Take My Money--PLEASE

We love the Netherlands. Really. We do. But one thing we don't love quite so much is that credit cards are not used or accepted as widely in the Netherlands as they are in other places in Europe, and this can cause some frustration for the non-resident traveler.

The Dutch are apparently a debt-adverse people and are not particularly fond of credit cards in general. (Interestingly, the Dutch word for debt-- "schuld"--also means "guilt.") Instead, the majority of Dutch use a form of debit card offered by Mastercard called "Maestro". Maestro is a payment platform which directly moves funds from an individual's bank account to a merchant in one step, versus the two-step system used by other debit and credit cards from Visa, Mastercard, and the like. The Maestro system means lower transaction costs for the merchant, which means that many merchants--especially in areas outside of the normal tourist haunts--will not accept foreign credit or debit cards. 

A similar situation can occur when attempting to shop online, which is normally credit card nirvana. In this case, the Dutch have a system called iDEAL, which utilizes online banking to make a direct transfer to internet vendors via an individual's Dutch bank account. The common thread with both Maestro and iDEAL is that a Dutch bank account is required, which is not something the typical short-term visitor to the Netherlands is either going to want, or be allowed, to acquire. 

I encountered this problem during my first visit to the "Plus" grocery store in Maasbracht. I had just run my 20 or so items through the checkout and was met with a look of dismay--or maybe horror--from the checkout clerk when I pulled out my Visa card. Nope, couldn't use it at the register. She had to send me over to the customer service counter where, fortunately, they were able to process a Visa credit card transaction. Lesson learned, I withdrew a wad of euros from the local ATM and have since used only cash to purchase my groceries at that store. The local restaurants are more accepting of foreign credit cards, although the "signature required" statement that pops up with U.S. credit cards is regarded with some bemusement. (Frankly, I find it strange as well. Just require the pin; it's a much more secure transaction that way.)

A bigger problem can occur when there isn't an alternate way to pay for a good or service. We ran into this issue when trying to figure out how to use the bus service to get from Maasbracht to the town of Roermond to catch a train. The buses haven't accepted cash fares since 2018, and the pay-on-board feature requires a Dutch bank card. We tried buying an e-ticket on the transportation company's website, but our credit cards were rejected. We tried installing the recommended transportation booking and purchasing app, but were told it wasn't available for our nationality. We finally discovered that the bookstore in Maasbracht was a site where we could purchase the kind of chip card that is widely used throughout the Netherlands for trains, buses, trams, and the metro. Yes! Eight euros apiece for the card, and then we needed to "top it up" with some euros at at the chipcard service kiosk. Would it let us use our credit card to do so? No it would not. Dutch bank cards only, and no cash options. We will forever be grateful to the wonderful employee who was willing to take cash from us and then use her bank card to put 20 euros on each of our chip cards. 

So much effort to get something so small

If we had been in a bigger town with a rail station and more services we would have been OK. We have been able to use our credit cards (with pin) in the ticket dispensing machines at rail stations to purchase individual trip tickets. But Maasbracht is not such a town, and although we were ultimately successful in catching our bus, it wasn't an easy process. But get to Roermond we did, caught our trains, and are now in a hotel just outside of Amsterdam's Schipol Airport.

We're away from the boat for about 8 days to spend some time in the west of the Netherlands with Lon's Canadian cousin Frank Cedar. We travelled with Frank to Poland and Ukraine to visit Wojtowicz relatives a few years ago, and Frank has stayed with us several times at our various homes in Florida. He was hoping to spend some time with us this year cruising on C.A.R.I.B. III, but as our projects aren't yet completed we can't offer him that experience. However, since this is his first trip to the Netherlands, we decided to meet up with him and share some sightseeing experiences in Amsterdam, Haarlem and environs before traveling back to Maasbracht. We're hoping the boat will still be livable so that he can at least spend a few nights aboard, even if not cruising, and get a chance to see a part of the Netherlands that's a bit off the usual tourist routes.

 

Living in Limbo

Limbo, Roman Catholic theology notwithstanding, is "an uncertain period of awaiting a decision or resolution; an intermediate state or condition." Yes. That's exactly where we find ourselves at the moment. We have "open" boat projects relating to electrical issues, exterior painting, and interior work on the galley and salon. All are at various stages of completion. A broad goal is to have everything done, and for us to be able to start cruising, by the end of May. But it's a busy boatyard, and when an emergency repair on a commercial barge crops up, workers can get pulled from our projects to work the emergency. And like all improvement projects--whether they involve houses or boats--unexpected issues will crop up and result in the dreaded "project creep." We've already had some experience with this--an unexpected leak of engine coolant, a funky electrical grounding issue in our 24 volt system. Sigh . . . just add those to the "to do" list. 

The Tinnemann's employees work hard, but corporate culture
includes well-deserved "beer on the boss" time on Fridays after work

Despite the uncertainties, things continue to progress. The exterior painting of the hull up to the gunnel was completed on Saturday morning, so Saturday afternoon was moving day--getting us off the floating dry dock and back to our former mooring position on the canal where the remainder of the exterior painting and the interior work can be done.

First step: release water from one side to
better level the dry dock

The floating dry dock angling toward the fairway and the
exit from the boat yard

Another perspective

It was a fascinating process to watch. Every movement was done very slowly and there wasn't a lot of room for maneuvering.

