After the misery

UIt is now the day after the rainstorm, and the weather is nice again. 

We started the morning in Gorcum, where we explored the small town to see what it had to show. 

Karl in front of the restaurant  where we had dinner last night. 

After exploring Gorcum we took a ferry to castle lowenstein where we took a tour around the castle. 

After the castle we took a ferry across the river and biked up to Vianen where the boat was.

There, we swam in the canal before having a delicious dinner made by the boats chef. 

Biking/ barge trip

Early departure from Amsterdam to Brugge where we are to board our boat and begin a week long trip that has us sleeping on a barge and biking through the country side during the day. 

We were going to cancel this section of the trip because we were worried about all the guests being older, making for a dull trip for the boys. We were so surprised when we found out that  there would be an 11 year old Dutch boy and his mother, the 11 & 13 year old nephew of the captain and owner and 12 year old son of the cook. No over 55 on the boat. But we're are a small group biking. Sometimes just us biking with the Dutch guide. Sometimes two or three more join us. The food is filling and delicious, the barge ( the Feniks) is comfortable and basic - but nothing fancy, the people (all Dutch) are very kind, warm and speak English, and the countryside is gorgeous!!!!

First four days brought perfect warm, sunny weather - great for biking. Wednesday has brought rain and lots of it. Not so fun to bike in and we found the boat early to shower, warm up and put on dry clothes.  

It's our Anniversary today (Aug 7) and we have celebrated Dutch style. They stood and sang us a song at breakfast. Everyone looks you in the eye and shakes your hand, we've been given a gift and a special dinner tonight. They have gone out of their way to make you feel special. So gracious. 

The little towns we have docked at so far are Brugge, Ghent, Goes, Willemstad, and Gorinchem ( all words with the letter G get an H sound that is way at the back of your throat - sort of like you are about to hack something up from the back of your throat.). Needless to say we are really getting a feel for the Netherlands and seeing sights and places that are way off the general tourist track. 

Misery

No photos today; we woke up in Willemstad to cloudy skies & motored up to Dorendrecht. We got off to hear some fascinating Dutch history & a surprise stop to celebrate bill & Suzie's wedding anniversary. So far, so good. But when we hit the road again, the rains started. We soldiered on for 30 Kms in the pouring rain before finally deciding that an afternoon of cards and video games sounded good. We found a water taxi to Gorenchem (pronounced Horcum) & enjoyed an afternoon on the Feniks & a fun evening eating in town. 

Zeeland (for reals)

After Goes, our next ride took us through the heart of "Zeeland," which bore the brunt of the flooding in 1953, which led to the engineering feat of closing several sea arms into the Dutch countryside. Bill took the long route out to the dams:

 It was wonderful weather & a great ride. The family met up outside Ziereksee & rode up to brunisie together. 

The boat continued on to Willemstad, where we had wonderful dinner of mussels on the boat & a great walk around the picturesque town at night. 

Goes

The next day took us from Belgium into holland & the town of Goes. The boys held up remarkably well for two long days in the saddle. 

The ride was interrupted several times,first for mussels in Yerseke (the oyster capital of the Netherlands), then several more times for swimming. All in all, a remarkably fun day. 

Ghent

We spent our first night in bruges; it really is a little gem, but far better early on Sunday morning with less tourists than Saturday night:

Our first day cycling brought us to Ghent, which had an amazing beautiful downtown:

Suzie & bill went for a drink, while Karl & Fritz stayed on the Feniks to watch a movie. 

The Finale - Cycle/Barge from Bruges to Amsterdam

We apologize for the lack of posting - we've been away from wi-fi & unable to keep you updated. After amsterdam, we went to bruges where we met our home on the water for a week - the barge Feniks:  

We explored bruges for a night (no one got thrown off the tower), went to Ghent & explored Zeeland and parts of the Netherlands that don't get much attention. We've had a great time & hope to post a few more updates soon as we cycle/barge around this wonderful country