Mit dem Hausboot durch die Kanäle Hollands...
Ku kandziyisiwile: 22.08.2017
Tsarisa eka Xiphephana xa Mahungu
08/23/17
Last year, my girlfriend and I got our motorboat license together. Now we want to put our skills to the test in the beautiful canals around Utrecht and Amsterdam. Let's see how it goes... :)
We're starting on Friday :)
08/27/17
Yesterday we arrived in the picturesque and cozy Utrecht. There are beautiful design shops, postcard shops, and other unique stores everywhere that you want to take a look at. The city feels similar to Amsterdam, but much more relaxed. The special thing is the 'Werftkeller' in the Oudegracht, where many cozy cafes and restaurants are located. Nowhere else can you find so many great spots right by the water. The city inspires creativity. Since we rarely have the opportunity to indulge in this in our everyday lives, we have equipped ourselves with beautiful pens and sketch pads here. We will see what comes out of it...😃.
Great postcards everywhere! Should we hang them up, send them out, or just enjoy them?😉
First attempts at drawing... :)
Tomorrow we will board our Don Copito - we are very excited and hope for little wind, top control^^, great weather, and lots of fun!😊☀️🚤
08/28/17
Celebratory wine after successfully docking at sunset.☺️🚤🌅
Today we received our boat (a Curtevenne 830 AK with a length of 8.6m) and first furnished it and stowed our food supplies on board. The boat had a nautical chart, but none towards Amsterdam and no harbor books. We bought one at the watersports store in Bunschoten-Spatenburg and talked to the harbor master (Havenskantor) about whether the route would be feasible in terms of time. Then we set sail, or rather, entered the canal. 😊 For the first day, we only took a short route of 7.5 nm to Huizem (about 1-1.5 hours of driving). We only arrived there around 8 PM and found the signs quite misleading. Now we know: 'Sports' does not refer to the sports area in the harbor, but to the area for smaller boats like ours. And following the 'Passanten' signs always seems like a good idea. 😃 There, we enjoyed the sunset and cooked ourselves delicious chicken with fried potatoes. The first day at sea was mastered. ⚓️
Small culinary insight: for breakfast, we made flaxseed-banana pancakes with mango and raspberries, as well as a delicious omelette. 😃 For dinner, we had Vietnamese summer rolls, fried potatoes with chicken fillet, and classic noodles with Barilla pesto.
08/29/17 - Don Capito in Amsterdam😊⚓️
Today we traveled 14 nm with our little boat - the journey went from Huizen to Amsterdam. We started the day with a delicious breakfast of omelette, fruit salad, juice, and coffee in beautiful sunshine on deck. After that, we relaxed for a while and drew pictures of the harbor in Huizen (we had already taken a few pictures before :) pictures of that will follow..). Now we fired up our stove again (you always have to heat up the old tub for 60s before the engine starts) and set sail.
In doing so, we crossed the Ejmeer and faced the first big challenge - a lock. But we handled it with ease, making a short 180-degree turn while waiting :-D. (I wonder if the many spectators saw it that way too? :) ) and continued towards 'Sixhaven', the harbor directly opposite Centraal Station in Amsterdam. There, we docked just as smoothly with two short stops - once outside the harbor because we couldn't find the entrance, and once in the completely opposite corner of the harbor with the help of the harbor master. In the evening, we enjoyed the last rays of sunshine on board.
08/30/17 - Continuous rain in Amsterdam
Today there was only one thing - rain, rain, and more rain. That's why we simply went shopping, left our boat safely in the harbor where it was in this weather, and spent the day in Amsterdam. There we first bought a raincoat and rubber boots and walked through the rain-soaked canals of the city.
Sex Museum, Grass Museum...there's so much here!!
The last sunset...
Tsarisa eka Xiphephana xa Mahungu
Nhlamulo