September 1st to 5th, 2008 Yours Truly and Pilar Distance: 80 km # of sunny days: 0.5 # of windmills seen: 6 # of other kayakers seen: 1 Where: Around Utrecht, HOLLAND The beginning: the Kromme Rijn in Wijk bij Duurstede (see previous Holland trip here). Official starting plaque. Camp 1 half way down the Kromme Rijn to Utrecht.  Boy do tent pegs go in easy here! Nearing a lock with a sign that we think read something like "Forbidden to all swans, with no        exceptions." The lock. Our staple diet in Holland: dark whole wheat bread with peanut butter (non-existant in France!),        apple jam and Stroopwafels dipped in the best yoghurt on earth (yes, better than the swiss!).  Life        couldn't get any better. Passing through a beautiful park near Utrecht. Utrecht in the rain! Garlic in Holland? The polished streets of Utrecht. Yaking through the centre of Utrecht. Utrecht cathedral, seen from the water. Enjoying the wet sun of Holland in September. Cool hidden canal in the middle of Utrecht.  It felt like we were paddeling through medieval times        with the occasional crap shoot suddenly firing out its goods on us. Pretty cool, though. Waiting for the water to lower in a lock exiting Utrecht. Camp 2 set up in torrential rain.  I nearly died of hypothermia. Emmerging from a secret passage that we decided to explore. This is what we found on the other side!  The medieval Slot Oud Zuylen Castle with a moat, drawbridge, swans and all!  Unfortunately it was gesloten. Sweet!  The bridges open and stop all traffic, even for a couple of lone kayakers! Doing some more exploring. 4x4 kayaking. Unfortunately this canal ended in the bowels of this windmill.        To get to the other side, we decided to see if we could cut        through the owner's back yard.  Strangely, he wasn't all that        pleased about it.  It didn't help that we couldn't understand a        word he said, and vice versa. The other side. Taking over a water park for lunch. Entering a set of stunning lakes that are all man-made.  In fact,        the lakes all consist of streaks of water, with thin bars of land        splitting them.  Have a look at the google satellite photos here.        The entire region is covered in them.  We later found out that        they were formed when, back in the XX'th centuries, the Dutch        would dig out peat in long rows for heating during the cold        winters.  The trenches that were formed filled with water,        creating these bizarre lakes.  Amazing! Moo. Sneaking through more private property. Narrow passage. Bill Ter Veld.  We were trying to find a way through a dyke to get to a lake on the other side, when        this gentleman suddenly appeared beside us on the bank.  We thought we were trespassing and        that he wasn't very pleased to see us.  He started asking us what we're up to in perfect english.        It turns out he had seen us pass by from his window and thought we were his neighbours.  So        he'd come out to throw stones at us, when to his surprise he saw that we were strangers.  He had        never seen anyone pass by on kayaks and was amazed to see us.  He invited us to stay with him       and his wife in their beautiful house, crammed full of antique appliances and furniture.  It turns       out they were enthousiastic boaters who had lived in England for several years.  He used to work       for ThyssenKrupp and later was the owner of the Vulcaan mining company who ran a well       known Spanish coal and iron mine in Teruel, near Zaragoza.  He told us his whole history over       dinner and showed us tons of photos of the operations he had run in Spain.  He was a very       enthousiastic skater and he told us how he'd done a famous 200 km skating race along the canals      of Holland on numerous occasions. They lodged us in their spare building and we slept like logs while it rained all night outside!  The        next morning he saw us off on the other side of the dyke.  My head got cut off on this autophoto. Crossing the Loosdrechtse Plassen with some pretty choppy windy conditions. Enjoying the single hour of sun of our trip. Getting narrow again. Goodbye sun! Dutch bushwhacking. Dutch bushwhacking, part II. Dutch bushwhacking part III. This contraption was all over the place: 4 posts with wheels on top, for raising and lowering the        roof depending on the hay harvest. Camp 4 in a wildlife reserve.  A cow picking it's nose. How to portage a plastic rental kayak full of gear. Windmill # 5346. Heading back towards Utrecht along the Vecht, we crossed numerous drawbridges like this one.        Every time a boat came by, the bridge operator raised the bridge and as the boat came through,        he would swing them a dutch wooden clog hung off a pole and the boaters would drop a couple        of bucks in as payment. Self serve apple stand.  Just drop your money into the tin can... Breukelen: Rainy finish to another fantastic kayaking trip in Holland.  Apparently Brooklyn in New        York is named after this village (see here). A typical parking lot in Amsterdam.  Maybe one of those bikes is my red Kona that they stole in       2006!  I was too lazy to check...