The Maas

18th June, 2012 (Sally)

Those of you who have been watching the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations on TV, and I imagine it would be difficult not to have been, would have seen the drenching rains and wind that has been the Brits' idea of summer. We have managed to escape the worst of it but for the last two weeks have been on the edge of the storms and it has rained almost every day. Is summer ever going to arrive? The week before the Jubilee we moored at the delightful town with the unpronouncable name of s'Hertogenbosch, or as the locals say, Den Bosch. Large cobbled squares supporting quantities of cafes, lovely streets and enough shops to satisfy even the most ardent shopper, which we are not. The next day being sunny we took our bikes and ourselves by train to Arnhem, scene of the Battle of Arnhem in the latter stages of WW11. This was part of Operation Market Garden, the largest deployment of airborne paratroopers ever attempted and as one general before the battle suggested, it was trying for "One Bridge Too Far" a quote which later prompted a title for a movie. Ten thousand paratroopers were dropped and the bridge over the Rhine at Arnhem was taken but the 600 troops who made it to there were unable to be reinforced and they could not hold it against far superior forces, it was conceded and the war continued for another bloody seven months. The city of Arnhem was evacuated by orders of the German Army and by the time the townsfolk were allowed back in 1945 less than 150 houses were standing. Today it is totally rebuilt with the bridge replaced and named after the British commander, the church tower has risen again and now sports a glass lift that takes one to a viewing platform where you can admire a panorama of the Rhine valley and surrounding countryside. The paratroopers are remembered with models of them suspended, with their parachutes, from the ceiling of the church. Of the 10,000 only 2,500 made it back, many spent the rest of the year in POW camps, some were hidden by the Dutch and escaped later but the greater number were lost.

From Arnhem we trained back to Nijmegen and cycled through the forest that lies to the south of the town. Such pretty forest (includung a hill!) with lovely little villages among the trees. In July Nijmegen is the scene for four day hikes in which 50,000 people take part. It would be hard to find a more attractive area in which to do that. We ended up back in the square of the town and as bikes are not allowed on trains between 4.00 and 6.30 we spent the extra time enjoying the ambiance of a warm summer evening, a glass of beer and a plate of Dutch delights and as an extra bonus, learning to pronounce Nijmegen. For those who are interested it bears no resemblance to those pesky little comic strip turtles. It was as well we did our trip that day as the weather was against us for the rest of our stay in Den Bosch, so much so that we moved off a day early to get better TV coverage to view the River Regatta; and what better way to spend a rainy Sunday. Our Dutch Barge Association was asked to provide some of the flotilla so we were interested to see them nearly at the end, and to hear one of our executives being interviewed. The BBC reporter couldn't get over the luxury they had on board, including a waterbed, and caused us a bit of mirth when he said, "They could have all that in a semi-detached in Clapham."

Our next visitors were arriving by train from Paris so we found a mooring at Helmond which was on the direct line from Rotterdam. They managed the trip easily, one change at Rotterdam but the taxi driver at Helmond must have been totally new to the job, she had no idea where she was going and poor Lorraine and Shirley-Ann were taken on a very protracted and expensive trip up and down the canal. She did turn the meter off but not soon enough in all our opinions. However a quick tour of Sable and a nice enough day for a bike ride through the countryside, stopping only for reviving drink at the local cafe put them into the Dutch way of life. Nederweert where we stopped next was awash with orange for the EuroCup — flags, bunting and orange t-shirts on every Dutch football supporter. We joined them at the local bar but left at half-time when the mood got very somber. They have now lost all three games so I imagine there will be some vey cheap decorations in the shops from today. Nederweert is also the home to the best ice cream shop in Holland. As we were making our various choices from the vast array, all made on the premises, we noticed and commented on the show case of cups and trophies which we thought belonged to a local sports club. No, it's their own collection from national ice cream competitions, and judged by our taste buds, all richly deserved. From Nederweert, according to our on-board manual, it is 4km to the De Peel National Park. A nice little distance for novice bikers so off we went for a late afternoon cycle. Oops, the book was wrong and when we finally reached the park after 10 km our guests were starting to feel a few tired and sore muscles and we still had a return journey to make. They made it but we didn't get a game of cards that night as they elected for an early retirement.

The Floriade in Holland happens every ten years and this year is in Venlo not too much further down the Maas so we did a long day cruising to get there and spent most of a very rainy Tuesday wandering around the displays. Floriade is the World Horticultural Expo, they have taken over a huge area of 66ha and built two permanent structures and a cable car ride from one end to the other. About thirty countries were exhibiting plus some lovely areas of natural landscaping. However we were all a little disappointed as too many of the countries had used their space to be nothing other than souvenir shops, rugs from Pakistan, gem stones from Yemen etc. The only purchase our party made was a couple of bright blue plastic ponchos which I fear will have more use yet. Some displays were stunning, lovely use of grasses planted under silver birches, plenty of "living walls" for inner city greening and orchids from all around the world while other landscaping had suffered with the wet and many plants were still very small and unattractive. I think we were spoilt with Keukenhof where it was a blaze of colour and not a weed or faded flower in sight.

Dinner that night was a barbeque on deck but no sooner had the meat gone on than the heavens opened and Tony, dressed in bright yellow raincoat and enveloped in clouds of steam, rescuing the steaks before they washed away, was a source of amusement to all in the harbourside restaurant. Must have been some chuckles around their tables.

By bus, train and bus again we travelled to Overloon where the National War and Resistance Museum is sited. Overloon was the Ombing challenges suspended through the trees for the young and hardy and a very comprehensive museum which gives an overview of all that Holland suffered in WW11. Also there is the Marshall Museum which houses the largest collection of military vehicles in all Europe, many of which were rescued from this battlefield.. A huge hall containing every sort of motorized vehicle you can imagine: tanks, trucks, troop carriers, guns, planes, jeeps, field kitchens, motor bikes etc all in immaculate condition. Anyone with the slightest interest in motors should definitely put this on their list. This region is now the centre of market gardening; asparagus, potatoes and carrots by the acre so it was relaximg after viewing all that to sit on a bus back to base and view the peaceful fields of vegetables and flowers.

Our vistors are now in Amsterdam and we have found a quiet little quay where we have spread our belongings and started to paint. One coat, finally, on the back deck and yes you guessed it, it is starting to rain!!!