Tolkamer is a small town in the Netherlands, situated right at the Dutch-German border. On a clear and sunny day it’s a neat place to take a walk on the quay and dike, alongside the Rhine, with a perfect view to all directions. Enjoy the tour, featuring the river, vessels, cars, motorhomes, buildings, and some other things to boot.
As you can see there’s a two-level paved walking path.
It’s a great place for spotting all kinds of vehicles, many of them with German plates.
Like a Volkswagen Sharan V12 TDI. I’m not so sure about the V12 though…On the right a Volkswagen up!, the best selling A-segment car in my country.
A view from above.
On the left Tolkamer’s bunkerstation, also called a bunkership.
What a nice spot to enjoy a drink or meal.
A floating Chinese restaurant…
…and a sightseeing vessel.
A parking lot for motorhomes and camper vans only.
Arriving at the scene, a 1992 Hymermobil, registered as a Fiat 290 (simply because Fiat built the rolling chassis).
The local shipyard.
A Smart, BMW and Nissan. That’s Germany, across the river.
This seems to be a fairly new apartment building. I like it.
The Endeavour is getting ready for its trip into Germany.
Meanwhile a load of shipping containers is passing by.
Just a few minutes later the Da-Vinci arrived.
This building must have two front doors.
Name them all…
I’ll give you the 2016 Volkswagen T6 2.0 TDI.
Sweet, a 2015 Fiat Abarth 500 with a 180 hp 1.4 liter engine.
Some modern era architecture alongside the route.
A Dethleffs Globetrotter XLi motorhome. Technically based on the Fiat Ducato (well sure, what else?).
At the job, a 2015 Ram 1500 Longhorn. Its V8 is running on LPG. And just look at that perfectly flat and low cargo bed, which can be (un)loaded with a forklift from three sides. I’m talking about the trailer, of course.
Only one non-Euro car here.
Google Translate this, it should be great fun! In short it says that Lobith/Tolkamer is the gateway to the Netherlands, the place where the Rhine enters the country. Many generations of Dutch children have heard that at home or at school.
And this here is the gateway to the town of Tolkamer.
The height of the dike is NAP + 19.10 m. NAP stands for Normaal Amsterdams Peil, Normal Amsterdam Level. That’s our national height reference system.
Highest water level in 1926, lowest in 1991. Things are getting (very) serious in the hinterland when the water level approaches NAP + 16.90 to 17.00 m here. The level on the day of my visit was around NAP + 8.20 m. Safe, utterly safe.
1999 Mercedes-Benz Vito 110 CDI.
Hyundai, Alfa Romeo and Volvo.
I also came across this Clark forklift…
…and a considerably bigger JCB model.
Either coming from Germany or going to Germany, it’s a continuous process.
Many river vessels carry a car aboard.
And sometimes two.
Heading back home, taking a picture on a dike road. You can imagine that dike roads, regardless their width, are popular among motorcyclists. Especially on sunny days.
The last part of the road before I took the ferry.
This one, across the Pannerdensch Kanaal.
It’s not exactly huge, let alone seaworthy. But it’s purpose built for sure.
For just € 1.90 I made it to the other side and continued my ride back home, sweet home.
Being what is affectionately called a river rat, having always lived near either the Mississippi or Missouri Rivers, I enjoy seeing what is along the Rhine. Some of things you have shown us are quite familiar while others simply aren’t, for instance I cannot remember the last time I saw a ferry in use.
Seeing this also reminds me of my grandfather talking about going fishing in the Rhine while he was in Germany during WWII. Except he used hand grenades instead of a pole.
“Seeing this also reminds me of my grandfather talking about going fishing in the Rhine while he was in Germany during WWII. Except he used hand grenades instead of a pole.”
My father, a ww11 vet, had the same story about fishing with hand grenades in Germany. Said the fish were “always biting”
” I cannot remember the last time I saw a ferry in use.”
Come to the Sacramento River Delta region in California; where there are two ferries very similar to this one carrying cars across the river to Ryer Island. One on State Highway 84 near the town of Rio Vista, and one on State Highway 220 at Howard Landing. http://www.dot.ca.gov/d4/deltaferries/
It’s worth noting that these “islands” in the Delta are man made, by the construction of levees in the 19th century (They call they “dikes” in the Netherlands; we call them “levees” here, but they’re the same thing) to reclaim the land for agriculture, earning the region the nickname “California’s Holland”.
I have been on a couple of ferries in the past few years. The St. Johns’ River Ferry near Jacksonville, Florida takes only a few minutes to cross the St. Johns River. The Mobile Bay Ferry runs from Fort Morgan to Dauphin Island and, unlike the river crossing, takes 40-45 minutes. For whatever reason this ferry does not run in a straight line but zigzags back and forth, perhaps they are making sure that submarines have a difficult time tracking their progress. I haven’t been across it in many years but there is still a ferry across the Ohio River at Cave In Rock, Illinois. There used to be a ferry across the Green River in Kentucky that connected my hometown of Henderson to Owensboro, in the next county to the east. This particular ferry closed many years ago; I crossed it a couple of times as a child, as I recall it held three cars.
Mammoth Cave National Park, has ferry that crosses the Green River. Doesn’t operate when river levels are over flood stage.
