This is a story about witches. 

Not just witches in general but also one witch in particular.  

It all started in a small town in Holland called Odewater back in the 16th century. 

 

The town had its own Hekesenwaag or ‘Witches Weighhouse’ where people who were accused of practicing witchcraft came to be weighed on a huge wooden scale. 

         

     

Of course if you were a witch you would weigh next to nothing.  After all, how could you fly all night on a broomstick to a witches’ Sabbath if you didn’t. 

It wasn’t that difficult to accuse someone of practicing witchcraft. Then it was a matter of life or death for those accused of witchcraft: many men and women ended up on the pyre. A rumor was often enough for those who were superstitious or malicious to accuse innocent people of sorcery. It was much harder however to be cleared of these accusations. From the mid-15th until very late in the 18th century, thousands of innocent people, mostly women, were put to death in Europe.  The City of Oudewater was the only one in Europe that received the privilege for a fair weighing process, granted by Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.

 

Do you know whether or not you are a witch, light enough to fly on a broomstick?  I was challenged.

I told Steve there was something I need to do and would he wait for me.

I left Steve sitting outside by the canal and entered the witches weigh house to get weighed and a certificate of proof if I was ever questioned.   

 

 

Afterward the man asked me if I was American, had I ever heard of Salem.

A bit unnerved I left in a rush.  I flew out the front door.  Once outside I remember I forgot to get my certificate so went back in.  The lady at the desk was smiling from ear to ear and wanted to share something with me and asked if it was okay.  

 
She asked if I had noticed the family with two small children coming in as I was rushing out the door.  The little 4 year old boy had pointed to the stuffed witch in the corner and asked if it was real.  The mother consoling her son explained that there is no such thing as a real witch. 

The little boy looked at his mom and said……

                        “OH YES THERE IS, ONE JUST FLEW OUT THE FRONT DOOR!”

The End

 

 

windmills

 

 

There are about 1173+ complete windmills in Holland.  The Dutch built windmills for centuries for many reasons.  Actually the windmills built the country since many of them were used for land drainage.  They also were used for corn and saw milling as well as industrial purposes. 

  

Dutch mills are in many ways quite primitive – using shuttered sails, and turned to wind by hand

 

  

Millers and their families once lived inside the windmills

 

   

Each one is built in a specific style and date back as far as the 17th century.

 

   

 

In the past 10 years especially, many extensive rebuilds have occurred and they are still used for land drainage.

 
Reclaimed land in Holland and still adding more to this day

 

Situated 25 miles from Rotterdam is a unique UNESCO recognized site called

KINDERDIJK

Here  nineteen mills were constructed around 1740 as part of a larger water management system which prevented floods. Now they’re a symbol of Dutch water management.

 
The mills are lined up in two opposite rows and form a spectacular sight. In July and August, you can witness how all nineteen mills still operate.

 
During wintertime, families ice-skate along the Kinderdijk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Monet? Cezanne? Van Gough?  If not an Impressionists painting, then what is this? This is the Biesbosh, a freshwater tidal area of islands and meandering waterways.

                  
                  

In summer, the Biesbosch is a wetland paradise.  Swan, beaver, and duck float along  under the shade of the willows among yellow marsh ragwort, purple loosestrife and white valerian flowers that enhance the banks boulevards.  Small thatch roof houses meet the end of the moss covered creeks that divide the land.

 

The Biesbosch originated in the 15th century but after a storm surge in the famous St.Elisabeths’s Day flood of Nov.19,1404 the water level was pushed up far above the mean sea level inundating a 300 km ² inland sea which was under the influence of river and tide.  People fled to higher ground. The sand and silt of the river sank to the bottom causing the sandbanks where vegetation began to grow.  Dikes were built, polders were developed for agriculture then people returned and villages reemerged.

This 15m, 1920’s barge we mistook for a Monet painting was just what we thought we were looking for. Originally it was used to cut the willows growing  in the Biesbosch and were used to thatch the roofs of the new houses.  Today it rests in a tiny hydrangea lined canal in the village of  Made. 

  

We were biking by on our way to a nearby marina to look at more boats when we passed the barge for a third time.  Two people were standing on the deck when I rode by giving a thumbs up.  Again we were immediately engaged in dialog then invited across the street to the house of Rinus and Nel to wait out a rain shower.

