24 Apr 2026
Canals, Windmills, and Tulips – A River Cruise through the Netherlands
… and a little bit of Belgium. The Netherlands got plenty of rivers, canals of various sizes, and lakes, therefore a tour by boat will get you to a fair number of places in ten days. This 'Back with Booty' post will include not only tulips and windmills, but also several charming Dutch towns – most of them with canals – and some other sights like cathedrals and harbour impressions.
The weather was a mixed affair, including everything from below 10°C with rain and lots of wind to balmy 20°C and sunshine. Sometimes changing within a single day. I had to tamper with some of the photos that had ended up on the Dark Side.
Morning on a canal in the Netherlands
The tour started in Cologne in Germay. I arrived a day early so I could visit the High Cathedral Church at Cologne, as it is officially called (short: Kölner Dom). It is a landmark of Gothic architecture, the tallest twin spired church in the world (157 m / 515 ft), a World Heritage site since 1996, and one of the most visited places in Germany – esp. on an Easter weekend when pilgrims join the tourists.
What attracts the prilgrims are the relics of the Three Magi that had been brought fom Italy during the reign of Friedrich Barbarossa (1164). Cologne at that time already had a large church dating to Carolingian times, but the increasing number of pilgrims to the shrine of the Magi required the size and prestige of a larger church in a more 'modern' architecture.
Cologne, the cathedral, south side
Parts of the old church were taken down, and construction of the new cathedral started in 1248. It turned out to be the beginning of a building history that would last 600 years.
The new choir was finished in 1322. Protected by a provisionally wall to the west, it could be used as church and place for the shrine. By 1528, the naves and transept were completed to part of their intended height – sufficient to insert the large glass windows –, the southern tower still unfinished (though already rising to 56 metres) and the northern tower not even begun, when money became short, and the entire process was stopped after roofs had been put on the naves.
Cologne, the cathedral, main nave
For the next 300 years, Cologne Cathedral had an imposing choir, a half finished but still impressive tower, and a rather lower middle part. It would take until the 1840ies when interest and money donations increased again, so that the cathedral could be finished according to the old plans, which gives it a uniform aspect despite the long break. The building was badly damaged during WW2, but by now, the cathedral is complete, albeit undergoing regular repairs.
Rotterdam, river harbour at the Maas with outgoing river transport
Rotterdam exists since the Middle Ages, but because the city was destroyed during WW2, it was decided not to try to reconstruct the old centre, but instead to turn Rotterdam into a modern logistic and economic hub of the Netherlands. Thus the town not only has the largest seaport in Europe but also an impressive array of skyscrapers – at least by European standards – in various designs.
One advantage is the city's situation at the outer end of the Rhine delta which connects it with the North Sea as well as the Rhine and its tributaries that in turn provide one of the main routes of the waterway transport system in western Europe.
Rotterdam, Erasmus Bridge
The Erasmus Bridge is a combined cable-stayed and bascule bridge. It was designed by Ben van Berkel and completed in 1996. The asymmetrical cable-stayed section of the bridge is supported by a single steel pylon of 139 m height which is nicknamed 'the Swan'. The longer part of the asymmetrical setup spans a 410 m long section (allowing passage of lower ships in the middle, on a width of 278 m). To the side is a bascule bridge of 89 metres that can be opened for larger vessels – the entire length of the bridge is 800 metres.
Delft, one of several canals
Delft is one of the oldest Dutch towns, with a lot of houses from the Brabantian Gothic and Renaissance still intact despite a fire in the 16th and the explosion of the powder magazine in the 17th century. As result of the Declaration of Independence of the Netherlands from Spain in 1581, glazed earthernware makes moved in from Flanders and created the famous Delft Blue pottery. A visit to one of the factories was part of the tour, and …erm, a little horse figurine came home with me. *grin*
The founding of the Dutch East India Company in 1602 gave Delft an additional boost in importance, but in the late 17th century, the town was replaced by Rotterdam and Den Haag as trade and government centres.
Lane in Delft. With raindrops on the camera lens
Unfortunately, the visit to Delft was the one day where it poured for hours. I had tired of juggling an umbrella and my camera during the Norway tour, and decided to buy a camera protection. Bad idea. The thing got in the way, fluttered in the wind, made im impossible to read the display, and didn't really protect the lens. So I threw it away and dealt with the raindrops on the lens. I took fewer photos than intended, though, which is a pity because the town is really lovely.
