1st June. Overcast and chilly morning. Made the short drive to Genemuiden to do the Arie research for Vicarious Books. The Aire is designed for four under 8m campers with spacious bays and 4 electricity connections. The T/O lady told me it is free and there is no time limit. No other facilities but a nice quiet spot right next to the old town and with good dog walking about. There is not a great deal of antiquity in the town but the shopping has a real old fashioned “high street” feel to it with proper shops, butchers, bakers but sadly no candlestick makers. The town has a historical carpet manufacturing business and a carpet museum.
The Port is full of smallish pleasure boats
The town emblem is reminiscent of Meschers, made me feel quite homesick?
2nd June I am pretty sure that I have seen all there is to see at Genemuiden but the Aire is quiet, free and has electricity so I have stayed on an additional day. Bought top priorities, wine (local Dutch Syrah) and chocolate, also small traditional gifts for friends back in Meschers.
Otherwise a quiet day with a lot of local walking.
3rd Crossed on the ferry between Genemuiden and Zwartdluis and headed for the Aire in the Port which was full! Parked the van in an Hotel car park, visited the T/O, did some shopping and had a fish & Chip lunch Euro 11.20 with bottled water! Not bad for what I am otherwise finding an expensive country. Drove on the Camping de Noorde who said they would fit us in.
Zwartsluis, is built around boats, large and small, with a large marina area and the Zwarte Water and Zwartemeer (lake) adjascent but there is nothing much to see in the town.
4th. I decided to take the slow route thru some of the tiny villages off the main road on the way to Vollenhove and was rewarded with thatched country cottages. The thatch here is made with reeds which are grown locally.
The first thing that strikes you as you drive into Vollenhove is the counter balanced lift bridge.
The town has several very handsome C17th buildings and some much older monuments. It was granted “Town” status in 1394. It has hosted 2 castles and 6 manor houses and been graced with the residence of Dukes and Counts as well as lesser aristoracy.
The Port area is extensive and includes an area that looks as though it might have been the moat of an ancient castle.
There is an Eel Smokery which was closed today but has on its exterior an automatic dispencing machine where smoked eel and other fish can be purchased.
5th. Went into town to look for the Tourist Information office again. Failed again. However what I did discover was an enchanting wooded area with lovely walks and a few surprises.
On the afternoon walk I discovered that my sumation that the little harbour had actually been and early moated dwelling was correct.
6th. Left town via the Supermarket and took a slow meander through the Polders (basically drained swamps) to Blokzijl to the north of Vollenhove. I was so glad that I did. It was a bit out of the way and I wasn’t sure that I would. Tiny old town which would have been a star fort of which nothing remains except the outline suggested by the waterways remains.
You can see cut reads for thatching stached to dry above. As far as I know peat cutting for income generation and as part of the wetlands management still takes place although it is out of favour due to its carbon storage facility in places like UK.
This was the first place where I saw men, and they were all men, wearing clogs. Definately not as a fashion statement, these were honest to goodness work-a-day shoe that made a wholelysatifying clip-clip as they walked down the cobbled streets.
The area round the harbour has some splendid old buildings.
There is a lock between the Giethoornse Meer side of the harbour and the Vollenhove canal.
And the usual collection of interesting boats.
In addition there is a network of tiny canals that dissect the town giving it an air of “little venice” and just adding to the charm.
And this is what happens if you don’t build a wire cage round your chimney!
There is a derth of Aires in the Weerribben-Wieden which is a shame as the really small and quiet roads that run along the dyke tops are wonderful for cycling or walking and without having to worry about parking the prospects for bird watching, looking out for otters and photography are great. I ended up in a campsite. They are abundant and much of a muchness, also expensive and boring.
We strayed into a private enclave and saw how the other half live in terms of that “little-floating-houseboat-weekend-get-away. Bigger than my house, with three boats and 2 unidentified toys under the canvas!
7th. Short drive to Meppel today and a good Aire next to a canal with all the services including access to laundry machines all for Euro 16pd.
Because it’s Holland why don’t we start off with windmills – again…..
There is a towm lock between the canal system and the main Harbour. The management of water levels across the country are meticulous with storm water pump houses to restore the equalibriam in the event of heavy rain. Obviously there is the potential for damage to property and agricultural land and it is a very important employmant sector.
The lock requires lock keepers, these are not the cosy little locks easily opperated by the boaters themselves that one finds in England! Then where there are lift bridges that are not associated with a lock there are bridge teams to stop the traffic, control safety and opperate the bridges. Another source of employment.
