After lunch we walked
the short distance past traditional fishing boats, known as botters, to
the old town gate and
wandered around the picturesque streets with bicycles everwhere and
rather a lot of shops aimed at tourists. This was one of the Hanseatic
towns dating back to 1367, built on a grid pattern within the ramparts.
It was originally on the coast of the Zuider Zee until the Ijsselmeer
dam was built in the 1930's and the large reclaimed area of Flevoland
was generated, so access to the sea is now via the narrow Veluwemeer.
Outside the walls by the large church we came across a Jewish cemetery.
Elburg doorways
After a peaceful night we used the service point by the yachthaven
office and then headed south to the larger town of Zutphen, where we
parked on the quayside in one of the three rather short spaces
designated for motorhomes. (The parking ticket machine was rather
complicated and only took credit cards - the €2.60 payment
didn't appear on our account). The town is known as the tower city due
to the many tall churches in the centre and there were several
interesting old buildings and statues.
Zutphen tradtional building
Zutphen statue
An hour was sufficient to have a look around the town centre and we continued south on
minor roads stopping for lunch by a small river bridge at Laag Keppel.
The roads became busier as we approached s'Herrenburg where we topped
up with diesel, only to find it was cheaper just across the German
border at Emmerich.