Early June 2015 – Gouda to Haarlem

27th May – Wednesday

It seems so easy to say, Gouda to Haarlem, but it was a long and tiring day.  We started at 10.00 and arrived at 18.30, but during those 8 and a half hours we negotiated 19 bridges.

Typical bridge Mooring site.  Before the bridges there are places where you can moor your boat whilst you wait for the bridge to open.  They consist of wooden piles with heavy duty planks between, most also have cleats for the ropes on the planks.  You will see they are not jetties and are not recommended to walk on.  Some have an intercom system to the bridge keeper, but you have to have positioned your boat correctly in order to press the button.  The process of mooring and untying, looses its appeal after the 3rd bridge.  However, it is not always necessary to moor up.  If you are going through a small town and there are a number of boats in convoy, the bridge keepers appear to synchronise and open the bridges as you approach.  Some of the larger bridges however have very strict timed openings and you have to wait (no time-fudging here).

By big bridges we are talking this type (above).  The railway bridge exiting Gouda and the first of the day, hence why we departed at 10.00 as this bridge opens at 10.27 precisely.  It is a railway bridge which lifts in the middle followed by a swinging road bridge.  Crikey!!  A train crossed 30 seconds before the bridge lifted and another soon after we exited.

I won’t bore you with all the bridges of the day but these are some of the more interesting ones.

From a distance we thought this looked like an old coal mine, the bridge is raised on steel wires.

 

These are the nodding dog ones, which look like oil wells (on Southfork).

Double road bridge.  These really make you get you skates on as they open for traffic one way and then the other and they close very quickly after the last boat passes.

Pizza Restaurant Barge, with full sized clay oven on the back.

The picture above gives an idea of the width of the canal through small towns.  Approx 30 metres, making you feel like you could almost touch the houses and businesses on each side.  Eg. Lisse.

Between bridges there was some lovely country side and masses of market gardening, with expansive greenhouses.  We saw a number of small ferries near the towns too, something else to watch out for.

We chose not to enter Haarlem town itself that night as the thought of more bridges was too much.  We stopped at the Haarlemsche Jachthaven for one night.

Info. At only 12 Euros there is little margin for complaint and the harbour master came to collect the money after his dinner.  There are no facilities except what can only be described as a workman’s toilet.

28th May – Thursday – Into Haarlem Town.

After a few false starts trying to telephone and VHF Radio the bridge controller we were allowed through the first bridge at 09.00.  There is nowhere to moor up outside the bridge so we went in circles for a while.  There are convoys which run through Haarlem throughout the day and we managed to go the opposite way when the first convoy passed.  It was then a waiting game for the next bridge until we realised that the bridge keeper was pedalling from bridge to bridge and entering his hut to open the bridges.

This is a modern bridge-keepers hut on the 3rd bridge.

He was then the same person how asked us if we were staying and directed us to a mooring in Gravestenenbrug, under the trees near the black and white windmill.

The boat moored under the trees in Haarlem, 5 minutes walk from the centre.

Info:  Haarlem Gravestenenbrug is located between the 3rd and 4th Bridges.  There is a toll to pay for passing through town, but if you stay for one night or more the charge is waived.  As the cost is the same price as one nights stay we would highly recommend a stay.  We liked it so much we stayed for 6 nights, as a week was half the price of 7 individual nights and therefore 6 nights cost only 58 Euros.  There are 2 Albert Heijn supermarkets and another called Voram, a short walk up river.  There is free town wifi in the main square, also Macdonald’s and the Apple store.

The showers are to be found across the 4th swing bridge, then turn first left and walk almost to the windwill.  There is a small ‘Douches’ sign on the white door.  It costs 1 Euro for a token to enter the showers, which have two cubicles with shower and toilet.  The shower costs 50cents but lasts for 12 minutes (which is indicated on the coin machine).  This and a lack of wifi are the only draw backs to this location.

The harbour masters office is located just after the 5th bridge in a porta-cabin.  They were very helpful and gave us guides in English and a map.

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Haarlem itself makes up for any inconvenience with conveniences.  Speaking of which, in Holland a visit to the loo costs 50cents and most restaurants are fine about it.  Macdonalds is only 30cents, as are some larger stores, expect to pay.

The town square on a non-market day.

The town square on market day.  Saturdays and a small market on Mondays.

Mick with our Turkish Pizzas.  Very thin pizza bases filled with chicken or doner meat and salad and sauces.  The stall owner cleverly positions bench seats and a table next to the stall for you to eat your pizza and catch his next customer.  Highly recommended.

The market was lovely and had stalls for all tastes including an English Pie stall (we didn’t for the record).  The town square is buzzing and the shops are concentrated along a couple of streets, but there are some small streets which are gems and fun to find.

We would highly recommend a stay in Haarlem, don’t just rush through, it has a lovely laid back feel to it.

Finally Mick is having trouble with the local transport, or bicycles to be more precise, if we end this trip without either of us being hit by a bike I will be surprised. At one point he was cornered by a couple of jay-walking pensioners, a bike and a disability scooter.  We have had close calls with a unicycle, a family bike with 3 children on board, motor-scooters, which travel in cycle lanes, and numerous other bikes of various shapes and sizes. They are surprisingly fast and creep up silently behind you then frighten the living daylights out of you with their very loud bells.

3rd June – Wednesday

We moved to Haarlemsche jacht club for better wifi so that I could watch the centenary AGM of the WI on a live webcast.

The flag I made for the centenary out of a WI tea-towel, it was a substantial item and thudded more than fluttered.

Mid Webcast.

Haarlemsche Jacht club is a little bit of paradise, more of which later, we may be here for some time.