Medemblik

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Medemblik is a coastal town on the IJsselmeer just before it opens into the North Sea. Our Cruise Director arranged to stop here so we could experience, if for a brief time, a traditional North Holland village. (The municipality dates to the 13th century.) Docking in Medemblik was also a reminder of the intricate inland waterways of Belgium and the Netherlands. We had traveled from Amsterdam south down as far as Ghent and back up north through Dordrecht and Amsterdam out into the man-made Markereer and IJsselmeer, all via interconnected rivers and canals. The IJsselmeer is a freshwater lake created out of the saline Zuidersee by dike and drainage. Some passengers explored the town in the early evening drizzle while I stayed close. From my vantage point, I could see Sint-Bonifaciuskerk (1404), the Medemblik railway station, Stadhuis, the Lely pumping station, and a housing tract. Windmills were present in the modern form of wind turbines generating electricity. The pumping station does the job of keeping the polder dry.

The railway station is the terminus for the 12-mile (20 km) long Hoorn–Medemblik heritage railway, a preserved steam operation. No steam locomotives were in sight today, but there was a vintage boxcar at the station.

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Photos

Sint-Bonifaciuskerk
Sint-Bonifaciuskerk, Medemblik. Built beginning in 1404 and rebuilt in 1555. Protestant Church in the Netherlands.
"Medemblik, with ... a church (St. Boniface) with a fine tower."--Baedeker 1910.
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Station Medemblik
Medemblik Station. Built in 1887. Closed to passenger traffic in 1940. In used by the Museumsteamtram Hoorn-Medemblik preserved railway from 2000.
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Stadhuis van Medemblik
Old Stadhuis van Medemblik. Bult in 1939-1941. Adaptive reuse as an event and wedding venue.
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Medemblik Houses
Medemblik Houses along the Oude Haven.
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Gemaal Lely
Gemaal Lely - Lely pumping station. Built in 1930. The station keeps the land reclaimed from the former Wieringermeer dry.
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Herb Crusted Lamb Hip
Herb Crusted Lamb Hip with Ratatouille Vegetable and Mashed Potatoes. Dinner aboard Monarch Empress,
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