on our way again by 3pm.

We were working our way back down to Alkmaar but wanted to take a different route, so we went down the Balgzand canal and then south to the Waardkanaal. We had no plan as to where to spend the night, just to get as far down as we felt like and see what came up. And what came up was  the Nieuwesluis Yacht Club which is wonderful. Small and friendly. Just how we like it. Within 10 minutes of tying up we were ashore with a sixpack sharing beers with the locals. Snacks, BBq, fishing for tiddlers, and maps out discussing potential cruising routes. Perfect….

 Nieuvesluis yacht club. Very friendly.

Skip cooking AGAIN. :)

23 August   Sixhaven, Amsterdam

Sixhaven. It is quite astonishing just how many boats they can stuff into the smallish basin at Sixhaven. Just when you think it is chock-a-block, with some yelling, shifting, and squashing they can get in a couple more with just inches to spare.

"We don't like to turn anyone away",  the harbourmaster explained.

Of course, it means that you better not have an early start planned, because until everyone starts leaving around 9.30 you are stuck. Last in, first out. But everyone helps with fending off and passing lines. Can't deny it's convenient for a visit to the city though and at 18 euros a night including electricity is not exhorbitant considering the location. A couple of minutes walk takes  you to the ferry across to Amsterdam Central station The ferry ride is only 4 minutes and the boats run constantly throughout the day and night.

Sixhaven. Chock-a-block and even the channel into the marina has boats moored cheek by jowl. It is highly entertaining watching everyone trying to leave next morning. 

We had decided to hop the metro and go out to the Ikea (again) to look at kitchen cabinets together. A good idea, as we were able to resolve some issues jointly. After a quick lunch in the cafeteria.

"I think the food in the Portugal Ikea is better!" declared Skip,  referring to the roast pernil (pork knuckle) with roast potatoes which is a staple in the Lisbon store - we headed back into the city.

"Let's get off here", I suggested, one stop before the central station one.

"What's here?" asked Skip.

"I dunno but we can walk back and get some of the city atmosphere".

So we got off at Nieuwekerk and found ourselves in a bustling square with a gorgeous old kerk in the centre surrounded by lively bars and restaurants. Just then a couple stood up from a prime table on the road side which we grabbed and whiled away an hour with a La Chouffre and people watched.

"Which way do you want to walk back?" asked Skip.

"Down that narrow alley looks cute and interesting", I suggested.

Well it was certainly interesting, as we started to pass window after window of, ahem, ladies. I guess I shoulda noticed the red lights.

"You do pick the best routes", grinned Skip.

Back across to the Sixhaven side of the river, we decided it was suppertime so stopped into a small riverside pavillion and had an ok steak. Not as good as Atletico on the island, but not too bad or overpriced.

24 August. Sixhaven to Zaandam

After shoehorning ourselves out of Sixhaven the next morning we headed down river a little ways to Dekker Watersport to do a little research. We were thinking about buying a small dinghy and outboard as there have been numerous occasions over the last couple of seasons where we would have loved to explore small canals where we could'nt go with Zoe. Much to our surprise they had a new 2,5m inflatable dinghy on special for 390 euros.

" We'll take it!".

But the outboards were too expensive so will have to keep our eyes open for a second hand one. I also, happily, found a very detailed cruising guide to the inland waterways of Germany, IN ENGLISH!!!!  We are thinking of taking Zoe to Germany next year, so what a find.

The small and historic old lock into Zaandam. Isn't it a sweetie. Unfortunately we had to use the large modern lock next door.

From the IJ we turned up into the Zaan river. The first bit is wide and uninteresting but that changed as soon as we passed through the first lock into Zaandam. A most attractive town, with lovely old buildings along the water and a supermarket right on the riverfront. Perfect for provisioning, which we needed to do. This region is the cocoa capital of Europe, supplying 1/3 of the world's cocoa powder and cocoa butter. The raw beans arrive by ship and barge from all over the world and the processed cocoa is sent to chocolate makers around Europe.  There is a wonderful aroma of chocolate all around town.  

The old Zaan-side warehouses.

By now it was after 3pm and we started looking out for a likely overnight spot. Moorings seemed few and we were loosing hope when suddenly a row of lovely old windmills appeared around a bend in the river and we spotted a small dock just beyond. The bikes went ashore as soon as the lines were secured and we cycled back downriver to get a closer look at the windmills. We later discovered that most of the area's moorings are a couple of kms upriver.

