What to read after Wong Sir's Trip: Giethoorn, Overijssel, The Netherlands?

Wong Sir's Trip: Giethoorn, Overijssel, The Netherlands

Giethoorn is located in the North West Netherlands, Overijssel, in the De Wilden Nature Reserve, about 120 kilometers from Amsterdam.

During the Ice Age, De Verden was located between the two moraine belts,the terrain was lower than the surrounding area, resulting in poor soil and peat bogs.

28% of the land is sandy and cannot be cultivated.

Except for reeds, other plants are not easy to grow, the only resource is peat below the ground.

In 1170, De Verden was submerged by floods in the Zuide Sea.

Residents fled to rebuild their homes on nearby surface land.

A large number of wild goat horns were dug underground, so the new home was named Giethoorn.

In Dutch, it means "land corner protruding in the water".

In 1230, residents found peat underground and started mining for a living.

Peat crisscrossed in the form of veins.

After the residents dug coal, a narrow ditch was formed, which became a water channel after water injection.

The water channel cuts the land into separate islands, the residents live on the island.

In order to facilitate the transportation of goods by boat, residents have widened the waterway into a canal, which forms the canal and lake today, becoming a water village.

The 6000-meter-long river channel is criss-crossed, making it difficult to build roads for cars.

Since the village was built 850 years ago, 176 wooden arch bridges have been built on the watercourse.

There is still no car in Giethoorn, residents travel by boat or bicycle.

In 1958, the Dutch film director Hansstra filmed the film "Fanfare" in Giethoorn.

Giethoorn started to become world-famous with this movie, known as "Venice in the Netherlands".

Giethoorn is rich in reeds.

Reeds have become the main building material.

The roof of the house is made of reeds, which is more durable than other building materials.

It is warm in winter and cool in summer, rain-proof and sun-resistant, and can be used for more than 40 years.

Giethoorn currently has about 2,600 residents living in houses built by the water.

Most of the houses are built on independent islands divided by water channels.

Most of the residents are island owners and make their own country.

Regardless of house construction, outdoor furnishings, flowers and trees, each island owner has its own characteristics.

Boats are parked at the door of each house.

Some islands are connected to the land by small arch bridges across the watercourse.

The front door of the house in Giethoorn faces the river.

Locals have only two chances to enter and exit this door in their lives, one is born and the other dies.

They usually enter and exit through the side doors on both sides.

The small island in the middle of Lake Bovewijde is a kindergarten.

Every morning, parents sail a boat to the island and pick it up after school.

The houses in Giethoorn are very expensive.

The island owners are rich and expensive.

They can live in this place away from the hustle and bustle, of course, they will not be wage earners.

The locals laughed that

young people generally couldn't afford Giethoorn.

To live a fairy-tale life, you still have to be rich.

After Giethoorn became a tourist attraction, it expanded tourism facilities.

Now only 30% of the land is local residential houses, the rest are restaurants, recreation centers, golf courses, camping grounds, etc.

The government hopes that this fairy tale village will continue to be preserved without being damaged, the house in Giethoorn must be kept in its original form.

Even if the house changes ownership,

the appearance of the house cannot be changed, the interior can only be decorated.

The arrival of a large number of tourists is a nuisance to the local residents.

In March 2019, Giethoorn published a "New Tourist Handbook", which introduced all the attractions and visiting rules of Giethoorn in Dutch, English and Chinese.

The "New Tourist Handbook" is provided by an advertising company in Giethoorn and distributed free of charge throughout Yangjiao Village.

It is expressed in a funny and humorous manner, regulates the behavior of tourists, makes sightseeing more civilized and orderly.

Debor, the head of the advertising company, said that tourists may inadvertently harass the residents of Giethoorn.

Some tourists use residents' mailboxes as trash cans, the noise generated by dragging suitcases can also make residents dissatisfied.

The rented boat is not a bumper car. Don't bump on the river.

You can picnic in many places, but don't break into the residents' gardens.

Debor emphasized that Giethoorn welcomes tourists very much, the publication of the New Visitors Manual is not intended to scare away tourists.

Visitors to Giethoorn are like visiting other people's homes.

Lifting the suitcases when everyone passes near a resident's house or when crossing a bridge can reduce noise to disturb residents.

In order to avoid noise and air pollution, Giethoorn never builds roads and residents do not buy cars.

The main means of transportation are punts, canoes, kayaks, whispering boats.

Whispering boats are named because they are silent.

These silent vehicles keep Giethoorn quiet.

There are boat rental shops along Giethoorn.

Each boat is different and the price is different.

The boat costs 10 to 15 Euros per hour, a 10 person boat costs about 35 Euros.

The operation of the ship is very simple, you can set sail if you learn the etiquette.

Sightseeing boat tour, € 7.5 per hour.

Some arch bridges on the river are relatively low, sightseeing boats cannot pass. If you want to reach Lake Bovewijde, you must reach it by boat.

In order to avoid the need for rent-free boat tourists to get lost in the 6,000-meter-long, crisscrossing waterway, the shop that rents the boat will give the tourist a map of Giethoorn waterway.

The main landmark on the map is Bovewijde, the largest lake in Giethoorn.

According to the numbered flagpoles on the water, you can find your position on the map.

Giethoorn Sheep Intestine Trail is seven kilometers in length and walks for about two hours.

In addition to walking, you can ride a bicycle and rent a bicycle for 6 Euros per day.

For a deeper understanding of Giethoorn, you can visit the Giethoorn Museum, which introduces the peat life of Giethoorn at that time, special customs, and displays the farm, fisherman's house, and boat dock at the time.

There are many private museums opened by locals in Giethoorn.

The Shell Museum, the Porcelain Museum, and the Stone Museum are all very distinctive.

The t Zwaantje restaurant next to the bus stop in Giethoorn is an old restaurant with a history of more than 80 years, pancakes have more than 30 flavors.

There are other Dutch specialities in Giethoorn, such as Dutch beef stew, sandwiches with meat sauce, thick bean curd soup, smoked eel and so on.

There is a supermarket near the bus stop, which is convenient for single tourists to buy food.

Giethoorn

traffic

Giethoorn is about 120 km from Amsterdam

From Amsterdam Central Station by train to steenwijk railway station

Take bus 70 to Giethoorn

There is a shuttle bus to Giethoorn at the train station, which costs EUR 5 per person