Category: Holland

I have mixed feelings about our last day of riding.  On the one hand, sitting on a bike for many hours can be a bit…uncomfortable (frequent sightseeing stops help!).  On the other hand, an e-bike, great company, and beautiful scenery make the cycling very enjoyable. 

We began in Zaandam and went to the open-air museum Zaanse Schans with beautiful windmills, traditional wooden houses, an old Dutch village, a cheese farm, and a traditional wooden clog maker. After spending over two hours at Zaanse Schans, we cycled through the recreational area of Twiske to Amsterdam.

Upon returning to the boat, we packed in time for the Captain’s dinner – mimosas and a toast in the lounge followed by our last dinner on board.  Dessert?  Flaming baked Alaska.

I thoroughly enjoyed my first bike tour.  Yes, it was luxurious – a cruise, full meals, great service, a comfortable cabin.  Riding an e-bike made the biking part much much easier.  The scenery, the experiences, and the excitement of the whole tour make me ready to book my next boat and bike adventure!

First view of the many windmills at Zaanse Schans.

We went into a sawmill to learn how windmills work.  The wind blows the blades, they turn, gears turn a crank, blades hang from the crank, and the crank cuts the wood.  Local craftspeople buy wood from this mill to repair and build homes, furniture, etc.

Logs soak in the water and then are pulled into the mill for cutting.

Each windmill works.  For example, another windmill makes linseed oil and another one makes paint.

Some pretty big shoes to fill!

Church organ in the village of Twiske.

Twiske recreational area.

A very enjoyable boat and bike trip!

Table 16:  Yun, Sari, Jean, Paul, Joel, Lisa, Brenda, Paul.  We couldn’t have asked for better table and travel mates!

This was by far my favorite day of cycling!  Riding on dikes and seeing windmills have been wonderful.  Today, though, we rode through not only dikes but also dunes, beaches, and forests.  The riding was variable, which added more excitement to the day.  And, we saw Highland Cattle!!!

Where did we go? We started cycling through the beautiful Kennemer dunes, a national park where we spotted the Scottish Highland cows. Then we hung out at the beach in Zandvoort, going into the North Sea.  We saw the largest steam engine of the world, the Cruquius pumping station, which helped to drain the lake into canals, before riding through forests and the center of Haarlem back to the ship.

We had to visit Holland to see Scottish Highlander cows!

Got my feet wet in the North Sea.

Reminded me of Myrtle Beach.

Cruquius from the outside…

…and from the inside.

One of eight buckets which helped to drain the lake.

Joel helping with the steam engine.

A canal in Haarlem.

After dinner, Joel and I walked around the small town of Haarlem, which is where I snapped these two photos.

On our fourth day of cycling, we traveled from Schoonhoven through the beautiful “Green Heart” of Holland via Oudewater (visited the Witches Weigh House) to Utrecht. Near Oudewater visited a traditional organic cheese farm where we learned the cheese-making process.

I found the story about weighing witches compelling, as it is similar to witch hunting in Salem, MA.  How (mainly) women can be murdered because someone accuses them of witchcraft when there’s illness, poor crops, and other unexplained phenomena reminds me of how we blame others for covid, inflation, and supply chain issues rather than looking at the facts.

The cheese-making demonstration, presented by a twenty-something fifth generation farmer, showcased organic methods.  We also visited the cows – and their babies – all named by the farmers.

Cheese-making farm.

I’m not a witch!

Joel riding a broom.

Going through a sluice.

Dining room table 16!

There were several options today – short, medium, longer, longest rides.  We chose the longest ride (duh!) of 36 miles.  This took us out of Rotterdam, through the 19 windmills of UNESCO World Heritage site Kinderdijk, into the town of Gouda, and to our boat moored in Schoonhoven.

The windmills of Kinderdijk amazed me!  In the mini-museum on site, we could see how they helped move water to clear the land for planting and living. Later this week, we will be able to tour the inside of a windmill.

Gouda was cool – the cheese weighing shop, the old city hall, the Church of St. John with its many UNESCO World Heritage site stained glass windows.

The big excitement?  While riding on a dike with canals on both sides of us, a big van came toward us.  Joel and I moved to the side.  However, Joel moved further off the “road” and fell into the canal.  The guys in the van and the two vehicles following it pulled the bike off of Joel and helped him out of the water.  Joel was not injured, and his bike and phone didn’t get wet.  Ultimately, all good!

Kinderdijk – 19 windmills.  Some were moved here so they could be restored and saved.

Kinderdijk.

Statue of the black cat:  There is a folk tale about the child in a crib that was said to have washed ashore at the dike in what is now known as Kinderdijk during the Saint-Elizabeth Flood. After the flood, when the survivors dared to go outside again, they saw a cradle floating along the dike, from which the cry of a child could be heard. The bobbing crib was balanced by a cat, which jumped back and forth to keep the basket from sinking and thus kept the baby alive. (https://www.kinderdijk.com/latest-news/news/beatrices-cradle)

The ferry we used to cross into and out of Kinderdijk.

Gouda City Hall – formerly a church, also now a wedding venue.

Cheese weighing in Gouda.

From a stained glass window in St. John’s Church, Gouda,

Gate to Schoonhoven,

Our barge – the De Amsterdan – moored at sunset in Schoonhoven.

