3-8 August In the end it was lucky that we went to Monnickendam earlier than originally planned. The weather was mostly fine and warm, ideal for all our outdoor activities. But it started raining on Wednesday and so it will be better to be in Amsterdam. Broek in Waterland On Saturday, after watching the Super Rugby final and having an early lunch, we cycled to Broek in Waterland. This a pretty village a few kms from Monnickendam. Unfortunately neither the church or the museum was open, but we were still able to cycle around. Back on the boat we waited for what looked like it might be a promising sunset. Markem On Sunday we cycled over to Markem. This was an island in the Zuiderzee and then the Marermeer until 1959 when they built a causeway. It was a fishing village, which of course ended when the Zuiderzee was dammed. Now it is a mostly a tourist village. Vollendam After our bike ride to the lighthouse, we caught the ferry to Vollendam, another former fishing village. There were lots of tourists - with a parking area for tourist buses. We had a nice lunch there and look around before cycling home. Monnickendam - Gable Stones On Monday we did the Gable Stones walk around Monnickendam, which was a nice way to see the town. There were about 50 gable stones included in the tour, many of them quite new. It was nice to see this tradition continued. Hemmeland Sunday was a hot day - about 32. So everyone went to the beach - including us. Hemmeland is a nearby peninsula that is a park, with a few places to swim. So we cycled down to have a look - and have a swim. The Hemmeland Marina is one of the 4 marinas in the area, and we could see from our boat that they had an old English telephone booth and an out of use lighthouse so we wanted to have a look. Back at the boat we had our party tent up and washing drying. Edam - Cheese Market Tuesday evening there was a change in the weather, so Wednesday was windy and cloudy with an occassional shower. We were off to Edam where they have their cheese market on a Wednesday morning (in July and August only). Actually it is more of a re-enactment of a cheese market, but it attracts a crowd and it was all good fun. After the market we had a look around Edam which we thought was a very pretty village - much more so than Vollendam which had been much more touristy. Monnickendam We have enjoyed our stay in Monnickendam, which is also a nice little town. It's main claim to fame is the Speeltroen - which is a museum and contains the world's oldest carillion, and according to them, the most out of tune. We can hear it from the boat and they must be right. We also had a great mooring spot for watching the boats go by.
2 Comments
Lisette McCauley
8/8/2018 08:31:07 pm
Lovely. We visited Volendam and Edam early in our cruising. First few days actually. We moored in Pumerend and caught a bus to visit the other towns. Your fabulous photos are bringing back great memories.
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Hazel
10/8/2018 10:08:09 am
Wow...washing hanging on board! Hope you didn't get complaints lol !!
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