Haarlem

10th April, 2012 (Sally & Tony)

Spring, 2012 the start of our sixth cruising season. What began in 2007 as a two year dream continues on and we still are enjoying our transient life. Mind you we only enjoy it this much because we can escape the northern winter and head back for an Australian summer with a good dose of sunshine to carry us through. We admire the fortitude of those who live on board all year, their winter is a very different one from ours. We arrived back on board Sable two weeks ago, what a difference it makes landing at Schiphol airport as opposed to Charles de Gaulle. The train station is part of the airport terminal and within an hour of landing we were on the train enroute to Zaandam, a short taxi ride and we were home to a nice warm boat already restocked with basic groceries plus a homemade pie in the fridge courtesy of our friendly British neighbours.

We spent a week in Zaandam, restocking the pantry and the wine rack, replanting the herb garden and flower pots, overwhelmed once again at the price of food in the shops. My first supermarket vist saw me laden down with a trolley load and two shopping bags for only E47. The next day at the market I bought armfuls of fruit and veg and only spent E27, where are we going so wrong in Australia? The biggest delight as you would expect are the flower stalls, bursting with spring blooms. Three bunches of Orange tulips plus some lovely potted pansies were the next purchase, so hard to choose from all on display. Between socialising and shopping we managed a trip into Amsterdam to visit the Rijksmuseum. It is known for its collection of Rembrandts housed in a very old traditional building as opposed to the Van Gogh Museum next door which is a new, very modern-lit gallery. I was expecting dark Old Dutch Masters but ongoing restoration work and some very clever lighting made it an extremely enjoyable day. Even more so with the large number of school parties fom the young to the more serious students. What a bonus to be able to study such riches at first hand. I was particularly taken with a small class of youngsters sitting in front of a Rembrandt while the teacher explained with a box of pigments the use of the colours. If I could have understood a word I would have joined the class.

Also while in Zaandam we joined Mike and Rosaleen, bargees from Ireland, to eat at an Indonesian restaurant and found one with the original rijsttafel (rice table). A small family run business, mum cooks while daughter waitresses. No menu - you eat what they are cooking that night. We had 6 or 7 communal dishes, desert, plus wine for 30€ a head, a good night out.

From Zaandam we have cruised down the Amstel river, passed some very serious unloading facilities for ocean-going ships, and turned south into the quieter waters of the Spaarne river which will lead us through many bulb fields of Holland. Our first stop was the old town of Haarlem and it's such a delightful city we have elected to spend a whole week here which of course includes the Easter break. The start of cruising coincided with the return of winter weather (after an amazingly warm welcome to spring the first week we arrived) and we have had some very cold nights and days that have taken awhile to warm. It hasn't stopped us doing a lot, just means the bike rides are shorter and faster, and the glass of wine at a sidewalk cafe has become a cup of hot chocolate back in the comfort of Sable. The other reason for the longer stay at Haarlem was to have the last of some electrical work done by a very good ship's electrician who we have been using in Holland. Because of the huge number of boats in Holland every trade and supplier is available so we are now well stocked with spares and paint as well as having a new gangplank made from a recycled ladder and aluminium checker-plate salvaged from a scrap yard. I can see a week coming up somewhere quiet so we can repaint the decks; there is always work to be done on a boat.

One particularly cold day we spent a couple of warm hours in the Frans Hals museum for another dose of culture. They are celebrating "The Golden Years" an exhibition of paintings of fetes, fairs and parties a good insight into the riches of past revelry. Pride of place goes to the huge Frans Hals canvases of the Civic Guard of Haarlem. He made his name painting these portrayals of the Guard, usually sitting around a table celebrating the end of their term of civic duty. Apparently the town was obliged to provide them with a feast at the end of each term. These became out of hand and a law was passed that limited the festivities to four days and prohibited them bringing all their family and friends. The portraits are obviously painted at the begining of the four days rather than the end as they all look very respectable and sober, not to mention clean.

Our most interesting visit so far has been a bike ride along the river to the Cruquius pumping station which stands today as a monument to great engineering and man's determination to conquer nature.

