A bridge (not) too far

Wageningen to Arnhem

We survived the night without being chased off the fuel dock, and in fact the harbour-master, when he arrived at 8.30, turned out to be a charming retired diplomat working as a volunteer for the yacht club. He wasn't at all cross and sold us some diesel before we left. Like almost all Dutch people we met, he spoke immaculate English. In fact, I forgot to mention yesterday one lock-keeper, when asked on the radio whether he spoke English, replied: "Enough to keep out of trouble."

So it was back onto the Rhine, and the current was still strong, though surprisingly we managed to pass one fellow sufferer who was progressing even more slowly than us.

After a while we arrived at the Driel visor weir, which was open so we didn't have to go through the parallel lock. The pictures below give an idea of the scale of the thing, which was built in 1972 to control the water level in the river, and make sure that enough water goes down the Ijssel (which we will be navigating from tomorrow).

The two semicircular barriers can be lowered into the water like the visor on the helmet of a medieval knight. Here is a link to an aerial shot we found on the internet of the barrage in the lowered position:

http://siebeswart.photoshelter.com/image/I0000smDQYykaP2Y

At lunch time we arrived at Arnhem, and moored up on the quayside just below the John Frost Bridge, the famous Bridge Too Far, for those old enough to have seen the film (with Anthony Hopkins as Frost and Sean Connery as Maj. Gen. Urquhart):

The Battle of Arnhem, Operation Market Garden, which took place in the autumn of 1944 and primarily involved the British First Airborne Division, was intended to capture the Rhine bridge in order to shorten the war and liberate northern Holland, Instead, it turned out to be the last major British defeat of WWII, with many, many casualties. Here is a historic shot of the bridge after it was destroyed:

Apparently only 190 houses still stood in Arnhem after the battle, but the town has been rebuilt and is thriving and bustling today, with some handsome restored buildings:

There were lots of people out doing their shopping, with the sales on in most shops, or else sitting around in cafes enjoying the sunshine, which has been rather scarce this year:

When we eventually succumbed to the temptation of a cold beer, this was the pleasant view from our cafe table:

Heading back to the boat, we found a church that has installed a glass elevator in its tower. The elevator whisks you up 73 metres to the top of the tower for panoramic views of the town and the surrounding country. Here's that bridge again:

Tomorrow we plan to make a foray to the Airborne Museum, which is about five kilometres away, then set off and turn north onto the River Ijssel. We will stop at one of the towns there so that on Tuesday we can visit the famous Kroller-Muller Museum, which has lots of Van Goghs.