Arnhem & Oosterbeek
Leaving Germany and the Rhineland, our first stop on 1st August in the Netherlands was Arnhem, still in contact with the River Rhine, but it is now called the ‘Nederrijn’ in the Netherlands. A short history lesson here, courtesy of Wikipedia: “In World War II, during Operation Market Garden (September 1944), the British 1st Airborne Division and the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade were given the task of securing the bridge at Arnhem. The units were parachuted and glider-landed into the area on 17 September and later. The bulk of the force was dropped rather far from the bridge and never met their objective. A small force of British 1st Airborne managed to make their way as far as the bridge but was unable to secure both sides. The Allied troops encountered stiff resistance from the German 9th and 10th SS Panzer divisions, which had been stationed in and around the city. The British force at the bridge eventually ran out of ammunition and were captured on 21 September, and a full withdrawal of the remaining forces was made on 26 September. These events were dramatized in the 1977 movie A Bridge Too Far. (The bridge scenes in the movie were shot in Deventer, where a similar bridge over the IJssel was available, as the area around Arnhem bridge had changed too much to represent WWII era Arnhem). As a tribute, the rebuilt bridge was renamed ‘John Frost-bridge’ after the commander of the paratroopers. The official commemoration is 17 September.” We visited the Airborne Museum in Oosterbeek, just west of Arnhem, at the house in which 1st Airborne made their HQ during the attack, and spent a very interesting half day here. Extremely good displays including where you walk through detailed ‘light & sound experience dioramas’ in the basement. We also visited the War Cemetery located nearby where they buried the Allied forces who were killed in the action. It was a poignant visit amongst the gravestones, in a lovely peaceful clearing in the woods on the outskirts of the town.
HQ 1st Airborne Division, Battle of Arnhem, now the museum
Brigadier Urquhart, CO 1st Airborne in front of HQ, Sept 1944
Allied War Cemetery, Oosterbeek, Arnhem
We decided to rest up and spent a week at Alkmaar in North East Holland. We enjoyed lovely sunny weather, and made the most of the extremely good bike paths around the area to visit Alkmaar itself, the nearby village of Bergen, with its numerous art galleries and cafes, and also biking one day through the polders and the woods out to the beach at Bergen aan Zee (about 15km).
Alkmaar – the cheese market Weigh House
The bike tracks and paths go everywhere through the towns and villages, and alongside most roads in the countryside too. Most have lanes marked for 2 way traffic, or have separate paths on either side of the road. They even have their own traffic lights at crossings, and cars have to give way to bikes at roundabouts and intersections – wonderful! For so many bikes around there seem to be very few collisions or accidents, and no-one wears helmets. Totally different to the UK where bike tracks are very few and far between and you take your life in your hands every time you bike on a road there. Alkmaar is a medieval Dutch town dating from the 11th century, surrounded and intersected by canals, and with defensive ramparts still mostly intact. A town highlight is the weekly Friday cheese market, still run in the traditional manner since 1622. The (mostly Gouda) cheese rounds for sale by the local producers are laid out on pallets in the square and inspectors/expert tasters go around testing them by core samples. Age, quality and taste determine price. As they are sold they are loaded on to a wooden sled, 8 at a time, which is lifted fore and aft by two porters in costume, wearing coloured hats to denote the warehouse they work for. They then run (or trot) to the weighing house for the rounds to be weighed and price agreed, then run them back across the square to the buyers’ carts to be wheeled away when full. It’s a very colourful ceremony, and goes on for 2 hours until all the rounds are sold. It is a popular tourist attraction throughout the summer, so is very crowded.
Alkmaar cheese market
Porters loading up for weighing
After the weighing
Delivery to the warehouse carts
We chose the one wet day when we were in Alkmaar to take a day trip by train to Hoorn, then a steam tramway to Medemblik on the coast of the Ijsselmeer, followed by a boat ride to Enkhuizen further round the coast, then train back to Hoorn and Alkmaar. Despite the weather we had a fun day, and saw a lot of the countryside and seascapes we wouldn’t generally get to see by road.
