This is "Onbekommerd"!

Friday, May 30, 2014

Onwards to Ameland

Today, we continued the trip with a reduced flotilla, a total of six boats, five from the original Valk crowd and a welcome addition.

After saying our goodbyes to the crews that were going back to 'the shore' or who were staying on Terschelling for a bit longer, we made our way past the 'charters', old fashioned sailing ships now used to offer groups or individuals a few days on the water.






After leaving the harbour we turned to port with our fleet following us:




As you can see, it was stunning weather, not a breath of wind, sunny (a bit cool), perfect conditions for a 'Wadden trip').

When we got to the Engelsmansplaat, the seals were out in full force and we took a lot of obligatory pictures. Here is a nice one:






We got to Ameland just after midday. This was good as an hour later the harbour got full and you can almost walk over the boats from one side of the harbour to the other now. On arrival we all found a spot and discussed the trip.





We had an animated 'borrel' (pre dinner drinks) session on the biggest boat of our flotilla. The idea is to stay here two nights and the continue to Schiermonnikoog, the next island, together.

Location:Oude Steiger,Ameland,The Netherlands

Thursday, May 29, 2014

End of the Valk tocht

Yesterday was very wet and rather windy as expected. We had an extensive group breakfast in the restaurant right above the harbour, the rest of the day was spent inside, reading and working. Even the heather had to do a few hours of service....

Today was much better, dry but still very windy. The harbour is filling up quickly, it is Ascension day today plus tomorrow is the 'sloepen' rowing race from Harlingen to Terschelling. Both of those make this a very popular harbour. We did a few loads of washing early on and had a cycle trip in the afternoon. That was followed by the closing dinner of the tour, a very nice buffet.

Tomorrow we will move to Ameland in a flotilla of probably six boats. The weather forecast is excellent and the tide favourable, we need to leave just after 8am to get over the three shallows on the way. We should see some seals, if so we will take and post pictures.

As I don't have any suitable pictures of yesterday or today, here is a nice one taken by one of our colleagues on the way from Harlingen a few days ago. It shows Lyn on her favourite perch, the roof. It looks like a big rain cloud behind us, but that never reached us!





Location:Dellewal,Terschelling,The Netherlands

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Two days on Terschelling

Now that we are on Terschelling with the Valk Yachts Club, there is a somewhat informal organisation of 'events'. Yesterday we did a very nice beach / dune / forest walk with 14 of the 30 people in the 'tour'




Stopping on a dune for a bite of lunch.




We especially liked these orchids of which there were many in the dunes.

Once we returned to the harbour, the yachts competing in the 'Harlingen - Terschelling race' were arriving. With over 100 yachts varying from small one design ones:







To big 'platbodems', traditional yachts:





The harbour was very full:



This morning they all left again to race back to Harlingen.

We then did a cycle trip, just a few hours and not very strenuous but very nice, including coffee with cranberry cake near the beach. No pictures, unfortunately.

Tomorrow, the weather is expected to be rather bad with a lot of rain. We have a 'communal breakfast' planned on shore.

All in all, we are enjoying the time with our new found friends, we exchange experiences with our boats and look at the differences. The Valk boat is what binds us! Although the official programme ends with a dinner on Thursday night, a few of us will continue in a unofficial convoy to the next islands, Ameland and Schiermonnikoog. But before then, there will surely be another blogpost.

Location:Dellewal,Terschelling,The Netherlands

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Terschelling with the Valk Yachts Club

As mentioned earlier, this week we are involved with the spring tour of the Valk Yachts Club, the association of owners of boats built by Valk Yachts.
There are about 45 boats that are members of the club, 15 of them are present. Here we were in Franeker yesterday:





This morning we crossed to the island of Terschelling in beautiful conditions. Here is looking back:





And looking ahead:





And to prove where we are:





We'll be here for 5 or 6 nights, walking, cycling and enjoying the island together. We all had pre-dinner drinks on the jetty next to the boats together this evening in order to discuss what we all want to do. A bit vague so far, but a beach walk is on the cards for tomorrow. We'll report back as and when we have something to say!

