Monnikendam, the historical harbour

As most small Dutch harbours, Monnikendam harbour has an historical section. You can easily tell by the forest of masts you see in this picture how popular the Merkelmeer is for all those who love sailing barges.

Add to this a monument to the eel fishery, the industry that probably created the village centuries ago and kept it alive until tourists became even fatter and more profitable than eels. The boats remained the same, so while we still lament the absence of herring vendors we can at least be sure that our eyes do see Dutch ships and not just anonym plastic powerboats.

Let's admit it, sailing ships may be hard to keep afloat because of the quantity of wood on them, because of the rigging, because of the long masts you have to lower... but they look so nice that no other boat can even come close to them.