day 7..germany and holland

Around the Town

The Church tower was, unusually, separate from the Church itself, almost on the lines of a Flemish carillon tower.

The castle (really a large moated manor house), seen from across the moat.

The town centre, including the central square. The shopping areas and the market are hidden to the sides.

Ivy in front of the lake beside the brewery (Jever's biggest claim to fame!)

Black swans (native of Australia) enjoying the food Charles gave them. (They swam over to meet us making little excited noises when they saw Charles approaching with the food!)

After a very long and dreary drive (it was raining and there were loads of lorries on the road) we stopped for lunch just over the Dutch border at the Hotel Emmen. This was a very smart, grand hotel in the middle of nowhere! We enjoyed the release from the car, and Charles enjoyed rushing around, especially up and down the stairs.

We had aimed to stop in Utrecht, but Charles was asleep so we just drove through (to be done another day!) We decided to potter down a little road along the banks of the Lower Rhine to Gouda. This turned out to be a haven of wildlife, lovely countryside and very peaceful and relaxing. We saw many different species of ducks and geese, a huge heronry, a marsh harrier, loads of swans, curlew, lapwing and the occasional grebe.

This is a small branch of the main river! It is still big enough for the largest cargo barges to use.

The sheep in the fields by the river had recently born lambs. They were as interested in us as we were in them!

Much to our surprise, we saw two pairs of white storks next to the road. They are occasional visitors to Holland but these looked as though they were settling down to breed.

Famous for its soft cheese, Gouda is a small town with a nice historic centre. After the lovely drive, we were disappointed though to find the canal very polluted and the centre badly littered. The hotel was awful, the worst of the trip. We can't win them all ....

Dinner in a very nice and friendly Chinese restaurant.

The old cheese factory in the early evening.

The Cathedral has a small central spire which stood out against the darkening sky.

The main square, with the cathedral behind. Note the comparison with Gent (to follow next day): Gouda is clearly a more modern town, most styles being 18th or 19th century.

The ornate town hall is very much older, and of a style we saw nowhere else.