Location:Dellewal,Terschelling,The Netherlands

Friday, May 23, 2014

Back in Franeker

As reported yesterday, we returned to Franeker today in order to report (tomorrow) for the spring trip of the Valk Yachts Club.
I predicted yesterday that we would have to negotiate three locks. These were the small lock in Makkum, the Lorentz locks in Kornewerd which let you through the Afsluitdijk from IJsselmeer to Waddenzee and finally the Tjerk Hiddes lock which lets you from the Waddenzee back into Fryslân's waters. All of this happened in easy weather, but the last lockage was different! As the tide on the Waddenzee was almost exactly equal to the water level in the canal 'inside', there was no need to operate the lock. So when I reported to the lock keeper on the VHF, he just asked if we had sufficient engine power to go into a bit of current through the lock with the doors open. When I said that this would not be a problem, he told me that there would be a yacht coming out first and that he would use his lights to show when we could move through.






We had something similar last year going into Delfzijl, but this time Lyn managed to capture the lock with all doors open!

We got to Franeker less than an hour later. About half of the 15 participating boats are here already.

Probably no blogpost tomorrow, on Sunday we go to Terschelling in convoy and we'll report back then.

Location:Zuiderkade,Franeker,The Netherlands

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Makkum and European elections

Today, there are European elections in the Netherlands. In all EU countries, during the next few days, the members of the European Parliament are elected. Each country can elect a number of parliamentarians, based - I think - on its population. And as the Netherlands is a small country it does only elect a small percentage of parliament. Add to that the rather complicated (obscure to us) manner in which decisions are made in 'Brussels' (meaning the EU) and the result amounts to little interest in voting. The expected percentage poll is around 40. We came across the polling station in Makkum twice today and saw one person enter.





Makkum, not being one of the 11 Frisian cities is quite deserted actually. Even the shop of the famous Tiggelaar, which produces hand painted tiles, plates etc is closed!

The tiles are very pretty:





Still being produced, but the physical shop is no more. Just a webshop and a 'projects department' I was told.

Tomorrow we take 3 locks to get to Franeker via IJsselmeer, Waddenzee and Van Harinckxma Kanaal

Location:Grote Zijlroede,Makkum,The Netherlands

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Makkum

The 'jaarmarkt' that I promised you news about two days ago was actually more like a bigger version of the weekly market that takes place in Sneek every Tuesday. So nothing special really although we did buy all our vegetables and fruit as well as cheese at the market. Much better than in the supermarket! We did however visit the supermarket twice in a serious fashion as we stocked up on some non-perishables for the upcoming Baltic trip. As we often end up on small islands, quite a few items are difficult to get or very expensive at the 'købman' (General dealer) in the island villages. So for most of that stuff we are 'sorted' now.
We also spent some time with the crew of 'Mar Mar', another Valkvlet that is coming to the Baltic with us. There may be three or four boats travelling together, we'll see how it pans out in the end.

Today we got to Makkum, a nice three hour trip through the Frisian canals. We'll stay here two nights and then go to Franeker taking the 'outside' route over the IJsselmeer, the Waddenzee and a bit of canal.
In Franeker we on Saturday hook up with 14 other boats built by Valk Yachts for the spring tour to Terschelling. But before then, we'll post a bit more.

Sorry, no pictures today, nothing spectacular to show I am afraid!

Location:Turfmarkt,Makkum,The Netherlands

Monday, May 19, 2014

Guess where we are!





We have here quite a few times and have posted a similar picture before. If you REALLY don't know, it's Sneek.

Tomorrow is the 'jaarmarkt' (annual market, literally) here. In the old days, that was quite a big thing, with cattle, festivities etc.
What it means now, we don't know but we'll let you know tomorrow.

Fantastic weather, as you can see!