Ghent, view to Korenlei and Graslei
Next came the loop to Belgium. I already had visited Ghent during my Flanders tour in 2017, but it was nice to stroll some of the places again and get a Belgian waffle. I did not take many photos, though.
The same goes for Antwerp, therefore I opted for the day trip to Brussels.
The Atomium in Brussels
There was a photostop at the Atomium. The Atomium was built in 1958 as part of the Brussel's Wold Fair by engineer André Waterkeyn and architects André and Jean Polak to demonstrate Belgian engineering skills. It represents an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times, with a height of 102 metres. The nine globes that house exhibitions and a restaurant, are 18 m in diameter and can be accessed by lifts and stairs in the connecting steel tubes.
Brussels, the historical town square
Brussels, capital of Belgium, seat of the NATO headquarters and many EU institutions, is larger than Ghent, Bruges or Antwerp, but the historical centre around the market square and the town hall can be explored in a few hours. The market square is impressive, though, with its Gothic town hall and Renaissance and Baroque houses – complete with gilded decorative elements – on all four sides.
Middelburg, historical merchants' houses at the harbour
Next stop was Middelburg, and finally the sun decided to peek out. Middelburg is the capital of the Dutch province Zeeland. During the Middle Ages, it was an important centre in the trade between Flanders and England. Later, it became a member of the Dutch East India Company (a combined trade and joined stock company which traded in spices and other goods from the east, including slaves) and prospered further– many houses of the rich merchants can still be seen.
Middelburg, the Renaissance town hall
The town hall of Middelburg is one of the most beautiful Gothic buildings in the Netherlands, constructed 1452-1520 by several generations of the Keldermans family of masons. The facade is decorated with statues of 25 counts and countesses of Zeeland and red-white window shutters.
Middelburg, lane with old houses
The next day was sunny as well, so one could observe the landscape from the sun deck. We passed, among other sights, the windmills at Kinderdijk.
The 19 windmills of Kinderdijk (behind the dyke and thus only half-seen in the photo) were built in 1740 to keep water out of the polder. The Netherlands lie partly below sea level; the land was expanded by dyking and draining marshes since the Middle Ages, but the technology of using a series of mills allowed for drainage of larger areas. Today, more advanced technologies are used to keep those lands from being flooded, but the windmills at Kinderdijk remain as tourist attraction.
Two of the windmills at Kinderdijk
The ship did not get an overnight slot in the Amsterdam harbour, so we stopped at Utrecht, which gave me an unplanned evening in that pretty town. There was still enough light to take photos and sit at the canal til past sunset afterwards.
Utrecht, the Oudegracht
The first impression of Utrecht's historical centre was lots of bicycles, and lots of students being out on a balmy spring evening. The old houses along the Oudegracht canal have those peculiar storage cellars that stretch close to the water while the houses proper rise on the other side of the lanes. Many of those cellars now house restaurants and shops.
Utrecht, bridge across the Oudegracht
Utrecht, situated at the Old Rhine and connected to the North Sea by canals, has been a religious (episcopal see since 799) and trade centre of the Netherlands, holding city rights since 1122 – they were granted by the Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich V; at the time parts of the Netherlands belonged to the German Reich. Utrecht was replaced in importance by Amsterdam only in the late 17th century. Today, the city is a famous university town and the hub of all train connections in the Netherlands.
Utrecht, cathedral tower
The Gotic cathedral – like in most cases – had earlier predecessors. The present building was begun in 1254, using the cathedral in Cologne as example. The choir and westwork were rebuilt first, the naves would take until 1500 to be finished. A severe storm destroyed the main nave in 1674; afterwards, the crossing was closed off by a wall, and the rubble removed to create a square between the choir and the western tower which rises to 112.5 metres – the highest church tower in the Netherlands.
The park at Keukenhof
When a slot in the tour to Keukenhof was offered, I decided for that tour instead of visiting Amsterdam. The smaller towns are cuter, and tulips in sunshine looked like a good idea. Many other tourists thought the same, but it nevertheless was a nice afternoon.
The park at Egeskov Castle in Denmark has one section with tulips, but in Keukenhof, they can be found spread out in groups over 32 hectares.