In 1840, having lost Belgium due to its secession, the King of Holland determined to improve his reputation by invoking a grand scheme to bolster the economy. He first dallied with an idea to install pink batts in everyone’s roof; then considered building a new assembly hall for every school; (solar power hadn’t been invented otherwise that may have made the shortlist); but nature intervened and whipped up a huge storm in the Haarlemmermeer, a 180 sq km inland sea 4.5m deep that resulted from digging peat over centuries, and which threatened to undermine and destroy Amsterdam. It was quickly decided that this giant polder had to be drained in order to preserve the cities of Amsterdam and Haarlem. Windmills were contemplated but it was soon realised that the number required and cost would be prohibitive so they turned to the British to design and build steam driven pumps. Meanwhile 500 men set about constructing by hand a 65km Ringvaart (canal) encircling the lake to drain the water out to sea. It took them 5 years. Three pumping stations were built, the biggest at Cruquius. It began pumping in 1849 and was decommissioned in 1933.

The steam engine at Cruquius is the biggest ever made, in the world. It was built by Harvey Co in Cornwall and shipped and assembled on site. Here’s the impressive stuff: the vertical single piston is 3.66 m in diameter; the entire cylinder had to be cast within 6.5 minutes to prevent cracking or distortion (they failed with the first attempt); rises 5m; 5 strokes per minute; thrusts a gigantic counterweight that pulls down 8 pivot arms simultaneously each lifting an 11,500l bucket; the boiler consumed 800kg coal per hour, all hand shovelled. It took just 3 years and 3 months to completely drain the polder of 88 million cubic metres of water using the 3 pumping stations. This is one mighty piece of machinery, housed in a beautiful neo-gothic building and still operational (by hydraulics now, not steam) to demonstrate to museum visitors how it all worked. All but the front of the gigantic boiler has been removed to provide space for museum exhibits but the engine and pump has been lovingly retstored. It is one of the best marvels of engineering I’ve ever seen. Today, Schiphol Airport occupies roughly one-third of this vast polder, now permanently drained, 4m below sea level. The town of Hoofddorp was built and the rest converted to farmland.

The pump station at Halfweg remains the largest still-operating steam-driven pump in the world. It is fired up two days a month throughout the summer by enthusiastic volunteers for the public to admire. In its heyday it could move 25,000 litres per second! Electric pumps now do the real work. We attempted to visit that by bike yesterday but found it doesn't open until next week, however on the way back we came upon a huge Aerial Adventure Park which was providing lots of energetic amusement for young and not so young. I counted at least 40 huge poles with a great assortment of ropes, pulleys, nets, swings and flying foxes. At least 20 people were completing the course with another 20 waiting to take a turn. They were all harnessed to wire ropes and wearing helmets so no danger of falling, I could only imagine the fun and mayhem our posse of grandkids would have there.

Easter Saturday warmed enough for us to contemplate a bike ride to Zandvoort, once a fishing village on the North Sea, now a seaside resort catering for those less energetic than most Dutch. The main recreation seems to be sauntering down the main street, or sitting in well protected cafes built right on the sand. When we arrived a chilly wind was whipping across the beach, a few hardy folk were huddled in their down-stuffed jackets, the only business doing good trade was the hot chips and the coffee shops. A nice bike ride though through an interesting National Park and on well marked and great bike trails. So well sign-posted that it should be impossible to get lost, so how is it we always do? Perhaps too busy looking around that we miss the numbers. Not to worry one keeps going and sooner or later you come upon another trail. Next week we expect to be right amongst the tulip fields...

Our anniversary was celebrated with a wonderful night out, a memorable meal that surpassed all expectations. The restaurant, recommended in our guide book, sounded interesting, an old converted brewery. We checked it out during the day and arrived at night to find it was still a restaurant but had changed hands and was now in the five star bracket. We hadn't booked so we were lucky to get a table as before long the place was full. The service and the food was world class, every plate a picture and what made it even more interesting was the kitchen was in full view of the diners. No dramas there, everything worked like clockwork — at least five chefs. If I went back I would ask for a closer seat just to watch the action. Salmon served 3-ways; white asparagus spears (local specialty); sea bass; yummy deserts