Day Trip through Holland!
Trip Start
May 17, 2008
1
20
22
Trip End
Aug 24, 2008
Doetinchem,
Netherlands
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Well, Johan had mentioned to me the first day I was in the Netherlands (after he picked me up from Schiphol) that we should take a day trip sometime this summer; so we managed to find a weekend and plan a trip. We did a big loop through the middle & northern part of the Netherlands, driving about 300 miles, and stopping in 5 places as outlined on the travel map: Marken, Volendam, Enkhuizen, Afsluitdijk, and Kampen.
Marken was at one time a small fishing community (an island, actually) just north of Amsterdam. After closing off the Afsluitdijk in ~1932 (and subsequently developing the body of water known as the Ijssel meer) the water in that area turned from salt to fresh, and the fishing industry was over for Marken. The city now exists as a tourist destination. And while we did have to deal with the many tourists visiting the city, it was really a nice place to see with so many old wooden buildings and people dressed in traditional dutch clothing. After having a cup of coffee in the harbor area we headed north for Volendam.
Volendam was in a very similar situation as Marken with the closing of the Afsluitdijk, and now exists as a tourist destination as well.
On the way to Marken
Here we walked the harbor area and had a bit to eat for lunch.Enkhuizen is a very old city. Many of the buildings are around 400 years old, which is really incredible to think about given that the entire history of America is much younger than that. As a result of its old age many of the buildings were leaning or crooked; adding to the historic feel of the town. It was a hot & humid day so we grabbed an ice cream while walking around the harbor area. It was a beautiful place to be.
Next we stopped at the Afsluidijk. This dike is a 30 km (about 18.6 mile) barrier built in the 1930's to protect the area around Amsterdam and Noord Holland from flooding. It is really incredible to think of the efforts that must have taken place back then to build such a structure (without modern equipment) and to build it in a somewhat deep part of the ocean... and all in about 3 years! This is one of the places I visited last january when on the Dutch Landscapes interim through Calvin, but well it was much nicer weather this time around, and definitely worthwhile to see again.
Well the weather didn't stay nice for long! As we traveled north into Friesland strong thunderstorms started to develop, with a lot of rain and even hail at times! We were going to stop in Sneek, a city with a lot of lakes for sailing, but at that point it was still raining hard so we headed south for home.
We did make one final pit-stop, and that was to Kampen. This is one of Johan's most favorite cities in Holland. We sat down for dinner here at a Turkish restaurant and enjoyed a big meal, and then hit the road again. We got home at around 10 pm on Saturday evening.
The trip was really amazing because the landscape of that area (Noord Holland & Friesland) is much different than over here in Doetinchem. That is an area where the land is so low that flooding seems almost always immanent (though, I'm told it is really under control). Canals are everywhere, and the water seems to be at the same height as the ground level. There are even areas with dikes where the water on the one side is higher than the houses/ ground level on the other side. The dutch really know what they're doing though in terms of flood control, and it is a high priority in that part of the country. Here in Doetinchem we are at a little higher elevation and inland, so water / flood control is not as much of a priority.
Today, Sunday, we spent the day enjoying the beautiful warm weather (although, right now, I am sitting at our kitchen table and not taking advantage of the outdoors) and catching up on needed things. I am keeping busy at work and trying to work as hard as possible to finish my project since I just have about 2.5 weeks left of work!
Hope everyone is well.
Nate
Comments
i'm a freiscope
sounds like an amazing trip bro...i can't believe you hit all of that in one day!!! thanks for your call yesterday, and sorry i missed it :( i was with my host family and their kids/grandkids for the day at a big fiesta!!! this week is my last week of work and then i'm just chillin for 2 weeks...i hope you're last few weeks go well too :) talk to you soon hopefully.
Terrific Weekend
WOW . . . what a terrific weekend, Nate. It makes me smile to know that you are having the time of your life and that you are treated so well.
See ya soon,
-- Pops