The Piet Hein the ship reminded me of Piet Hein who, among other accomplishment wrote Grooks.  Though that Piet Hein was Danish, not Dutch though I’m not absolutely sure where this ship is from.

Piet Hein (16 December 1905 – 17 April 1996) was a Danish scientist, mathematician, inventor, designer, author, and poet, often writing under the Old Norse pseudonym "Kumbel" meaning "tombstone". His short poems, known as gruks or grooks (Danish: gruk), first started to appear in the daily newspaper "Politiken" shortly after the Nazi occupation in April 1940 under the pseudonym "Kumbel Kumbell".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piet_Hein_(scientist)

GROOK ON LONG-WINDED AUTHORS    

Long-winded writers I abhor,

    and glib, prolific chatters;

give me the ones who tear and gnaw

    their hair and pens to tatters:

who find their writing such a chore

    they only write what matters.

WHAT PEOPLE MAY THINK

Some people cower

and wince and shrink,

owing to fear of

what people may think.

There is one answer

to worries like these:

people may think

what the devil they please.

Another interesting name; Sailing Home.  Sometimes these monsters come quite close though their captains seem to be not the least bit worried about us.

Our very own flag display.. laundry on the bow.

The Netherlands says windmills and bicycles to me, but we certainly saw lots of horses.  Herds of horses, cattle and sheep were all grazing along the river at various places.

Climbing aboard

After the customs officials in France, I’ve gotten used to officials in rubber dinghies pulling up to DoraMac and climbing aboard.  This helpful fellow wanted to mark our charts to make sure we followed the channel correctly because there’s so much shipping that everyone has to be exactly where they should be.

Lots of cycling paths and ferries to transport riders across the river.  The 870 is the kilometer marker just like the mile markers on our highway maps so you know where you are on the charts.

The 8.1 is kilometers per hour so we’re going pretty slowly because of the river current against us. Usually we’re not even going this fast, more like 6 kilometers or less.

Signing in with the harbor master in Emmerich, Germany.

We just used the docks for tying up, but these water fowl used them as a place to build their nests under.

We left Emmerich as early as possible because we had a long way to go and were moving very slowly.

Rick pointed this out as a NATO Cold War boat ramp in case they had to move troops quickly across the river if the Russians invaded.  There was a ramp on the opposite bank.

Coal Barges

Nuclear Power plants were along the river. 

Lots of industrial scenery replace the lovely horses, sheep and cows of the Netherlands.

These tourists were seeing Dordrecht by open boat along the waterways through the city.

The Grote Kerk  “Great Church” (visible at the end of the road) has a climbable “leaning” tower, so who could resist.  See the clock’s face on the tower?  That’s where we climbed, all 72 meters; 2,376 ft.   I loved the stained glass windows in the church; one set told Dordrecht history, but the other three; my absolute favorites, told the stories of the city Guilds with a few hidden surprises.

“Dordrecht is the oldest city of Holland, as the western part of the Netherlands is called.  The city owes its prosperity to its location in the Rhine and Meuse delta and to the staple right, an old form of levying.  For centuries the tower has been under construction.  Nowadays such a long building period is inconceivable, but 600 years ago it was common practice due to limited resources and techniques.

Construction began in the early 14^th century.  Some hundred years later, around 1450, work had proceded as high as the gallery, but then fate struck.  Both church and tower were seriously damaged during an enourmous fire that raged through half the city – a phenomenon that wan not unusual either in those days- in 1457.  Having to rebuild the tower, however, offered an opportunity to change the design.  The tower was to get an octangular stone crowning and to attain a height of no less than 108 meters.  (3.3 times 108 = 3,564 ft.)  But as the tower started to subside, the idea was dropped.  The free standing entrance (locked when we got there) is a reminder of the 16^th century plan to tear down the tower in order to enlarge the church building.  But this part of the plan was abandoned as well.  Finally, in 1626 construction came to an end with the installation of four colossal clockfaces that still outline the silhouette of “the Dordtse dom, the city’s cathedral.” 

At present the tower is 2.25 meters (7.4.5 ft) off plumb and braces itself with a twelve million kilo weight against the northwest, symbolizing the city’s relationship with wind and water..

Grote Kerk Tower brochure

Stained Glass story of Dordrecht history….

