|
GOING
DUTCH
or
HOW WE WENT TO SEA
with A CARAVAN
 
DFDS Seaways with sailings that serve
Scandinavia, Holland, Germany and the UK is one of the
oldest established companies on the North Sea.
For people who live in the
north of the UK sailing with DFDS from Newcastle is
convenient, and as a bonus you get to see just how things have changed on the River
Tyne.
A few of the tower cranes that used to be associated with ship
building (for which the area was famous) still remain, but now attractive housing
has sprouted up and desirable residences line a sparkling
marina development.
From the ships deck, motorists enjoyed the views from a new angle.
Then as we reached the ancient Priory on the
headland at Tynemouth a light mist rolled in,
we passed the light at end of the harbour bar,
and entered the North Sea.
We watched it all slip away as we shared a bottle of
wine at the afterdeck bar .
Already some folk were up
on the top deck and swimming in the pool that was sheltered
behind the bridge.
The ship the ‘Prince of Scandinavia’ may be a car ferry but
on our over night journey the experience was close to what
you would get on a cruise ship. From sauna to cinema it was
all there and the latest films too: Spiderman, Stuart Little2,
and 'Star Wars', with the motion of the ship adding
a bit of realism to the intergalactic battles.
On arrival at IJmuden near Amsterdam
we
joined the others at the
deck rails and watched the morning bustle of the port,
A fast moving police launch
shot past, cargo was craned out of the hold of a freighter and
nestling close to a large ship sat a couple of tugs.
One seemed to be crewed by a family, the wife bringing a mug of
coffee and bacon
roll to the wheelhouse.
Beyond it all, from our high vantage point we could see
the sands of the Netherlands' beaches stretching invitingly into the
distance, we knew that we would soon be on them and with the sun
shining on our faces we felt that we had struck lucky with our
Autumn weather.
For the first time in my life I was towing a caravan behind
the car and although we were almost the last to be loaded at
Newcastle, we had
the advantage of being first away in the morning.
The
Netherlands is densely populated and you are into busy traffic
quite soon, so we were glad to take the easy option by basing our caravan at
a nearby campsite at Bloemendaal aan Zee near
Zandvoort.
Suffice to say it was al done very quickly and within two
hours of leaving ferry
we were body
surfing on the waves like happy porpoises.
The water was just
warm enough, not
quite like the Mediterranean,
but certainly
a tad less chilly than what Scotland had to offer.
The sand stretched for miles
and it was obvious we were in the
area that provided the local beaches for Amsterdam.
A teddy bear symbol on a pole was just one of the ’animal’
location markers provided to prevent children getting lost in what.
In summer, I
should imagine would, there would be quite a large crowd, however in September
there was plenty of room.
The folk around us had pitched
their beach brollies where they could be handy for the café
at the top of the dune.
It was an agreeable affair and we enjoyed eating at a table on
the terrace.
We watched an ever increasing number of bicycles arrive and
their owners make their way down to the strand.
It was we concluded all very Dutch
- a practical way of getting
there, keeping fit and avoiding paying three Euros for the
car park
Down on the beach a tractor arrived towing a stall that
sold cooked seafood.
It offered quite an exotic selection and the aroma of grilled squid
tempted quite a few to rise from their beach mats.
.
Floral
parade
Having
unhitched our caravan we set about touring. We
had heard about the Alsmeer to Amsterdam floral parade. 
It
is an annual event on the second Saturday in September.
You
can get a relaxed and close up view of the
various floats as the parade assembles in Alsemeer on the
Friday afternoon.
 We
had a pleasant time, just sitting drinking coffee at
pavement café.
It
was truly amazing what had been crafted out of the flowers
that adorned transport that ranged from mini cars to tractors.
The
police skillfully diverted traffic as street after street in the
town centre filled the with sweet smelling works of art and local
shoppers resorted to pushing their bikes.
Gelderland
To find the best of rural Holland we headed east and beyond
Arnhem to the Gelderland province.
We did as the Dutch do and spent a Sunday cycling through
the network of farm lanes and small country roads.
Listening to the sound of bells drifting across the flat land,
we enjoyed the ride and stopped
frequently to admire crops,
animals, and gardens.
It was ‘neat’ in both senses of the word.
 A
gaggle of children cycled swiftly past us chattering as they
went.
The bike wheels seemed to be part of them, a
girl deftly fixing her hair with both hands.
Round a corner
we came to an farmer herding half a dozen cows across the
narrow road. A smile and a wave and we were on our way exploring
more of the lattice of paths.
It
all seemed a long
way from the bustle of the motorways around Amsterdam, Rotterdam
and Utrecht.. and yet
it was not, for the Netherlands is a small
country.
Germany
 The
next day we were able to travel just a few miles and slip across
the border into Germany and watch the massive barges push up the
River Rhine at Emmerich.
There is an excellent museum there that gives you some
understanding of the mighty waterway that crosses the
continent. There are hundreds of models and tucked away in the
corner of its yard you find, a one man U-Boat, complete with torpedo. 
This
relic of the World War 2 was unsuccessfully, deployed against
Allied shipping in the further north near Dutch harbours.
Holland,
we found was compact enough for us to have breakfast in Germany
and be back on the Dutch coast for our evening meal and in between
have enough time to visit the Floriade.
The
Floriade
The
Floriade is a massive horticultural
exhibition that is held once every ten years. This years successful
event, constructed on a 65 hectare park, closes on the
20th of October. Some 300 exhibits are distributed over the
park's three sections and a colourful 'Valley of the Flowers'
has one million flower bulbs.
In
addition to the great floral expertise of the Netherlands,
floribunda of 29 countries is on display. One
particularly interesting area is called ‘The Roof,’
a glass canopy that measures 100 by 278 metres, that is
bigger than four football pitches. It shelters an amazing indoor
landscape.
The
area accommodates permanent displays and some 30 to 40 changing
exhibitions.
Everything
there is colourful is vibrant and fresh.
There are lots of interesting ideas and artistic
presentations, tsome offer a touch of humour. 
IKEA came up with the idea of an office that has a carpet of
ivy.
Ideal for the travel writer who doesn't want the grass to grow
under his feet!
Report by Allan Rogers
Fact file
 DFDS
Seaways services to Amsterdam (Ijmuiden ): www.dfdsseaways.co.uk
For a free brochure call 08705 333 666
DFDS Seaways, Mini
CruiseBreak
08705 333 111
Netherlands
Board of Tourism:
0891 717 777 recorded information line (60p per minute)
Floriade:
www.floriade.nl
|
