The good weather continues as we move slowly North West toward Holland.
After the "Stinker" in Brussells, 41c, it's been in the mid twenty's, easy going.
Called into Gent. A nice town with a heap of old buildings in a row dissected by the beauty of canals.
Standing almost side by side you could call these four "The Sisters".....
I don't know why one would....
They're not even related.....
But are all very Ornate & have the 'Stepped" façade thing.......
Looking across one of many canals..
Preserved for the better.....
After we left Gent we had a couple of three days.....
Parked beside the Brugge - Gent canal....Plenty of passing traffic..
Time to...
Chill out under trees in the shade......
The Almaar area was very nice ..... Some....
Tasty Houses....
We travelled about 50- 60 km on the scooters....
Pull up at the front gates... take the photos..
Never seem to get an invite in though..
Moved along stopping at Brugge..
The town hall....
And if some one has "flogged the Gold" it'll usually turn up.....
On the Basilica... Bloody "Mikey D's"....
Another city with canals...
A Room at the End Of The Garden....
Horse drawn sightseeing...
And these Cottages made me......
Reminise of our visits to the Cotswolds.. Really....
Belgium is famous for....
The old box of chocolate...No taste, No buy.....
One thing one can't control is the fact of....
Same day each year ones age grabs another number... Higher as a rule...
So No Expense was Spared.....
A LARGE helping of Frites with Mayo.....( see the fat little plopper in the rear of the shot. she was going table to table asking for food. Whilst I got up to take this photo she almost swiped my tucker. Leonie said "leave that Alone", in her Older voice...Christ knows she didn't need the food, in fact a Diet would be better).....
And then...
A large Ice Cream treat... I had the cream from both.. as you do......
Last stop in Belguim was at Zeebrugge.... only for a free stopover... right by the very large port...
The sign post said Wellington was the fartherest away place in the world.....
Cross the border to Holland...
And Beyond any ones belief...
This is the "first time I've Ever Parked On a Dyke"....
The Customary....
Windmill.... There are more Wind turbines than original windmills in the wild now....
Stopped along a Dyke...
Their were kite surfers by the dozens having a ball on the sea ward side....
Gouda, now where have I heard that name before?....
AhHa..Cheese....the weekly cheese market was on in the town square....
After a busy morning selling...
It's time to load the unsold cheeses back on the trailer...
Another village worth a visit was Leiden.....
Canals...Cafes..Restaurants...Sunshine..
Middelburg is a recommended town to visit...
Walk the side streets....
Monuments around town....
Houses with shutters... and Smashing front doors...
Buildings date back to the 12th century....
As proud as the day it was completed...
We crossed the Afsluitdijk....
The dyke that keeps Holland, which is 25% below sea level, afloat. It separates the Ijsselmeer & Waddenzee waters and they use the flood gates to control water levels..
Started in 1927 and completed in 1933 it is an amazing construction much of which man placed the rocks and reed matting by hand...
It must have been daunting to view .....
This expanse of water and say.... "soon we'll be driving over to the other side".....
At 30 odd km long...
Looking to the West.....
Look to the East... Amazing.....
Wev'e had some great Free places to park overnight....
As close as to the canal with a view.....
And close by...
An unusual shaped lift bridge.... 12 boats went through just this time....
It's a strange sight driving through Holland.... Acres & acres of lush green paddocks full of dairy cows, nothing wrong with that, and then...
Yatchs appear to be sailing across the fields....the canal network is huge....
It is a rare sight to see a proper 8 wire fence....Many of the paddocks are divided by....
Waterways......
Another worthy of a.....
7km scooter ride was Naarden.. a walled town to keep the enemy at bay...
I'm guessing because I don't do Dutch reading but.....
Our parking spot was only 200 metres from a Flash marina....
A pub at the marina...
Houses waterside.....
And there were 5 -6 old fishing boats In immaculate condition...
This one going for a day trip..built 1800s from Oak......
On to Amsterdam city....
The camper park was 2km from city centre, had to pay for this one, so a 10 minute walk and a free ferry ride to alight at Amsterdam Central station...
Apparently built on swampy ground.....
Buildings are all over the place.... literally.....
I liken the city to the "Blackpool" of Holland.. jammed with tourists and all that goes with that...
But it has character with....
Canals scenes...
Then there is the Red Light district...must see.. Standing in the windows at street level ladies, some Mutton parading as Lamb, offering there services at a price...
Signs on the windows say No Photos but I thought a sneaky one or two wouldn't matter. Mingling in with the crowd I went to point aim and shoot, appropriate under the circumstances, but each time an over observant mutton raised a finger that sent me a message that was the opposite to Come Here. Plus i'm thinking, Pimps, Minders, I've seen it on the telly, and I, we as in Leonie too blame her, don't want to end up in the canal with concrete gumboots, it happens you know. So the photo didn't happen...
The Red Light area was pumping....
Central Station...
Another building..
and a Pub...
Several times on our travels in Holland...
We have to wait as the road goes vertical for boats to pass...
The fishing village of....
Volendam...
And a different style of façade...
In Leeuwarden they built a church and at 10 metres tall it started to tilt.
They carried on and now....
It is 1.68mtrs out of plumb.....
The old weighing station in town centre for weighing dairy products....
and Dutch barges at rest...
A shop in Workum had plenty of old hair dressing and shaving goods..
Fancy a Perm...electric with a dial to wind up the temperature....
On to Germany North today to travel to Denmark with Copenhagen the destination....
Cheers......
