The Journey -
Into Belgium on Rosy

BYE BYE HOLLAND - HELLO BELGIUM

It's been a few weeks since I last wrote up this log, and although life has been EXTREMELY gentle and pleasant, there have been very few notable events.

Ours cruise out of Flevoland and back to mainland Holland was very pleasant.  We had a bright, sunny day, and a mere breeze rather than a full blooded wind.  Hence our voyage across the open water of the Gooimeer and Markemeer was very much more pleasant than it could have been.  We arrived at the busy port of Muiden when the entry lock was closed for lunch.  The entry channel is not very wide, and it was crowded with moored boats.  Round a rather sharp bend we came across the unfortunate, and rather nervous, skipper of a big old sailing barge, who was trying to wind his boat round, and who was getting a trifle fractious as other boats (e.g.  moi!!) kept appearing round the bend and getting in the way. 

We eventually got into the lock, which had scores of gongoozlers around it, amongst whom we created much interest.  In all our travels in Holland, Germany and Poland, we have, amazingly, only seen three or four British flagged pleasure craft.  The question we are always asked is "How did you get here?  Did you cross the North Sea?"  To which my answer is "Yes …" (pause, and wait for a look of astonishment) "… on a truck, on a ferry.  I was eating a very nice meal in the restaurant!"

Through the lock, and we wound our way up the river Vecht, which is one of the prettiest rivers I've been on.  In places there are lengths of house boats, and, of course lots of fisherman.  As it was a sunny day, the smaller boats were out in force.  These are generally open motor boats, often with a 'proper' ships wheel to steer by, though some have chunky tillers and massive wooden rudders.  May of them are very well built, and look extremely strong.  Mock carvel hulls are popular.  There was also a fair number of proper, traditional, wooden day boats, along with the occasional idiot in a speed boat up on the plane!

At Nigtevecht we left the Vecht for the Rijn Canal, and then, at Weesp, went onto the river Amstel.  This allowed us to take our boats into Amsterdam, and to have a little cruise around the city.  I have visited it a couple of times before, and have always enjoyed the visits.  Quiet places to walk, some excellent museums, the Anne Frank House, open squares often with some street theatre, food stalls, excellent shopping, the famous red light district, seedy bars in the evening, theatre, cinema and concert halls - there really is something for everyone - and (for me) a touch more relaxing than London. 

We spent about two hours cruising around, before heading back up the Amstel.

To avoid further travel on the Rijn Canal - it has lots of fast moving, big barges on it - we spent a day or so meandering along some little backwaters and tiny canals - definitely not enough room to wind.  The going was quite slow as not many boats use these canals, and the part time bridge keepers are often not easy to find.  It is nice to have lock and bridge keepers to do the work for us, but it slows us down.

Wilnis was an interesting mooring.  Where we were moored, to our left there was some newish housing.  To our right, the ground dropped away 10 or 20 metres to a row of houses.  The hill gave Fanny lots of fun chasing down the slope to retrieve her ball.  We then learned that 18 months previously, this embankment had given way, and the little row of houses had been flooded out.

However, for me, the highlight was Woerden.  A small town that must have been fortified at one time, as the canal goes around the town to form a star shape.  In the centre of the town there is a church with one of the most delightful spires I have ever seen - not especially tall, but beautifully slender.

Shortly after, we did another first.

Mike had been in the car to recce our route, as there were one or two iffy bits.  In particular there was a four-gated lock - TITS (That Is To Say) it can be used whichever side has the higher water - which on the map is shown as 17m long - and Temujin is 18m long.  'No problem' the lock keeper had assured Mike.

When we arrived, it was an up-hill lock by about 3 or 4 cm.  Our gates (the bottom ones) were open.  The lock-keeper, using ropes etc, merely pulled the top gates open!!  This caused quite a fast flow through the lock, so we had to gun the engines a bit to get through.

We spent the night at a pub mooring, and the next day crossed the Rijn Canal to get into Utrecht.

Utrecht is another delightful city.  Lots of traffic free walkways, with open air bars, cafes and restaurants.  The weather was fine during our visit, so the tourists were out in force and it was all very warm and relaxing.  Unfortunately …

My main reason for wanting to visit Utrecht again (we were there last year) was to visit the Catherine Convent Ecclesiastical Art Museum.  However, 'they' have decided to close it for some 18 months whilst they rebuild and re-organise it to give their 'customers' a better 'experience'.  So as not to wholly disappoint people during this closure they had a special exhibition about the Crusaders, which mainly consisted of copies of items in other museums, models and recreations of archaeological finds.  I guess I learned:

• That at the time of the Crusades, the Arabs were, technologically about 2 centuries ahead of the west, but that the Crusader wars brought their technological progress to halt.
  
  
• That the first water wheels were fitted on either side of a boat that was moored in the Nile - the grinding taking place within the boat.
  
  
• That the Arabs were the first to develop the wind mill.

Leaving Utrecht, we made our to the Merwede Kanal and Vianen, where the local townsfolk invite one to moor with FREE water and electricity for up to three days.  Thanks, guys!  Much appreciated.