Location:Geeuwkade,Sneek,The Netherlands

Sunday, May 18, 2014

The weather, Hindeloopen, the lock and the Cobb

The weather has been perfect the last few days: not a cloud in the sky, almost no wind and close to 20C. As this is unusual in this country, at least at this time of the year and for more than one or two days, it is a main topic of conversation. Although there may be a bit more cloud in the next few days, it should remain dry a bit longer and get warmer too!

Yesterday we cycled to Hindeloopen, a city (very small, but one of the 11 Frisian cities as is Stavoren where we still are). Hindeloopen is very picturesque and a favourite amongst yachtsmen to spend a Saturday night. Combine that with the weather and you get 'traffic jams' of yachts trying to get into the small harbour. The harbour master (complete with peaked cap and tie) sits like a king on his throne at the end of one of the jetties and directs traffic by pointing to the allocated berth:






Of course in no time people have to double up as the municipal harbour is very small:




This afternoon, I went to have a look at the lock here in Stavoren. As you may remember from an earlier post, a brand new second lock chamber was opened only 10 days ago exactly. Unfortunately, it is already out of order. From what I can see a problem with the electronics of one of the interlocks. The lights for the road traffic are continuously flashing, but the booms stay up, the bridge down, the doors closed and the lock empty:





As it is busy because of the nice weather, the old lock chamber is full and the queue outside considerable:








It struck me that the locking cycle of the new lock takes twice as long as that of the old one (if it works at all, that is). This is because the amount of water to be moved is about double, which in turn is because there is a lot of 'dead water' inside the lock. If you look at the picture of the empty lock above you probably will understand what I am trying to say. I really struggle to understand the thought process of the designers: yes, it's pretty, no it's not efficient.

Finally, we cooked on the Cobb barbecue for the forth consecutive night. We smoked our own salmon this time, using 'smoking pellets'. Delicious!

Tomorrow, we'll move on to Sneek.

Location:Stadsfenne,Nijefurd,The Netherlands

Friday, May 16, 2014

A cycle tour

In the Netherlands (writing 'Holland' would be easier but as we currently are in Fryslân that would be a cardinal sin), there are cycle routes everywhere. There are 'fietsknooppunten', which are intersections of (mostly minor) roads and / or cycle paths which are numbered. All these knooppunten are on maps which you can buy and are also displayed at major 'knooppunten'. The idea is that, using one of these maps, you construct your own route. For instance you decide to start at number 4, and from there go to 3, 17, 18, 21 and back to 4. In between knooppunten, the route is very well marked with small signs.

This is what it looks like:




Map at knooppunt 98.





Sign to show that from this point you turn left to knooppunt 4 and right to knooppunt 97.

Today, Lyn set us a 40 KM route, covering a bit of south west Fryslân. It took us along dikes, in between farm fields and though forests. Very nice! Now 40 KM over flat terrain with little wind is normally not far, but on our folding bikes, which are not very efficient, it was not all that easy either.

Here are a few sights:




Laaxum, the smallest fishing harbour in the country.




A pretty house with nice wild flowers.




Stopping for lunch.

As you can see, it was very nice weather, although still cool out of the sun. During the next few days it is expected to stay sunny and get warmer, we look forward to that!

We also washed clothes and bedding in the laundromat here in Stavoren today. And we cooked on the Cobb again. Busy day!

We'll stay here a bit longer, do some more cycling and maybe walking.
There might to be a blogpost every day, just if there is something to report.

Location:Stadsfenne,Nijefurd,The Netherlands

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Stavoren and initiating the Cobb

Today we first did a 3 hour trip from Urk to Stavoren. Urk looks nice, also from the water:





In Stavoren we went through the new lock, it was opened only last week by King Willem-Alexander.

We found a nice place in the inner harbour, with a picnic table right next to the boat. And although quite cold, the weather is sunny so we decided to inaugurate our new 'Cobb' barbecue (braai) which we bought earlier this month. To start with, we decided on something simple: a chicken. This was the smallest and scrawniest chicken we have ever seen, it would not have been fit for sale in Cape Town!