Keukenhof, tulips and daffodils
The estate once was a possession of Jakobäa of Bavaria, Countess of Hainault, Holland and Zeeland (1401-1436) who used part of it to grow vegetables and herbs. Adriaen Maertensz Block, a high ranking member of the Dutch East Indian Company who was forced to retire after some illegal private business, bought the estate and had a palace built in 1641 which he called Keukenhof.
By 1857, the estate had gone to a baron Van Pallandt who asked the landscape architect Jan David Zocher to create an Engllish garden on the grounds. Part of this garden still exists; it attracts fewer tourists during tulip time. I explored that one as well.
Keukenhof, tulips and hyacinths
The idea to create a presentation ground for spring flowers was sugested by a group of flower bulb growers in 1949; since 1959 the park is open to the public.
Some 100 bulb growers provide the park with 7 million bulbs every autum; the tulips alone number 4,500,000 million bulbs in over 100 variations; besides there are narcissi, hyacinths and imperial fritillary.
Hoorn, the old harbour
Next stop was Hoorn at the Markermeer – which, together with the IJsselmeer, are the remains of the Zuidersee bay that has been closed to the sea by a great dam with pumping systems in 1932, to claim land for agricultural use (the polders mentioned above). Both are now freshwater lakes.
Hoorn received city rights in 1357, and flourished during the so-called Golden Age (1588-1672) when the Dutch Repblic became a leading maritime and commercial power as well as a cultural centre. This halcyon time ended with invasions by several countries at the same time; trade was interrupted and the republic had to spend more ressources on the military. Several cities of the Golden Age had to give way to Amsterdam; their importance and wealth declined. Today, they focus on tourism and maritime sports.
Hoorn, the weighhouse
The weighhouse in Hoorn was built in 1609. Such places were needed to weigh and value goods since there were no international standards. Weighhouses often were representative buildings, demonstrating the wealth of a town. As Hoorn's importance as sea port declined, it still played a role in local trade, esp. of cheese. We are in the Netherlands, after all. *grin*
Medemblik, Castle Radboud
We arrived at Medemblik in the evening with a thunderstorm gathering at the horizon, so I only went to see the castle and forewent photographing more pretty houses.
Medemblik is another of those former North Sea towns. It already prospered when Count Floris V of Holland invaded West Frisia in 1282 and erected several fortresses to control the region. One of those is Castle Radboud. Floris also granted Medemblik city rights.
Castle Radboud, outer fortifications
Count Floris was assassinated in 1297; in the time to follow the castle saw some action during various Frisian rebellions; the largest was an attack by Frisian pirates in 1517 who burned down the town. In 1572, Medemblik got town walls, so the castle lost its importance as shelter and fell into decay over the centuries. In 1889, it became property of the crown and was restored.
Zuidersee Museum, houses on the dyke
As mentioned above, the Zuidersee dam changed the environment to a degree that agriculture replaced the traditional fishing culture along the coast. As in the Freiluftmuseum Molfsee near Kiel or Den Fynske Landsby in Odense, some people wanted to preserve the remains of that culture before it disappeared entirely, and transfered traditional buildings to a new site. The open air part of the museum was opened in 1983. Of course, I visited that one.
Zuidersee Museum, windmill
A typical Zuidersee small town and a fishing village have been reconstructed; the houses date from the 17th to 19th century. About 140 buildings have been collected from several settlements around the former Zuidersee – some have been dismanted and rebuilt, smaller ones have been transfered in entirety (there are some photos in the exhibition showing buildings on ships).
Reconstructed town lane with canal
The town houses include a church, a butcher, pharmacy, washing house; other parts of the area display a fishing village, harbour, a polder with windmill, and a dockyard. There are also reenactors demonstrating old crafts like smithing and rope making.
Enkhuizen, houses at the harbour
Enkhuizen is another of those North Sea harbour towns that eventually lost to Amsterdam. But from the time it received city rights in 1356 to the end of the Golden Age – not the least because of its membership in the East Indian Company – it was an important town, as many of the houses still prove. Enkhuizen was famous for herring fishing; about 300 ships were active in the 17th century.
Enkhuizen, Drommedaris Tower and drawbridge
The expanded harbour and the town needed fortifications. A remains of those is the Drommedaris Tower, dating to 1540, that protects the harbour. The first two floors with the cannon holes are the oldest part; the upper floor and the carillon tower were added in 1648. The first floor once held prison cells, but today the tower is used for more peaceful endeavours like concerts and exhibitions.
