HOLLAND - April 2018

Welkom to the Netherlands!

Fulfilling a long-time dream of my mother’s to bike Holland in the spring, we’ve done a quick travel turnaround, heading 7 hours in the OTHER direction.

Mom (Mary) and sister-in-law, Cris, went to Cornwall England early last week. My sister and b-in-law (Sandra and Matt) departed a snowy Minneapolis on Sunday. My brother and dad (Jim and Geo) left Chicago Sunday afternoon, and Jeff and I flew Madison to Detroit to Amsterdam. Miraculously, those of us traveling from the states arrived within 60 minutes of each other so we met at the airport train station and traveled into Amsterdam together (mom and Cris arrived later in the afternoon).

The six of us took the train to Amsterdam Central with no problem, and our hotel was a quick easy walk from there. It was a blessing to get into our rooms (it was just 11am) and drop our bags, brush our teeth and freshen up from the overnight flight. We hit the streets again, walking through the craziness of the city. We found San and Matts hotel, and a grocery store where we bought beer, wine and snacks for a picnic lunch. We retreated back to the hotel and ate our lunch, before heading our separate ways. Jim took the train back to the airport to meet Cris and mom, and Jeff and I set out for the Van Gogh museum, having pre-purchased tickets for a 2pm tour.

Amsterdam is the city of bikes, and I knew that, but walking among them was an experience that is amazing. All shapes and sizes of people, and mainly very serious and aggressive riders. When crossing streets, you have to look very carefully. Mix in buses, cars and trams and it’s super crazy.

We walked the 3km to the museum, walking through a shopping plaza street with no traffic - just the occasional wild street crossing, looking carefully for bikes, cars and trams.

We enjoyed the Van Gogh museum. We’d recently seen “Loving Vincent” and found that we’d already had a good understanding of the last year of his life from that film.

We walked back to the hotel with time for a brief nap and to freshen up for meeting everyone for dinner. I’d found a Dutch restaurant on “Open Table” called Van Speyk, which I also selected because of proximity to our hotel. After my nap I mapped it out again and made some kind of error, as we walked the family down to the main square and all around, before ending right back exactly across the street from the hotel (a nice pre dinner stroll).

We’d decided to all do our own thing Tuesday morning and we’d all meet at the boat at 4pm. Jeff and I left our bags with the valet, and headed out again - this time in the direction of the Anne Frank house. This museum is undergoing renovation, so we’d been unable to score tickets for it, but thought it was worth walking by.

It was a lovely day, and again we just enjoyed strolling along the canals, looking at the different and historic architecture, the crazy bikes and people watching in general. The area we walked through today had a lot more activity on the canals - tour boats, moored house boats, a funny guy in a little boat playing a French horn, etc.

After a bit, we stopped at a canal-side cafe and had another breakfast and enjoyed the sunshine and our surroundings. Back to the hotel to collect our bags, and then walked about an hour through the streets, including the red-light district, over many canals and arrived at “The Magnifique,” our boat-home for the next 4 nights.

It’s a beautiful boat with cozy cabins. There are 31 passengers, most English speaking and several Germans. There is a crew of 7, plus two tour guides (Sandra and Marja). We had a little briefing, then set off for our evening mooring at Zaandam - about 45 minutes away by boat.

When we arrived in Zaandam, we spent some time getting fitted to our bikes, had an amazing 4 course meal with wine, and took a walking tour of the city. Beautiful night and excited to be on this journey!

April 11, 2018. Zaandam to Haarlam NL

Onboard the boat, we enjoyed a typical European continental breakfast with cheeses, mystery meats, wonderful breads and jams, boiled eggs and pancakes. We were encouraged to make sandwiches for our lunch, which is what I like to do anyway!

It was a bit overcast, and felt “moist” which made it feel cool. It was good to get riding. We rode through the streets of Zaandam, and we were all so excited to be cycling in Holland! We’d heard last night about the history of the mill industry in this area, and our guide told us that many of the factories stayed in the area - of course moving from the windmills to modern technology. We rode through that area this morning, and the cocoa mills smelled especially yummy.

We split into two groups, but 31 cyclists with varying degrees of ability were still a lot to manage! After about 5km we arrived at Zaanse Schans, an open-air museum depicting life in Holland in the olden days. We were amazed to learn that the Zaan region was the first modern industrial area in the world. Over 900 mills lined the Zaan River - sawmills for lumber for ship building, hemp mills for sails, along with grain, paper, soap and cocoa mills. They claim that the paper used for our Declaration of Independence was made here.

We had two hours to spend at the open-air museum, more than we needed in my opinion, but it was fun to see the demonstration of making wooden shoes and grinding spices.

