Still in Gouda

We continued to enjoy Gouda. We are so close to the heart of the old city that we have not yet been tempted to take the bikes off the foredeck. We walked extensively through the streets and along the canals.

On one of our walks, the operator of Dirk Crabethbrug had arrived just before us and was cranking open the swing bridge, going along for the ride in the process. The bridge is a rather new one, dating only to 1887, but it is named for one of the famous two brothers who created many of the oldest stained glass windows for Sint Janskerk in the mid-1500s. We did what the locals do; we paused to watch the bridge open.

Then we watched as an antique tour boat slowly motored through with its load of sightseers, who watched us watching them.

On Wednesday we used our museum cards to gain free admission to Museum Gouda. The museum is housed in an interconnected group of buildings across the lane to the south of Sint Janskerk. One of the main buildings is the former Chapel of Saint Catharine’s Hospital, which traces its origins to the fourteenth century, though much of the existing building is from the seventeenth century.

The first displays we saw were some of the original designs and cartoons for the famous stained glass windows in Sint Janskerk. Almost the entire collection of drawings has been saved and preserved, and they have been repeatedly used over the centuries to assist in the maintenance and repair of the windows.

The displays continued with paintings. Many of these are religious works that had been removed from the churches after 1572 when they ceased to be Catholic. One of these is a set of altar panels that had been commissioned to replace damage from the devastating fire of Sint Janskerk in 1552. The panels were done on oak planks by Gouda artist, Michiel Claesz. With the Protestant takeover in 1573, the panels were removed from the church and kept for centuries in the Orphanage of Gouda. The central panel depicts the flight of Joseph and Mary to Egypt.

Other religious paintings were commissioned by various clandestine Catholic groups, such as this one done for the local Jesuits for their house chapel. It is the work of the well-known Antwerp painter, Cornelius Schut around 1630-35 and depicts a favourite theme of the Jesuits, the adoration and glorification of the Virgin Mary.

This painting of the Adoration of the Magi was done as part of a series painted by Wouter Crabeth the Younger in the 1630s and early 1640s. It was painted in 1631 as a commission for the clandestine conventicle of Sint Jan, a rather modest and inconspicuous building on the banks of the river Gouwe, where Father Petrus Purmerent conducted clandestine Catholic services.

Fortunately, all the paintings in the museum are not of a religious theme. There is a fine assortment of lighter themes, such as this one by Jan Steen. It is titled “The Quack” and depicts a common scene of the seventeenth century; an open air play at an annual fair.

Of course, there is a collection of group portraits of civic and military officials in the stilted poses typical of the genre. This painting is the first in a series in the collection done in 1616 by Jan Daemsz de Veth. It portrays the officers of the militia under the command of Colonel Gijsbert ‘t Hert. Interestingly, in this painting, rather than being placed in the conventional most prominent place in the group, the Colonel chose to be placed where the best light would fall in the room where the painting was to be hung.

Among the group portraits is one of four deans of the Enkhuizen surgeons guild titled: The Anatomical Lesson of Dr Zacheus de Jager. It was painted by Christiaan Coevershof in 1640 and the deans are posed in the manner used by Rembrandt in his famous 1632 Anatomical Lesson of Dr Tulp. However; unlike Rembrandt, Coevershof did not portray an anatomy lesson, rather the painting served only as an historical record of the deans.

Among the displays is a reconstruction of the surgeons guild room, with its table and chairs and cabinets of seventeenth century surgical instruments. With the crude instruments fresh in our minds, we went down for a look at the dungeons, cells and torture chamber. The instruments we saw there were much more crude. It is definitely not a place we would want to have been when it was in use.

On a much lighter vein, there is a wonderful display of Gouda pottery. The museum has a collection of more than 5000 pieces and the displayed pieces are frequently changed. Those not on display at the moment can be seen arrayed in large glass cabinets in an adjoining room. We thought this a wonderful use of the collection. 

Desiderius Erasmus is one of the most famous sons of Gouda. Although he was born in Rotterdam and died in Basel, the city of Gouda has adopted him. He is said to have been conceived in Gouda; his father was a Catholic priest and curate there and his mother is thought to have been the housekeeper. Erasmus spent his youth and had his early education in Gouda. On our way out we paused in the museum’s garden cafe for koffe en appeltaart to relax and contemplate what we had seen.

On Thursday morning we walked into the city centre. As we approached the Markt, the number of parked bicycles increased rapidly. At the rear of De Waag there was not a free spot to be found. We were pleased we had left our bikes aboard. 

The reason for the crowd was the Thursday morning Gouda cheese market. From 1000 to shortly past noon teams from the guild of cheese-porters carry the farmers' cheese on handbarrows and lay them out in the Markt. Traditionally, buyers then sampled the cheeses and negotiated prices using a ritual system called handjeklap, in which buyers and sellers clap each other's hands and shout prices. Once a price was agreed, the porters would carry the cheese to De Waag and complete the sale.