A small push boat is used to help steer the dry dock
into position pointing down the fairway

A tight corner: using a board fender to keep the dry dock from
damaging the barge Fiducie

Finalizing the position in the fairway

Allowing water into the dry dock chambers to sink it
and allow the boat to float off

Towing boat hooked up in front and ready to depart

On the canal and approaching the mooring site

It's great to back on the boat, but it's also difficult because almost everything in the galley was packed away last fall and mostly needs to stay that way. We can only pull out the bare minimum of things to use for cooking and eating, which creates a few inefficiencies. In addition, we can't do a lot of grocery shopping to stock the boat because we need to keep most of our galley and salon cabinets empty in preparation for the upcoming interior work. So, what's the solution? A day away from Maasbracht!

Tinnemann's let us use one of their company trucks for getting around, so on Sunday we headed south for a few hours. Our first stop was the Netherlands American Cemetery, the only American military cemetery in the Netherlands. It is a Second World War military war grave cemetery located near a historic former Roman highway approximately 10 km east of Maastricht. The graves are those of servicemen who died in the battles of 1944 and 1945 in the areas near the eastern Netherlands.

Looking toward the American flag, graves on either side. The cemetery contains more than
8,000 graves

In the opposite direction is the memorial tower, which contains
a small chapel

Two walls flanking a reflecting pool contain the names of over
1,700 missing American service personnel

Our second stop of the day was the medieval town of Valkenburg aan de Geul (Valkenburg on the Geul, a small river.) We came for lunch and a quick stroll around the town, but we really need to get an earlier start on the touring day and come back to explore its famous mines and caves, some of which date back to Roman times. The cavern system has been used extensively for shelter in wartime in various eras. 

A beautiful Sunday, and a favorite pastime in Valkenburg is
eating and drinking at the numerous cafes and restaurants

What is a medieval town without castle ruins? A castle first
appeared on this site in the 1100's. The only castle in the Netherlands
built on a hill, these ruins are from the 14th C version of the castle

As part of the 2020 Liberation Day commemorations, the town
posted WWII photos at the sites where the photos were
originally taken

View down the Geul River toward the Kasteel Den Halder, a castle from
the 17th C (now privately owned)

Temptation personified: a steady stream of ice cream cones
was spotted coming from this shop. When we were on the Great Loop
cruise we often sought out local ice cream. A great tradition
deserves to be revisited, so . . . 

. . .Voila! It was delicious!

The weather the past two days hasn't allowed for any additional painting to be done on the boat, and with tomorrow (April 27) being a national holiday  (King's Day) here in the Netherlands, there won't be any work getting done tomorrow. So we will just have to seek out something holiday-like to do. 

Another "Plan B" Kind of Year

We arrived in the Netherlands on April 19, and are currently in Maasbracht while work is being completed on C.A.R.I.B. III. Our plan last September was that our 7 months away from the boat would be plenty of time for our hoped-for boat projects to be completed, but alas, it seems that we needed to be here in order for the pace of project completion to pick up. So as much as we might have hoped to be underway with our Netherlands cruising by May 1, circumstances have conspired against us and it is looking more likely that--Plan B--June is a better bet for departure from Maasbracht. 

We feel fortunate to be here at all. The Thursday before Easter (April 14), Lon took a spill off his bike and tore several ligaments in his left shoulder, resulting in the separation of his collar bone from the shoulder.  We thought that we would have to delay our departure from Florida by at least a couple of weeks, while we had follow-up visits with orthopedic doctors. Thankfully, we were able to see the orthopedic surgeon on Friday, April 15, and were told that Lon's injury was not of a type that would benefit from surgery--he just needs a few weeks to get the pain and swelling down and to heal to the extent possible. The ligaments won't reattach, but as long as he works the shoulder to keep it mobile, he should regain full function. So, although Lon will retain the "lovely" bump he has from a clavicle that isn't being held down by ligaments, we were cleared to travel.

Pat as pack mule: with Lon injured, 
packing had to be "reimagined", with
two backpacks consolidated into one

Pat and Lon by C.A.R.I.B. III in dry
dock; Lon looking "dashing" in a sling.

Some of the needed work on C.A.R.I.B. III had already been completed, or at least started, before we got to the Netherlands. The bimini was finished--and it is beautiful!  The ESTRIN inspection was completed around two weeks ago, and there were only a few issues identified for which corrections are relatively easily done. Whew! Bottom painting had started as soon as the weather cleared.

Primer coat (yellow) already finished; black topcoats were in progress

It's been a busy first two full days here. We had a brief and very helpful meeting on the boat this morning with the Dutch inspector in order to clarify some of the issues listed in the preliminary inspection report. On yesterday's first walk-through on the boat, we discovered that some of the electrical work had already been started, and we had a meeting with the electrician yesterday afternoon to firm up what else needed to be done. The carpenter came on the boat this morning to take measurements for the galley and salon projects.

The weather is beautiful at the moment--sunny and highs in the 60's--so the painters have been busy this week sanding, priming, and painting CARIB up to the gunwale (pronounced gun-nel, this is the upper edge of the side of the hull).  

Painting the hull

The dark blue-green part of the hull has its final coat.
Shiny!!!!!!

We originally were told that we could stay on board, but we decided that--for a number of reasons, including Lon's injury--it would be much better to get a hotel for these first few days. When the "phase one" of the exterior painting is done C.A.R.I.B. III will be put back in the water and parked on the Juliana Canal fairly close to where we were last autumn. We'll then be able to live on the boat while the remaining projects are completed. Not ideal, but doable. 

The enforced down time gives us an opportunity to shop for some boat items we need, allows Lon to heal, and hopefully lets us meet up with some relatives who are traveling to the Netherlands in May.

Happy to be back in Europe