GORINCHEM TO HEUSDEN

In Gorinchem we visited the chandlery as we needed an extension for our ladder which needed a few more rungs in the water. We also bought a bracket for the lifebuoy ring so we could fit it permanently on the back of the boat as down the south of Holland we are travelling on more large rivers than we have in the past along with a lot of very big barges.

While we were here I visited the hospital to have my ankle checked and strapped again it seems to be improving as the swelling is slowly going down.

Diana made a lovely morning tea for my birthday with a great cherry pie washed down with Triple Sec and cream, a most enjoyable morning.


We stayed on the Lingehaven which is a beautiful little canal right in town. It’s a good mooring and when paying the nightly fees we got a card to mark off each night and the fifth night is free. We will get the free night when we return this way.


In the museum we saw a photo of a chart of Gorinchem in the 15th century and it is still easy to see where we are moored today. X marks the spot.

There is always something interesting when you live on the water. These geese are our early morning alarms.


Looking at the apartments alongside the Lingehaven you can pick out the avid gardeners.

Walking around town we spied the church with its leaning tower. The church was open for visiting so in we went and the guide told us the tower leans 1.5 metres. The Great Church of Gorinchem has been in this place since 1263 and the tower was built around 1480

I am always attracted to the church organs.
In the church were several marble statues, the tomb of Jan 111 van Arkel and his wife Mabelia was placed in the church in 1313 and the marble sculpture of Wilhelmina of Paffenrode in 1628, they were removed in 1850 and dumped in the sand beneath the floor and found again in 1916 and placed back in the church.


Next we cruised across the Waal and down through the quiet countryside of the Andelse Maas where we saw these lovely horses. We are not sure if they are wild like the ones in the Lowersmeer.


HEUSDEN
We turned down into the canal to the Bergse Maas and across into Heusden. Entering Heusden is entering into a picture postcard. The entrance to the old harbour is under a small bridge.

We were fortunate to get a mooring in the historic town harbour. In 1908 the old harbour was filled in and it wasn’t until 1965 that the town council voted for it to be restored and the harbour was dug out again. It is really lovely surrounded by high walls and backing on to the old fishmarket.


The sunset on the outside harbour at Heusden signalled the end of a lovely day.
Next morning we left Heusden to travel down to S’hertogenbosch.

This is foot he came to visit me 3 weeks ago.

Sometimes he is a bit tiresome as he doesn’t want to do everything I want to do, a bit of a winger really especially here as he couldn’t get wet and everyone was swimming.



The first week or so he rested in the cabin, the view from the window kept him amused for a while seeing the passing parade and doing sudoku.



After a while he started to winge as he wanted to get out and about. Fortunately when we visited the hospital again he got a new flexi fibre strapping which could get wet, now things were starting to smell better as well.

He also got a little backpack so we could go walking.

Now nothing could stop him. Wally walkingstick came along on the walk to try it out.

On the way to Den Bosch we stopped along the Maas to go swimming. First I dipped my toes in.


and next thing she tried to drown me, I am some where under there. After a while we had a nice swim.

I survived and had a nice time in Heusden laying back enjoying the view looking at windmills and little bridges.


We stayed in the visitors club moorings in Den Bosch and took the train to Nijmegen to see the second day of the 4 day march. This was my try out on the bicycle to see how I would go. Thank goodness it has an electric motor so all went well. At the end of the day I was glad to get back and rest.


We went back into Nijmegen for the last day of the 4 day Nijmegen March. People do a 30,40 or 50k each day for 4 days. I now have some new footwear, a size 9 sneaker and Kevins size 11. A bit more cushioning on the bottom has made all the difference even if I do look funny.

The treatment I have been receiving at the hospitals has been exceptional, we also smile at their very appropriate name ‘Zuikenhuis’. I have now been to three Zuikenhuis’
I am hoping to get around soon without Wally so I rest as much as I can and Kevin has been a very good nurse and tomorrow is another day.

LINGE RIVER

After leaving Utrecht we came out onto the Amsterdam Rhine Canal for the second time in 5 days and again there wasn’t a barge in sight. Pity it hadn’t been the same when we came out of the Maarsen exit. We cruised down to the Linge, a small river just north of Gorinchem. The Linge is navigable for 65 k and we would spend a few days here. We pulled into the small town of Heukelem which has a good mooring alongside a park opposite the town steps.

The town steps are crowded with kids swimming, the adults mostly pay the ferry fare and swim on the side we were on. It is bring your own ladder when you swim here and the people came prepared.

Late in the afternoon we had a huge thunderstorm which lasted for 3 hours with thunder lightning and hail. Kevin sat out in the cool until the hailstones came.


The next day we had another lazy day under the trees, it is quite hot and everybody is swimming, I put a plastic bag on my foot and Kevin got river water to soak my feet.

In the evening we were invited to watch the Soccer Grand Final at the local Community Club. They had a magic water slide to keep the kids entertained and some said it would be good after the soccer for skinnydipping.
We had drinks and nibbles surrounded by another sea of orange.

We were welcomed and given reserved seats up front.

Alas it was now time to put the orange away Netherlands Oranje were beaten by Spain and Kevin was disappointed not to see the water nymphs skinnydipping.

Next day we caught the local bus into Goringchem to the hospital to get my ankle strapped. . I handed the letter from Utrecht Hospital and it was arranged straightaway for me to go to the treatment centre. Here the nurse spoke english and as it was hot she strapped my foot with some new type of bandaging so I could get it wet and in 90 minutes it would dry. It looks a little like lightweight fibreglass.

