In New Zealand – people mess about in boats and then they take them out and sail, or row, drive or whatever else one does to move a boat on the waves. And of course it is usually on the ocean waves which makes it not messing about in boats. It might also be in an inner harbour, or up a river or on a large lake. BUT you do have to concentrate in New Zealand – you don’t generally stoodge about. If you stoodge about you are at risk and people die every year because they were just too laid back.

Well, here in the Netherlands one really does stoodge about, or mess about in boats. We have seen it many many times – walking over the many bridges over many canals, and we have experienced it personally as well.

We did do a RIB (rubber inflatable Boat) trip last year – 6 of us in a RIB riding around the canals and up the Spaarne River and it was fun, but it was not just messing about in boats – we had a time frame and people who were leaving to catch planes. Of course it was fun and we will do it again ourselves – which may well qualify as messing about in boats.

And of course we have been on canal tours – but that is also not messing about in boats.

On Saturday we were going to ride our bikes slowly up beside the Spaarne and listen to live jazz at the Cafe Terras in the afternoon at Fort Zuid. It was to be a test to see how we are both doing as this spring has affected us both quite negatively.

But as it happens we changed our plans as we were invited for a ride around the canals in a private boat. Now that was really messing about in a boat. We had lovely food, lovely company and a tour by two wonderful locals who know the canals and all of Haarlem extremely well. The boat was quite large, has sleeping accommodation for up to 5, small bathroom, kitchenette etc. It also has a Coots nest (black and white bird a bit like a pukeko) on the platform by the rudder. An exceptional living arrangement.

This tour was fabulous. We were told all about the buildings lining the canals including one which used to belong to Napoleon, and many other interesting facts. We also passed a small boat – maybe 15 to 20 feet and I will update that figure after confering with Best Beloved.

When these two were very young and very much in love the took a boat of such size and shape – across the English Channel and up the Thames. Wow! it was a very small boat – not designed for ocean travel. It clearly made it because these two are still together and they still mess about in boats. It seems that they were a little nervous in parts of that earlier journey.

We explored to the end of the canals where this boat was too substantial to go under the bridges and continue. I seem to think we have done that before in the RIB – although in the RIB we pressed on regardless – laying flat in it, so that we could negotiate under the bridges. This boat was too big for the little bridges, and we jiggled and jiggled (don’t know that that is a nautical term) around so the boat could turn and go back where from whence it came.

We drank lovely Rose and ate Cheese sticks, nuts and fishy stuff on melba toast and just simply enjoyed a lovely few hours messing about in a boat.

And we saw Haarlem with new eyes – odd for us really because we see most things with new eyes. But from a boat the world is a different place.

I actually enjoyed messing about in this boat with Best Beloved and these lovely locals.

Thank you

It was a beautiful day here in Haarlem and we just had to go for a bike ride. The weather report suggested rain – but it didn’t happen.

Because we have not been on our bikes since the end of September, or maybe early October we decided on a short ride without any hills (there are not very many hilly sections here but for the old and unfit any hilly bit is not a joy to behold). We also hoped the ride would be with the wind behind us. Our experience so far tells us this is nigh impossible and true to form, the wind was in our faces on the way out and the same on the way back. Our ride was about 17 k’s (we have a widget that tells us so).

We rode up to Spaarndam to the Cafe Terras Fort Zuid and had lunch and then carried on out onto the polders.

We saw many courting birds, some solitary ones – like the heron and the magpie, and many many birds grazing like sheep on the fields, and some that seemed to be nesting already. We also managed to get a photo of the Magpie. It is such a beautiful bird here with irridescent blue in its wings.

Grebs acourting was wonderful to see. The dance is like a ballet with dips and turns, and floating across the water to meet at the chest and rise up to turn (a graceful pirouette). There were ducks nesting, solitary herons standing, coots, huge geese, and ducks all grazing on the new fresh grass, a graceful pair of swans and much wheeling, singing, screeching and fighting amongst themselves for many of the birds not yet established in a relationship I guess.

We met a beautiful horse, saw many cyclists and walkers – people just out enjoying the gorgeous day.

On the way home we stopped at the park where the tree wore a scarf over the coldest winter for 60 years. Once there I forgot about the tree, I was just overwhelmed by the flowers – snowdrops, crocuses, everything purple and white and then a bright little foreign group of orange crocus, almost a natural graffiti here where the colours were to be purples and whites against the green. The park is so beautiful.

Jusst so you know the Keukenhof Gardens are now open – so if you are coming to the Netherlands in the next 6 or 8 weeks – you must include the Keukenhof Gardens. I know there are churches, canals, and bikes, and museums, and galleries, and architecture, and wooden shoes, and birds and then there is the Keukenhof Gardens. Seriously do not miss it.

My body is asking why I do not have a special seat to protect the nether regions, and my legs are saying “what are you doing to me?” I can’t say old any more – so the unfit are showing they are a little unfit today.

It was a great day.

We came home and wandered down to the canal to feed the local birds our oldish bread. They were not so interested anymore, there must be so much food about now. We then meandered back home via a little side road and there we heard music, live music. So we just had to have a quiet drink and listen to the music for bit at a bar we have not been to before.

Wild Salmon steaks for dinner. Got to go.