The quiet day

Our last full day in the Netherlands was supposed to be a quiet day in De Rijp. The hotel itself was quite a distance to the village centre & just a small place when you got there. We wondered what we would do all day long.

Bev, our trip leader, realised this by midweek & decided to see if she could hire a boat for a guided cruise around the local canals. We all agreed to go along for the ride & pay whatever had to be paid. So in the morning we all set off.

The flat bottomed boat was capable of taking people in their wheelchairs so I didn’t even have to get out of my chair. Bev had warned us to wear our thickest clothes. We were very grateful we did. Even with the two blankets provided to wrap round us, we were still cold. Eyes & noses peeped out from the depths of blankets, like a boatload of babushkas sitting there.

 

Setting off from our hotel in De Rijp

Nonetheless it was a very enjoyable trip. For two hours we went gently along the canals. The wildlife was undisturbed by our passing so we were able to take a good look at kestrels, lapwings, oystercatchers, a buzzard, coots. We ducked under low bridges. We passed by the gardens of many houses – most in De Rijp face directly onto the street. We saw weeping willows dripping into the water or blowing gently in the wind. The canals themselves were apparently just a few centimetres deep which surprised us. They look so much deeper. Finally we returned to the hotel.

De Rijp across the fields

One of the churches of De Rijp

Another church of De Rijp

Across a garden

A dripping willow

To the village centre

We all headed straight to the bar for hot drinks to thaw out. No matter how cold it was, it was also a magical trip.

In the afternoon we ventured down to the village centre, to discover it was early closing day, so the museum, churches etc. were all closed. We arrived just in time to look around the Tourist Info Centre before it too closed for the day.

The Waag & tourist info centre, de Rijp

Back of the main street of De Rijp, with flower shop

Small scale bridge garden feature echoing the larger real bridge crossing the canal

It was a pleasant stroll. De Rijp is a pretty village. I can easily believe it is an expensive place to buy property. It is just so quiet & peaceful & yet within easy commuting distance of the cities of Alkmaar, Haarlem & Amsterdam. As we went around we discovered various eateries. Many of our fellow holidaymakers arrived at the only one open for lunch. We kept bumping into various people we knew.

What had seemed like it was going to be a very long day, with little to do, was turned into a magical day thanks to the initiative of Bev.

PS. We’re off to Scotland!