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.
