Cruising to Hoorn (and back) on the IJsselmeer - 2016

We started for Hoorn

Skyline leaving Amsterdam

We got a chance to see the boat go through a lock on the way there

Directional lock signs



Windsock on the opposite lock


lock house


Side of the lock

and we ate lunch during the trip. I managed to do the salad bar

and then had

vegetable broth

and spaghetti

Although I was not able to actually get to Marken on my 2016 trip, I did photograph the Paard van Marken (the Marken lighthouse) twice from the IJsselmeer on our way to and from Hoorn. The lighthouse is located at the eastern tip of the island of Marken, in the Markermeer about 19 miles northeast of Amsterdam. Because of its profile as seen from a distance, the lighthouses traditionally called het Paard van Marken (the horse of Marken).

It is a good walk from the village. The lighthouse was built in 1839 by J. Valk on a site of a more primitive tower that was on this site dating from about 1700. The focal plane (height of the light) is 53 ft. The lighthouse is active and has a white light oscillating once every 8 seconds. The lighthouse consists of a round brick tower with lantern and gallery, attached to a 2-story keeper's house. The lighthouse is painted white; lantern dome is red.

Markem lighthouse from a ship

In the winter, northeast winds funnel ice down the IJsselmeer toward the lighthouse, sometimes endangering the buildings; the original keeper's house was destroyed by ice in 1879, the present keeper's house was heavily damaged in 1900, and in 1971 ice reached the roof of the keeper's house. The lantern was replaced in 1992, and the fog horn was deactivated in 2001. The lighthouse was declared a national monument in 1970. The lighthouse is privately owned and is occupied at the moment.


Sunset on the IJsselmeer on the way back

We were originally to dock in Volendam, but they changed the itinerary and instead we docked in Hoorn. This was a great disappointment to me because I particularly wanted to get to Volendam on the ship. We had the option go on a walk of Hoorn or take a bus to Edam and Volendam. I wanted to go to Volendam, so that was what we did. I did not realize that I could have just gotten a taxi to Volendam from Hoorn instead of taking the tour.

When we got to Hoorn, we were rafted between AmaStella (outboard of us) and a Viking ship (on the dock) We could not just walk across the Viking ship because the decks did not match. So we had to walk up to the Sun Deck (the top deck), cross our Sun Deck, walk across the bridge to the top deck of the Viking ship and then walk down to the dock level. One of the ship crew, thinking he was helping took the scooter all the way to the dock. That meant I had not only to walk up the steps to the Sun Deck (would not be a problem) but walk down the deck, and across the two decks and up the other deck and down some stairs. At that point I said I knew that the Viking ship had an elevator, so I took that down to the dock.

Hoorn was the capitol of West Friesland and was once more powerful than Amsterdam. In May 1615, Dutch explorers Abel Tasman and Willem Schouten left from Hoorn to make the first trip around Cape Horn to the Pacific. Cape Horn is named after Hoorn, the birth place of Schouten. Another famous son of Hoorn is Jacob Coen who founded Jakarta in Indonesia, and consolidated Dutch power in the East.

All I saw of Hoorn was the walk to the bus and the drive out to Edam. As we walked (I was on the scooter) to the bus. I was trying to take photos with one hand and steer the scooter with the other, and I ran up on someone's heels (he stopped unexpectedly)



The Hoofdtoren (the Main Tower) is a tower near the harbor which was built for defense in 1532. It's made of limestone and brick I took photos of it as we left the harbor


The Hoofdtoren (The Head Tower

I understand that it is now a bar and restaurant. Next to it is a statue of the cabin boys of Bontekoe. It is a historic monument

Another of the things we saw on the way to Edam was Koepelkerk.(the Dome Church),

built in 1882, was designed by the Hoorn architect AC Bleys. The church served two parishes - the Roman Catholic parishes of St Cyriacus and St. Francis. The main church was dedicated to St. Cyriacus. The chapel of east of St Frances was no longer in use because there were no Franciscans who could read Mass. When the Church in the Back Street burned down in 1877, they used that site to build the new church. The church fell into disrepair and funds had to be raised to rescue it from collapse. It is now a listed building and still has church services on Sunday.


Koepelkerk church


De Posthoorn Hotel - Hoorn

I saw this lighthouse from the the dining room of the AmaViola after we left Hoorn and was able to get two good photos.. The Hoorn West Havendam lighthouse is located at the end of the west breakwater at Hoorn, a town on the Markermeer about 13 miles southwest of Enkhuizen. The date of construction is unknown although we do know that a station was established here in the 1600s. It shows a white light, 2 seconds on, 2 seconds off. on a wood post with quadrupod bracing, painted black. There is a red and white post nearby.

Hoorn West Havendam Lighthouse


engraving of the Hoorn West Havendam Lighthouse