Clear skies and cold air meets us as we walk to the centre of Gouda to visit St Jan (John) church. Begun in the 14th century, a long section was added in the 15th and then a final section in 1510. Famous for stained glass windows added during the rest of the 16th century, we were fortunate to have an amusing and expert guide in the shape of Mauritz the Verger.
Mauritz in full flight, St John church Gouda. Click any image to enlarge.
Mauritz fascinated us with detailed interpretations of the huge stained glass panels, many designed by the great Renaissance thinker and reformer Erasmus. Erasmus, he explained, was not actually of Rotterdam as generally thought but from Gouda: “How do I remain humble?” he asked frequently.
His stories ranged from the iconoclastic, with sly digs at the establishment and inflexible religious observance, to the political and social historical context in which the designs were crafted. He explained obscure references in the images in the stained glass, and representations of great historical events in the history of the Netherlands, such as the siege of Leiden and the flooding of the surrounding polders (1573-4).
Kinderdijk (20k)
After the short walk back to Elodie, we mounted our trusty steeds for a very pleasant ride along good paths out of Gouda, south-west through villages, industrial areas and countryside easy on the eye. Through Moordrecht — remembered as the place where the Dutch opened the dike walls to flood their own land –but also the Spanish invaders mounting the siege of Leiden in the 17th century — we come back to the river on an elevated path. Behold, we run parallel to the good Mothership Elodie for a while. 
A small bronze monument of a man working over a sunken barge calls for a stop. Nico explains the story of a barge deliberately driven into the bank at this spot to staunch a break in the dike wall in 1951. 
On to Kinderdijk (various stories about how the name evolved, all involving children, are suggested) where a dozen or so windmills are sprinkled around the nearby horizon. Something of a tourist trap, it seems, but a good spot to stop for lunch.
Doug provides the entertainment by announcing a flat tire, affording the discovery that the tyre tubes are not annular but one long piece.
Map & stats HERE>
The onward journey exits through this cluster of canals and — what is the collective noun for windmills, a whirl of windmills? However, the rain stays away as we quickly reach Alblasserdam, a highly favoured village for us purely by virtue of the ferry stop, where we board the fast ferry to Rotterdam
5 k. Map & stats to the ferry HERE>
This gives us an interesting chance to view this great port, or part of it, with its futuristic buildings and suspension bridges. It is then but a hop and a jump to where the barge awaits before taking us on to overnight in Delft.
6 k; Map & stats HERE> The total for the day is 31.
Elodie Spring 17 