2 May 2014 Amersfoort, Netherlands

Greetings from on board MV Sirius, our European Waterways magic carpet. Alison and I began our 3 month cruising holiday 12 days ago in Zwartsluis, Sirius's winter home, some 10 hours by canal to the north. The worst part of these annual sorties to Europe is the travelling and this time we decided to use the "get it over quickly" approach and travel by plane, train and bus for 35 hours from door to door. We had an excellent sleep the night of our arrival then became immersed in the business of preparing and launching Sirius, stocking up and planning our route. 

A few quiet stops in the Dutch countryside has helped the recovery process and the weather is a bit Tasmanian so we seem to have adjusted to our new environment in many respects.

Here in Amersfoort, we are enjoying the cityscape. It was granted a city charter in a medieval 1259 when the chief interests were pilgrims and brewing. Along with the idea of many fine restaurants, we can see our pilgrimage following the same lines. 

Our plan this year is to head south to Belgium and do a loop to Namur then east and north back into Netherlands. Hopefully we'll have some nice photos to share on the way.