Amsterdam and the Ijsselmeer

This week has been a busy one sightseeing in Amsterdam and the Ijsselmeer ports. On Monday we got on our bikes and went everywhere around central Amsterdam. It certainly made covering a lot of ground effortless. We went to the van Gogh Museum and saw all of the masterpieces there including 'The Sunflowers' and Crows over a Wheat field'. It wasn't very crowded which made it more enjoyable. There is a free ferry for cyclists across the River IJ that separated the yacht club where we were staying from the main part of Amsterdam. There a few cars in Amsterdam but thousands of bikes. An energy crisis in the future certainly won't hit the Dutch as much as other countries.


The next day we carried on sightseeing and cycled along the ring canals to Leidesplein where we sat in the sun and shared a lovely pizza and a pitcher of red wine. In the evening we went back to the same area and ate a rijstafel btween us. This is a unique Dutch speciality based upon Indonesian cooking and is a huge number of small dishes all served together with rice, hence the name which means Rice Table.

The weather has been superb all week. An Autumnal high of 1038 h.pa has kept the unsettled weather that we had previously at bay and brought bright clear days, crisp mornings and coolish evenings. A lovely way to finish our European adventure especially as it is forecast to continue well into this coming week.

After Amsterdam we locked through the huge Orangesluizen locks and out onto the Ijsselmeer. The Ijsselmeer is huge and in the middle no land is present. I got out my laptop and navigation program that had charts of the area and without any hesitation the boat leapt orward pushing through the light waves for some 40kms until we spotted Marken Lighthouse in the distance. We were heading for the fishing village of Monickendam.

When we got there there was no room at the inn except for very very expensive marinas. So we decided to have a look at Marken and were glad we did because it it is a wonderful place.
We found a free mooring (at least for 3 days) right in the heart of the most picturesque harbour you could imagine and even managed to get free electricity. So we decided to stay for 3 days as the weather was perfect. Marken was formerly an island in the Zuider Zee but with the great Dutch changes that resukted in the Ijsselmeer it has become connected to the mainland by a narrow causeway. Everyday busloads of people trip in and look around. The number of Kiwis, Australians and South Africaners that stop to talk has been amazing. Usually they all start off with the line - " You didn't sail that all the way from NZ did you?"



Then at six o'clock the place quietens down and we and the few other moored boats have the place to ourselves to watch the sun go down over the Ijsselmeer and contemplate life over a glass of wine. Magic!

The day after we arrived we decided to cycle all the way around the island which is easy to do as there is a cycle path on the outside dyke that holds back any storm waters from flooding the low lying fields. Then on Friday we caught the ferry with our bikes to Volendam another very quaint Ijsselmeer fishing village on the coast just south of Edam. We were the only passengers as it was the first trip of the day. We then cycled back the 20km through Monickendam and along the causeway to Marken.

Then alas we had to start heading home to Ossenzijl where we will be leaving the boat for the winter. Its about 120km away. We left Marken on a sea as smooth as a mirror. Not a breath of wind. Our first stop was Naarden which is a beautifully restored medieval town built within star-shaped fortifications.

The next blog will come from South Africa where new internet challenges will no doubt await us. We leave on Friday via Frankfurt for Capetown arriving at 5am on Saturday morning. Can't wait!