-The Hoekse en Kabeljauwse twisten window illustrates the struggle for power between two groups of noblemen and towns in the 14^th and 15^th centuries

-The Great Flood of 1421 called the St Elizabeth Flood

-Great Fire of 1457 that destroyed large parts of the town of Dordrecht and the church

The Dordrecht Guild Windows installed in 2007

Througout the church the many chapels were owned by different Guilds illustrated with images meaningful to that specific Guild.  The images in these  windows, installed in 2007,  include the tools or products of all of the Guilds. 

The artist who created the windows  Teun Hocks

http://beautifuldecay.com/2012/03/13/teun-hocks/  tells about this fascinating artist.

These wonderful windows represent the guilds

The men who paid for the windows.

These church visitors were lit by the sun.  The lovely church “guide” was lit from within!  She explained all about the Guild windows to us which was a good thing as the church brochures I bought had no information at all other than when they were installed.  It was Ms. N van Bezooijen who pointed out the window’s artist and the image of the men who had paid for the window.  And the oval shapes with the three triangle cut-out parts that are cookies.

While I was chatting away with Ms van Bezooijen, Mary was sussing out the tower climb.  Turns out that the tower closed at 4:15 and it was then 4 pm.  So it was a race to the top up the 275 steps.  

Tiny people must have built this tower!

Ta da!  We made it with time to spare!

We left our brochure jammed in the stairwell door just to make sure we could get off the balcony and back into the stairwell neither one of us having a phone.  And doors don’t seem to work exactly as Mary and I expect, so just to be on the safe side….  But when we were just about ready to head back down two other people came onto the balcony so we figured we really weren’t so late after all.

You can see the columns of the Town Hall and beyond that the tower of the Almshouses.  What got me was that we were looking across at the rooster weathervane which meant we were up high.

We were also just about face to face with the clock.  Inside you walked past the clock workings.

     “At the level of the tower’s gallery is the clock that was made in 1624 by Jan Janszoon who lived in Dordrecht.  The clock has two striking mechanisms and a spring mechanism that Simon Douw converted in 1663 – shortly after Christiaan Huygens invented the pendulum clock- equipped with a 6.25 meters long pendulum.  The clock functioned well into the 1930s.  During the restoration works of 1966 it was restored to its natural state, that is to say with a foliot instead of a pendulum.  At the same time big hands were added to the four clockfaces with their  4.25 meters in diameter ring of Roman numerals.  Until then the clocks only had minute hands, indicating only the hour.  At present it is one of the few remaining clocks in the Netherlands that still operates on a foliot.  The {3} weights that keep the spring mechanism going, and those that make the clock strike every half and full hour weigh 160, 220, and 300 kilos respectively.  (1 kilo = 2.2 pounds)  They are suspended from ropes and are wound up electronically.” Grote Tower brochure

The Tower Hall is where you begin and end your climb.   The actual tower stairwell is circular, stone, narrow, and dark.  I came out fairly dizzy! 

It did finally occur to us we needed to check the ferry schedule back to Papendrecht as they only run every 50 minutes or so.  So then it was a race to the ferry, but we made it with a minute or two to spare.

The bridge across would have been a very long hike so the ferry really was our only option.  And as we were leaving early the following morning we still needed a trip to the grocery store.  Some nights we stop in yacht clubs with full services and shops nearby.  Other nights we just have to tie up where we can find a space so need to be prepared for at least 2 or three days of meals on the boat.

Papendrecht Yacht Club.  Power, water, wifi, a nearby shopping area, ATM and probably most important, a really really helpful harbor master and friendly boaters to lend an extension cord for our power cable.  We now have one of our own but didn’t when we first arrived.  We can last a night without power and could run our generator to recharge batteries if we have to, but it’s nice to just plug in.  You pay for it but that’s just fine.

Apartments surrounded the

Center City: Once again Mary is figuring out where we are and where we need to go.

Flood of 1953  Then and now…..

“I think that I shall never see a poem lovely as a tree” “When you start on your journey to Ithaca then pray that the road is long….  A poem for every occasion!

Once the convent’s garden, now a playground.  Mary got bombed with a flying stick that got away from a small boy who just picked it up and walked away without a backward glance.

Restaurant Traiteur Zest on the small busy Nieuwstraat.

