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April 19-25 - Bike & Barge
Windmills
Last Day In Amsterdam
After a leisurely breakfast, we packed and checked out of Hotel Brouwer . As we were doing so, I noticed a photo behind the counter that showed the hotel owners on each side of Bill Clinton. He stayed at the hotel many years ago as a long-hair bearded student, according to the owner. He stopped there a while back to revisit, not to stay.
We struggled to get our bags down the narrow stairs and out the door. We wheeled them a half-mile to the waterfront and left them on the Merlijn, our boat for our Bike & Barge tour. We could not get into our cabin yet so we went on another walk. It was Saturday so we decided to go to a local outdoor market, the Noordermarkt. The weather was sunny and even warm in spots.
The market was huge with clothes, meats, cheeses, fruits, vegetables, breads, snacks, etc. we bought some really good apple pastries. After the market, we went back to the Merlijn to see what bicycle equipment they supplied. Helmets and water bottles were included, so we did not have to buy them.
Lunch was at a small cafe where Ann had a ham and tomato toast which I had a hamburger with fries. Not too bad and not the best.
We wandered around the canals and killed time until it was time to officially board our boat. Our stateroom was fairly large with two single beds, a very small closet and a cramped but functional bathroom. There was porthole where we could look out but could not open. The staterooms were at water level while the main deck was above.
We had an orientation meeting where the crew was introduced. There were 22 BAC members from various parts of the US. We followed the BAC custom of introducing ourselves.
For dinner, we had mustard soup as a starter. Pork chops, broccoli, cauliflower and potatoes gratin. Dessert was cherry cake. To settle our meal, we took a guided night-time tour of parts of Amsterdam that we had not seen.
Bed time was around 11:00.
A Short Note On Amsterdam Bicycle Culture
In Amsterdam, bicycles outnumber cars at least 10 to 1 and maybe higher especially in the old part of the city. This could be a result of gasoline prices that are around twice those in the US. It could be that parking is severely limited and expensive. It could be that it is difficult to drive around all of the canals and over the hundreds of bridges. It could be that there are bicycle lanes on most of the streets as well as special traffic lights. It could be that there are huge parking garages and reserved spaces for bicycles. In any case, the city is overwhelmed by peddle power. The bicycles are mostly equipped with upright handlebars and limited gears. Riders rarely wear helmets and dress like normal people.
First Day Of Riding In The Netherlands - Amsterdam To Utrecht
Crusing On The Canal
We started our cruise this morning during breakfast. We left Amsterdam and cruised for an hour or so. When we stopped, we got off of our barge and were fitted to our bicycles. Ann had an e-bike, an electric assisted bike. It was very heavy but practical. It was a bit clumsy to start and stop, but the assist feature made pedaling a lot easier. My bicycle was not as heavy as hers, but it had a triple in front and an 8-speed cluster in back. I probably never got out of the middle chain ring during our tour.
There were 22 of us following a ride leader who is part of the bike and barge tour company. There were no maps or route sheets which made following the leader mandatory. Because the riding abilities of the people in the group range from expert to beginner, the pace was dictated by the slowest rider.
After our bike fit we said good bye to our boat and pedaled away form the pier. It was a slow start with 22 people trying to get accustomed to their bicycles. Ann had an hard time with her electric assisted bike because it was so heavy. Starting and stopping were delicate balancing acts.
We quickly fell into a pattern. Sietse was our guide. Without him it would be impossible to follow all of the bicycle paths. Whenever we reached a turn, he would holler "corner" and the person behind him would stop and make sure the the rest of the group would make the turn. Steven Kiel, one of our group, volunteered to be our sweep. When he reached the corner person, we knew everyone was accounted for.
Sietse was a teacher in his past life and he was very good at explaining where we were and what we were looking at. What we were mostly looking at were canals, dairy farms, wild flowers, water birds, wind mills, country houses, small villages, etc. Because he was telling us about the local flora, fauna and culture, we made lots of stops. This was frustrating to me until I realized that this was why we were here. There was no need to see how fast I could cover the daily mileage.
Our first major stop was at a dairy farm where we had a tour. We saw very young calves, milking apparatuses, cheese making equipment (this farm's major business) and lots of cheese in storage. We were served lunch which was bread and generous samplings of about a dozen types of cheese, all produced by this farm.
Even though we had no route sheets or maps, Sietse knew where we were going. We were soon back on our supposed route being good ducklings following our father duck. There were lots of other cyclists on the trail being Sunday and Easter Sunday. Most of them were typical Netherlands cyclists dressed in regular clothes, no helmets and riding bikes with upright handlebars and few gears. Lots of families were riding together and some had dogs in their baskets. We saw people of all ages ranging from very young to those older than us. Some bicycles were equipped with seats or trailers for toddlers.
The weather was very nice - lots of sunlight and temperatures in the 60's. The dreaded Netherlands winds were mild.