The first mention of the cheese of Gouda was in 1184 and it is one of the world’s oldest cheeses still being made. These days most Gouda is produced industrially and the name is not protected internationally. However, there are still about 300 farmers in the area around Gouda who produce Boerenkaas, Farmers Cheese, which is a protected name of Gouda and is made in the traditional manner, using unpasteurized milk.

Having filled ourselves with a sampling of the history and culture of Gouda, we were ready to stock-up on Boerenkaas and continue our voyage.

To Gouda

We had found little in Leiden to cause us to want to stay longer, so shortly after noon on Sunday the 14^th of July we slipped from the free mooring and continued our journey. We passed back under Wilhelminabrug and then turned southeastward into Oude Rijn, which led us out through the suburbs of Leiderdorp.

Along the way we passed a marvellous assortment of architecture, old and new. In Koudedkerk we passed what appeared to be the conversion of a former water tower into offices or condominiums, with an external elevator running up the side.

Also along the way were many old windmills, including a rather large one at Alphen aan der Rijn. We are impressed with how well these antiques are maintained. At Alphen, we turned southward to follow the Gouwe, which led past pastures of grazing cattle and fields of crops, mainly flowers. 

With our low air draft we were able to glide under many of the bridges, having to wait for only two until we arrived at the edge of Gouda. There, we paused to be let under Steve Bikobrug, which with its 85 centimetre clearance was obviously too low. This was followed closely by De Kock van Leeuwensluis, which dropped us about 20 centimetres to the level of the canals of central Gouda. While we were being lowered, the lock keeper gave us a booklet on the city of Gouda, and told us there was municipal moorage along the banks for the next few hundred metres just beyond the next bridge. As we exited the lock, Rabatbrug was lifted for us and we glided through.

At 1622 we secured in a tight space along Turfsingel with less than half a metre spare room fore and aft. As we arrived, the havenmeester pedalled-up on his bicycle and welcomed us. In response to our questions, he told us moorage would be €9.30 for one night, including water and electricity. He told us to take our time settling-in and that he would be by in the evening or the next morning to collect the fees.

Before deciding on how long we wanted to stay, we decided to walk into the old city to see if there was much of interest to us. We were immediately charmed by what we saw. Just along the canal from Zonder Zorg is Molen de Roode Leeuw, the Red Lion Windmill, the oldest corn mill in the Netherlands. According to the plaque on its walls, it was a 1771 renovation of a stellingmolen built in 1727-28 to replace an older wipmolen that had stood there since 1619.

We turned and walked through two blocks of newer housing toward the centre of the old city, guided by the towering hexagonal tapered steeple of Gouwekerk. 

We arrived on the banks of the old Gouwe and followed it past the Visbanken, the ancient fish markets toward the spire of Sint Janskerk.

A pleasant half kilometre walk from the boat brought us into the Markt and its imposing fifteenth century Stadhuis. The City Hall was built between 1448 and 1450, and it is one of the oldest Gothic city halls in the Netherlands. 

Across the Market Square is De Waag, the Weigh House built in 1667. Now a National Monument, this building was formerly used for weighing goods, especially Gouda cheese, to levy taxes.

Looking back from the front of De Waag, across the Markt and past the Stadhuis, we saw the western end of Sint Janskerk. At 123 metres, it is renowned as the longest church in the Netherlands; however, it is more famous for its stained glass windows, which were made between 1530 and 1603. These windows comprise the most significant stained glass collection in the Netherlands and they have been a tourist attraction since the seventeenth century.

Our whirlwind introductory tour of the old city of Gouda convinced us to stay for a while, so when the havenmeester came by Zonder Zorg in the evening, we asked to be charged for three nights. The total came to €13.85 with unlimited water and electricity.

On Tuesday we explored the area around the Markt, and then in the afternoon we visited Sint Janskerk to admire the stained glass windows. The construction of the church was begun in 1280 and much of the present building dates from before the great fire of 1552.

It was built as a Roman Catholic church, but with the Reformation, it was assigned in 1573 to the Protestants. It continues today under the jurisdiction of the Dutch Reformed Church. The creation and installation of the famous windows ceased at the time of the Protestant takeover, and none was added for over twenty years.

Then from 1594 to 1603, the remaining windows were created. They have survived the wars and fires through the centuries and they now comprise half of all the sixteenth century stained glass surviving in the Netherlands. The windows are huge, many of them towering twenty metres and more in height.

The earlier windows depict typically Catholic themes, while later windows created under the Protestant control, include scenes with a more regional and national theme. Among the Old Testament scenes depicted is this one of Judith Beheading Holofernes.

The Queen of Sheba Visits King Solomon.

