1st - 13th February 2015. Ice in the harbour, Bridge party on board and a trim for Shannon.

The first week of February was very cold and the whole harbour was a sheet of ice. Two geese live by the harbour, near to The Puzzler, so I pass them each morning when out with Shannon. Today she went quite close to one goose, so he flew off into the water, not realising that it was frozen! He stood on the ice, looking really surprised. However, it did not take long to melt and then he was happy again.

We had a bridge party with six friends from Schagen, and managed to get all eight of us round the table for supper

Shannon still has no fear of swans, even though they hiss at her. This is a risky game!

There are many good walks in and around Schagen. Work has now been started on this property which lies about a mile from the harbour. Before the building work began it looked completely derelict. I will give updates on its progress.

Shannon has been growing her coat for the winter, but it was just too long. Here she is, halfway through her trim. I had never realised how fast the coat of a Shih Tzu grows! This time I am giving her a longer trim than she would have in the summer. This is more difficult, but I do not want her to be too cold!

Now fully trimmed, Shannon would like to talk to that cat which is sitting on our woodpile. He lives in the campervan near to the boat, but has a strong right paw, so Shannon is right to be cautious!

20th - 31st Jan. Sam, Cees and Cheetah come to see us in Schagen. Visits to Petten and Den Helder.

We met Sam, Cees and Cheetah in September, and they have come to visit us by camper van in Schagen. It was good to see them again. Last time we met was at Bourtagne, in the east of the Netherlands, in September.

Shannon is not so sure about Cheetah! She is a boxer / padenko cross and is a lovely dog.

We have come to see the work which is going on at Petten, on the coast. Nearly half of the Netherlands lies below the average level of the sea. With the climate changing and the sea level rising, there are several weak links in the chain of dykes which protect the Netherlands, and the sea wall at Petten is one such weak link. A new stretch of dunes and beaches 8 kilometres long and 250 metres wide is being created on the dyke's seaward side, a project requiring 38 million cubic metres of sand.

The sand is being sucked from the floor of the sea and thrown on to the new dunes by craft such as this. We can feel the power of it from where we stand on the current sea wall.

Further north it is possible to walk on the beach, but it is very cold today!

We continued by road to the north coast and the port of Den Helder. The dockyard there is very interesting. This dry dock is the oldest one in Holland, with an old sailing vessel in for repair.

Nearby is an old wooden minesweeper, which we think would have been used in World War 11.

Further on is the newer part of the harbour, with modern yachts resting for the winter.

Cheetah approves of Shannon's basket, although she does not quite fit!

The next day, when our visitors have gone, Shannon is pleased to have her bed back. It is just the right size for a shih-tzu!

1st - 19th January 2015. Motor Museum in Schagen. Sally visits England.

The Motor Museum in Schagen has been closed for the winter since we arrived here in November, but opened for one day, so we managed to visit it. It is mainly classic cars there.
The weather has been windy, but not too cold, for the first week of the year in The Netherlands.

Sally went to England for a visit, going by ferry on the Hook of Holland  /  Harwich route to Norfolk. Here are Elaine and Mary in Wayland Wood, with Louis, a cute Padenko hound.

From Norfolk it was on to the coach via London. Our bus took a scenic tour over the River Thames, so we could see the Gherkin, and other new buildings in the city.

The Shard is on the south bank of the river.

Next to see were the Houses of Parliament, but there was little traffic on the river here.

On past the Tower of London, back among the older buildings.

I am staying with Debbie and Matt in Cheltenham. We walked up Cleeve Hill, which gives superb views over the surrounding countryside.

On Sunday we went to Slimbridge to see the birds, which are not frightened of people. There are very many different British birds here, as well as seasonal visitors.

We could buy grain to feed the birds, and these geese were most appreciative!

These flamingos are in the African section of the sanctuary. The cold does not seem to bother them.

Monday 19th January was a very long day, leaving the house with Debbie at 8.30 am to walk to the station. Two trains later, I arrived at Birmingham airport in good time for my 1.15pm Flybe flight. Walking through, I could see a Flybe plane, and thought how small it was. However, due to fog at Amsterdam, my flight and also several others were cancelled.

In the end I was moved to a seat on a KLM flight, which was also delayed. This was a much bigger plane though, which was reassuring. It was early evening by now. We eventually boarded, then waited on the ground for ages until there was room for us to take off. Once over Schipol airport, we had to circle three times, because we were late, until there was room for us to land safely. We could not see the landing lights on the ground until we landed! We taxied for a long way to reach the airport buildings, then walked for ever to get to the main building. By the time I had found my case and then the station, it was quite late. At Amsterdam Sloterdijk I caught the last train of the day at 1.23 am, which took me to Heerhugoward, where ongoing passengers had to catch a bus to Schagen. Andy and Shannon met me at the station, and we eventually reached The Puzzler at 2 am.

