Rhine and IJssel

On Saturday afternoon you are expected between 1 and 2 p.m. on your boat, which is located at the Oosterdok, close to central station. When you arrive on board the ship you can put your luggage away in your cabin and then enjoy a cup of coffee or tea.

It is also a good moment to become acquainted with the guide, skipper and crew, and of course your fellow passengers.

By barge you travel on the Amsterdam-Rijncanal in a southeasterly direction. This is one of the busiest waterways in Europe. It was dug to connect Amsterdam Seaport with the European hinterland. You spend the night in Wijk bij Duurstede on the river that, up to that point, is called the Rhine, but downstream the name changes to Lek. During the early Middle Ages, this town was a prestigious trading center. The marauding expeditions of the Norsemen put an end to their flourishing period however. The old city center is picturesque with its marketplace surrounded by trees, the town hall dating back to 1662 and the Main Church dating back to the 15th Century. On the other side of town you will find the hidden ruins of Duurstede Castle, consisting of the restored Burgundy Tower and the Donjon bell tower dating back to the 12th Century. In the 15th Century Bishop David of Burgundy lived in the castle. Tonight you will enjoy your first of many delicious dinners on the barge.

During breakfast, the ship sails to Wageningen. Arriving at Wageningen, the first bicycle trip is taken through the flat river valley of the Rhine. Along the way you will visit the protected nature reserve “De Blauwe Kamer” (the Blue Chamber), followed by the woods and moorlands of Veluwe National Park. The 5400 hectare park is home to many plant and animal species. In the National Park you can find the Kröller-Müller Museum, the largest private Van Gogh collection in the world. This visit requires 25 km more cycling and is optional. The guide will ride the shorter route excluding the museum and can provide a route description. In Oosterbeek you can visit the Airborne Museum. Later you ride through suburbs with lovely parks such as Sonsbeek and Zijpendaal to Arnhem, where you spend the night close to the center. Arnhem is the capital of the province of Gelderland. In September of 1944, the center of the town was heavily damaged by the efforts of the Allies to conquer the bridge over the Rhine over the Germans (Operation “Market Garden”). Unfortunately the plan backfired. Following the war, the city center was reconstructed to reflect its past patterns and design as closely as possible. Arnhem is generally known as the “Park City of the Netherlands” in large part due to its centuries old city parks, which extend well into the city center. Sonsbeek Park is the most important park of the city. It is located against the city’s dam walls and offers a multitude of breath taking views with far-reaching vistas of the Rhine river on the one hand and hidden, intimate corners on the other. It contains waterfalls, a belvedere and a watermill.

In the morning we sail to the small Hanseatic town of Doesburg. We continue by bike via the Hanseatic Town Route along the IJssel to the beautiful small town of Bronkhorst. A visit to Zutphen should be possible and is recommended. Zutphen is a hanseatic town and one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands. You will find many almshouses and courtyards here of which the Agnietenhof, an old convent dating from 1397, is especially noteworthy. The town contains many well-preserved houses and buildings dating back to the late Middle Ages of which Zutphen’s town hall, its surrounding square, “‘s Gravenhof”, the Vleeshuis (Meat Hall) and the Gothic Grote Kerk (Big Church) are good examples. During dinner the ship sails to Deventer. This city is one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands. It is therefore not surprising that the oldest stone house can be found in Deventer. In the Middle Ages, merchants from all over Europe came here to participate in the annual fairs.

The first stretch of today’s route takes you via a park-like landscape directly east of the IJssel River. By Wijhe, you’ll cross the river and follow the meandering IJsseldijk (IJssel dike). Sometime in the afternoon, you’ll arrive in the 800-year-old town Hattem. This is a small town located at the foot of the hills of the Veluwe. On the other side lies Zwolle. In Hattem you will find the Anton Pieckmuseum, an artist who was inspired by the fairy tales of the Grimm Brothers. The museum is built from a couple of old houses. It shares its shelter with the Voermanmuseum, which present the paintings and drawings of both the father and son Voerman. You board in Hattem and during dinner you will sail to Kampen. Kampen is the largest hanseatic town and has been declared protected townscape. Kampen retained three of its original city gates from the Middle Ages: the Broederpoort, Cellebroederspoort and the Koornmarktpoort.

Today the route leads you to the fortified town of Elburg. As far back as the 14th century this was a lively trading port. Just like Kampen and Harderwijk it was a member of the Hanseatic League, an organisation of merchants from north-western Europe in the late middle Ages.

For those who like to cycle a little less today there is the option of leaving the ship only at Elburg. From here you continue along the former Zuiderzee shore. The last part of the route will take you through the large woods of the Veluwe, with its undulating landscape a remainder of the Ice Age. The Veluwe is the largest connected nature reserve of the Netherlands, totally consisting of sandy soil. The final town today is the Hanseatic Harderwijk, where you will spent the night in the old fishing harbour.

Today the ride will be a combination of flat, coastal landscape and woods and moorland around Ermelo and Putten. At Strand Nulde you can go for a nice swim, weather permitting. In the afternoon the trip continues along the Eem River, a small river flowing into the Eem Lake. In spite of the enormous density of population of the province of Utrecht, you can still find green countryside. On the road along the IJsselmeer dike you might have the opportunity to visit the old steem pumping station Arkemheem.

Following the dike you enter Spakenburg from the west. Spakenburg has always been a fishermen’s port and now forms a kind of twin village with Bunschoten. Many wonderful wooden fishing boats are moored here and you may come across villagers in their traditional dress.

In the morning during breakfast you will sail to Huizen. Today the bike route takes you through quiet polder land and a wooded area to one of the best-preserved fortified towns of the country, Naarden-Vesting. In Muiden the Muiderslot (Muider Castle) can be visited; a medieval castle that is still in good condition. The castle is a square water fortress with round towers on each corner. Within the walls there is a large building with step-gables. The Muiderslot was built in 1280 by Count Floris V, an immensely rich person (‘stone rich’ as we say in Dutch: in times when almost anything was built out of wood he could afford to have a stone castle built). The castle is situated on the spot where the Vecht flowed into the Zuiderzee, today’s IJsselmeer. During the French occupation the castle was used as a barracks for the French army. Since 1795 nobody lived in it any more and the castle started falling into decay.

Restoration was taken up only in 1895, executed under the guidance of the well- known architect Pieter Cuypers. Winding roads along the little rivers Vecht and Gaasp will take you back to Amsterdam. A shorter way is also possible: from Muiden straight into town along the shores of the IJsselmeer. At about 4 PM you will be back at the place you left on Saturday. Time to hand in your bicycle and with several hours ahead of you, to further explore the city of Amsterdam.

Our tour concludes after breakfast, with departure before 10 a.m.