The very helpful  (and very busy!) waitress explained what exactly was on the Tapas plate for two that Mary and I had ordered.  We had just started to eat when I heard Rick’s voice.  I looked back and there were Randal and Rick walking along Nieuwstraat towards us.  But they were supposed to be in Rotterdam getting our VHF radio reprogramed.  The ICom repair man who’d visited DoraMac in Vlissingen couldn’t repair it but thought the Rotterdam shop could.  Papendrecht was a 50 minute water taxi and then an expensive land taxi to the shop in Rotterdam but certainly muchcloser than Vlissingen had been.  Randal had called and emailed ahead of their visit, but to no avail as when they arrived in person the shop didn’t seem to have the correct computer program to fix the problem.  So they returned to Dordrecht to find a hardware shop but instead found us.  It was perfect timing as we had too much food for the two of us.  Though the guys had eaten they had room for a bit more so the plate was licked clean by the time we had finished.  I actually liked the little sausage things and the and the small pimento like peppers stuffed with cream cheese.  Mary and I liked different bits on the plate so it all worked out especially well and the guys ate anything.

     “If food be like music, play on.”    Traitor Zest                 “Reflections on a selfie.”

“If music be the food of love, play on.”   Twelfth Night

Dordrecht Bibliotheek

A very friendly book shop across the street from the library.  We had a lovely chat with the owner who had only recently become a book shop owner.  Of course most books were in Dutch.  We saw 2 Edward Gorey books, one in Dutch and one a picture book.  The book seller told us his daughter always wanted him to make up stories to go with the pictures.

A day of weddings at the City Hall

Concentrating very hard to get the flowers just right on the car but then….

Everyone just went walking down the street.

“The neoclassical façade that the Stadhuis (city hall) received in the 19^th century hided the medieval secret behind this building with its cellars with groined vaults and its roof with the original wooden construction, was built in the 14^th century as the Flemish commodity exchange.  It became the home of the city council in 1544.  When you visit (which we didn’t have time to do) explore the hunting room, the 18^th century prison in the attic and the wedding room with wall paintings by Reinier Kennedy.”

VVV Tourist Guide 2014

Then lots of cheering and commotion just before this car drove up with a bride and groom.  I asked a man next to me who it was?  “The man is nobody famous,” was his reply.  So I don’t know.

This cube was on the side of the City Hall.

  “The monument "You have to tell your children ‘in Dordrecht consists of two parts.  On the facade of the town hall is a stone cube-shaped plaque attached with a text and a Star of David.  In the hall, the town hall is a white pillar.  Opposite the names of the projected 221 Jewish war victims from Dordrecht.

DORDRECHT LOST HER JEWISH COMMUNITY RESULT OF GENOCIDE BY THE NAZIS in 1945. "

http://translate.google.com/

View of Dordrecht from DoraMac as we passed by on our way to Papendrecht across the river for a spot in the yacht club.  To berth in Dordrecht you had to wait for bridges to open and we weren’t sure there was space enough for us.  Mary and Rick had berthed at the Papendrecht Yacht Club and had great memories of the helpful harbour master there.  We found a spot thanks to that same helpful harbour master and just took the waterferry over to Dordrecht. 

Groothoofdsport Gate

Dordrecht has haven (harbours) but no canals.  The Voorstraatshaven forms the backbone of the old city.  Graceful bridges connect the Voorstraat and the Wijnstraat, streets that lie on either side of the water.  To effectively hadnle trade, the Nieuwe Haven 1410 and the Wolwevershaven 1609 were created, followed by the Maartensgat and the Kalkhaven.  The unchanged attractive harbour quarters with its warehouses, merchants’ mansions, quays and – now-pleasure boats is found between Grote Kerk and Groothoofd. 

Sometimes the information maps were helpful and sometimes a little more information was needed.

Boats moored along the Wunhaven waterways  on our way to find the tourist office. DoraMac may have been larger than many of the boat we saw but her colors, green and white seemed to be quite popular in the Netherlands.

We saw these multicolored sheep but unfortunately not the monument described below.  Wish we had!