Rebuilding the Temple.

Among the New Testament themes: John the Baptist Preaching.

The Birth of Jesus.

Jesus’ First Preaching.

On a more local historical theme, this window depicts the Capture of Damietta, Haarlem.

One huge window is titled the Maid of Dordrecht.

Another depicts the various coats of arms of the Rijnland.

The number and scale of the windows are overwhelming and after two hours among them, we were just beginning to comprehend the magnitude of this treasure. 

There are more than eighty windows, and it would take many hours over several days to gain a basic understanding of them.

We left Sint Janskerk with kinked necks, heads swimming with images and minds trying to grasp the enormous significance of this cultural and historic collection that has managed to escape the ravages of fires and wars for centuries. As we walked past De Waag toward Zonder Zorg, we paused to think that here we are in Gouda, but we have not yet gotten to the cheese.

Onward from Haarlem

We had spent a wonderfully relaxing eight days in Haarlem, absorbing the culture and history of the city. As enjoyable as the city is, we decided it was time to move on lest we be painted into the scene.

At 1025 on Friday the 12^th of July we slipped from our wonderful mooring in central Haarlem, turned in the narrow canal and went back under Gravenenbrug to the watering point. Although our tanks were still well over three-quarters full, we decided to top them off before continuing our voyage. The habit we want to get into is topping-up the tanks at every reasonable opportunity, to give us as much independence as possible.

While we were filling, two large commercials came through heading downstream. Also in the canal nearby was the regular flotsam cleaning barge. We have seen it making regular runs a few times each day, cleaning detritus from the canals of the city.

With our water tanks full, we turned again and headed upstream back under Gravenenbrug and along to Melkbrug, where we waited for the bridge to be swung open for us. Its clearance is listed at 2.0 metres above the water, and with Zonder Zorg’s air draft not yet accurately measured, but thought to be two or three centimetres either side of two metres, we decided to join the line of other waiting boats, rather than trying the yellow light lane. One of our priorities is to measure the barge’s height, but until we do, I am assuming it is 2.10 for safety. We waited next to our mooring spot of the past week, in front of De Waag.

As we passed the swing span on our way through, I tried to gauge our clearance by sighting across the bottoms of the bridge deck beams. With the distance and the movement, it was too close to call.

Once clear of Melkbrug, we looked back at the skyline of old city, dominated by Sint Bavokerk. What a splendid time we had here. The eight days were so full, and we will long cherish fond memories of our time in Haarlem.

We followed the Zuider Butten Spaarn to its junction with Ringvaart van de Haarlemermeerpolder, which we followed southwestward. Along the way we passed first through mainly pasture land, then increasingly past flower farms. There were grazing cattle and sheep, windmills, stately homes and small villages. We were able to pass under seven of the ten bridges in the next twenty-two kilometres, most of them being 2.2 to 2.4 metres high. However, we had to join a parade of boats moving through one metre and lower lift bridges in Zwanshoek, Hilegom and Lisse.

As we passed through Lisse, Edi commented on a sign on a boatyard building. The name was familiar to us, but for a short while we couldn’t think why. Then we remembered that Henk and Mady had bought our skûtsje, when she was named Nieuwe Zorg, in 1975 from Oldenhage in Lisse. 

We continued through Lisse another four kilometres to Kagerplassen, which we crossed and entered the Rijn-Schiekanaal, which led us into Leiden. We passed the junction of Oude Rijn and then Nieuwe Rijn, where 200 metres beyond Wilhelminabrug, we saw a space just barely large enough for Zonder Zorg on a free mooring wharf on the right bank. We turned in the narrow canal and squeezed in with little more than a metre to spare fore and aft. It was 1445 and we had come 30.7 kilometres from Haarlem.

On Saturday morning we pedalled into the old city. We didn’t find the charm we had enjoyed in Haarlem, possibly because here we were moored well beyond the old city. Itinerant moorage at the edges of the old walled city is crammed and late morning we could see no available spaces. Even had there been any, there appears to be none for boats much over 12 metres in length. Further in, the all the canals in the centre of town have fixed bridges well under 1.5 metres high, so this precludes use by most cruising boats.

In the afternoon we pedalled northward along the Rijn-Schiekanaal to a large marine supply store we had seen on our way in the previous day. We finally found two 20-litre jerry cans; we had been searching in vain for weeks. Marine fuelling stations in the Netherlands charge 15 to 25 cents more per litre for diesel than do the road filling stations. The explanation is that they have higher expenses.

We have often seen road gas stations within a minute or so’s walk of a suitable temporary canal-side mooring, so our thought is to take advantage of these as we find them. Depending on the ease of the location, we can add two or more jugs to the tanks, saving €3 to €5 per jug. With rather nice wine available for around €4 the bottle, our liquid assets will be better served.