Turns out the windmills are part of a museum complex of old buildings called the Zaanse Schans. The complex was the dream of the architect Jaap Schipper, who, for a graduation project in 1946, came up with the idea of saving old Zaan-region wooden buildings which would have been lost to demolition or just plain rotted away. Schipper worked out a way to save as many as he could by moving them, whole or in parts, to this location. Some were put on trailers, some on barges and some dismantled and moved piecemeal. There was no plan for a tourist attraction at the time - the goal was preservation - but it is now a popular place to visit in Noord Holland. There were certainly lots of visitors, but not in the crazy numbers one gets at Giethoorn, for example, and the money raised goes towards their continued preservation. 

This was the very first Albert Heijn shop. For those who are unfamiliar with Albert Heijn, it is one of the biggest supermarket chains in the Netherlands. The first shop was owned by grocer Albert Heijn in Oostzaan.

The windmills are all operational and most of them were still working when we arrived although it was late in the afternoon and they were about to close. The barns and agricultural buildings house various crafts - a cheesemaker, cooper, clogmaker etc. All very interesting although sadly we were too late for the chocolate factory. I know!  

 The clog maker and some of his wares ...

The most fragrant of the windmills was this one grinding spices which came from the Dutch colonies. 

And of course, one of the rescued buildings housed a cosy pub.

25 August. Zaandam to Groet.

We cycled into town in the morning to find a mobile phone shop to sort out our internet issues (hence no blog til now). We had bought a 25 euro data chip from Nos, the supplier on the island, who assured us that it would work on roaming as well as in Portugal. NO NO NO. It does not. So once we are away from town, marina etc wifi, we don't have any internet. A nice asian lady in a phone shop supplied us with a Lycamobile chip for 15 euros providing 5gb internet for 30 days. Deal! We handed her 11-year old son our hotspot doohicky and he kindly installed it and set it all up for us too. "See," said Skip," that's all we needed - a kid."

The town centre is very attractive and up-market. The local authority planning department obviously stipulates wooden facades and gables and only green paint is permitted  as everything conforms to code. But it is certainly pretty.

The C & A. Even the big chains conform to the planning code.

 This cafe found a  cunning way to increase their outdoor seating.

How about this for a hotel facade?

We decided to save Alkmaar for later and carried on 15 km up river to the small village of Groet. The yacht club at Groet is  couple of kms down a narrow and winding offshoot channel towards the sea. The entrance to the canal is somewhat discreet so one has to keep a lookout or you can easily miss it. There are a couple of 3m fixed bridges to pass under so it was down with the awnings again.  We had been here in spring 2016 and loved it. Would it live up to our rose-tinted memory? Oh yes. Just as enjoyable the second time.

There were a few low bridges on today's canal. Down with the awnings, and sometimes even the windows, but we scraped through.

"The chart says the next bridge has zero clearance!"

And it was right. 

The peaceful moorings run alongside a grassy bank for a kilometer or so.  According to the harbourmaster the most boats they ever had was about 10 years ago when 150 boats were moored along the canal. Happily those heydays are over and there were about 30 or so boats, so we found a spot with at least 20 meters between us and the boats in front and behind. Groet is a charming small town surrounded by a nature reserve full of lovely walks and cycle paths. The yacht club has few facilities - a small shower block, a couple of loos along the canal path and a water point. No power. At 13 euros a night, it is quite expensive considering, but the area is great so hey ho. By the time we had our lines secured it was beer o'clock so we biked the km or so to the nearest beach pavillion and spent an entertaining hour watching the late-afternoon beach activities.

26 August . Groet.

I consulted my invaluable ANWB cycle route atlas and plotted us a 40km route taking in most of the nature reserve, a couple of beach villages and the small town of Bergen. 

 The market in Bergen.

 

The most activity surrounded the cheese stall where they were handing out plentiful free samples. Mmmmm.....

Admittedly this was the swankiest of the Bergen homes, but the others were not too shabby, either.

We even went paddling in the North Sea - 20C, not too bad. 

We had no idea what to expect at Bergen, other than it was on the way. What a delightful little town! Very pretty and very up market. The homes around the town are in the multi-million-euro bracket. There is a venerable old kerk in the centre of town  surrounded by a village green around which crowd cutsy old houses and shops. And to top it off the market was in town strung out around the green. It was probably the most larny market we have come across with eco this and biological that. Even the clothing stalls were designer labelled! We spent a happy hour browsing and tasting the many free samples being handed out at the various stalls. Skip discovered the kibbeling van - I think it's his nose what does it - so no prizes for guessing what he had for lunch. It was pushing 4pm by the time we got back to the boat where Skip decided it was time to wash and service the bikes. I finally found the time to start up the blog again, so here we are …..