De Rijp Things to Do

It seems that the glass stained windows are in dire need of restauration. They are quite special, soft colours. Not as hard coloured and squared as they usually are.
Do enlarge the photo for a better look.
And there's more info here

Only open in the peak season from May 30th - October 19th (in 2009) on Saturdays and Sundays but in July and August from Wednesday to Sunday and all days from 13.00 to 17.00. Entrance is only €1 with cheaper concessions.
This is a wonderful building dating from 1613 and built in the renaissance style. There is a guide on hand but I am not sure if he speaks English or not.
The raadhuis is the equivalent of an English village hall but I have never seen anything in England as beautiful as this in such a small village.
Graft is a pretty Dutch village that aligned with nearby de Rijp in 1970. Only 760 people live here and there is only a gift shop in the village and a limited bus service. One of the first places I stayed in Holland in the now distant 1970s and a village that holds fond memories.

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The church dates from 1655 and is famous for its 23 stained glass windows. The floor consists almost entirely of tombstones, in itself a collection of small monuments.
It is also famous for been the home of the tomb of the famous Rijper Jan Boon and his wife Trijntje Lakeman, ( he was the last sea-going merchant in de Rijp. He was also the last man in Holland to have permission to be buried in a church .
the organ, the fine woodcarving and the little church's ship near the entrance.
There is als a model of a "Haringbuis", the type of boat using centuries long for herring-fishing.
Opening times: From Easter to the end of May: Sat. & Sun. 1.30 - 4.30 pm.
June, July and August: Tues. to Sun. 1.30 - 4.30 pm.
September: the first two weekends, Sat. & Sun.: 1.30- 4.30 pm.
The website is a look at the church and village and is one of the best I have ever seen.

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Uniquely situated between the historically rich villages of Graft-de Rijp, Noordeinde, Grootschermer, Schermerhorn and Driehuizen, the nature reserve “Eilandspolder” covers an area of 1950 hectares, of which 25% is water.
The Eilandspolder has a marshy, fertile bed, a paradise for many bird sorts.
In the Spring you can see water-meadow birds like the godwit, lapwing and oyster-catcher. Rare marsh birds are also occasionallly to be seen in the reeds: bittern and reed-warbler. Also the spoonbills are welcome visitors.
In the winter months, widgeon's and teal find rest and nourishment in the Eilandspolder. The considerable numbers of widgeon's and spoonbills are found here - 1% of the world (bird)population - mean that part of the Eilandspolder now comes under the European bird directive.
The forestry department, the Noord-Holland Landscape Society and a number of farmers in the area are concerned with maintaining the balance necessary to preserve this unique area of nature.
(From the website the VVV provide). The VVV can arrange a tour by boat around this area - the captain speaks Dutch and English). Price is €7.
Or you can hire small electric boats at various locations in the village and make the trip yourself. Lickily for me my friends had access to a small boat and they took me on a wonderful trip around the area and through the village.
Highly recommended.

We borrowed some bikes and went riding around town a little bit.

I don't know if they have a bike rental shop but they should! It's a great, quiet town for bike riding.

We rode out to a cheese factory too. They had a small shop where you could buy cheese...so we did ;-)

OK, so I said in another tip that the museum (translates to Wooden House) shows quite a bit of local history.
The museum is very new and has a small theatre where you can watch presentations.

A historical museum about life in the Schermer and surroundings.
It is not large, 3 floors, there is an elevator.

Now you can see how many children have lain in that cot. Imagine those pregnancies all following each other in very quick succession.