Then we had a short day, that took a bit longer than it should have done because THEY were painting a bridge, and weren't going to stop painting it in order to open it!  There were about a dozen boats on each side (including some commercial barges) when they did, eventually, open it - i.e. during their lunch break!!!

Next day was a longer day.  First cruising down to the very boaty town of Gorinchem, and then up the Waal a bit before making our way to Den Bosch (as the town of 's Hertogenbosch is generally known.  We moored in Den Bosch amongst the barges on a Saturday night.

On the Sunday, we went by car to Gent (in Belgium) to see about winter moorings.  All seems fine, so that is where we will be.  Inshallah!!!

On the Monday we set off by car to visit Camp Vught.

In one of the Concentration Camps we visited in Germany, there was a map showing all the camps in Europe, and there, to our surprise, was one at Den Bosch.  I read about it later, and learned that it had several functions.  It acted as a collection point for 'undesirables' who were to be transported to 'proper' camps further east, and to extermination camps.  It was also a work camp in its own right - one reference suggesting that it used the expertise of the Amsterdam jewellery trade to sort and grade the jewels taken off people in the extermination camps.

Unfortunately … it is closed on Mondays.  We managed to learn that the camp was quite extensive, though by 1992 much of it had been erased.  Barracks and a prison have been built on it, together with a 'Memorial Centre' (closed on Mondays).  A leaflet we acquired mentions that the camp was required because the camps at Amersfoort and Westerbork were full … so there were three camps in Holland.

From Den Bosch we had a long plonk along to an overnight mooring at Helmond, and the next day made it over to the Panheel lock.  The locks were old and slow.  Cables etc are being laid to enable them to operated remotely.  Building materials are being stockpiled at them, so that sometime soon there will be a lengthy stoppage whilst all the changes are being made.

On the morning of Thursday 15th September, we locked down onto the Maas (Meuse) at Maasbracht and headed up the Juliana Canal through some very deep locks - made more difficult by some barges running their props in the locks (to avoid using a stern rope).  In one, the swirling currents were so strong that I couldn't get Rosy alongside in order to put a line ashore.  The lock-keeper gave Rosy a shouting, but once he comprehended the problem went off and shouted at the barge, whose driver shut his engine down.

And so down to through Maastricht where Merchant was moored.  UK canally folk may well recall Kevin and Barbara, who used to run a nb called 'Merchant of Venice', based in the NE of England.  They sold the nb, and built a cruiser based on the old, Scottish 'Zulu' fishing boat.  Their boat is now called 'Merchant' and the little tender 'Venice'.  They do coastal voyages, and since we met them a year ago have sailed Merchant back to UK, and up the Scandinavian coast.

We spent the night at an off line mooring below Maastricht, and the next day locked down onto the Albert canal, crossing the border into Belgium, and, not very much further on, arrived at Visé, where we turned sharp left, down through a lock and onto some very pleasant mooring.  These were and are free - until the beginning of Oct, when they will have to be paid for.

The next day, a Saturday, we made a car trip over to Germany to visit Aachen (aka Aix en Chapelle) - a place I've wanted to see for some time.  It was the HQ of Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire and his church (building started in the late 800s) is, remarkably, still there.  Letters from the then Pope, giving his permission for marble to be taken from Ravenna, are still extant.  Apart for the building, there is one of THE most magnificent collections of European treasure.  Mainly reliquaries and book covers with lots of gold, ivory and jewels.

Among the many sacred relics they have two belts - one belonged to Jesus and the other to Mary.  And they have the actual rope used in the Scourging of Jesus.  Remarkable, eh!!!

To be a bit critical - people chunter on about the wonderful workmanship of some of the reliquaries.  Although the richness of the gold and jewels is all very obvious, I can't say that the actual craftsmanship is of the highest order.  To my mind, it doesn't match, for example, the craftsmanship of the very much older Tutankhamen golden mask.

Still, it was all worth seeing, together with all the political posters, as the next day was the Germany elections.

Then on the Monday, we were off again.  Back onto the Albert Canal, and a visit to the bunker boat where we stocked up with the red diesel.  Rosy had less than 10 litres of the expensive white diesel in her tanks.

(For the non-cognoscenti, red diesel is taxed less than white diesel.  UK and Belgium allow boaters to use the red stuff in their engines.  The cost difference is considerable - around 0.60 Euros per litre for the red, 1.05 Euros for the white).

Then, on a sunny morning, through Liege.  The city itself is quite good from the water.  One side has rather tall flats, the other is tree lined with lower rise buildings behind.  Some of the bridges are very fine, and there are some good art works to be seen.  On the far side of the city, industrial desolation kicks in, with steel and chemical works.

We eventually moored at Ampsin, opposite a 3-reactor nuclear power station, where moorings were a bit tight, as rather a lot of barges were moored there.  Our neighbour came to talk to us and from him we learned that we have a problem.  The next lock has 'un chomage' - TITS - a stoppage.  The top gate failed.  It will be repaired by next Monday, or Tuesday, or …

So here we are, having an enforced rest, and catching up with this log!!!

Toodle pip!!

Bill