After making lots of stops for mechanicals and sight seeing, we eventually got back to our boat in late afternoon just in time to clean up before dinner. Our port tonight was Utrecht.
This was today's route:
Henk Karelse is the boat's captain and co-owner. Jantien Wondergem is the other co-owner and is the boat's manager and cook. She fixed our dinner along with Iveta, a young crew member from Slovakia. Our other crew member is Denisa, also from Slovakia. Denisa is our bar tender and server. Dinner was three courses - soup, entree and dessert. We had fish tonight.
After dinner Sietse reviewed today's ride and tomorrow's route. To do so, he drew them on a flip chart - we are low-tech. Then it was off to our room and bed time.
Second Riding Day - Utrecht - Vreeswijk - Schoonhoven
We had a sailing breakfast this morning. While we were eating, Henk sailed the Merlijn from Utrecht to Vreeswijk. This was where we mounted up. Among our many stops, we visited the small town of Vianen. While cruising around the town, Sietse struck up a conversation with a local woman. She invited us to her house. We were very pleased to be able to go into a local residence to get a general idea of what kind of conditions people in small Dutch towns lived in. She had a pleasant, comfortable house with a garden in back filled with colorful flowers.
We continued on in slightly drizzling weather to Schoonhoven, taking a ferry ride to get there. Sietse led us on a spin through the town before we found the Merlijn and settled in for the evening.
This was today's route:
Third Riding Day - Schoonhoven - Kinderdijk - Gouda
Kinderdijk Windmills
We rode the ferry again today to leave Schoonhoven. We cycled though lush green farm land and along canals bordered with colorful wildflowers. The main attraction today was Kinderdijk. According to its website, "The Kinderdijk windmills are considered a Dutch icon throughout the entire world. The seventeen windmills that were used for water drainage were built between 1738 and 1740. Before then, the area already had polder mills, two of which can still be seen. For many years, these windmills kept the low-lying, peat land of the Alblasserwaard dry. This land was continually threatened by floods and soil compaction. In Kinderdijk, the almost one thousand years of 'battling the water' is still visible in the polder landscape. It’s with good reason, that the Kinderdijk-Elshout windmill complex was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1997".
We noticed a lot of tourists on the main path and several tourist buses in the town of Kinderdijk. This is a very well-known attraction in Holland. We stopped for several photo ops and then continued on to Gouda where we did a bicycle tour of the city including a stop at Great or Saint John Church to see its famous stained glass. Then met the Merlijn at its port. That evening we strolled through the main part of town seeing some very large rounds of cheese and the animated figures on the Town Hall Clock Tower when the time reached the top of the hour.
This was today's route:
Fourth Riding Day - Gouda - Leiden
Riding out of Gouda felt like being in a nature preserve. We saw lots of water birds and people enjoying the fresh air and sunshine including four men in a shell who had to duck down when passing under bridges. The highlight of the ride was passing through several woody plant and perennial nurseries near Boskoop.
When we reached Leiden we rode to the De Volk Windmill which is now a museum. We spent time there to tour the windmill which gave us an idea of what life was like while living in one of these monsters.
After we cleaned up back in port, we went on a walking tour of Leiden led by Sietse. Dinner was on our own tonight. We ate at a small restaurant in the town center with three other couples.
This was today's route:
Fifth Riding Day - Leiden - Keukenhof - Haarlem
We had another breakfast cruise this morning from Leiden to Lisse. We then mounted our bicycles and rode for a couple of miles to Keukenhof. This was the MAJOR destination for our tour. The tulips in this Garden of Europe were in full bloom. We spent several hours meandering through its 79 acres taking photos and being amazed at the different varieties of tulips and how well they were displayed.
After our walking tour of Keukenhof, we got onto our bicycles and continued our ride into Haarlem. We rode past colorful tulip fields and had an afternoon snack in a forested park. Once in the city, we had to ride carefully and close to our leader to find our way to our dock.
This was today's route after Keukenhof:
Last Riding Day - Haarlem to Amsterdam
The first part of our ride took us to the statue of the boy who saved Holland by putting his finger into the dike. The dedication reads: "Dedicated to our youth to honor the boy who symbolizes the perpetual struggle of Holland against the water". We saw another couple of cycling tours here as well as other tourists.
After lunch in an outdoor restaurant in Zaandijk alongside the Zaen River. Afterwards, we visited Zaanse Schans, a working community that dates back to the 18th and 19th centuries. It’s packed with wooden windmills, barns, houses and museums and built in the typically Dutch wooden architectural style, relocated here piece by piece since 1961. It is a popular tourist destination. We encountered several bicycle groups as well as large busloads of visitors.
We continued our ride into Amsterdam stopping several times to make sure we were on route. We finished our route by taking a ferry to the main train station and riding about 100 meters to the Merlijn. It was the beginning of King's Day and the party had started. Orange was everywhere and the beer was starting to flow. We had a fairly sedate final dinner on board and said our thanks and good-byes to our new friends and to the crew of the Merlijn.
This was both parts of today's ride