Due (we surmise) to the low temperature and the wind it took quite a long time to cook the thing, but it was very nice in the end. As the forecast for tomorrow is good too, another Cobb experience is on the cards. We'll report on it tomorrow!

Location:Stadsfenne,Nijefurd,The Netherlands

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Fish auction in Urk

After visiting the interesting museum in Urk (did I tell you yesterday that Urk is over 100 years old? They could not tell me if it actually was inhabited in 966 when it was first mentioned), we went to the fish auction.

There are two fish auctions in Urk, one in the industrial area where fish from the Urk North Sea fleet is brought by truck from the sea ports where the fleet lands their fish these days (after the Zuiderzee was closed off in 1932). This is one of Europe's biggest fish auctions.

Here at the harbour is another, smaller, one where the IJsselmeer fishing boats deliver their fish. The fish is brought straight of the boats every weekday, weighed, inspected by the buyers and then auctioned in the 'meinzaal'. The system is - of course - a Dutch auction, where the auctioneer starts with a high price and then decreases it until someone wants to buy the lot at that price. In the old days, he would shout 'mijn' ('mine') to indicate that he was buying at that price, hence the term 'mijnzaal' (zaal= hall). These days it's done electronically, a clock shows the (decreasing) price and the buyer presses a button when he likes the price.

Here are a few impressions:






Eel in a drum, before taken from the fishing boat.





The drums on the trolley on the way to the auction.





Weighing and inspecting each lot.





A lot from UK322, 23 pounds, sold at €3.83 per pound to buyer #08.

Location:Dormakade,Urk,The Netherlands

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Elburg and Urk

We think the best thing of the life we live in the European summer is the enormous variation from day to day. People sometimes say 'no two days are the same', but that really goes for us!
Although we may not move around every single day, the principle is that you are in a different harbour most days. And the trip between places is also never the same: the weather is different, the waterway is never the same, you get bridges, locks, other boats around you, the variability is endless!

This morning we looked around the museum in Elburg, which is housed in an old convent. The building is actually more interesting than the exhibition:





One of the interesting features of Elburg is that the town is almost unchanged from when it was expanded to the current shape in the 14th century. The ramparts are mostly gone, but the streets and one of the old gates are still as they were. Elburg got city rights in 1233, but the present town dates from the early 1300's.








After buying the ingredients for a 'broodje haring' (rolls and herrings), we set off. It was quite sunny but quite windy too. After eating the broodjes haring, we went through the Roggebotsluis (lock) and a bit later onto the bigger water of the Ketelmeer and IJsselmeer. As the wind was around 5Bft (15 knots or a bit more) on the nose, Onbekommerd took a bit of water over the bows, but it was not uncomfortable. We arrived in Urk just in time for tea! Urk used to be an island until 1939 when the dike linking it to the coast was completed. That dike was part of the 'NoordOost polder' and now Urk is just part of the polder but still very proud of its past. We'll go and see the museum tomorrow to learn more about that past, but for now suffice to say that Urk is over 1000 years old! We'll stay here tomorrow, but there may be enough for a blogpost then anyway.





Location:Dormakade,Urk,The Netherlands

Monday, May 12, 2014

Elburg

After 7 nights in Huizen, it was about time to move on. Huizen was nice and convenient to us, but after all we lead a gipsy life and have to move every now and then!

The weather is improving: a lot less wind (although not exactly light) and there was not that much rain during the day. We had Spakenburg, Harderwijk and Elburg on our 'list of possible destinations' and looking at the greater plan ('where do we go from there'), Elburg became the destination of choice.

It's a very nice small town with old fortifications. We have been here before, but unfortunately can't show you any pictures tonight as the Internet is only GPRS. I have read somewhere that this country has one of the top 5 Internet speeds in the world, but that unfortunately does not translate into good 3G connections. We generally have had very significantly better connections in Denmark and especially Sweden!

So no pictures tonight. Our plan is to spend tomorrow morning here and then go to Urk. Hopefully we can give you an illustrated report from there!



