Post card from Harlingen

The sail from Vlieland to Harlingen was definitely photogenic – the large sailing barges seem to collect passengers from Harlingen and take them out to the islands, and we timed it just right to be sailing the other way – what a glorious sight.   It had us wondering whether Britain still had so many traditional boats in regular use – I fear not. 

 We went through a couple of bridges into the Nooderhaven and found a berth right opposite the Raadhuis (Town Hall) which has a tower (hidden behind the tree!) that holds a carillon which chimed and played a variety of delightful tunes every hour and half hour from 7am til 10pm. At 10 it is followed by a small “obedience” bell which tells the town that it is time for bed!

The warm (yes, really) weather persuaded us to have a lazy afternoon wandering around the town and finding excuses to drink tea and eat ice cream. We loved having such a pretty town at the end of our berth and enjoyed another self-guided tour the following day. It seems that a local, very rich buttermaker formed a foundation to restore many of the buildings and they have done an excellent job. I also liked the way that even the modern development reflected the older style. 

Chris mimicking the lion guarding the bridge!

Is this story from the Harlingen area, or just generally Dutch?

There were lots of similar bits of detail on houses - this one seemed appropriate for us!

Considering a new restoration project?  Think you need a bottomless purse!

Evening across the Waddenzee

We called in to the cemetery in Harlingen - there seem to be a few Commonwealth War Graves in most of the cemeteries, mostly from air crew during the second part of the war.  There was also a moving memorial to the Jews of the area who had not returned from Concentration Camps.

Another cycling day took us a little way inland. Many of the Fresian villages date back to the times when the village was built on a slight mound to avoid the marshy land around. Now all of the land is dry, mostly agricultural, with drainage ditches … and wonderfully flat for cycling! No wonder the Dutch have developed such an excellent cycle network – almost every road has a “Fietspad” alongside and often there is another route well away from any traffic.

Ordinary life

Traditional farmhouse

Leaving Harlingen we had a glorious, gentle sail along to the huge lock at Kornwerderzand. This is at one end of the amazing 1930s engineering feat that is the Afsluitdijk – the massive dam that closes off the Ijsselmeer. Nowadays it is almost impossible to imagine that it was once sea virtually down to Amsterdam.  The motorway along the dam shows how transport has changed over more recent years.  As we went through the lock we said goodbye to tidal waters for a few weeks.

Look at the tide on that buoy - thanks for the help!

Martins nesting under the lock-keepers tower

Lock gates - goodbye Waddenzee, for this year