April, 2011

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Friday April 1st Friesland

Friday, April 1st, 2011

I drove the car of my German cruising friends from Amsterdam to their summer moorage in Friesland while they brought their boat there today and tomorrow. At lunch time I stopped to say hello to Astrid Lurweg in Enkhuizen where she runs a Spelt bakery. We met in the South Pacific when she was first mate/damsel on a windjammer, in 2005. I gasped at the prices here for some of the parts I need to replace on “Fleetwood”. A plastic muffler/water lock retails for $175.00 But I got lucky and found it for $27.50 on the local equivalent of Craig’s list. I had to go get it in Friesland in a small town north of Joure. Along the way I spotted a sign to “Stork Village” (Ooievaarsdorp). I could not help but stop and here are a few more pictures of these unusual birds. They were chattering their beaks, it sounded like playing on castanets. The skies have cleared and it has warmed up again.

March 30 I found out where baby Storks come from

Friday, April 1st, 2011

The 10 days of gorgeous Spring weather has turned cold and wet. Wednesday I met fellow cruisers Matthias and Regina in the Sixhaven in Amsterdam. I knew them from my stay at “de Schinkel” in 2009. Today I drive their car to Friesland while they are moving their boat to a summer moorage in Koudum, Friesland.

Today I spent time in the archives in Utrecht and found another piece to the puzzle in gettig a better picture on some of the players in the book I am writing. From Utrecht I took the train to Culemborg to meet Karel van den Berg and his wife Ankie and Bert van den Berg. My great great grandparents are directly related to these v/d Bergs. My mother used to spend many hours with Karel father’s family in Amsterdam. Karel lives on an old farm, the house dates from 1877. While we walked up tot the Stork’s perch in the meadow on his property we just happened to see the below mating scene. The Utrecht pictures are of the Dom Church. The tallest church in the Netherlands. Construction commenced in 1254. Untill the 16th century reformation it was the main Roman Catholic Cathedral for the Netherlands and the diocese of Utrecht.