Den Helder
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Reluctantly we left Alkmaar …. we needed to be near Amsterdam for Amy’s visit but decided we had enough time to go to Den Helder (Den Helder lies on the northernmost point of the province of North Holland and is surrounded by water on three sides.) and took a minor detour to Schagen (a city and municipality in the northwestern Netherlands between Alkmaar and Den Helder; it received city rights in 1415 and in 2013, Schagen merged with Zijpe and Harenkarspel.) where it looked like there was an undocumented mooring plus the town sounded interesting, so we thought we would check it out. It turned out to be very good and although we only had time to stay for one night, we had a good walk around the marina where we came across a really interesting car museum (added bonus, free entry). I was particularly pleased to see one of my old cars, even in the same colour.
Next morning we headed off to Den Helder and moored up for a couple of nights. The town itself was disappointing but we were very close to the maritime museums and all the historic ships – it is very early in the season so the whole area was very quiet but it looked like it would be quite vibrant in the summer.
We took the bikes for a spin along the coast (leaving the dogs on Shensi) visiting a fort and aquarium along the way, and even catching sight of a seal in the waters.
On returning we noticed a cinema complex only a ten minute walk away from Shensi, so we went over in the evening to watch a film – End Game – which was in English with Dutch sub-titles, so we were able to sit and enjoy the film.
On the way back we passed a heron just sitting and enjoying the view.