Location:Havenkade,Elburg,The Netherlands

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Huizen yet again

We have been seeing friends here in Huizen for the past few days. Nothing hectic, just coffee or tea etc. And the weather has been quite bad (and that's being nice about it).

Today we went to Soest, where my uncle lives, by bus. The original plan would have been to take the bicycles, but lots of rain and wind would have made that a poor choice. And the public transport system, even on a Saturday, works quite well, so two buses and less than an hour's trip saw us at his door. Us Thijsse's have strong genes, he is 94 years old! My cousin and his wife were also there, and we caught up on the past, present and future.

Back in Huizen it was cold enough to start up the heater on board, it has been doing good service recently!

The forecast for tomorrow is still pretty dismal, so we are going to complete a week's stay here. But after that it should get better and we plan to move up the 'randmeren' on Monday. It's comfortable on board and we have plenty to do, so staying a bit longer is no punishment.

Probably no blogpost tomorrow, but we'll try to do one with pictures on Monday.


Location:Havenstraat,Huizen,The Netherlands

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Huizen (2)

Just a quick update from Huizen.

I grew up in this area and as a result know a few people here. And in addition, some friends from high school / university came to live around here too. And the people from one of the boats we plan to go to the Baltic with later on are close by. So all in all, Huizen is proving to be the ideal place as a 'base' for these 'social activities'. On top of that, the old town is picturesque, the weather not inviting to go on, so we will stay a few more days.

Something our South African readers will not know are 'charging posts' for electric cars. We have not seen many before, but there are quite a few in Huizen:






Yesterday we had a nice cycle ride to the old fortified town of Naarden (compliments of one of my friends and his wife who very kindly invited us to his house). Here are some impressions of that trip.











The next blogpost will probably be on Saturday. Depending on the weather, the plan is to move on on Sunday.

Location:Bestevaer,Huizen,The Netherlands

Monday, May 5, 2014

Huizen

Today was weather-wise the nicest day of our stay on Onbekommerd so far this year. Sunny, little wind and mild. So the trip from Amsterdam to Huizen (a mere 16 nmiles) was pleasant and almost too short. There was a bit of a delay at the locks (Oranjesluizen) as the small lock chamber which is normally used for yachts was out of action. In the end they packed a whole lot of yachts into the big lock, which took a bit of organising. After that, over the IJmeer (the south part of the IJsselmeer) and then on to Huizen. This is one of the old fishing towns, the harbour is very nice and so is the old town.











We'll stay here for a few days, I grew up in the area so we want to see some old friends. Tomorrow, the weather might still be ok, but thereafter it looks like a lot of rain and wind. Nothing we can do about it.
Possibly no blogposts the next few days unless there is something exciting to report.

Location:Bestevaer,Huizen,The Netherlands

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Rijksmuseum / Remembrance

Our visit to the Rijksmuseum was most enjoyable. We left early-ish, took the tram and were at the museum before the crowds arrived. We were very impressed with the renovations and the resulting layout of the collections. Of course there is way too much to see and after a few hours you get 'art overload', however interesting the displays may be. Together with half the population of Japan we saw the masterpieces (although they saw it on the screens of their mobile phones whilst taking pictures) but also paid attention to less known paintings and artefacts.
Out only picture was taken outside!





On 4 May 1945, the German occupier surrendered which marked the end of the Second World War in the Netherlands. Therefore, on the 4th of May every year, we remember those who lost their lives during that War (and these days also other wars in which the country was involved). The centre of the ceremonies is the monument on Dam square. When we walked past it on our way back, the monument and it's surroundings were prepared for the wreath laying ceremony by the King.





The (ceremonial) Royal Palace, formerly the town hall is opposite the monument.





We had lunch at a Cafe next to the Nieuwe Kerk, just to the right of the Palace. The Kerk itself was closed because of the ceremony, otherwise we would have liked to visit is.

In earlier posts I have mentioned the ferries between North Amsterdam (where our harbour is) and the city centre. Here they are:





Tomorrow, the plan is to move on to Huizen.

Location:Sixhavenweg,Amsterdam,The Netherlands