The old harbour of Hoorn

 

A walk in the old harbour of Hoorn is a must. There are plenty of beautiful boats to look at. Middays some fishing boats are coming back and I was lucky enough to be present while a boat was putting its catch (several nets of crabs) in the pots.

The boat with wings (as on the picture above) is typical for the Ijsselmeer. When the wings are up the boat may pass through very shallow water and canals.

In the middle of the old harbour the previous city gate ("Hoodftoren") welcomes the visitors and the floating vessels.

Plenty of birds are present too... Some of them are even doing fish-check once the fishing boats are left empty:-)

GayPride Amsterdam 2010, the Canal Parade

If you ever wonder what a gay parade looks like, let me summarise it for you in a few words...There is pink everywhere, its crowded and music in the air (on Saturday also some rain). The Boat parade during the Amsterdam Gay Pride seemed to me a nice thing to see if you live in the Netherlands. I honestly did not expect this HUGE amount of people everywhere...especially considering the pretty cloudy weather which at the end became too wet.

Anyway, from the small part I saw it looked quiet fun. The people watching were dancing on boats parked in the canals and next to the canals while some paparazzi (like me) were wondering on what to climb in order to take some pictures to show afterwards...It should be really better in sunshine, but then I am not sure how crowded it will get...