It is a lovely cruise along the Linge . There 2 larger towns of Leerdam a Geldermalsen with harbours and two mooring places of Heukelum and Asperen. Along the way are very large houses, wilderness areas and private riverside holiday places with a lawned area and a place for a boat.





We stayed at the Geldermalsen harbour for one night and did the shopping as the supermarkets were right opposite. Then cruised back to Asperen where we stopped for the night and had a BBQ. The mooring is a lovely grassed area alongside the City Wall.
We stopped here to visit Fort Asperen which is one of the forts on the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterlinie. The defence Waterline is 85k long and 3 to 5 k wide and runs from the former Zuiderzee near Muiden to the Biesbosch south of Dordrecht. Built from 1815 to 1885 it is a system of sluices, dikes and canals which formed a protective ring around cities in county of Holland and Utrecht. The idea of the waterline was to flood the shallow basin with a layer of water about 50cm deep which was enough to make the land difficult to pass for soldiers and wagons and horses and too shallow to navigate boats. The defence line was strengthened with forts and five fortified towns, so far we have visited Miuden, Weesp, Naarden and Gorinchem and will visit Woudrichem next week.

The dark blue on the photo is the Waterline.
The forts are all similar to Asperen; round and with very thick walls. Asperen now lies behind a lovely screen of trees and is used for art exhibitions and we found the guide could also speak English so we learnt a lot about its former glory.


We had a look around the lovely town of Asperen then left for our next stop in Gorinchem.

UTRECHT

Our view when leaving Ouderwater was similar to many small towns, the Church in the background and the toll bridge which cost 4 euro to pass through.

As we followed the Holland Ijssel we passed this wilderness area where there were small huts to accommodate canoeists. The Dutch think of everyone using the waterways.

We passed this unusual building. The lower area used a method we have seen before on garden windbreaks, walls and fences which uses rocks layered in between building mesh. This is the first time we have seen it on such a large scale.


This lifting bridge is a little different..


Soon we turned onto the Merwade Canal then into the lock. I thought we had entered Garden Week, the whole length of this very large lock was lined with ornamental sculptures.

Entering Utrecht we pass this large water tower which is much more elegant than the ordinary looking ones we have in Perth. Nicky this one would look much nicer than the one you have.


Our mooring is in the Catharijne singel graght very close to the town centre, it has a good pontoon, electricity, and grass and trees alongside.
We spent the afternoon riding along the canal which runs through the main shopping and restaurant area to check the width of the bridges. One of the highlights of bringing your boat to Utrecht is to cruise through the town under the 15 arched bridges.

We also checked out McDonalds for the internet and on the way passed the market area, I was amazed at how cheap the roses were, 40 stems for 5euro about 8 dollars!

Arthur and Diana have good folding chairs which can recline back and while we were shopping in Action we saw some good strong ones. So through the checkout we went then wondered how we would get it back on the bike.

Next we tried Arthur’s bike, it looked more promising so back into the shop for some stretchies.

Early next morning Kevin and I went for a ride around town to get photos before the town was crowded. We were attracted to the early morning bells and rode along a small street and came across the Dom tower, it is 112m tall and can be seen from all parts of Utrecht.
It is part of a very large church, a freak tornado in 1674 destroyed the nave of the church and separated it from the choir section.


The carillon has a peel of 50 bells and plays every 15 minutes. The hour played while we were under the tower and was a truly remarkable experience. The street passes through the tower and you enter between where the Nave was and the Choir section which now has beautiful trees dotted around.
You can still see the crypt flag stones and marked areas in black bricks where the columns and walls were.


We had just left the church and were going back to the little street of antique shops when disaster struck!!!! I FELL OVER !!!! And what a fall, as I went down I heard a crack and thought OH NO!! I lay in a heap, my glasses were crumpled, my camera broken and my ankle HURT! Kevin helped me up, I took off my sneaker looked at the ankle which was growing fatter by the second , I limped to our bikes and turned on the electric and motored back to the boat. I managed to get in and put my foot up thinking it would get better when I rested it. However that was not to be, soon I realised I couldn’t stand on it or move and THE PAIN by then we were five steps down inside the boat.

We managed to get me to the back door steps but realised I would never be able to get up the embankment to the road. Kevin phoned 112 for an ambulance. They were marvellous, my leg was immobilised and they came onto the boat and got me off and up to the ambulance.

It was all a bit surreal and Diana was handy with the camera to take these photos.



Now I am newsworthy, a reporter from the local paper happened to be passing by, the next photo will tell the story if you can read Dutch.

Fortunately after Xrays it was not broken but very badly sprained so back to the boat I went all bandaged up. And the new chair came in handy.


The next night we donned our orange gear and went to watch the soccer half final. Fortunately the tavern was only 50 metres away so I managed to go too on my crutches. The side street was full of flags

And the tavern was full to the brim and people gathered outside to watch through the windows.
Of course the winning goal set off the night and everyone left very happy.

UNDER THE BRIDGES
Utrecht is built on two levels along the waterway with the first buildings built in the 10th century right on the canal, when constant flooding became a problem the street level was raised for the future buildings. Now it is split level with some housing and mainly restaurants fronting on to the canal and under the road and the newer building of houses and shops is on the level above.

The next night 8 of us gathered in the boat with the roof back and we cruised through Utrecht. It was fantastic. We left at 7.30pm and had dinner on the boat at the other end then cruised back around 10pm.











What a fantastic night!!!

We decided to leave Utrecht the next day as I really wanted to see the museums and it was not going to be possible to walk around for a while yet. We would return in a few weeks time.
It was back across the Amsterdam Rhine Canal and down to the Linge River near Gorinchem.