België #07 De Canicula terug naar Nederland | De Canicula

België #07 De Canicula terug naar Nederland | De Canicula

We have a wonderful trip ahead of us! Because today we sail through the Meuse Valley with its castle ruins and impressive forts! Nice, hood down. Yes, that’s wonderful. We are Pieter and Marieke and we sail a tour of Belgium with our cabin cruiser De Canicula.

Join us on this journey between Dinant and Maastricht, with the lock at the end having the biggest drop of the entire journey. That was Dinant. Yes, that was Dinant. Unfortunately. I really enjoyed being there. And I also found the journey there fantastic.

But we are like that, after a few days in a busy city we would like to get back on the road. We took a look at the caves. A bit slippery but very nice to see. And it was very nice and cool, in these hot days.

We had a shower, very hot. We couldn’t change anything. But water came from the tap. That was very nice. The sleeping area was good. There was power. And it’s a nice city. Absolute. And now back to the north, Namur. At least if there is a place for us.

The citadel of Namur. Yes, we want to look at that too. Then we have to go into a container with our fear of heights. It went up quite quickly, so the fear of heights doesn’t last that long. But before we reach Namur we first cross the Meuse Valley,

Which cuts through the Belgian Ardennes. With the legacy of centuries of war high above us. As the remains of this ruin show, it was once the largest castle in the area, but was razed to the ground after a series of bloody disputes with the neighbors. The Citadel of Namur

Has withstood the centuries of battle in the Meuse Valley with flying colors. It was also only abandoned by the last soldiers about fifty years ago. We moor in the marina opposite the fort on the other side of the Meuse, where Namur is officially called Jambes.

It’s a crazy place. Not only in front of, but also behind the boat… After lunch we go to the Citadel. The question is how we are going to do that. It is quite a climb and there is also a cable car. So walking or fear of heights.

I think we’ll take the cable car after all. And then close your eyes for a moment. There we go. Over the Sambre. We didn’t think that when we sailed past here this week. Now I know again why I actually don’t want this. A beautiful view. Nice. Spaniards, French, Austrians, English, Dutch,

They all tried to get their hands on the citadel of Namur, because thanks to its strategic location it was one of the most important fortresses in Europe. Underneath the fortress there are corridors of up to seven kilometers long, full of 2,000 years of military history. But we don’t feel like doing that today…

We actually have to do this from a distance, otherwise no one will understand what we are doing. When we have admired enough views, we descend again. On foot, that is, because they can’t get us into that cable car anymore. Along the way we pass a much-discussed work of art.

The man on the turtle’s back represents the artist. This has now become controversial. Hence the blindfold. There are not only castles along the Maas. Because these impressive buildings on the left bank are former grain mills, which were used until 1980.

The rock formations in this part of Belgium are very popular with mountain climbers. The Belgian King Albert the First also liked to climb these Ardennes hills. But that didn’t end well. On February 17, 1934, King Albert the First died while climbing a mountain in Marche-les-Dames.

It is generally assumed that the king suffered an unfortunate fall and fatally injured his head. Albert acquired an honorable nickname from his heroic actions during the First World War The hero of the IJzer. According to many, no Belgian king will enjoy such prestige and respect again.

Always check the sailing reports to see what is going on. One that was completely incomprehensible, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with it. And the other one is only for a few days. After a trip with a single tower and a lot of industrial area we end up in Huy.

The entrance to the port of Statte of the Royal Yacht Club of Huy is hidden behind the concrete embankment, behind which you can take excellent shelter from the waves of shipping traffic. Huy also has a fort, the Dutch Fort, built not so long ago on behalf of yes,

There it is again: our William the First, in the short period that the Netherlands and Belgium were together as a kingdom. There used to be a huge castle on this strategic spot, but because it constantly attracted warlike troops, the inhabitants of Huy were so fed up with these belligerent types

That they razed the castle to the ground with their own hands. The Fort and the Church of Our Lady are not the only impressive buildings in Huy. Behind this Europa Bridge are the reactors of the much-discussed Tihange nuclear power plant, which produces electricity for many Belgians. What a complex, that nuclear power plant.

I think I read that it provides one third of Belgium’s electricity needs. He does it. It’s already going down. Still a nice system. Lucky this. Unexpected. I haven’t read it anywhere. I have already prepared all the long lines. Industrial estates, as far as the eye can see:

The closer we get to Liège, the more there are. Some new, some dilapidated, excavated hills, in between a small church, old steel factories and spoil heaps. And then suddenly, on top of a steep limestone cliff, the castle of Chokier, once the guardian of the southern entrance to Liège.

It was destroyed countless times and rebuilt just as often. But the final blow did not come from a siege by the neighbors, but from a short circuit in an electric blanket. Liege, one of the largest cities in Belgium, is located between the hills of the Ardennes plateau.