The floating restaurant pics make me nostalgic. Here in Louisville, Ky. there is a vibrant waterfront on the Ohio. Used to be a restaurant on the water, called TOWBOAT ANNIES. Wonderful place to have a few beers and good food, feed the ducks and watch the river traffic. Sadly the barge that had the seating area developed a leak and sank, overnight. The owner financially was unable to recover, and they never reopened
Did the same during my days with the Israeli Navy… Very wasteful but I was 20 and hungry.
You have a way of making me homesick! Thanks for taking us along!
In the photo with only one non-euro car, what is the Ford at the end of the row. It’s not clicking what it is.
That’s a 2012 Ford Focus wagon (with a 1.6 liter diesel engine).
Looks like the current Focus estate/station wagon (at least the current body; it’s had a few facelifts).
(Too slow! – Answered above)
The ferry is interesting. The format reminds me of a chain ferry. While I can’t see chains, there do seem to be two guy ropes off to the left (presumably upstream, so taught in the flow). Is this anything to do with it’s propulsion and/or guidance?
When I lived in London our ‘local’ ferry was that at Woolwich. The current ferries were nearly new when this photo was taken in June 1966
It’s the guidance cable.
Thanks, Johannes – so I take it that it’s self propelled, but not steered (guessing those two uprights with curved tops downstream are the engine exhausts).
Yes, these ferries are self-propelled/diesel-powered. Needless to mention we’ve got a great number of them, nationwide. Both smaller (no cars or trucks allowed) and bigger. With or without guidance cables/chains, so also plenty of self-steered ferries.
What is that three wheeler – is that a Bond?
Yes, a Bond Minicar Mk.F
http://bondcars.net/Minicar%20Mk%20F.htm
Speaking from the U.S., THANKS for a wonderful tour with pictures and comments.
In the fall of 1982 I was on a business trip and stayed at a little pension right on the bank of the Rhine near Boppard Germany, and I loved seeing and hearing the river boats churning up and down the river.
Not having been to Europe since 1969, the car watching was quite compelling too. I saw my first C3 Audi 100 parked nearby, which was released in Europe quite a bit ahead of its introduction in the US. I remember being quite impressed, especially with the flush-mounted side windows, and the unusual way they were fixed to their tracks.
No Wonder Non Of The Japan’s Big Three Are In Top Ten Best Selling Cars In Europe.My Uncle Lives In Vienna He Was Here Back In March Visiting Us He said For Every Six Or Seven European Cars On Road You Can Find One Toyota Or Nissan In Austria.
I can confirm this – I think Toyota is selling less cars than Mazda (never mind the Koreans!) here in Austria. Honda’s sales are even more appalling. It was not always thus – in the 80s-90s Japanese cars were reasonably popular but they lost their way somehow. Nissan is in fact the best selling Japanese brand in Austria (a little bit ahead of Mazda) but, again, way below the Koreans.
The ferry look like a greatly enlarged version of the Wheatland Ferry in Oregon, one of several small ferries on the Willamette river
And also the Canby Ferry.
I love a nice ferry – I find myself taking random journeys or detours to take them.
Managed to do the 5 minute Glenelg ferry for the first time this year. It’s a community owned, manually operated turntable ferry going from mainland Scotland to the Isle of Skye.
http://skyeferry.co.uk/gallery/
Thanks for this, brings back wonderful memories of my time in NW Europe, mid to late 80s. I took the butterfahrt from Hamburg to Denmark, it was like a floating restaurant and bar, on a glorious September day over that bit of the North Sea. Back then, I was amazed at how “Americanized” little Denmark seemed.
Thanks for the tour — this was wonderful, for the cars, the other machinery, and the scenery.
Incidentally, despite being the the best-selling A-segment car in the Netherlands, I’ve never heard of the Volkswagen Up! before now.
I found the European motorhomes particularly captivating — great to see pictures of them in action.
Interesting stuff, wouldn’t it be great to have one of those apartments and be able to watch the river traffic?
There are a few ferries still operating in Australia on the Murray & Hawkesbury rivers. I dare say that the cost of a bridge would pay for many, many years of continued ferry operation. Depending on which one it would take from 30-90 minutes to drive via an alternate route.
The information about the dykes is interesting. At the river town where I grew up, the levee banks that surround part of the town are about a metre lower than the highest flood recorded, and only 0.58m above the last big flood (1993). That was interesting to see, with water nearly at the top of levee banks that were 2-3m high.
Greetings from somewhere near the Danube, Austria, Not as flat as your area but in some areas you would be hard pressed to tell the difference…
That’s a huge dike you guys built there!
Hahaha
Funny that the only non-Euro car in that pic (I’m guessing it’s the Kia Cee’d) is actually manufactured in Europe.
It’s already been discussed a boatload of times, but the Cee’d is a prime example of how far Kia went. I can tell you the Cee’d is an awesome car!
I loved this virtual tour. Thank you so much for posting this.
Thanks. I think that most river towns are photogenic by nature, there’s always something interesting to see. From an old forklift to the whole landscape/scenery…
A Sharan V12? Minivan that looks like a Chrysler with a V12? I couldn’t find anything on it.