And while we are on the subject of economics, putting aside the usual emphasis on the pretty stuff, there is a big industrial boat yard next to the Aire. There are huge wooden pilings to stop damage to infrastructure by very large boats. An airways style control tower, cranes, boat building and repare opperations. A huge amount of cargo is shifted on the canal system so it doesn’t only cater for tourists and pleasure boaters. They are integrel to the transport of goods between at least four major western european countries.
There is an attractive square in the Old Town with loads of places to eat and drink.
As always, at least in my view, the addition of waterways and boats can only improvement.
One of the things I have noticed in HOlland is the number of , in some cases quite small, towns that have a “synagogue street”, I have yet to come across a functioning synagogue. As it only takes 10 adult males to constitue a “community of Isreal” the necessary body for the performance of certain religeous ceremonies, these need not have been huge communities. Jews have probably been present in the low countries since Roman times but reliable records only exist from 1100. However they suffered a chequered history of abuse, exile and murder (for their alledged responcibility in causeing the plague!) till the 1581 declaration of independance by the northern Dutch provences from the rule of Spain. Their main motivation was to ensure the religious freedom to practice Protestantism, it having been banned by Spain. I doing so they enacted religeous tollerance as an important constitutional element. This resulted in the inward migration of Jews from other areas of Europe including Spain and Portugal but also Germany and further East in Europe. Aproximately 75% of the Jewish population of Holland was decimated in the 2nd World War.
8th. A day of laundry, shopping and van cleaning. But in the afternoon and early evening there was time for walks in town.
The Navy are in Town.
I had to ask what her draft was as I couldn’t imagine how she managed in water that was deep enough to accomodate flat bottomed barges and not much else. As the young, handsome and totally delightful young sailor explained, at 280cms “with difficulty” and they were now sitting with their bottom in the mud.
The reason they are here is because there is a major boat festival here this weekend (what a cushy billet!)
And many boats decked in their finest livery and sporting bunting are starting to gather in the harbour.
I heard this one before I saw it and followed the music of a beautifully rtuned old diesel work horse. If I can ever work out how to send the video taken on the phone to my computer I will post it here.
Meantime a photo will have to do.
They invited me on board to look at the engine and told me that this was in fact her third and was built in 1961, so my 1952 Ford Thames Trader on Liberty was in fact older, but much smaller.
And they keep coming.
9th. Took a meandering route through the countryside to Giethoorn. Rather pleasing bucolic scenes with arable and pasture intersperced with woodland. A chnage from the endless flatness of the polders.
It turned into a rather hot day that really pointed uo some of the problems of the van as it stands. I have to have an awning. There was not shad here and nowhere to escape from the heat. secondly the tent gets really hot. I may well be better off sleeping in the van with the top up and the bed folded up to add extra insulation to the roof. At least openoing the doors on both sides did facilitate a through breeze.
After slothing around for the afternoon C and I took a walk . Highly commercialised tourist trap with not a lot to recommend it! Compensated for with a Chinese take away. You can hire anything that floats here!
and this holiday village lets its bungalows with boat attached!
I have noticed that there is a Chinese or and combined Chinese/Indian cussine restraurnt in nearly every small town I have passed through. Apparently Holland has the largest Chinese migrant population in Europe. Some were bought in as strike breakers after WW1 and settled, others are drawn from the Dutch East Indies Chinese populations and the country is also popular with Chinese students (Fees are cheaper and visas easier than UK or the USA for example)
10th. Made a very early pre-tourist start and decided to venture further into the village beyond the very busy frontage. It was a good thing I did and also a good thing that I was ealt. Apart from the lack of tourist the light was better too.
The first inhabitants of this region arrived from the Mediterainean in the C12th, fleeing plague and religious persecution. When they started digging they found a huge number of horns from wild goats and hense the village got its name! Geythenhoren eventially corupting to Giethoorn. They cultivated the land and dug peat for fuel. In the C 16th there was an influx on Mennonites, probably also seeking a haven of religeous tollerance, and peat extraction became a commercial undertaking. Further enquiry assures me that peat is NOT being extracted any more.
In the area of original habitation it is a network of small canals and quaint thatched cottages with lovely gardens. No doubt maintained in this happy state to attract the tourist. Scattered in amoungst them are a number of small artisinal businesses from pottersm to artist to cheese makers and of course boat hirers.
You can see why they call it “The Dutch Venice”.
A lot of the houses are private residences and to keep it “private” they are accessed by their own gated bridges.
I managed to pree gang a fellow early morning photographer into taking these of C & I
One of the small enterprises.
11th. I decided to do the 2 hour boat trip before heading out this morning. It was to go through the village which I had already walked but then out onto the Giethoorn lake and into some of the smaller channels that led off it. I was thinking quiet, peaceful, potential otter and/or bird sightings!