The place still struggles with the image of a black industrial city, but is now a lively student city, with more than enough beautiful things to see. Yet we sail past the marina because we have set our sights on Maastricht, 25 kilometers away, for which we have to leave the Maas.

We are back on the Albert Canal. The Maas went out to starboard, but it is unnavigable there. There was an impressive statue at the beginning. I think of King Albert. It will probably have been placed there when the canal opened. I was too busy filming but could just see “Albert”.

How long do we have to sail this stretch of the Albert Canal? I think up to Maastricht. And when will we take up the Maas again? After Maastricht I think. Or near Maastricht. Here’s the diesel boat. We sail on anyway because there was a large cargo boat bunkering down.

And that can take a long time. We still have more than a quarter and we still have 20 or 30 km to sail. That is done with ease. There are hills here again. And what kind of hills, they are the damaged hills of the Caestert Plateau,

Cut down for the construction of the Albert Canal that goes here towards Antwerp. We sail straight ahead, through the lock complex, previously called the bottleneck of Ternraai, until it was expanded with this large lock in 2015. We have to make do with one of the older locks,

Which are also impressive with a drop of no less than fourteen meters. It takes us nine minutes to get down and then our Belgian adventure is over. YOU CAN VIEW THE ROUTE ON OUR WEBSITE DE CANICULA.NL. Via the Ternraai canal we end up back on the Maas,

Where we sail past the Sint Pietersberg, or what is left of it. An uninterrupted stream of cars carries full loads to the factory. There the St.Pietersberg is ground and pulverized. Little by little. With 6,000 tons per day. The cement factory has now closed and may become a national monument,

The former quarry is gradually being transformed into a natural monument. We do another round of Maastricht, which these days is buzzing with the concerts of a famous violinist, which attracts people from all over the country in droves. To stay in the atmosphere, we look at the houses of Andre Rieu,

His birthplace on the Begijnenstraat next to the Jeker river and, thanks to the information from a water sports friend, his castle on the east flank of the Sint Pietersberg. After a last, melancholy look to the south we continue. Don’t forget to like the video and subscribe to our channel.

Because our Tour of Belgium may be over, but fortunately we are still far from home! Sail virtually with us on the Maas, the Waal and the IJssel, where we will encounter all kinds of things. Thank you for following us, thank you for your support and of course for watching!

Met de Franse grens in zicht gaan we terug. Langs Namen en Luik naar Maastricht, waar we een sluis passeren die ons veertien meter naar beneden schut. Meer vaartochten volgen? https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHCQKR1mS0MZNsCR852p7LA

In deze video:
00:00 Introductie
00:43 Vertrek naar Namen
03:13 Namen en z’n Citadel
06:36 De berg van Albert I
08:03 Hoei
11:01 Het getroffen kasteel van Chokier
11:21 Dwars door Luik
13:10 Sluis Ternaaien
14:00 De St Pietersberg
14:29 Aankomst Maastricht

De hele vaarroute van onze tocht door België: https://www.decanicula.nl/met-de-boot-naar-belgie/

Wij zijn Pieter en Marieke en sinds 2015 varen we met onze motorboot de Canicula door Nederland. Tijdens onze eerste vaartocht door Overijssel vallen we van de ene verbazing in de andere. Over de imposante bebouwing van Vollenhove, de massieve zeesluis van Blokzijl, het dijkdorp Kuinre. Geweldig! Inmiddels zijn we bijna heel Nederland door gevaren. Om iedereen te laten zien hoe mooi Nederland is vanaf het water, maken we video’s van onze vaartochten en schrijven we artikelen over wat we allemaal tegenkomen onderweg. De Canicula is een St. Tropez cabincruiser van negen meter lang, tachtig centimeter diep en ruim twee meter hoog.

Sinds kort hebben we een tweede YouTubekanaal waarop je explainers, langere interviews en andere interessante verhalen kunt vinden: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCziG-Nok2FXsW52kDGc-Z9A/videos?app=desktop&view=0&sort=dd&shelf_id=0

Meer De Canicula:

Welkom

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Onderstaande fragmenten zijn overgenomen met een beroep op de Fair Use Code: Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

Credits video/foto’s:
– Maasvallei/Poilvache: VISITWallona
– Citadel Namen: Ville de Namur
– Foto’s Citadel Namen: Wikipedia/FrDr CC BY-SA 4.0
– Foto Citadel Namen bij nacht: Wikipedia/Nicnac25 CC BY-SA 2.0 be
– Berichtgeving overlijden Albert I: VRT NWS
– Fort Holland Hoei: VISITWallonia
– Gravure kasteel Hoei: Rijksmuseum
– De sluis van Ternaaien: SOFICO Wallonie
– Afgraving St Pietersberg: Open Beelden
– Groeve St Pietersberg: Bureau Europa ENCI