2014,the third CV Family meeting in Noord Brabant the Netherlands

[janihudi]

Once, long long ago were the first signals visible to a new meeting of CV members.
it al started on july 2nd 2013 with this,

Re: Mercedes benz '' HIGHWAY CRUISER'' Hey, you two - Ralf and Thijs, don't forget we have a date to keep in Dordrecht next year.

Re: Mercedes benz '' HIGHWAY CRUISER''
Did i miss something? Or did i forget? Please update me again.

Re: Mercedes benz '' HIGHWAY CRUISER''
When Thijs and I had finished showing photos about Dordt in Storm from last year's visit, Thijs said that they will have it again in 2014 and he'll certainly go again. I replied that if I am in the Netherlands that year I shall go too. And somewhere at the back of my mind I had a feeling that you had also been interested. But maybe my memory is up to its usual tricks again, plus a bit of wishful thinking!
But why not?!

and so started this family meeting.

finding places for them to sleep,i thought Ivy would go to Den Bosch again,and i asked Ralf to book for him his B&B again.
but Ivy wanted to stay in the Hotel in Woudrichem and for Ralf he was oke with the B&B again.
but the B&B was waiting for the reservations of the company that filmed the tv serie of Dokter Tinus,which is filmed in Woudrichem.
but there was stil place in the hotel in Woudrichem,and there wassn't book rooms for the crew of Tinus,and probally who is first,is first.
so that was done.
and than Ivy said that she wanted to stay longer, 1 week in total.
oh,than i have to make plans aswel.
there are not busses or trains in Woudrichem,if she wanted to go somewhere there she would have to call a taxi,or go with the ferry to Gorinchem and from there a taxi to the train station
for a bus or train.
so that was a no go for me.
so i take a holiday aswel (want wassn't a big deal,because normaly every year i take my holiday between Ascension Day and Whit Monday.
this year than it would be before Ascension day.
i had my holiday, the hotel was booked for Ralf ,Regine and Ivy,asked my sister if she would pick up Ivy from the station to bring her to the ferry.
planned some trips besides the steam weekend,so i can rest now.

and then i got a mail from Ralf, he maded a mistake.
so that change some things.
sadly they couldend come the steamweekend,for privat family reasons.
but he came with a solution of meeting us on thuesday after the steamweekend making a trip on wednesday and go back to Germany on thursday.
and if Ivy was intrested to come to there house,and stay the weekend in Stuttgart.

so back to the hotel for changing the booking for the room,which was no problem.
and from there it was waiting until may 21.

[janihudi]

while our meeting was getting closer,we (Ivy and me) made the arrengement that she would call me from Schiphol airport,when she was landed.
so i would know that she was there,and that she could tell me which train she would take to Dordrecht and from there to Gorichem,where my sister would wait then with a big ver big banner with her name on it,and bring her to the ferry.she only had to sail over to Woudrichem and walk from there a 200 meters to the hotel.(yeah right,if i would do that)

i havn't told her that my holiday was the day that she would came over,she thought that we would meet in the evening or the next day.

so wednesday afternoon i went to the quay in Woudrichem waiting on the ferry.
my sister would calle me when she was on the ferry to Woudrichem,
but the Phone called my sister whilest it was in my pocket,she didn't hear me and call me back.
that they where waiting on the ferry,and meet Ivy on the ferry,but she still didn't know about me.
wel okey meet her here or in Gorcum (as we call Gorinchem,just as we say Woerkum for Woudrichem) whats the differend.
so waiting on the ferry to go to Gorcum,spending my time with other things.

shooting some henrons.

[janihudi]

a barge.

[janihudi]

and a arriving passinger ferry.

[janihudi]

the wheelhouse of the ferry



ropes away!!!!!!

[janihudi]

bye Woerkum,il'l be back in 45 minutes.

[janihudi]

[janihudi]

Gorcum here i come.

[janihudi]

and there she is,worlds most famous Lady Ivy.

[janihudi]

no Star Ways,just amongst other people.



not even red carpet,just like every other person over the gangway.

[janihudi]

so while we are sailing back to Woerkum and talk the whole trip,(we didn't see each other for 2 years,beside a few phonecalls) the conductor came for a ticket,but he say me from the ''to Gorcum'' trip ,and said;oh she is with you,she may sail without paying.
and just that because on my ''to Gorcum'' trip i talk with those 2 guys ,about this forum,the name ''januhudi'' and other old ferry vessels.
they also gave me a book about the history of the ferry,which i already had,so gave that book to Ivy.