     “During Carnaval, Dordrecht is called Ooi- en Ramsgat (Ewe’s and Ram’s hole), and its inhabitants are Schapenkoppen (Sheepheads). This name originates from an old folk story.  Import of meat or cattle was taxed in the 17th century.  To avoid having to pay, two men dressed up a sheep they had bought outside the city walls, attempting to disguise it as a man. The sheep was discovered because it bleated as the three men (two men and one sheep) passed through the city wall gate. There is a special monument of a man and his son trying to hold a sheep disguised as a man between them, that refers to this legend.  The logo of Dordrecht’s professional football club FC Dordrecht includes the head of a ram and its supporters are known to sing Wij zijn de Dordtse schapenkoppen (we are the Dorsts sheep heads) during matches. There is also a cookie called Schapenkop (sheep head) which is a specialty of Dordrecht.” Wikipedia

Tilted building for raising large items to top floors.   ‘No problem, No problem.”  I was taking a photo when a group on bikes cycled past.  “Sorry Sorry” they said; “No problem,” I said so then they all kept saying ‘No Problem” No Problem.”

This building was the home of the Notary Willem Hendrik van Bilderbeek who funded the Dordrecht Museum.  If he charged what our Ipswich notary charged I can see how he could afford to fund a museum.  Sadly there was a special exhibit at the museum (not something of interest to us) that raised the ticket price from 3 Euro to 14 Euro, about $18 US.  We didn’t have enough time to justify the $18 ticket.  However the entire collection catalogue in English is online with photos of the paintings.  Not the same but it will have to do.

I really wanted the stuffed elephant shaped pillow of the softest boiled wool  and had we been just starting our boating life rather than thinking of how to get stuff off the boat and back to VA, I might have just splurged on it.  This seemed to be a mulit-national women’s cooperative.  I wish I had the nerve to really interview people.  Not sure why I didn’t except they seemed quite busy and we just sort of invaded their working space. 

Mary guessed that this was the original Dutch Mint.  Once used as a music school, it’s not studio space for artists until the building owners find more lucrative ways to make money from it we were told by one of the artists just arriving on her bicycle.

“Munt van Hollant : The sandstone gate from 1555 on the Voorstraat gives access to the Muntgebouw [The Mint] where from 1367 up to its closure in 1806 the coins for Holland and Zeeland were minted.  The Holland coat of arms hangs above the entrance of the main building.”  VVV Tourist Guide

The coat of arms and this nearby wall plaque both make their own statement.

Not everything is old….

We stopped for about 11 am for coffee along with lots of other folks.  Women having fun.  Mary and I are going to have to learn to do selfies.

This bas relief was on the front of a modern building, but there was no signage to explain it. 

Now one of my favorite encounters…… 

I first saw this contraption from the back on our way to the Tourist Office.   It was playing music and everyone now and then the gold drum would  rat ta tat tat.   

The front looked like a puppet show though they were wood carvings, not puppets.   After leaving the Tourist Office we passed it again so I went closer and looked at the back.  The entire contraption is pulled by a man on a bicycle who travels around the city with this and his tin cup for contributions.  I gave him a Euro when we originally passed by but when I saw what it really was wish I’d given him more. 

I know he pulled it by bicycle because when Mary and I were eating lunch at a lovely café on a small side street, he bicycled past us pulling it along.  Unfortunately my camera was buried in my backpack so I didn’t get any photos of that. 

Being a retired reference librarian I first thought these were old phone books used to hold up something but then the machine’s owner came and took one of the books and put it into the machine replacing the one already there.  Not old phone books but old player piano music.  Way cool!

You can see it going in on the left and out on the right moved by the big wheel and cable.   

Mary sampling some “way too strong” perfume that we both kept smelling for the rest of the day.  I could at least sort of get away from it, but poor Mary couldn’t. 

Almshouses

Between Bagijnhof and Vriesestraat are the almshouses of the Regenten- of Lenghenhof.  They are built around several central courtyards.  These almshouses, which date from 1755 and were built for poor women, were governed by trustees.  The oldest are on the side of the Baginjhof.  In 1625, Arend Maartenszoon founded the almshouses for poor women that bear his name in the Museumstraat.  Cottages surround a courtyard with ancient (350 years old) trees and a water well and are now occupied by both men and women.”  VVV Tourist Guide 2014

Courtyard,  water well, and ancient trees

This man is a new resident and feels as if living here, he is on permanent vacation!

Looking through the entrance back onto the street.