Arnhem, St. Eusebius Cathedral
Last stop of the tour was Arnhem, mostly know for the role it played in WW2 as the Allied Forces tried to conquer the bridge across the Rhine. Their defeat was the last German victory, but left most of the town in ruins. Thus Arnhem has no intact Medieval centre, though its history goes back to the 9th century, and it received city rights in the 13th century. The 15th century Gothic church was badly damaged as well, but has been restored.
In the afternoon, the ship took course back to Cologne where we arrived the next morning.
… and a little bit of Belgium. The Netherlands got plenty of rivers, canals of various sizes, and lakes, therefore a tour by boat will get you to a fair number of places in ten days. This 'Back with Booty' post will include not only tulips and windmills, but also several charming Dutch towns – most of them with canals – and some other sights like cathedrals and harbour impressions.
The weather was a mixed affair, including everything from below 10°C with rain and lots of wind to balmy 20°C and sunshine. Sometimes changing within a single day. I had to tamper with some of the photos that had ended up on the Dark Side.
The tour started in Cologne in Germay. I arrived a day early so I could visit the High Cathedral Church at Cologne, as it is officially called (short: Kölner Dom). It is a landmark of Gothic architecture, the tallest twin spired church in the world (157 m / 515 ft), a World Heritage site since 1996, and one of the most visited places in Germany – esp. on an Easter weekend when pilgrims join the tourists.
What attracts the prilgrims are the relics of the Three Magi that had been brought fom Italy during the reign of Friedrich Barbarossa (1164). Cologne at that time already had a large church dating to Carolingian times, but the increasing number of pilgrims to the shrine of the Magi required the size and prestige of a larger church in a more 'modern' architecture.
Parts of the old church were taken down, and construction of the new cathedral started in 1248. It turned out to be the beginning of a building history that would last 600 years.
The new choir was finished in 1322. Protected by a provisionally wall to the west, it could be used as church and place for the shrine. By 1528, the naves and transept were completed to part of their intended height – sufficient to insert the large glass windows –, the southern tower still unfinished (though already rising to 56 metres) and the northern tower not even begun, when money became short, and the entire process was stopped after roofs had been put on the naves.
For the next 300 years, Cologne Cathedral had an imposing choir, a half finished but still impressive tower, and a rather lower middle part. It would take until the 1840ies when interest and money donations increased again, so that the cathedral could be finished according to the old plans, which gives it a uniform aspect despite the long break. The building was badly damaged during WW2, but by now, the cathedral is complete, albeit undergoing regular repairs.
Rotterdam exists since the Middle Ages, but because the city was destroyed during WW2, it was decided not to try to reconstruct the old centre, but instead to turn Rotterdam into a modern logistic and economic hub of the Netherlands. Thus the town not only has the largest seaport in Europe but also an impressive array of skyscrapers – at least by European standards – in various designs.
One advantage is the city's situation at the outer end of the Rhine delta which connects it with the North Sea as well as the Rhine and its tributaries that in turn provide one of the main routes of the waterway transport system in western Europe.
The Erasmus Bridge is a combined cable-stayed and bascule bridge. It was designed by Ben van Berkel and completed in 1996. The asymmetrical cable-stayed section of the bridge is supported by a single steel pylon of 139 m height which is nicknamed 'the Swan'. The longer part of the asymmetrical setup spans a 410 m long section (allowing passage of lower ships in the middle, on a width of 278 m). To the side is a bascule bridge of 89 metres that can be opened for larger vessels – the entire length of the bridge is 800 metres.
Delft is one of the oldest Dutch towns, with a lot of houses from the Brabantian Gothic and Renaissance still intact despite a fire in the 16th and the explosion of the powder magazine in the 17th century. As result of the Declaration of Independence of the Netherlands from Spain in 1581, glazed earthernware makes moved in from Flanders and created the famous Delft Blue pottery. A visit to one of the factories was part of the tour, and …erm, a little horse figurine came home with me. *grin*
The founding of the Dutch East India Company in 1602 gave Delft an additional boost in importance, but in the late 17th century, the town was replaced by Rotterdam and Den Haag as trade and government centres.