[wherrygirl]

OK, let's get going.
As Thijs said above it started with the weekend Steam Festival to be held at Dordrecht this May, which we wanted to re-visit and hoped that Ralf and Regina would join us. On my previous two recent holidays in the Netherlands I had stayed in the beautiful mediaeval city of Den Bosch, but this time I had a yen to stay in Woudrichem, the tiny mediaeval town which had also been granted City status centuries ago. We had already visited it on each of my previous visits and somehow it left a lasting impression on me for its uniqueness, a miniature citadel at the confluence of the Maas, the Waal and the Merwede, a city where - for a car - there were just two exits and only one road in.
At first I had vaguely thought of going over just for the weekend and perhaps a day or two more, and staying in Woudrichem at the small hotel which had once been the town's Post Office. I love Woudrichem, it seems a little world on its own, and I knew I'd be happy just wandering its streets, admiring the beautiful houses with their interesting brickwork, visiting the museum or just standing watching the barges passing up and down - in fact becoming part of that small world for just a short time. I had toyed with the idea of going over by sea, many years have gone by since I last did that and nowadays East Anglian trains, Stena Line and Netherlands railways combine to operate a Dutchflyer service whereby you can book your journey but are free to catch any train to Harwich, the ferry and any train onward to a Dutch station of your choice, all for £150 return.
However, things took a different turn. Ralf was keen to join the Dordrecht jaunt but unfortunately it clashed with a very lovely and important family occasion. Plans were revised for him and Regina to come to Woudrichem a little later, stay a short while - and then came the invitation for me to return to Stuttgart with them for a few days there. I can't say how delighted I was at this.
So I extended my stay at the "Post Office", officially the Hotel Woudrichem. I had not intended Thijs to worry about my being stranded there. I knew there was no transport in Woudrichem, but there was the half-hourly ferry across to Gorinchem on the other side of the Merwede and once there I would explore the town quite happily. While from the station I could take off to other places if I wished. I knew that in the end it would prove difficult to fit in everything I wanted to do! But Thijs was concerned, feeling that I would be stranded, so re-arranged his time off from work. The Devilish Great Trick succeeded, as you will see from Thijs' account above and mine.
We walked from the ferry up towards the Prisoners' Gate then, turning right, went up the short rise to the back gate of the hotel. (I would have gone through the Gate and up round to the front entrance, of course.) It seemed to be locked but Thijs, being Thijs, merely reached over and removed the bar enabling us to walk straight in to the garden!
Up in my room, my eyes went to the door on to the balcony. Quickly unlocked, we went straight out, to see all this just a few yards from where we stood:

[janihudi]

yes what a view,and at the end we stand there for more than 1 hour,even whilst there where chairs aswel.
the best wheather we had.
(i missed the kids jumping into the water,so these images where taken later.)

[wherrygirl]

We were so busy chatting that I did not even think of the camera! Those were taken about 8.30 next morning before you arrived. The following two were about half an hour later.

Veerhaven VIII

I must add that all the time we were on the balcony the house martins were wheeling around our heads, for there were nests up in the eaves of the building. We were able to watch them feeding the young, quite oblivious of the two humans below.

I just wish I were on that balcony now, so peaceful yet so full of interest, a place to sit and stare for hours. There is a poem which starts:

"What is this world if, full of care
We have no time to stand and stare"

[janihudi]

because of the wheater that would be perfect thursday,and to have a easy dayfor after Ivy's traveling day ,we disided to make a sailing tour through nature park ''De Biesbosch''

http://www.np-debiesbosch.nl/documen...e-brochure.pdf

arriving at Drimmelen we had to wait for the vessel,se we drank something and taken the first of many pieces of appel pie that would follow the upcoming1,5 weeks.
after a while the tourboat arrived and we went onboard.





oof the big vessel,so we wouldend take the smaller creeks and rivers.

this is the way we had sailed.

i can place my images with numbers on the map,i don't know if Ivy reconise those places.



the lakes called a,b, and 3,(which i just notice now,but should had be c) we didn't seen them for the vessel,but those are the reservois for drinkwater for Rotterdam,Dordrecht,a part of Brabant and some other places.

but offcourse we start at point 1,whre we get on board of the ''zilvermeeuw 2''. ''Herring Gull 2''