Steam tramway – Hoorn to Medemblik
Oldie outing – Steam tramway – Hoorn to Medemblik
Ooh! A windmill ! Medemblik
Hoorn harbour & Custom House
Our ‘cruise ship’ from Medemblik to Enkhuisen
Traditional Dutch sailing barge – Zuiderzee
Leaving Alkmaar we headed north across the Afsluitdijk. This is the man-made dike that enclosed the Zuiderzee back in 1932, and has a 4 lane highway running its 16km length, with islands in the middle for rest and service areas, and harbour facilities.
Afsluitdijk looking north
Afsluitdijk looking south from parking area
Afsluitdijk – picnic lunch
We then spent 5 nights in Harlingen, a very pretty, quaint town on the coast which is a ferry port for the Friesian Islands, a fishing town and a major sailing centre. It is unique in having two main harbours within the town itself, like large canals, for smaller boats, plus an outer harbour for the bigger ships and ferries. There is constant movement between the harbours through bridges that get raised every half hour or so, and stop the traffic as a result. It is also surrounded by canals, like many other medieval Dutch towns, and defensive ramparts.
Harlingen Nord harbour
Harlingen main street
Harlingen Sud harbour, near sunset
They make em big in Holland !
Harlingen Nord harbour
Whilst in Harlingen we took a day out by train to Leeuwarden, the capital of Friesland, much like Harlingen in age and character, but on a larger scale. They have their own leaning tower here as well. It is also famous as the seat of the House of Orange and Nassau – the Royal Family of the Netherlands, and the home town of Prince William of Orange who became William III of England & Ireland (and William II of Scotland). The cathedral in Leeuwarden has a special door at the rear which has an orange tree above it as their symbol, and which may only be used by the royal family.
Leeuwarden canal
Leeuwarden leaning tower (14c)
Leeuwarden Domkerk & royal door
Leeuwarden Domkerk & royal door
Leeuwarden Domkerk & royal family tombs
Leeuwarden varied architecture
Our next stop Zwolle is one of the original Hanseatic towns of Germany and Holland with huge amounts of history, dating from the 8th century. Again surrounded by canals, it also has city walls still intact in places, with houses built into the walls. When we were there the town was filled by a funfair which took up most of the streets in and around the centre as part of a summer festival, so it was very noisy and crowded, but we still managed a self-guided walk around to see many of the old buildings of interest.
Zwolle – old city walls & towers
Zwolle – old city gate & fountain
Zwolle – old city gate Sassenpoort (15c)
Zwolle – integrated old city walls and modern housing
Sad old abandoned house in Zwolle in great location – note thatched roof
An interesting phenomenon in the Netherlands is the number of fine churches and cathedrals which no longer hold services, and are used instead as art galleries and community centres. In Zwolle we found a lovely old church which is now a fabulous multi-storey bookshop, complete with upmarket café, and the local Tourist Information (TI) office is also part of the complex.
Zwolle – old church now a bookshop, cafe, & tourist Information
Zwolle – old church now a bookshop, cafe, & tourist Information
One of the TI people we asked about the use of the churches explained that so few Dutch people go to church now they are closing them down on a regular basis, or finding alternative uses for them. Conversely, there are new Mosques being built by the Islamic community as fast they can fund them, and the increasing population of Muslims will probably see this continue for some time. Our last stay in the Netherlands was in Utrecht, with our friend Ria at Vleuten. We stayed with her at the start of our tour of Europe, so returning here really completes the circuitous route we have taken. It was lovely to catch up with her again, and we hope we didn’t outstay our welcome. We spent a nice day out with Ria in her home town of Utrecht itself, including a canal boat tour to see the sights. When we were here last year it was a wet day in Utrecht, but this time it was the complete opposite – fine, sunny and warm. It was also good to have a local guide to walk us around this lovely city with so much history. They say there are 65,000 University students in Utrecht at any one time, and we think we saw a good many of them around the town that day, plus thousands of bikes.
