We had a few days during the week waiting for the fabricator to return and shore up the motorcycle rack. We also got a friendly tip, and a reminder of a place we both wanted to visit, from our friendly Europe-Roadtrip Servant Tymeck. We were heading to Giethoorn, the Venice of The Netherlands.

It wasn’t long drive, so after arriving and finding a place to park for the night for 4 Euros a night, we had time to explore the area. We made our way down the walking path and bridges that cross the numerous canals. We were able to get our bearing, and see what there was to offer. We did buy some cheese at a cheese shop that a restaurant next door that served fondue.

We also toured a Mennonite Church that was along the water.

In the evening, we planned for the next day. We wanted to take guided boat tour, but couldn’t find what they meant by Binnonpad Center?

The next morning started with a run to the grocery store, and then we made our way back to the path. We found a restaurant, called Fanfare, was offering a guided tour boat ride in less than an hour. Inside the eatery were license plates from around the world. We only spotted one from North Carolina, but three from Indiana. We had some appetizers, and then boarded the long boat.

We could have rented a boat and took a self guided tour, but we think we made the right choice. The captain, and tour guide, was not a regular, so we got more stories, and info about this gentleman along the float. We were with a group from Indonesia and Israel. English was the common language, so the guide only had to point out things once.

We did find out that Giethoorn means Goat Horn, so when we came across a statue, I had to take a picture. Plus, it reminded of Annie, our goat we had back home. She is living out her days at a Farm Animal Rescue. Wish we could prove it, but we believe she is the oldest living goat ever! The World Record is 22 years and 5 months. The original owners of Annie, who delivered her, say she is at least 25 years old! She got some medicine for arthritis, but other than that, is doing great in her new home!

During the tour we learned a lot about the history, and local homes in the area, including the tour guide, who has lived her for a while, including 46 years of marriage and raising 6 kids.

After de-boarding, Kasey wanted to re-visit a Crystal Shop. Not only did she enjoy browsing, but also bought a few gems to bring home.

The sun was dipping down over the canals, we were getting hungry once again. We had already decided to hit the place with fondue for the evening meal.

We settled in for another quiet night. It seemed our leisure batteries, the ones that power the camper part, were running a bit low. The next morning when we got ready to take off, the starter battery also struggled to turn the engine, and then left us abandon. Tymeck to the rescue, he found a local boat rental place that had a jump box. That got us started, and we made our back to Europe-Roadtrip to assess our damages from the short trip, and wait for the rack to be completed.