20th - 31st December 2014. Christmas in Schagen. Skating and curling on the portable ice rink. A New Year's party at the harbour.

We had a quiet Christmas on The Puzzler. Shannon really enjoyed wearing her tinsel collar, and then opening her presents.

"That did taste good!"

The portable ice rink arrived in the middle of Schagen in early December, and will be here for a whole month.

Inside the marquee they are ready for business, with plenty of skates for hire!

Sometimes the rink is really busy. The push-a-long seals cater for small children, and also for all beginners on the ice. In the evenings this is a real racetrack, with many good young skaters, all going very fast.

After Christmas, there were two evenings for curling competitions. Twenty six teams of four took part on the night when we were watching, in a one end knockout competition. The curling "stones" are made out of heavy wood, and very few competitors got their length right! With little time to practise, and playing only one end, it made it very difficult for them, but that did not matter and they all had a really good time.

After each end the stone or stones nearest to the centre of the house belonged to the winning team, who went on to the next round.

On Oudejaardag, or Old Year's Day, or even New Year's Eve if you are not from The Netherlands, we went to a party in the Harbour Office. All of the harbour masters are volunteers, here in Schagen, and we had a great time.

There are a few resident boaters in Recreativiehaven Schagen, and we were all delighted to be included in the harbour celebrations.

8th - 19th December. In Schagen. Hail and Christmas lights, a new bin, swimming in the lake, and a Christmas Concert.

 

The centre of Schagen is only half a mile from the harbour, and we are enjoying our time here. We still play bridge twice a week, cycling to get there. We have been lucky not to have a really wet bridge evening yet!

On 11th December we thought it had been snowing, but it was hail along the side of The Puzzler. At this point our Christmas lights were supported at the front on our boathook, which was tied to the front of the cratch. Strong winds blew it over however, and it landed on the satellite dish, destroying it! As the pole was wooden, it floated happily to the stern of the boat, together with all the Christmas lights. They went up on the roof again, and are twinkling away merrily, just not so high up.

We used to have a large metal wheelie bin for rubbish at the harbour. However, a new one has recently been installed. This entailed lifting the bricks, then excavating a large hole in the underlying sand. Once the supporting box was in place, then this removable bin was lowered into the ground.

After tidying up, with the sand back down around the new structure, and the bricks back in place, it looks as though it has always been there. All this was done in one day!

This lake, behind the swimming pool, is not too far from the harbour, on the west side of town.

It takes about half an hour to get to the beach beside the lake, so Shannon is always ready for a lie down in the water when we get there, even if it means breaking the ice!

There have been some lovely sunsets recently. This is looking across the car park from the boat. We buy our diesel from the garage on the other side of the road, and the lighted building at the far end of the road opposite, is the vets' surgery for Shannon, should she need a visit. It is all very convenient.

We have replaced our old satellite dish with a new larger one, which is working very well. When we were near to the German border, our old dish could not get a good signal, but this one should be all right any where in Europe. With the strong winds we have had, tied onto the jetty is the best place for it!

The fine church of St Gregorius overlooks the centre of Schagen and we went to a Christmas Concert here this week. There was a brass band with two different choirs in the concert, and the music was wonderful, with the acoustics of the church helping a superb performance.

25th Nov - 7th Dec. With Debbie in Amsterdam, then cold weather in Schagen.

Debbie came to stay with us for a week and we started in the red light district of Amsterdam. There were a few ladies sitting in their windows, but it was quiet here this morning.

The Royal Palace (Koninklijk Paleis) dominates Dam Square, and is an impressive building. The old centre of Amsterdam is quite compact, and we enjoyed exploring it.

We decided to continue walking round the city, rather than taking the horse and carriage.

This white house is called the Kleine Trippenhuis, and is one of the narrowest houses in Amsterdam. Legend has it that it was built for Mr. Trip's coachman, who was so taken aback by the size of the new family mansion, that he exclaimed he would be happy with one no wider than the Trips' front door - which is exactly what he got!

We had coffee at the Waag, a multi-turreted building which dates from the 1480s, when it was one of the city's fortified gates. After that it became a weighing house (waag), and is now a coffee house and restaurant. The coffee was extremely strong!

Amsterdam Central Station was built in the 1880s and is an impressive building. It took us about an hour on the train to return to Schagen

Sinterklaas came back to visit the Makado shopping centre in Schagen. His Zwarte Piet (Black Pete) band played and there were dancers too to entertain us. This week it has sadly been too cold to do much during Debbie's visit.