Netherlands Trip - Hindeloopen      20th June:

    There was a fair wind blowing in the morning, and the sky was overcast - ominous. We did a few chores, Rex spending a small fortune on a stainless-steel pin to secure the anchor.
    I chatted with the same Dutch sailor I had been talking to the previous day. He warned us of thunderstorms in the evening.
    "Where are you heading to today?" he asked.
    "Hindeloopen, then Harlingen and Leeuwarden," I replied.
    "We're going to Stavoren," he said, "You might pass us on the way."
    "Oh, are you travelling on up to Sneek?" I asked. Rex, Meryl and I had visited Sneek in 2013.
    "Yes, we are going there," he replied. "My son has bought a house there, and we are going to help him sort out his garden. We can sail right up to his house," he added.
    Exiting the marina was not straight forward. A boat was proceeding down the middle of the channel that ran through the marina, when a boat on the starboard side came out of a side channel and tried to turn hard to starboard to exit the marina. Unfortunately, the boat exiting from the side channel couldn't get its bow round because of the strong wind. The boat in front of us was forced to stop, and its bow got blown to port in the same way. At that moment a third boat exited from a left-hand side channel, and all three boats ending up dancing together. When a gap appeared, Rex opened up the throttle and charged through leaving the rest to sort themselves out.

Tall Ships on the Ijsselmeer

    We soon found ourselves out in the Ijsselmeer in a Force 4-5. We set the genoa and were soon creaming along at 5.4 knots. We did indeed pass the Dutch couple on the way. We also spotted a couple of multimasted ships. The clouds parted, and soon a merciless sun was beating down on us. Thanks to Rex's remarkable helmsmanship, we soon glided up to the Meldsteiger in Hindeloopen marina and I checked us in.
    I complemented the elderly harbour master on his command of English. "I did not learn it in England, I learnt it in Germany. I was with a tank regiment based at a NATO base, with 8,500 Britons," he explained.
    Order of the day was the launderette. It was a scorching day, the marina seemed deserted or perhaps everyone was keeping out of the sun. A few children were having an enjoyable time swimming in the marina. Once all the washing was sorted, we headed into the small town, wilting somewhat under the heat.

Sylhuis, the lockkeeper's house, with the Liars' Bench in front of it

Sylhuis

De Zijlroede

    With the sun on our backs and the wind in our face, we headed off to have our explore of the small town, one of the Elfstedentocht (200km long skating tour of the eleven historical cities of the province). Leaving the Hylper Haven, we passed by the Sylhuis, the lockkeeper's house, together with the leaf bridge in front of it, and the Liars' Bench, where male inhabitants of Hindeloopen still meet and tell big stories.
    Hindeloopen received city rights in 1225, and in 1368 it became a member of the Hanseatic League. Since the 12th and 13th centuries, Hindeloopen trading vessels undertook journeys to the North and Baltic Sea Coasts. The strong overseas connections with foreign countries and infrequent contact with the hinterland were probably the reasons for the development of the Hindeloopen language; a mixture of West Frisian, English, Danish, and Norwegian.

Deserted Buren

    The shipping trade with Scandinavia, the Baltic states and Russia, together with good relations with the metropolis Amsterdam, brought the population of Hindeloopen a great prosperity. The 17th and 18th centuries were especially golden times. At that time, the people of Hindeloopen spent a lot of money in Amsterdam on precious fabrics and objects, which were supplied through the Dutch East India Company (VOC). The rich town developed in those days her own traditional costumes and a completely individual style with colourful painted walls and furniture. The flourishing trade came to an end in the 19th century when the merchants moved to Amsterdam. Hindeloopen became somewhat impoverished and people were forced to make a living from fishing. Nowadays, tourism features heavily in the town's economy.
    We noted that quite a few bars and restaurants were shut, and not many people were on the streets. We strolled down Buren street which ended at the Grote Kerk with its tall tower, visible from miles out over the Ijsselmeer. In the Middle Ages a parish church existed in Hindeloopen, but was destroyed in 1570. It was rebuilt in 1593. During the 17th century the population of Hindeloopen grew significantly, and there was a need for a larger building. The old church was demolished and the foundation was laid for a new church building in 1632. More than 25 years later, the church was extended with a south aisle. It was only in 1683 when the tower was equipped with bells. During the years 1970-1975 both the interior and exterior restorations were carried out, and the tower, hanging well off balance, was somewhat "rectified".
    Our luck turned. Just before the church at the very end of the street, we discovered the Sudersee was open, a restaurant we had visited before. We entered, ordered a beer, and sat outside. Sadly, rain appeared. We retired indoors, and got chatting with a Dutch couple on a nearby table. Rex, as always, spoke fluent Dutch; never fails to impress.
    "I visited London once, to sing at the Albert Hall in a Dutch choir of 200 singers, in front of an audience of 9,000 people," the lady informed us. "We sang a mixture of Dutch and English songs."
    "Well done for singing in English," I complemented her.
    "I speak Dutch, Fries, English and German," she added.
    The lady continued, "I had to fly to London since I am terribly afflicted with sea-sickness." So was Nelson I thought.
    The couple then started to tell us about a Dutch man raising money for a charity by swimming, cycling and walking 200km over a course between Dokum and Leeuwarden. He had tried this before but pulled out with just 50km to go in the final walk. This year he was trying again, and they showed us numerous photos of the chap swimming, and his family.
    The couple had to dash. Our waiter was a pleasant young fellow. I learned that he had studied at an International School where lessons are conducted in English, hence his excellent command of the language. Now he was studying chemical engineering.

Hindeloopen Museum

    We left the restaurant as the rain slowed down to a dribble, the temperature was exceedingly pleasant now, and the air fresh. We spent a while reading the gravestones around the leaning church, in particular the war graves. Young airmen aged from just 22 from the RAF were placed to rest here. The war graves for two German soldiers stood in the collection.

Hindeloopen Church

War Graves

Hylper Haven

    We headed back to port along the deserted street. At the Liars' Bench I stopped and chatted with an old man. We discussed the storms to begin with, until I learned he had been an artist for 50 years. He had designed both textiles and ceramics. In the late 70s his work took a whole new direction with the introduction of computers into the design field. Eventually all his designs were created via computers. The manufacturing was performed in South Korea, where printing processes 4-5m wide spewed out kilometre lengths of the fabrics. Atelier Glashouwer showed me his website, where I could peruse his designs at my leisure. I thanked the man for sharing his story with me, and only then did I realise Rex had long gone.
    I caught up with him surveying all the boats for sale at the marina. He filled me in on the relative merits and disadvantages of the boats, which were complete rip offs, many of which were ocean going vessels; a whole new learning curve to me.
    We ended up on the boat with a beautiful sunset to observe in an ideal temperature. However, the decks were covered in water from the storm, so we declined to sit on them. In the dry cabin we planned our next stage of our journey to Harlingen.