None of the above.
first I was pipped at the post in terms of being first on board and therefore able to bag a prime seat at the front, by a family of five who spent the whole trip looking inward at each other, eating and drinking and talking very loudly. I had to wonder why they had bothered and if there was any wild life out there it would be long gone before we got there.
A wind powered water pump of which there were many.
And so on to Urk right on the edge of the Zuider Zee. Reputed to be the most politically and religeously right wing municipality in Holland the evedence on the ground bore that out. Apart from one of two Hostelries around the water front all commerce was closed.
When the church bells rang for the evening service many dressed up people were heading for the church. The men in white shirts, ties and dark suits (recall the temp is in the low 30’s!) ladies in frocks (modest ones) and hats and youngsters in mini copies of the adults. If you picked any Africaana dorp and set the clock back 30 years you get the picture.
The Aire for the town was a concreet parking lock at the harbour. So in search of peace, quiet and shade I headed out of town to the woods. but not before doing a walk about. The harbour played host to everything from pleasure craft to cruise ships and everything in between. The fishing boats were partticularly attractive.
There was a beach
A dry dock
A lighthouse and an off shore wind farm
Got settled into a nice quite and shady spot in time for dinner and a glass of wine.
12th Another really hot day and C not feeling 100% so basically slothed around Aire. Did photos and write-up for Meli at “All the Aires” and had a couple of walks in the adjoining woodland. Nice to be in the shade under the trees but the pay off is king size mosquitoes!
13th More walking and a good long session in the pool
14th. This morning’s walk took us to the edge of an on-shore wind farm. I counted 50 turbines and dispite a stiff breaze I could here none of the noise that protesters use as a justification for not having them. Another is the death of birds. A 2021 study by Joel Merryman of The American Bird Conservancy arrived at a figure of 1.17 million or 0.016% of the American bird population. Significantly less than the 5 – 7 million killed by communication towers the 60 – 80 million killed by Vehicles and the 60 – 90 million killed by pesticides. Not to mention the devastation caused by cats every year that tops all the above statistics! So for me it is a no brainer.
And if we do not do something about rising sea levels this campsite will be among the less significant sites that we will loose.
18th. Another Sunday. The church bells are ringing lusterly. An endearing site on my way to the loo this morning was that of a man in dark suit, white shirt, tie and flip-flops walking toward the car park with car keys in one hand and his “church” shoes in the other!
I will be heading out later to Zwolle to join Jazmine and family for the next 48 hrs to celebrate both my 80th and her 30th , we share the same birthdate, and big bonus, Myrel has flown in from UK to celebrate with us. Ric will be much on all our minds and although it will be a happy reunion I am sure it will be a tad emotional as well.
Lovely welcome chez family Jonker-Ker with BBQ in the afternoon along with Brian’s Mum, brother and brother’s girlfriend. Myrel was on good form with her new green hair colour!
19th Swapped birthday gifts over coffee and went for a nice walk in the woods. The tempreture has dropped a bit which makes life more comfortable. The return leg had to be via the play park.
Then home to make a cake and guess who gets to lick the utencils?
Then of course we had afternoon tea and cake….
And playing with Carmen and Bowie, who is equally adorable and I think should have the nick name of Ziggie Stardust, a star she certainly is and Ziggy goes well with Bowie.
Meanwhile Myrel is occupying herself as any young person does today….on her phone!
20th. Got away at a good hour and after loosing myself several times gave in and out the co-ordinates of the Aire for the night into the SATNAV. Needless to say it took me via the motorway
on the
21st. I did the same thing, motorway again.
So on two days of 407k of motor way travel I had two tail backs of 5k and 8k respectively costing 40mins and 60mins of additional travel time. I would imagine that there were at least two fatalities or life altering injuries. With everyone barreling along at anything up to 120kph it is hardly surprising so here we have a good number of the reasons why I hate motorway travel in addition of course to not seeing any of the countyside.
I think I have already mentioned the difficulty of navigating off motorway in the Low Countries. Belgium is worse than Holland as it is more densly populated and it really is almost continupus urbanisation. Holland it better particulaly when you get away from the main centres and the areas of the most numerous waterways. Building bridges is expensive so outside the motorways it is difficult to get from one land mass to the next. There are some minor road bridges and some ferries but it is complicated.
22nd.
Before leaving all this behind completely I stopped at Theiu to look at the boat lifts. The new one completed in 2002 boast being the highest lift in Europe at 240ft (73.15m), in fact it was briefly the highest in the world till the Three georges lift was built in China in 2016. It replaces two locks and four 16m lifts, the earliest dating from 1888. The new lift has two caissions each of which can accomodate the 1350ton large commercial barges.
