In Stevensweert Pt. 2

There is always an endless list of chores that “need” to get done before departure but sometimes you just have to go. Since we had paid for the slip in the Stevensweert marina until May 1, that was going to be the date.

Over the winter a local boat mechanic had taken care of the leaky steering gremlin and checked out the gearbox and generator to make sure they were operating properly. We settled up a very reasonable bill from Jac Mofers. After the shopping trip to France we kept pretty close to the boat gathering supplies and checking items off the list. (Memo to those who have joined us before. The shower drain is fixed!) The car was going to have to go back to the Dusseldorf airport on Friday. It’s only an hours drive there but it was going to take three trains and a bus to get back to the boat so that day would be filled.

Thursday was “Koningsdag”, or Kingsday, a holiday in Holland. In the cities there are big parties and celebrations but in the smaller villages it means most stores are closed at least part of the day and there’s usually some sort of kid-focused activity. Since we planned a Monday departure and Friday was take-back-the-car day we took advantage of the half-day the grocery stores were open to do our last stocking up. We finished just in time to catch the kids parade through Maasbracht’s shopping district. Kids on bicycles, of course. 

 Orange is the color. The ruling family is the “House of Orange.”

Friday morning at 10 we were off to Dusseldorf, arriving at the rental car office about an hour later. First was the 15 minute train ride from the airport to the central railroad station then a half hour wait for the one hour train ride to Venlo in the Netherlands. Another train took us from from Venlo to Roermond and then an hour long bus ride to Stevensweert. We were back to the boat shortly after 4 pm feeling pretty proud of ourselves for making all the connections correctly. No getting on trains heading in the wrong direction like last year!

Saturday was finally a better weather day, a little warmer, at least, and the mast was finished, flags hung and the garden planted.  

It looked like we would get off on Monday as planned.

In Stevensweert, Pt.1

The Monday April 17 overnight flight from Houston to Paris was a little bumpier than usual although the meals didn’t end up in our laps. After a four hour layover the 50 minute Tuesday afternoon flight to Dusseldorf was also a little bumpy but it was smooth sailing through the rental car desk and on the the A road for the hour long drive across the German/Netherlands border to Stevensweert and Oldtimer.

The boat was in remarkably good shape after it’s 7 month hibernation and we were very pleased to see the new windows installed!

All of the windows in the galley now open as do three of the formerly fixed windows in the wheelhouse. Yvo and the folks at Omru Scheepsramen did a great job, even replacing the wood trim around the inside. We just needed to do a little caulking and extra  trimming to finish them off.

The solar panels had kept the batteries fully charged and we just needed to fill the water tank and prime the pump to make everything homey. 

That and turn on the boiler. Southern California it was not! The radiators and the wood stove were going to get a workout for the next several days. High temps in the lower 50’s and overnight lows near freezing meant the long sleeves, jackets and heavy duvets were going to be well used.

The grocery situation was a little dire, however, and Wednesday we made the 10 minute trip into Maasbracht to restock the larder. The road follows the Julianna Kanaal and the pear trees were in full bloom.

We timed our arrival just right as just a couple of days later the bloom was pretty much over and there was some concern that the cold snap was going to prevent the fruit from setting. Time will tell.

Leaving Stevensweert turning one way leads to Maasbracht, the other to the village of Echt. The chandleries and good boat shopping is in Maasbracht, along with the Lidl and a small grocery store. The hardware store (Gamma), the good garden supply store and another grocery are the other way in the village of Echt, which also sports a very fine church and civic offices.

Saturday was Cathy Jo’s birthday. What better way to celebrate but to drive to France (with a brief stop in a nearby Ikea) for a little shopping. When we were in Givet, the town right on the French/Belgian border last year, we visited the giant Intermarche and decided we would have to make a run south from Holland to stock up on cases of wine and other French delicacies (paté, giant bags of industrial pastries, etc) unavailable in the north. It’s only a couple of hours on the A road.

On the way we stopped in the Wallonian (the French speaking part of Belgium) village of Cupet for a delicious lunch at the Relais Saint-Antoine; specialty, trout many ways.

The birthday girl and the lunch spot

After our hunting and gathering it was back to work. The list is endless before we leave for Belgium May 1.

Getting Ready

We begin again...

We arrived in Houston from Los Angeles on Tuesday. We're spending a week with Cathy Jo's dad. Her mother passed away this past February from complications of  bypass surgery performed in September shortly after we returned from the Netherlands. There is alot of sorting and organizing to do so we're lending a hand.
On Monday Air France will whisk us off to Paris and on to Dusseldorf, Germany. From there it's only a little over an hour's drive to Oldtimer.

The pic is from Google Earth. At the bottom of the middle finger

on the right side is Oldtimer in her winter home!

Plans for this year (I know, I know. Remember last year....) have us heading into the wilds of Belgium, revisiting Ghent and Brugges along with other highlights from our 2008 trip through the country as well as some new areas, like the Dender River . We'll be reentering France near Dunkirk and then travel south to the Somme River, then head east. All of this, of course, subject to change or whim. And (cough, Debbie, cough) you can follow along on the excellent map of the Belgian canals over there-->.

Follow along virtually or, better yet, come visit!

Voyage 2016- Part 2

From Toul to Stevensweert, mid July to September 1.

Voyage of 2016- Part 1

We covered lots of ground this year so I split the map into two parts. This part covers from the beginning of May to mid-July; the out-and-back from Saint Jean de Losne and then up to Toul in northern France. Part 2 will proceed from Toul through northern France into Belgium and on to Oldtimers winter quarters in Stevensweert, Netherlands.

Numbers, Numbers

1645 kilometers (that’s alot!)

726 locks

250 hours underway

75 travel days

about 500 liters of fuel

3 overnight guests (2 long taxi rides!)

Paris, Sept. 12-14

It was and hour and a half train ride from Maastricht to Liege where we caught the high-speed Thalys for the two hours to Paris. After muscling our bags onto and off of the metro we walked a short distance to the Hotel de Nations Saint Germain. The very friendly and helpful staffed checked us in and sent us up the elevator to our sixth floor room overlooking the Rue Monge, with a view of the towers of Notre Dame and The church of Sacrè Coeur in the distance. (Nice hotel. Recommended!)

Of course we were going to have a mini heat wave for our time here so it was off to a museum. They have air conditioning. This time it was the Musèe d’Orsay with it’s impressive collection of impressionist painting and sculpture and an equally impressive clock.

The building was originally constructed as a train station for the Universal Exhibition of 1900 and is a work of art in it’s right.

Wednesday morning we checked out of the hotel and headed for the airport on the always packed RER, the suburban railroad. There was barely enough room for us and our suitcases in the car. When we arrived at the airport a nice (!) soldier with a large gun was preventing anyone from heading up the escalator to the terminal.  Seems there was an unattended suitcase left there and things are, shall we say, just a little jumpy in Paris. After about 20 minutes we were told that shortly there would be a loud whistle and we should cover our ears. Bang! went the device and Cathy Jo said some poor person’s underwear was all over the ceiling.

Without further incident Air France carefully deposited us in Los Angeles right on time and we were back in our Ventura home about 8 pm. Time to get back to work (and start planning for next year!)