Amsterdam to Boppard Saturday 7th

It is time to move again, from Amsterdam to Boppard which is a village on the Rhein River in Germany. We had enjoyed our stay in the residential area of north Amsterdam and had an insight into how the local people live everyday lives. Before we headed for the freeway south there was one more place to visit that hadn’t been marked off the list!

Having the Navman with us makes a huge difference, and as long as we have the correct spelling, and then trust it, we can get to anywhere. In this case the village of Zaanse Schans (North of Amsterdam) was only about 20 minutes drive from our bed and breakfast accommodation. The only issue we had was that the bridge crossing to the village had been removed and a new road/bridge was being built. A couple of loops around the area didn’t help us, so resorting to asking a local, we found a small walking entrance between two industrial buildings that led to a walk on ferry that went backwards and forwards to the island.

The island village is still in for the format of the 19th century with the majority of the buildings wooden, with a very flat façade, and all painted bottle green. Nearest the river are the larger homes built for the rich and behind run roads of smaller houses which were built for the labourers. The majority of these houses are still lived in with a few converted to museums or restaurants. There were also about six working windmills. One could have made me feel a little like being at work on site as it was a timber mill. Quite different from those that Carter Holt Harvey own in Australia and New Zealand, I must say.

Holland is known for cheese production, and there are certainly lots of cows in the paddocks. There was a working cheese production facility where we had a short demonstration, and then sampled the beautiful cheeses and chocolate on sale. Very nice!

Time to move on as we had about 480 kilometres to drive to our next stay in Germany. Once again the Navman did not let us down. We followed freeways the whole way with varying speed limits up to 130 kms per hour and then dropping down to 60 kms for the roadworks which seemed to be happening every few kms. There was no obvious border control, but as we left one town the signs changed from Dutch to German and we then realised we were in Germany. Another two hours down the freeway and we were in Boppard.

From the freeway the exit winds down a steep hill into the valley and the shores on the Rhein. We are staying in a bed and breakfast hotel one street back from the riverfront in a property that is heritage listed. There is no lift and of course we are on the top floor but we have nice rooms which are spacious with ensuite bathrooms, opening windows and door to a balcony which we don’t think looks very safe to walk on so will give it a miss. Breakfast is served in the breakfast room on the ground floor – we are getting used to bread, cured meat and cheese to start the day.

We had arrived in Boppard around 4 p.m. so after settling into our rooms we went off walking to orientate ourselves. The promenade has hotels and restaurants the whole length and we walked the full distance (around a kilometre) to a chairlift which climbs around 250 metres, in twenty minutes, to the top of a hill from where there is, apparently, an amazing view of the twisting Rhein River and it is possible to go for walks in the forest. As the chairlift was due to close we will have to give that a try over the next couple of days.

We had dinner at one of the open restaurants and instead of only people watching, we were entertained (?) by Peter and Sharryn arguing over how many trains were passing along the two tracks following the sides of the river, and now many boats were going up or down the river, which barge was lowest in the water, how much water flowed in the river, where the barges (mostly carrying coal and gravel) were going, accompanied by the soccer on the outdoor screen as early games in the European Soccer World Cup have commenced.

Our main courses were all beautiful so we decided to venture into unknown territory and have dessert. However, the tables had been filling fast and after being told there would be a 20 minute wait which we were happy with, and three quarters of an hour had passed, and still there was only to be a 20 minute wait and we were feeling quite cold we gave a miss on the desserts and wandered the narrow streets making our way back to the hotel.

Apparently some 1.2 million visitors come to Boppard each year and we are pleased to be in those numbers and looking forward to two days enjoying this small part of Germany.