The four old lifts have been preserved in place for their historical and architectural value.
Another impromptu detour en route was to Le Cateau-Cambrésis were I hoped to vitis the Matisse exhibition that he personally curated in 1952 including directing how and where works should be displayed. Sadly the venue was closed till June 2024 for renovations and extention.
Happily travelling along on what would have been Roman motorways I arrived in St Quentin in the early afternoon. I have booked into the Aire, that backs onto the Canal St Quentin till Sunday which will give me time to explore and to get work up-to-date before moving on.
St Quentin has been possitively identified as the site of the Roman town of Augusta-Viromanduorum and looking at the map, in addition to the arrow straight “Chaussée Brunehaut” on which I arrived in town, there are other roads radiating out from the centre that are obviously following the cource of their Roman predecesors.
The town was fortified in the middle ages but there is little evidence remaining of the defences. The star shap is vaguely evident in the shape of the gardens on the edge of town. The contruction of the Basilica also started in the early middlw ages and continued over the next 300 years. Today it is shrouded in scafolding and surrounded by excavations. While these were probably started to facilitate the construction of the adjascent block of flats, given the necessity for archiological surveys mandated in all planning, there was obviously a “find” which has lead to very extensive excavations that reveal Roman remains.
A trip to the Tourist Office rewarded Cassidy with a goodie bag!
While there were the usual Gothic buildings there were also a good scattering of examples of Art Deco.
In the case of some of the more imposing and older buildings the impression is that this decoration has been added later but some of the more modest ones were probably built in the style.
Of cource this would have been in Flanders during the control of this area by the Dukes of Burgundy and as such the town boasts several C13th Beguinages and a lot of C19th which were probably constructed by the church rather than the original Beguine movement. However after the Revolution all this property was taken over by the State and is today mostly used for housing elderly people of either gender. They do still maintain their air of calm and tranquility.
The canal looks particularly attractive in the early morning light.
24th After working in the morning I packed the backpack with lunch, book, blanket and water and C & I headed off hald way across the bridge and down onto L’Isl de Parc. The first thing to greet you is the enormous war memorial. To put it into context we are close to the source of the Somme here in St Quentin and some of the most horrific blood baths of the last centuary.
There is also a good view back to the town across the lake. It shows off to good advantage why this would have been an attractively defensible place to built a settlement.
The park itself was excellent. We spent a good four hours luxurating in the cool green grass under the generous canopy of well established trees. These same trees provided the scope for a network of, ropes, nets and zip wires throughout presenting a choice of routes of varying levels of difficulty.
A great deal of effort had been made to create a wild space along the back waters with boardwalks and narrow paths.
And discrete plant labeling at ground level.
There was a small zoo free to enter through a turnstyle but we couldn’t go in because of Cassidy. I was intregued to learn that among the small group of animals housed were Sitatunga and Lemures.
An altogether very impressive facility for the towns folk – well done St Quentin.
25th An early start and what I had decided would be a long drive aiming to do what was planed for 2 – 3 days in one. This because I googled Colmar and while going there was a question mark and only scheduled for one day I decided it deserves more than that. So no motor ways but lovely rolling hills through stunning countryside ranging from broard vistas over arable land to thich deciduous woodland. When I got to the Aire it was closed from renovation with a sign on the gate to say they would be re-opening in May 2023. Oh! Really? Luckily there were other options near by as I was ready to stop. Picked Charmes and I am sorry to say these were the only charms I could find in Charmes!
26th. An early start for what can only be described as an amazing and exhilerating drive over an ear popping, ski lift bareing mountain pass. I was amused on getting to the bottom on the other side to see a road sign indicating that it was now OK to remove your wheel chaines!
I had wanted to visit Colmar by boat when I was based at St jean de Losne but evertime I was due to depart the canal was unpassable either due to, too much or too little water. However the other reason for alloting it more time is that there are lundry facilities. So before setting out on an explore it was necessary to strip the bed and do the laundry!
The town centre is truely beautiful and although the buildings are obviously kept in a high level of resporation and repaire their antiquety is very obvious. A paradise for photography and after a long wander we stopped for tea.
By then there was nothing for it but to stop for tea!
Urban Swan spotted nesting neat to the canal road bridge obviously confident enough that she can deal with any passing menace!
27th. Off to an early start walking along the old city walls…
To the Fisherman’s Quarter, which is appropriate as the moat is full of fish…
From there onto the Tanneries in this region of the city known as little vebice…..
To the covered market…..
