Dordrecht, The Netherlands - July 2006
>> Tuesday, July 04, 2006
A journey through time...
We all had to get up a bit earlier than usual on this beautiful and sunny Saturday morning but we were about to enjoy one of those warm days when you feel you are on holiday. A fantastic day, organized by the European Patent Office (EPO) AMICALE in The Hague, was about to hit us! About 50 people gathered at the EPO and were taken by bus to the 1000-year old city of Dordrecht, the oldest city in Holland. There, we first enjoyed a guided tour and learnt about her history: the Saint-Elizabeth flood which destroyed the area in 1421, the glorious days of Johan de Witt when Dordrecht was the most powerful trading city of Holland, the "Hof" where the insurrection against Spain was launched in 1572 and where Guillaume of Orange became the first Governor of a free Dutch Republic,... Dordrecht 's numerous harbours lie on the Rhine's estuary and still make the city one of today's most important shipping centres in the Netherlands. Dordrecht is not only the home of hundreds of sailing boats, it is also the home of one of the last remaining authentic steam boats still in activity, the "Peter Boele", the next step of our trip.
All aboard! aboard a steam boat...The one Jules Verne's fictional character, Phileas Fogg, could have taken in his tour around the world. Maintained and serviced by an army of volunteers, the "Peter Boele" is one outstanding piece of machinery, constructed in the late 1800s in Dordrecht Boele's shipyard and used to tow barges on the Rhine. The current oil-fired boiler replaced coal in the early 1960s, the ship underwent a thorough restoration in 1978, but the 1924 engine remains in its original operational status.
The old lady sailed on three rivers (i.e. de Noord, de Oude Maas and the Dordtse Kil), across the typically Dutch "Drechtsteden" landscape made of polders, dikes and natural reserves. We finally arrived at the UNESCO World Heritage spot of "Kinderdijk" where we "Piet-stopped". There, tens of windmills proudly stand on what used to be wet and rough areas of peat. There, one sees how the Netherlands used to fight floods and manage water supplies.
We slowly sailed back to Dordrecht where we had the chance to shop, rest in the sun and have a few drinks before hopping on our bus and returning to The Hague....A wonderful experience for all of us and many exciting memories for all the kids who travelled along. A perfect way indeed to begin the summer...All aboard!
