September 2021 – Part 1
0
0
Leaving Utrecht on the final day of August, we made our way onto the Vecht, heading to Oude Zuilen and stopping in more or less the same spot as before on the edge of the village. We managed to fit in a couple of good walks in our couple of days there, apple and flower picking along the way. So, a pretty vase of wild flowers along with an apple crumble added to our enjoyment of this village. Sadly, as on our last visit, we were unable to see inside the castle – Zuylen Castle – but we did get a few pics of the grounds which seemed very attractive.
The real purpose of our visit to Oude Zuilen however was that we had located a company in a nearby town which had a display of the type of stove we were looking for for the boat. This did necessitate a 40 minute (each way) cycle ride, but fortunately it was along mostly secluded cycle paths and Nicki was able to cope pretty well – and as a bonus, we managed to identify and order just what we were looking for.
Feeling very pleased with ourselves, we left Oude Zuilen the next morning (my birthday) on a short trip to Maarssen, intending to re-stock some food supplies and also to book a table for a meal that evening. Looking for a mooring spot we passed Ruth and Barry Morse on Lizzie Too who were already visiting the town, and arranged to call in to them later on for coffee and a chat.
In the afternoon we walked around the Doornburgh park with Casper, before heading out again for my birthday meal (courtesy of the children – thank you all) at the Brasserie, a nice little restaurant right on the Vecht.
Now making our way to Harderwijk for the 6th, the next morning it was onwards and upwards into Loenen just half an hour along the Vecht; after a good night’s sleep we set off to Weesp. Weesp is a lovely town that we have visited often, and on this occasion Nicki was lucky enough to see and hear a small motor boat containing a pianist/singer and a drummer just cruising round the harbour entertaining everyone.
Still, on a mission now, the following day we moved onto an island mooring at Hooft in the Muiden area for the night, and arrived as scheduled in Harderwijk the next afternoon, only to find ourselves stuck at the lifting bridge into the binnenhaven due to ongoing works in the harbour area. We tied up by the bridge for that night and were lucky enough to be able to move onto an official mooring the next morning just where we had hoped to be, so Nicki was going to be ok for her solitary stay for a few days while I went off to the DBA Rally.
Having checked the car was working properly after leaving it in the car park for the past five months, the morning of the 9th saw me driving off to Veurne, with a planned stop in Deinze to meet up with Chris Fryatt and Keith Sweet around midday for a couple of hours.
After a good old chin-wag I set off again for Veurne and the chance to see lots of ‘old’ faces from our travels and from previous rallies. Janos and Rachel had been kind enough to offer me a bed on Csarvargo for the time I was there, and we were joined by Glynis and Tim a day later.
As usual, there was lots of socialising, drinking and eating, a few outings and some sightseeing, and all too soon the weekend was over and I set off to rejoin Nicki on Shensi.
Memories from the 2021 Rallly
Meanwhile, Nicki enjoyed exploring a little of what Harderwijk has to offer, coming across a day of entertainment in the city centre from medieval re-enactments to a troupe of performing drummers to a novel game of football, to name just a few.