Unfortunately, the visit to Delft was the one day where it poured for hours. I had tired of juggling an umbrella and my camera during the Norway tour, and decided to buy a camera protection. Bad idea. The thing got in the way, fluttered in the wind, made im impossible to read the display, and didn't really protect the lens. So I threw it away and dealt with the raindrops on the lens. I took fewer photos than intended, though, which is a pity because the town is really lovely.
Next came the loop to Belgium. I already had visited Ghent during my Flanders tour in 2017, but it was nice to stroll some of the places again and get a Belgian waffle. I did not take many photos, though.
The same goes for Antwerp, therefore I opted for the day trip to Brussels.
There was a photostop at the Atomium. The Atomium was built in 1958 as part of the Brussel's Wold Fair by engineer André Waterkeyn and architects André and Jean Polak to demonstrate Belgian engineering skills. It represents an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times, with a height of 102 metres. The nine globes that house exhibitions and a restaurant, are 18 m in diameter and can be accessed by lifts and stairs in the connecting steel tubes.
Brussels, capital of Belgium, seat of the NATO headquarters and many EU institutions, is larger than Ghent, Bruges or Antwerp, but the historical centre around the market square and the town hall can be explored in a few hours. The market square is impressive, though, with its Gothic town hall and Renaissance and Baroque houses – complete with gilded decorative elements – on all four sides.
Next stop was Middelburg, and finally the sun decided to peek out. Middelburg is the capital of the Dutch province Zeeland. During the Middle Ages, it was an important centre in the trade between Flanders and England. Later, it became a member of the Dutch East India Company (a combined trade and joined stock company which traded in spices and other goods from the east, including slaves) and prospered further– many houses of the rich merchants can still be seen.
The town hall of Middelburg is one of the most beautiful Gothic buildings in the Netherlands, constructed 1452-1520 by several generations of the Keldermans family of masons. The facade is decorated with statues of 25 counts and countesses of Zeeland and red-white window shutters.
The next day was sunny as well, so one could observe the landscape from the sun deck. We passed, among other sights, the windmills at Kinderdijk.
The 19 windmills of Kinderdijk (behind the dyke and thus only half-seen in the photo) were built in 1740 to keep water out of the polder. The Netherlands lie partly below sea level; the land was expanded by dyking and draining marshes since the Middle Ages, but the technology of using a series of mills allowed for drainage of larger areas. Today, more advanced technologies are used to keep those lands from being flooded, but the windmills at Kinderdijk remain as tourist attraction.
The ship did not get an overnight slot in the Amsterdam harbour, so we stopped at Utrecht, which gave me an unplanned evening in that pretty town. There was still enough light to take photos and sit at the canal til past sunset afterwards.
The first impression of Utrecht's historical centre was lots of bicycles, and lots of students being out on a balmy spring evening. The old houses along the Oudegracht canal have those peculiar storage cellars that stretch close to the water while the houses proper rise on the other side of the lanes. Many of those cellars now house restaurants and shops.
Utrecht, situated at the Old Rhine and connected to the North Sea by canals, has been a religious (episcopal see since 799) and trade centre of the Netherlands, holding city rights since 1122 – they were granted by the Holy Roman Emperor Heinrich V; at the time parts of the Netherlands belonged to the German Reich. Utrecht was replaced in importance by Amsterdam only in the late 17th century. Today, the city is a famous university town and the hub of all train connections in the Netherlands.
The Gotic cathedral – like in most cases – had earlier predecessors. The present building was begun in 1254, using the cathedral in Cologne as example. The choir and westwork were rebuilt first, the naves would take until 1500 to be finished. A severe storm destroyed the main nave in 1674; afterwards, the crossing was closed off by a wall, and the rubble removed to create a square between the choir and the western tower which rises to 112.5 metres – the highest church tower in the Netherlands.
When a slot in the tour to Keukenhof was offered, I decided for that tour instead of visiting Amsterdam. The smaller towns are cuter, and tulips in sunshine looked like a good idea. Many other tourists thought the same, but it nevertheless was a nice afternoon.
The park at Egeskov Castle in Denmark has one section with tulips, but in Keukenhof, they can be found spread out in groups over 32 hectares.
The estate once was a possession of Jakobäa of Bavaria, Countess of Hainault, Holland and Zeeland (1401-1436) who used part of it to grow vegetables and herbs. Adriaen Maertensz Block, a high ranking member of the Dutch East Indian Company who was forced to retire after some illegal private business, bought the estate and had a palace built in 1641 which he called Keukenhof.
