Leeuwarden - Harlingen - Terschelling Island

We are getting close to the end of our holiday. Diana and Arthur came up from Rotterdam to visit us. We moored alongside the canal with lovely grassy banks close to the town centre.


On our stroll through town we came across the leaning tower.

Another leaning building

Some lovely gardens who must have a very patient gardener with an eye for geometric shapes.


We went to the pannekoekschip for pancakes



Listened to the music in the park.


After visiting Winsum for the Fierljeppen contest we headed for Harlingen. We passed through this very interesting lifting bridge.

Our overnight stop on a small canal gave us a chance to have a game of boules.

We arrived in Harlingen a very old port with wonderful atmosphere, it was made a city in 1234. We organised our tickets for the ferry to take us to Terschelling Island the next day.

Terschelling Island
Early next morning we caught the ferry to Terschelling another popular holiday island with the Waddensea one side and the North Sea on the other.

We had a great time riding bicycles around the island and visited a great museum/bar/café with all sorts of interesting marine finds from wrecks and overboard containers.

We also came across this war cemetary with several Australian war graves. Families in Terschelling adopt a grave to look after which we thought was a nice gesture.

How about this, an island out in the North Sea and they are serving Kangaroo fillet and mango salsa.

The port here is popular with all sorts of sailing ships.

The square brick lighthouse was first built in 1590. Can you imagine the tales it could tell.

By late afternoon the wind and waves made their presence felt as we made our way back to the mainland. I am glad we were in a big ferry.

Arthur and Diana caught the train back to Rotterdam and we went back to Kuikhorne to get the boat ready to leave it for the winter.

Dokkum - Lauwersmeer - Schiermonnikoog Island

After leaving Sneek we cruised to some of the small towns along the different canals which flow into the lake. We returned to different peaceful lake moorings at night.

The canals passed through farming areas and small towns. I would love to know how many water craft are owned by Netherlanders but as they are not registered here I don’t suppose there are any records.

Just after leaving the lake we went over this aquaduct. The drivers must have some interesting sights as they drive along this highway.

Waterfront homes had lovely gardens and of course some type of boat.




This one had a full sized pink cow as a garden decoration, the owner must have a milk fetish.

This one loved horses

For boat owners without a water frontage, water garages were also popular.


We cruised as far as Oldeboorn, where the canal winds through this picturesque town with 4 small hand operated bridges which are opened by a keeper for a brugeld (fee).


Next stop Dokkum
Dokkum is a very old town first mentioned around the 900. It was first started as a turpin made by heaping animal dung and vegetation onto the soil to build the turpin high enough to escape the rising water. There are quite a few turpin towns in Friesland recognised now by part of the town being on the top of a hill which is very different to the usual flat landscape of most dutch towns. On the way we saw this alternative to holidaying in a boat.

We just love wandering through these towns which have so much history. A small canal runs through the centre of the old town.



Kevin was very interested in this building which was on a lean.

A larger canal follows where the original moat was when it was a fortified town.


We moored right in town.

While here we met some interesting people who were in wheelchairs and sailing on a 'Lutgerdina' a converted Clipper. An organisation, NebasNsg, runs active sailing holidays for handicapped people and the boat is accessible for people who use a wheelchair. The ship is equipped with handicap accommodation and the guests help with the day to day sailing along with volunteer helpers.


This is Lutgerdina in full sail. What an exciting holiday it must be. Check it out on www.lutgerdina.nl





While out riding our bikes we came across this unusual church, St Boniface built in the round and open to the sky. What a lovely place it was.

Lauwersmeer
While in Dokkum we had a day trip on a tourist boat Silverwind out onto the Lauwersmeer through the lock into the Wadden Zee to the small island of Schiermonnikoog in the North Sea.
The Lauwersmeer is a huge inlet which was originally directly connected to the sea. When a dyke was built the seawater gradually became fresh.
We passed through countryside rich in birdlife and also saw a herd of wild polish horses which live on an island in the lake.



A lot of boats enter into the Netherlands through here from Denmark. Fishing fleets from Scandinavian countries as well as the Netherlands use the port on the ocean side of the lock.

Huge sluice gates are also located here to help empty excess water from heavy rain in the Netherlands.

Schiermonnikoog Island
After going through the lock we crossed over to Schiermonnikoog. The island is a popular holiday spot on the North Sea. I am not sure of how many days they get in summer to swim but we did notice a lifesaver outlook post when we visited the beach. The island also has a lovely red lighthouse quite a contrast to the usual white ones we see here in Australia.

The North Sea was somewhere out there.

It was time to leave Dokkum for Leeuwarden to pick up Diane and Arthur who were coming to visit us.

Sneek Week

From Joure we cruised towards Sneek as we were told that Sneek Week which is a big sailing event would start on August 1 in Sneek and on the Sneekemeer. This part of Friesland is a paradise for sailing. You can see the many lakes in the map below.

The Sneekermeer is a large lake and a favourite with many types of boats.

There are many free moorings on the lake sides or on small islands like this one.

Soon it was time to cross the lake and into Sneek. It was raining hard and we hoped the rain was not settling in.

We stayed in the Aquanaut Marina which is close to town as we had been told the canals would be cleared of boats for the night parade. The club had a little bar where folks could meet in the afternoon. Terry and Carol from England keep their boat here all year.

We had a few days in Sneek and had a great time wandering around the town which was in festival mode with lots of different shows going on during the day.

Kevin tried out for size one of the toilets dotted around town ready for the night revellers. A couple of nights later he was glad he knew of the location of this one.

This was a couple of Aussie’s with an act based loosely on Surf Lifesavers. They had amazing strength and good jokes.


We met this family outside the tourist bureau leaving on their cycling holiday. Two bikes with trailers, children and all the camping gear. I am glad we have a boat!!



Sneek has small canals passing through the main centre and a larger ring canal outside. The Waterport Gate where tolls were collected from the 1400’s is the symbol of Sneek.

Boats of all sorts were pouring into the part of the canal opened to boats at the end of town. Many were moored side by side to fit in, especially where the yachts come back from the lake each night.


The night before the start of the sailing had everyone in party mode with a parade on the canal through Sneek followed by fireworks. We put our chairs up on the side of the canal around 7pm and had a great time listening to the bands which walked around entertaining the crowd. Locals set up their parties and a good time was had by all without the need of even one policeman to control the crowd.

Once it was dark the boat parade started. Bands played on boats going past in between the competing yachts.



The waterport gate looked great at night.

After the parade we walked into the centre to see all the fun.


Kevin went to check out the toilet but I wont show a picture of that as it may embarrass the others using it.

Then it was time to Party. And how they Party!!!!!

Late the next day we cruised through this cute liftup bridge,

past the yachts

and out to the lake. We moored and enjoyed a day of rest watching the passing parade.






The wind and rain came back and we settled in for a windy night. We left in the morning when the wind dropped and we were able to get off of the pontoon.

Our next stop was Dokkum calling in on the way to Kuikhorne to check on details as this was where we were leaving the boat for the winter.