Amersfoort
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(Amersfoort is a city and municipality in the province of Utrecht. In August 2017, the municipality had a population of 155,089, making it the second-largest of the province and fifteenth-largest of the country.
We finally made it to Amersfoort after a couple of short stops on the way, and it was definitely worth the visit, managing to find a mooring on the outskirts of the town – a bit make do and mend but ok – and immediately walked into the main area passing through lots of industrial units. We were not that impressed so far, but we carried on into the town centre and the main harbour areas, which were much nicer than where we had started from. On our return to the boat we spotted an alternative mooring just outside the harbour before the Koppleburg and so we decided to re-locate for the evening. A hurried exit and we made it back to the mooring, just waiting for a couple of paddle boarders to launch before we could tie up and settle in.
On our earlier walk we had also spotted a cinema, and decided to walk back in to see the latest John Wick 3 movie in the evening before having a wander round the town later on.
Having been impressed by the main harbour (and the fact that it was right in the town centre) we spent one night at our second choice mooring (no services, but charged at full rate) and then moved into the main harbour (charged but included all services, so a better deal, although not cheap) which was a very good move. The weather was extremely hot so we ran the A/C as needed (remember, electric included!), and decided to stay a couple more nights in relative comfort.
This final mooring was just across the canal from a party boat, and as we suspected that the music and revelry would likely go on till midnight or later (and also because it was too hot during the day to walk about) we went for a few late evening strolls and got some fabulous night views …. and of course had to stop for a leisurely drink by the water.
Over the three days in Amersfoort there were a few markets going on – a flea market, a hippy market and a more general market. Plus a rock choir in the market square. All interesting in their own ways and worth a look-see.
Anyway, after our third night we pushed on again, backtracking along the river Eem to arrive at a (free, unserviced) mooring at Malebrug, originally planning on one night’s stop but developing into two nights.
This was another peaceful location with a direct cycle path back into Amersfoort and on our first morning Nicki walked the dogs into the town, and I cycled to meet them along the way. Then we reversed our roles for the return journey – the dogs were pretty worn out after all that exercise, but seemed to enjoy it. After that it was a fairly quiet day and we were able to plan our next leg of the journey.
