Travel directions to ``Lingezicht''

Address

Lingezicht
't Oosteneind 9
NL-4158 CA Deil
telephone: 0345-652101 inside Holland; +31-345-652101 international

Whereabouts

Lingezicht is a century-old farmhouse with much room for guests, situated on a medieval ``dijk'' (levee) along the Linge, a small river that meanders through the midst of the Rhine delta in the center of Holland. It is conveniently close to the Deil highway intersection and to the Geldermalsen railroad station.

By train

Trains to Geldermalsen depart from Utrecht Central Station alternatively with final destination Tiel or Breda. In the daytime they run at quarter-hour intervals; less frequently in the late evening but until after midnight. Geldermalsen is the fifth stop, after Utrecht Lunetten, Houten, Houten Castellum, and Culemborg. Another station within Utrecht is under construction.

There are also trains to Geldermalsen from 's-Hertogenbosch, Arnhem, Nijmegen, and Dordrecht. From Brussels and Paris best via Dordrecht-Geldermalsen or Rotterdam-Utrecht-Geldermalsen. From Southern Germany via Arnhem and Utrecht. From Northern Germany via Amersfoort and Utrecht.

The Geldermalsen station is a large monumental structure with an old cast-iron roof. Just before stopping the train comes over a bridge across a narrow river (the Linge) and lurches over a switchpoint (waking me up).

An OV-chipcard check-in/check-out post is near the entrance to the waiting room, where a kiosk sells coffee but no rail tickets. Buy these from the machines if you don't have an NS-registered OV-chipcard. All accept ``chipknip'' money cards, some accept (and return) cash. No credit cards.

Taxi service is available at the eastern station exit, over the new and ugly footbridge (turn right at the top; there are also elevators). Use the free phone near the exit and expect a long wait. Perhaps the hourly ``buurtbus'' suits; it leaves at about hh:20 and passes our house (ask for ``the third house after the cemetery'') just before entering Deil.

Otherwise phone us beforehand or from the Geldermalsen station. We will pick you up from the Western exit of the footbridge (turn left at its top). Or walk, due west from the footbridge for 20 minutes. After you have passed through an industrial area with large warehouses on both sides (to your right is the largest fruit auction in Europe), the stretch of dike called 't Oosteneind branches off at the crossing where the bicycle lane ends. The walk becomes a pleasant walk one offering nice views of the river Linge and the village Deil. Lingezicht is the third house after the cemetery, lies close to the road, and is adorned with its name. The village Deil starts just beyond it.

By car

Deil is close to Geldermalsen, about 25 km south of Utrecht. Driving there from De Uithof takes 20 minutes if there is no traffic jam.

Utrecht-Deil in brief: A2 exit number 15, ``Geldermalsen-Leerdam''; turn East = right; after 2 km left on the first roundabout; in the curve to the left go instead right over the bump = straight on; turn right on the dike; second house.

In more detail: coming from Utrecht, take the A27 (direction Breda) and switch to the A2 (direction 's-Hertogenbosch) after crossing first the Amsterdam-Rhine canal and then the northern Rhine arm (called ``Lek''). Southbound on the A2, take exit number 15 labeled ``Geldermalsen-Leerdam'', before a tall MacDonalds pillar on the left and before (North of) the A2-A15 intersection called ``Knooppunt Deil''.

Coming not from Utrecht but from the south on the A2, take exit number 15 ``Geldermalsen-Leerdam'' just beyond (North of) the A2-A15 intersection (``Knooppunt Deil''). From the West or East on the A15, take direction ``Utrecht'' on this intersection.

At the A2 exit, turn right (direction Geldermalsen and kayak rental), go past the MacDonalds (right) and Shell gasoline station (left), do not take the left marked ``Deil'' after 1 km but continue another km to the first roundabout, go left into the Krugerstraat. (If you reach the second roundabout then your went too far; then go left there and left again at the end of the straight section, then follow the dike to the third house after the cemetery.)

Follow the Krugerstraat, which means turning right across the awkward second traffic bump in the left-ward curve of the main road. Turn right when you mount the dike at the end. Our house is the second one on the right. The name Lingezicht adorns its front and probably you see me at my desk in my study, the way the villagers know me. Park in our driveway or on the road. Formal guests ring the bell at the front door, informal ones enter through the side door.

By kayak, canoe, or skates

Follow the Rhine, downstream from Germany or via Maas-Waal link from Belgium and France, upstream from the North Sea. Enter the Linge through the lock at Gorinchem. From there upstream to our house takes two days, a pleasant trip passing fifteen ancient (2000-4000 years) villages with quaint names. Our house is the third called Lingezicht along the river. The second is a pleasant pub in Acquoy.

Reversedly, you may start a kayak or canoe trip at our house. We have a dozen to choose from in the barn behind our house.

Ice-skating the Linge to/from Gorinchem takes only three-four hours, but the river freezes up only rarely now that we suffer global warming. However, in January 2009, no doubt thanks to the extended sunspot minimum, I skated vice-versa from our ``Lingezicht'' to pub ``Lingezicht'' in Acquoy. Otherwise, you might join me skating around Oslo where the snow goes away unless the sunspots do.