By 1857, the estate had gone to a baron Van Pallandt who asked the landscape architect Jan David Zocher to create an Engllish garden on the grounds. Part of this garden still exists; it attracts fewer tourists during tulip time. I explored that one as well.
The idea to create a presentation ground for spring flowers was sugested by a group of flower bulb growers in 1949; since 1959 the park is open to the public.
Some 100 bulb growers provide the park with 7 million bulbs every autum; the tulips alone number 4,500,000 million bulbs in over 100 variations; besides there are narcissi, hyacinths and imperial fritillary.
Next stop was Hoorn at the Markermeer – which, together with the IJsselmeer, are the remains of the Zuidersee bay that has been closed to the sea by a great dam with pumping systems in 1932, to claim land for agricultural use (the polders mentioned above). Both are now freshwater lakes.
Hoorn received city rights in 1357, and flourished during the so-called Golden Age (1588-1672) when the Dutch Repblic became a leading maritime and commercial power as well as a cultural centre. This halcyon time ended with invasions by several countries at the same time; trade was interrupted and the republic had to spend more ressources on the military. Several cities of the Golden Age had to give way to Amsterdam; their importance and wealth declined. Today, they focus on tourism and maritime sports.
The weighhouse in Hoorn was built in 1609. Such places were needed to weigh and value goods since there were no international standards. Weighhouses often were representative buildings, demonstrating the wealth of a town. As Hoorn's importance as sea port declined, it still played a role in local trade, esp. of cheese. We are in the Netherlands, after all. *grin*
We arrived at Medemblik in the evening with a thunderstorm gathering at the horizon, so I only went to see the castle and forewent photographing more pretty houses.
Medemblik is another of those former North Sea towns. It already prospered when Count Floris V of Holland invaded West Frisia in 1282 and erected several fortresses to control the region. One of those is Castle Radboud. Floris also granted Medemblik city rights.
Count Floris was assassinated in 1297; in the time to follow the castle saw some action during various Frisian rebellions; the largest was an attack by Frisian pirates in 1517 who burned down the town. In 1572, Medemblik got town walls, so the castle lost its importance as shelter and fell into decay over the centuries. In 1889, it became property of the crown and was restored.
As mentioned above, the Zuidersee dam changed the environment to a degree that agriculture replaced the traditional fishing culture along the coast. As in the Freiluftmuseum Molfsee near Kiel or Den Fynske Landsby in Odense, some people wanted to preserve the remains of that culture before it disappeared entirely, and transfered traditional buildings to a new site. The open air part of the museum was opened in 1983. Of course, I visited that one.
A typical Zuidersee small town and a fishing village have been reconstructed; the houses date from the 17th to 19th century. About 140 buildings have been collected from several settlements around the former Zuidersee – some have been dismanted and rebuilt, smaller ones have been transfered in entirety (there are some photos in the exhibition showing buildings on ships).
The town houses include a church, a butcher, pharmacy, washing house; other parts of the area display a fishing village, harbour, a polder with windmill, and a dockyard. There are also reenactors demonstrating old crafts like smithing and rope making.
Enkhuizen is another of those North Sea harbour towns that eventually lost to Amsterdam. But from the time it received city rights in 1356 to the end of the Golden Age – not the least because of its membership in the East Indian Company – it was an important town, as many of the houses still prove. Enkhuizen was famous for herring fishing; about 300 ships were active in the 17th century.
The expanded harbour and the town needed fortifications. A remains of those is the Drommedaris Tower, dating to 1540, that protects the harbour. The first two floors with the cannon holes are the oldest part; the upper floor and the carillon tower were added in 1648. The first floor once held prison cells, but today the tower is used for more peaceful endeavours like concerts and exhibitions.
Last stop of the tour was Arnhem, mostly know for the role it played in WW2 as the Allied Forces tried to conquer the bridge across the Rhine. Their defeat was the last German victory, but left most of the town in ruins. Thus Arnhem has no intact Medieval centre, though its history goes back to the 9th century, and it received city rights in the 13th century. The 15th century Gothic church was badly damaged as well, but has been restored.
In the afternoon, the ship took course back to Cologne where we arrived the next morning.
