Netherlands waterway cruise – Steenwijk

Steenwijk – visitor mooring in town

The best thing about having one’s own boat, as opposed to chartering a boat, is you can stop wherever you are as long as you want.
In 2011 when we were here on our hired boat, we rather rushed through and only overnighted for one night. This time we were in no great hurry, so stayed three nights.

Belgian beers – Westmalle Triples!

It was still early in the season and the place was not very busy at all so we didn’t really do a lot except relax, eat and drink.
We had a couple of wonderful Belgian beers – Westmalle Triples (9.5 % alcohol by the way) at a pub in the square.

Karen cooking aboard Shangri La

This is a good place for supplies as there are a number of supermarkets in the town. So we did a bit of stocking up and cooking aboard.
The facilities here are very good – good ablution block with lovely hot water. And a good washing machine and tumble dryer. A bit on the expensive side, but we did a few loads of washing as well.

Karen and washing machine in Steenwijk

The harbour master was a very friendly fellow too.
Steenwijk is apparently the economic and cultural centre of this area – Kop van Overijssel.
The visitor’s harbour where we moored is almost right in the centre of town, at the end of a short narrow canal.
We had a relaxing few days here, but it is much more lively in July and August when there are markets and funfairs, and the 1467 church tower and museum are open to the public.

Shangri La moored in Steenwijk visitor mooring

Next up – the trip back to Zwartsluis via Blokzijl.