The Real Disneyland!

We didn’t know where we were headed when we set off but we were fascinated by what we were about to see.      As we continued on our journey, both of us were getting the hang of the steering. River is getting wider, the land around is agricultural and flat, as is most of  the Netherlands.   We met our first lock near Wolvega. Locks at home usually raise or fall about 5m, but here they’re only about 5”.

The landscape started changing. Woodland, as we continue, we find quaint little houses along the waterway. We found ourselves in the forests of Gaasterland.  We had been told that this area was a nature reserve, so I was expecting wilderness, with no development. What we found looked like where Walt Disney got his ideas for the scenes for some of his classics.   Beautiful thatched cottages, many of them looked pint sized, You’d nearly expect to see Snow White sweeping outside of them.  The pictures don't even do it justice!

But we’re traveling along a river, not a road. So instead of cars parked outside, they had boats and boat houses. All kinds of shapes and sizes.   As evening the weather the changed and we were looking for somewhere to moor. No room at the inn. We ended up mooring under a busy motorway where some young lads were fishing under the shelter of the road.