Utrecht – another old church now a coffee shop & bar – note resident cat
Winkel & Sinkel – first dept store in Utrecht, now an upmarket bar & restaurant
Winkel & Sinkel interior
The Domkerk (cathedral) in Utrecht is unique too – the Dom tower stands alone, separate from the rest of the cathedral as the nave collapsed during a storm in 1674. They’ve never rebuilt it so what remains is really only a half a cathedral, but from the inside it is still so massive you don’t notice the bit missing!
Dom tower & Domkerk – note gap where nave collapsed 1674
There are also cloisters on one side of the Domkerk, which is a very rare thing in Holland, with nice formal gardens and statues in the centre.
Utrecht Domkerk cloisters
Mason’s joke in cloisters – stone rope
The mandatory ‘bike shot’ at Vleuten station, Utrecht
Full circle – lunch with Ria at Haarzuilens village near Vleuten, same place as last year
We had a four hour drive from Utrecht to Calais on Friday 23rd August, motorway all the way, and it ended up non-stop as the traffic was so heavy around Rotterdam, then Antwerp, that the hour we had allowed for a break just disappeared.
Going nowhere fast on the Antwerp ring road
Our cross channel ferry to Dover at 3.20pm became our lunch break instead, and we were back in the UK by 4.00pm local time, and back at the Alderstead Heath campsite by 6.30pm, in time for the fish and chip van who visits the site on a Friday evening! Monday 26th August was a Bank Holiday in England and we took a train into London to meet up with Sue & Graham Devitt from Auckland, staying at a boutique hotel just outside Kensington Gardens. They have just returned from a cruise along the Croatian coast and visits to Lake Como and Milan. We had dinner with them at a Chinese restaurant in Paddington and enjoyed our first Aromatic Crispy Duck for many months, washed down with a pleasant D’Anjou rosé.
Meeting up with Sue & Graham at our boutique hotel
Next morning we all did the great tourist adventure and took a ride on the London Eye. Sue managed to overcome her vertigo very well, and we had a great day for spectacular views over the City and West End. We then enjoyed lunch at a Prêt à Manger café near Covent Garden before catching our tube/train back to Caterham and the campsite. It was brilliant to catch up with old friends after nearly 18 months apart – like we had only been away for a week.
On the London Eye, 27 August 2013
On the London Eye, 27 August 2013
On the way to our house-sitting assignment we visited Clandon Park in Surrey, the ancestral home of the Earls of Onslow (Governor General of NZ in the late 1800s), now a National Trust property. There is a rare Maori meeting house in the grounds, a survivor of the Tarawera eruption, brought back by the GG to Clandon park in 1892, and still used for UK based Maori meetings and ceremonies every year.
Clandon Park, Surrey
Clandon Park, Surrey
Clandon Park, Surrey – Maori meeting house
We are now back at Puttenham, near Guildford, for two weeks – house sitting again for our furry friends Saffy & Sidney while their servants are on holiday in the south of France. Totally different from last time (when it was bitterly cold and snowing), this time we have perfect weather, warm and sunny, and the cats spend a lot of time outside, although Jan spends just as long watching them in case they escape over the fence, as they are supposed to stay within bounds – hahah! (Jan is learning all about the ancient art of herding cats, which is has been an essential skill for IT Project Managers, Scout Leaders and Tour Guides for many years).
Puttenham – Saffy in her favourite bowl
Puttenham – Sidney in typical pose
Sad to say that d’Hobby is on the market whilst we are here, and we will make plans for our return home, probably via the USA, when we are all sold up – van, contents, bikes, etc., and we know where we are at money-wise. The plan is to be home in NZ by Christmas so, unless we hit significant snags, we are probably nearing the end of our travel blog updates.
Cheers from Merry England
Travels with d'Hobby 
