We hoped for a bright swarm Spring day. So we went of a 40 km bicycle tour south of Gouda: Haastrecht, Vlist, Schoonhven, Bergambacht and Stolwijk. But it was cold and grey. But there many sings of Spring.

Balk is a small town in Frisia. Frisia one of the three Nothern provinces of the Netherlands.
We stayed a weekend in Balk. On Saturday we made a bicycle trip of about 50 kilomters through Gaasterland. it started with rain but later the sky cleared. On Sunday strongs winds made bicycling very unattractive so we visited the beautifull small town Sloten and the largest steam pumping station in the world which is still in use; The Wouda pumping station in Tacozijl near Lemmer. http://www.woudagemaal.nl/

today is was a winter day. Central Eurpe was blocked by snow but we had only some hail storms today. We made a walk of 18 kilometer nera the village Boxtel. Sometimes beautiful sunshine sometimes bitter cold hail storms

Today I visited the Verolme Keppel shipyard near Rotterdam. In drydock was the largest pipe layer in the world; the SOLITAIRE of Allseas. It is a 30 year old bulkcarrer , first converted a the SwanHunter shipyard on Tyne. Now converted for laying pipelines as deep as 2500 meter. The maximum pipelaying speed is 9 kilomter per hour. Ths ship works mostly on the North Sea our the Gulf of Mexico.
It is in fact a large floating factory with a multinational crew.It is on the frontiers of modern technology.
The working is goining seven days a week , 24 hours a day. In two days time the ship will be undocked and divers will attach the 8 propelleors.

A beautifull afternoon for a walking on the cultivated moor Brobbelbries. Now again given back to nature with highland catlle, goats and horses

Today it was a beautiful autumn day. We cycled through the Maas valley south of Venlo

The bicycle tour was from Breda south the valley of the Chamse beek to Alphen and Baarle-Hertog and back through the valley of the Mark

A bicycle trip along the dike of the river Rhine east of Nijmegen. We visited the tea garden in the Millingerwaard. A garden in Far Eastern style. A nice tranquil place

Veghel is an industrial village on the Zuid Wilemsvaart from 's-Hertogenbosch to Maastricht.
it has a small harbour. It was the scene of open monument day. This time with restored traditional ships.

The thema was religious heritage.
We went to the are between the rivers Maas en Waal near Dordrecht; Het Land van Heusden Altena. There many small protestant churches.