It was our first time inside one of the old 1800’s  houses along the canals. Turns out Rinus was instrumental in restoring the old Three Sister barge as a landmark and tribute to the Biesbosch which rests just outside his two front windows.

 

For a special show of just how this older barge is restored, for those who are truly interested , click on the link.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtu7vuhTYDM 
After a few minutes, and a bit of the Dutch language, you will see the beginning of the restoration on this steel barge and the replacement of over 7000 rivets.

 

We meet a lot of wonderful people who invited us into their barges. This couple were pleased with their barge. It was all we dreamed of, 15m, steel, with a back deck and umbrella but he was repairing the engine and that made us stop and think.

After months of searching the Internet and looking a lots of barges we found only one 15m steel barge that might be for us.

    

It had that classic look on the outside but once inside it felt huge and just too many work projects to satisfy our taste.

 

And as much as we love the classic clincker built hulls, that look like a wooden boat,
it was those RIVETS that put us off.

It is time to dig in and trash any idea of actually buying a barge.  We need to be realistic to our needs and start looking for different styles and alternatives.

We left the Biesbosch by skirting around the polders and past the little villages now building subdivisions but retaining that ‘Biesbosh look’ by still thatching the roofs. The roofs need replacing every generation.   An expensive job in this day and age.

Back into the larger towns we could see that a barge would never fit inside these small town harbors.  We were starting to get a better feel for the ‘river cruisers’ that were far more abundant on the canals.  There must be a good reason.
We had to think more ‘out of the box’.

A boat would definitely have to be something smaller, under 15 meters and Steve would be on the look out for one that had good mechanical systems.

And for me, I wanted something to accommodate family and all our wonderful friends.  Could this be possible in a smaller boat?  I try to visualize going through the canal highways through the villages.  We want to blend in not stand out.

Coming into Sleeuwijk was like walking into a candy store.  It had a big yacht harbor full of boats more the size were were looking for.    The broker at Sleeuwijik Yachts sent us off on the docks alone to have an over all look and make a list of ones to see.

To get through the tunnels and locks the width should not be over 5 meters, but they usually aren’t that wide. So we are looking for around  4m wide, draft around a meter 1.10m but no more than 1.30 and air draft 2.75m. That ought to get us through everywhere in Europe. 

 

This Altena 2000 really caught our eye.   It all looked great, modern actually, for a 1992 steel boat. I loved the back deck but worried about those narrow steps getting into the main saloon. But the head and shower were off the captains cabin so the guests would have to crawl out of their narrow berth and into the aft cabin in the night and there were few closets for storage and clothing.   Steve did not like the fact that it had two engines, more maintenance, and although the Daf is a reliable truck engine it does smoke a bit. 

There are two types of boats an AK and an OK.  The AK like the Altena is an Aft Kuip which has the aft cabin below the deck in the stern.  The OK is an Open Kuip, the master cabin is usually in the bow and there is a vary large aft deck. 

 

I loved the idea of the OK with big doors opening off the main saloon out onto the deck.  Most however had the galley aft just off the deck where this one was next to the helm station.  As much as we like the OK’s  there is usually only one cabin.

The one cabin had no closet space and guests would end up in the saloon on the sofa with no privacy or storage space for luggage etc.  Besides the price on this boat was pretty hefty for our budget. 

It seems there is something not quite right about every boat.  We have seen enough boats now to have a good idea what would be a good boat for the canals.  It is time get down and get serious.

 

We make a mad dash in spectacular weather along the southern Isjeelmeer a huge lake near Amsterdam. 

I see that we are near Muidersloot a castle I had visited on my first Holland bicycle tour back in 1984

The castle had not changed but I had.  Downsizing from my Centurion and loaded panniers I was happy to find the little village of Muiden had not changed much.

 

There was still the same cafe on the corner now with new awning and outdoor benches but minus my full size Centurion bicycle.  It was a trip down memory lane.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Within hours we arrive in Amsterdam and a much needed break from biking before our final search begins.

So I leave you here in Amsterdam.

But this is not the end of the our quest   I will fill you in on this last month and finally
“did we find that long sought after canal boat?”

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