And the Customs House. The first reminder of the power of the Dukes of Burgundy in the region and the importance to them of the collection of taxes to maintain their vast empire that during the C14th & C15th ( between 1363 – 1477 ) stretched from Burgundy & Franche-Comte in the south, up through the old Swiss confreferacy, Lorraine and easter France to Picardy theneast through Luxembourg and what we now know as Belgium and Holland.
Along more canalside roads, through narrow streets, past hidden courtyards and open squares. An unforgetable walk through a town steeped in history and immactulately conserved.
Sometimes it is the wide angle lense and sometimes those buildings are just crooked!
28th. Made an early start and headed up the pass again to Kayzerberg on the recommendation of one of my neighbors, it transpires her husband come from this area. In a way it is a scaled down model of Colmar and all the cuter for it. It was difficult not to go mad with the camera, an instinct only slightly tempered by it being an overcast day!
More narrow streets, more archways and a castle up on the hill. Also this is really the domaine of the European Stork. They are a farely common sight in the sky and there are nests everywhere.
There is an attractive old bridge and some water frontage properties. They look more “lived in” than Colmar.
Note the little “Lavoir” in the top right!
One of the big differences is that Kayzerberg is right up there is the berg and surrounded by hills, or in the far blue distance, mountains even.
In one of the back streets is a potters workshop, she is using the “Hansi” characters as her motiff. These were created by Jean-Jaques Walzand are a feature of Alsation childhoods (or were!)
There is a big old sandstone church with an interesting fresco in the courtyard, unfortunately no story board to tell you about it.
There are some interesting and fun shop signs hanging round the town.
Leaving Kayzerberg behind I headed towards Munster via the wine route
Munster is renouned for its cheese making with milk coming from the rich and floral pastures of the summer mountainside. It got a boost to its importance, wealth and population size in 1860 when Albert Hartmann set up his textile factories, still active today. Otherwise it is a reassuringly unassuming little town after all the kitch and glory of the last two.
29th. Took a bit of a meander today. After topping up with water, emptying the cassette and doing a bit of shopping I set off with no set route or destination in mind, hense all the preparation in case Night stops did not have working facilities.
Meandering throught the valleys of the Vosge mountains in the wine growing area, more stops at Caves were inevitable. However I have to stop buying, there simply isn’t any more room in the van. My current purchases already make getting at certain cupboards and the loo a bit of a challenge.
The second town that my neighbor recommended was Eguisheim so it merited a stop. They have employed the Hansi characters to good ends here too…..
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I realise that I can’t just leave it there without telling you “What” or “Who” Hansi was.
Jean-Jacque Walyz was born in Colmar in 1873, 2 years after the anexation of Alsace by Germany at the end of the Franco/Prussion was of 1870 – 1871.
He worked as an artist to the textile industrie and also drew postcards and programs under the pen name of “Hansi” (little John). He frequently used his art and illustrations to poke fun at the Germans and was as a result frequently imprissoned. But in addition to his satirical work he also wrote childrens stories and illustrated them. The little girl above was one of his charaters.
He fled to France in 1914 and joined the French military. He was still wanted by the Gestapo in 1940 and was eventually tracked down and attacked by them in Agen, dispite being wounded he was able to escape to Switzerland where he died in 1951.
He has become, in the person of the children from his storiesm a cultural icon in Alsace and something of a folk hero.
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It was primarily a wine marketing town and during the middle ages, due to the fine repuation of the local wines, there were no fewer than 17 Tithe Courtyards where his valuable trade took place and taxes were collected. However as you can see from the map it is over 20 today!
As this was not a military town the defences were less imposing and consisted of two concentrically circular walls. The two streets that were built up against these walls clearly indicate where it was but the walls themselves are gone. At intervals there are narrow allyways linking them. And being a small town the curve in the streets as they follow the circle is very evident.
There was a good collection of attractive shop signs here too.
and the chocolate box good looks that Kayzerberg and Colmar enjoyed,
But also more evidence that ordinary people live here
There were a lot of storks nest atop the roofs and chimeneys
I stopped for lunch, an escential Tarte Flambé before leaving Alsace and wandering on further south through the vineyards to stop at Montreau Chateau……
which in on the canal “Rhône au Rhin”
30th. Look the longer back road route to Baum Des Dames and was rewarded with spectaular scenery, rolling hills, forested mountain passes and the last 10k alongside the Doubs.
One the same canal at a different lock, which is open at both ends because the water level is so low! The “Capitainery” is now a restaraunt and on the other side of the canal there is a bridge over the doubs.
As it started tio rain again we did not venture further today but settled in the the evening and preparred for work tomorrow.
capetocarpe 