Friday,
An easy morning and then into Leiden city for a walking tour with Jane and Geerlof. The boys had decide to take the little boat that Geerlof has tied up next to the canal. They had to get the water out first (filled by the rain and then get a map (and a handheld GPS) and some instructions on boatsmanship. We arranged to rendezvous at a cafe on the water and the boys set off for a trip through Leiden on the canals.
We walked into the city past the old water tower and the Hooglandse church and the ‘Burcht’ (an old fortified mound from the Middle Ages) and then Jane and I made our way to the rendezvous point with while Geerlof and Wendy went to a bookshop looking for a second hand copy of the book ‘De eeuw van mijn vade’ (the age/time of my father) by Dutch writer Geert Mak. We walked down to the canal and saw the boys doing some circle work in the canal looking for us. They had made a wrong turn fairly early in there trip but had worked out the way they needed to go and we met down at the dock side where they tied up the boat and we found a table. G & W turned up soon after (with a copy of the book along with a recent 2007 publication by the same author!) and we enjoyed some coffee and a beer on the edge of the canal down on the water (along with a fair few of the local teenagers and a small plague of flying insects). The boys hopped back in the boat and we started for home.
On the way back we bought some coffee from a shop worth visiting just for the aroma (and would you believe it - the girl in the store new an Australian girl living in a house called Geelong in Leiden!) and then on past the old Pieterskerk (closed and having some restoration work done) and through the old part of town where Rembrant went to school. Stuck our noses into another ‘binnen hoff’ where there was accommodation for poor people surrounding a small courtyard. Very quaint and populated by people who are happy for visitors to walk around while respecting the privacy of the residents. We walked past lots of historical buildings including windmills, the street where my grandfather was born, the town hall, the Gravensteen and the quaint canals. All in all a decent walk that tired us all out, and the boys managed to navigate their way home safely. Somehow Jane managed to whip up a lovely meal that was much appreciated.
An easy morning and then into Leiden city for a walking tour with Jane and Geerlof. The boys had decide to take the little boat that Geerlof has tied up next to the canal. They had to get the water out first (filled by the rain and then get a map (and a handheld GPS) and some instructions on boatsmanship. We arranged to rendezvous at a cafe on the water and the boys set off for a trip through Leiden on the canals.
We walked into the city past the old water tower and the Hooglandse church and the ‘Burcht’ (an old fortified mound from the Middle Ages) and then Jane and I made our way to the rendezvous point with while Geerlof and Wendy went to a bookshop looking for a second hand copy of the book ‘De eeuw van mijn vade’ (the age/time of my father) by Dutch writer Geert Mak. We walked down to the canal and saw the boys doing some circle work in the canal looking for us. They had made a wrong turn fairly early in there trip but had worked out the way they needed to go and we met down at the dock side where they tied up the boat and we found a table. G & W turned up soon after (with a copy of the book along with a recent 2007 publication by the same author!) and we enjoyed some coffee and a beer on the edge of the canal down on the water (along with a fair few of the local teenagers and a small plague of flying insects). The boys hopped back in the boat and we started for home.
On the way back we bought some coffee from a shop worth visiting just for the aroma (and would you believe it - the girl in the store new an Australian girl living in a house called Geelong in Leiden!) and then on past the old Pieterskerk (closed and having some restoration work done) and through the old part of town where Rembrant went to school. Stuck our noses into another ‘binnen hoff’ where there was accommodation for poor people surrounding a small courtyard. Very quaint and populated by people who are happy for visitors to walk around while respecting the privacy of the residents. We walked past lots of historical buildings including windmills, the street where my grandfather was born, the town hall, the Gravensteen and the quaint canals. All in all a decent walk that tired us all out, and the boys managed to navigate their way home safely. Somehow Jane managed to whip up a lovely meal that was much appreciated.
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