A few comments regarding this trip…

First, I’m riding an e-bike and Joel has a regular bike.  He, of course, is a very experienced cyclist, and I AM NOT.  On the e-bike, I can cycle and enjoy the scenery without stressing about keeping up.  Although I keep it on the lowest assistance level and the trails are mostly flat, the electronic motor helps me keep up without stressing.

Second, as a semi-guided tour, Marianne, our guide, and Wilma, her assistant, provide a briefing the evening before each ride.  The trails here are AMAZING!  Each trail is numbered, so we have written instructions showing us which number to travel on.  There is a continuous network of cycle paths, clearly signposted, well maintained and well lit, with road/cycle path junctions that often give priority to cyclists. This makes cycling itself convenient, pleasant, and safe.  Also, the instructions for each day’s ride are included in the app “Ride with GPS.” Joel, by the way, is our navigator.  🙂

Also, the tour company provides many additional tours (some included and some require a small additional fee).  Every day, there’s something new and special!

On this, our second cycling day, we cycled via the “jenever” city of Schiedam (jenever is a traditional Dutch gin) and through the Delfland area to Delft which is famous, of course, for its blue earthenware. We visited the beautiful city center with its small canals, picturesque streets, bridges, and alleys. The daytime special tour (for €5) was of the Royal Delft Museum.  It was somewhat interesting, if not a bit underwhelming…

The city itself was overrun with STUDENTS!  It was “WOW Club Showcase” in Delft.  Oh, so many students all over the place!

That evening after dinner, we had a two-hour tour of Rotterdam.  The guide was knowledgeable and interesting – and a bit soft-spoken.  It helped to stand right by him to hear his many intriguing stories and insights.

A surprise along our cycling route.

WOW Club Showcase in Delft!

While walking around Delft, Joel and I found the synagogue.

Our meeting place for our group ride to the Royal Delft Museum:  The Blue Heart statue,

Royal Delft pottery (a tulip vase).

A door at the museum into a gallery.

Canal in Rotterdam with houseboats, most never move and many don’t have engines.

Block Forest, Rotterdam

Cube houses (Dutch: kubuswoningen) are a set of innovative houses built in Helmond and Rotterdam in the Netherlands, designed by architect Piet Blom and based on the concept of “living as an urban roof”: high density housing with sufficient space on the ground level, since its main purpose is to optimise the space inside. Blom tilted the cube of a conventional house corner upwards, and rested it upon a hexagon-shaped pylon. His design represents a village within a city, where each house represents a tree, and all the houses together, a forest. The central idea of the cube houses around the world is mainly optimizing the space, as a house, to a better distribution of the rooms inside. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cube_house)

On our Rotterdam tour, Joel chatting with Paul, one of our dining room table companions.  Paul, his wife, her two sisters, and their husbands join us for breakfast and dinner.  They’re a wonderful family from Michigan; we enjoy spending time with them.

Rotterdam sunset.

During breakfast, our barge cruised to Breukelen (pronounced “Brooklyn”), so we could grab our bikes for a 31 miles ride to Utrecht.  We cycled along the beautiful and winding river Vecht with its enchanting background of imposing castles, country houses, and quaint tearooms.  (Yes, I’m borrowing language from our written guide!)  In Utrecht, we had lunch, visited the Dom Cathedral, and wandered around the town.

While Joel went in search of an ATM, I meandered the streets to take photos.  On one street, a couple – Saskia and Woud – stood outside their apartment building and asked me to take their photo.  Then, they asked if I had been in the alley behind their building.  Slightly trepidatious, I said “no.”  They suggested I join them since it was a beautiful place to take pictures.  What ensued was a private customized walking tour of the village of Utrecht!  They took me to back alleys, hidden gardens, and ancient buildings.  What a treat!

We made it to my bike by the meeting time of 2:30, and they waved off our group with big smiles.

That evening, the barge cruised from Utrecht to Rotterdam, with sunlight remaining for us to take a walk in town after dinner.

On one of MANY bridges we used to cross over the multitude of canals!

We checked – not for sale.  🙂

Several times, we have had to stop for drawbridges.

Canals and bridges in Utrecht.

Saskia and Woud, standing outside their building.  Woud wanted me to note the old dragon decoration above his shoulder.

The skinniest house in Utrecht.

The narrowest alley in Utrecht.

The church buries homeless people, who have no known family, and hangs engraved charms on its “Tree of Life” to memorialize these individuals.

One of the secret gardens Saskia and Wouk showed me.  The buildings are centuries old and used to house unmarried women, often widows.

First view of Rotterdam, where our barge will dock for two nights.

If 2020 was the Summer of Plan H, this is the Summer of Plan C:  Covid, Climate, and Conveyances!  In 2020, Plan A was for me to teach in Verona, Italy, for a month.  Then, Joel was going to join me and we’d hike in the Dolomites and fly up to Norway to hike and kayak.  Covid hit, so instead, we rented a Cruise America RV and spent a month camping up the coast to Washington.  It turned out to be a fantastic trip – and ultimately resulted in my buying a Roadtrek camper van.

This summer, covid changed Astrid’s and my plans to explore Germany together.  When I got to my hotel room in Düsseldorf, I checked email and found out Joel’s and my barge and bike trip on the Mosel and Saar rivers was CANCELED due to low water levels in the Rhine River.  PIVOT!  We booked another trip, leaving a day earlier, in South Holland.  Our first night, we spent on the Amsterdam (the name of our barge) in Amsterdam.

Sunset view from our cabin.