After that, we reconfigured our groups into “sporty” and “slower.” Jeff and I, San and Matt departed with the “sporty” group. It was a really enjoyable ride through little villages, fields with many little canals, some livestock, some farms. We stopped at a farm for a break which was awesome. They had an honor system set up for make your own instant coffee, help yourself to baked goods, and leave a few coins. Quite a variety of animals there - rabbits including several batches of babies, goats with babies, Shetland ponies, chickens, and cats.

From there, we rode atop a dike and Marja educated us on the struggles of water management in Holland. There is a system of “bunkers” designed 150 years ago that form a ring around Amsterdam - supposedly the outside land could be flooded to 40cm which would be enough to keep an invading army out! We rode around some of those, too - several which look like they’d been fortified for conflict within the last century.

We crossed the Noordzee Canal via ferry, the main shipping route between the North Sea and Amsterdam. Then we rode through a really large golf course which seems surreal after the dikes and peat bogs. We stopped in a cute little village for a beer break then headed into Haarlem. We rode into the village center where they wanted us to take an hour to explore, but I was ready to be done. We found our way to where the boat was moored, and found mom & dad, and Jim & Cris just arriving too.

April 12, 2018. Haarlem-Keukenhof-Noordwijk-Oude Wetering

Up early for breakfast and ready to ride before 9am as instructed. We still ended up standing around waiting for the group - just part of the deal, I guess. San & Matt, and Jeff and I went out with guide Sandra’s smaller group - those that opted for the longer loop (53 km), and except for an older French couple, we were probably a faster group too. Another overcast morning, and again a moist feeling that made it feel colder. We started out riding bundled up again.

Geo opted for staying on the boat today, along with a few others. We rode back through Haarlem, and the city square seemed very different than it had the previous evening when the cafes were full and there were lots of people milling about. This morning it was just garbage trucks and delivery vans, and people cycling to school and work. We even saw a woman with a baby in a sling, feeding it a bottle while she blindly sped her bike through a red light!

I’m always in awe when I’m in a European city center like this. I try to imagine the history that went on there before North American was even “discovered.”

From there, we rode a circuitous route through an amazing wooded park and neighborhoods with beautiful manor-like homes. It added some distance, but got us off the path that paralleled the busy highway and was much more enjoyable. We rode on paths dedicated to bikes and scooters over these past two days, hardly on the road at all. We had some experience with scooters on the paths last summer biking in Slovenia and Croatia, and I don’t like it.

After about an hour of riding, we had our first glimpse of a field of flowers. I was so excited, I was giddy! Sandra gave us a break and we ran up a little hill to get a glimpse through the trees. We traveled a little further and stopped at a cute little place for a coffee / pie break. As we set off in the direction of Keukenhof (an amazing spring flower display venue) we started seeing more and more fields with yellow daffodils and hyacinths in all shades from white to pink to purple; who knew there were so many variations of pink and purple. Not only would the site make me gasp in delight, the smell of a field of hyacinth is indescribable! There were also large fields of tulips, some that were just beginning to bloom - next week they’ll be spectacular too.

We arrived at Keukenhof, and our group had 90 minutes there to enjoy the flower displays - which were amazing. The crowds though were harder to deal with after enjoying the flowers all to ourselves this morning. It’s only open for 8 weeks, and they’ll have two million visitors during that time. We covered about half of the displays, then ate our lunches and headed back to the bikes to meet Sandra. Jim had ridden with mom and Cris in the morning, but at this point he jumped to the longer ride and joined us. It had gotten colder and windier, so we bundled up again as we headed out.

We traveled west and south towards the North Sea resort town of Noordwijk. Along the way, many more flower fields and several cute villages. Soon we started seeing campgrounds, with what looked like seasonal campers already in place. Then dunes. We rode for several miles on paths through the dunes. We were parallel to the sea, but never able to see the sea. It was a beautiful natural area with many trails designated for walking and off-road cycling, and a nice wide paved trail that we travelled on.

We had approached a developed resort area with hotels and restaurants before we could see the sea. We took a 45-minute break there to check out the area and grab a snack. I took my shoes off and stepped into the sea, which was quite cold of course.

As we left the beach area, it began to rain. We stopped to add more layers. The ride from Noordwijk to Sassenheim started out delightful. School had just gotten out, and it was fun to see the teenagers riding towards us, chatting animatedly as they rode. Some hanging onto each other too! Clearly with these were kids, cycling is part of their DNA.

The rain got heavier. We were on a nice path that paralleled a busy road. The traffic there felt frantic, more scooters joined our path, and we had to negotiate about 10 roundabouts. On top of that, Sandra seemed confused about our route. By now, I’d figured out the map and I’m pretty sure she missed our turn, and we had some not so savvy riders in a long chain negotiating those roundabout crossings - not so good.

Finally, we crossed under an autobahn kind of road and she got her bearings. We had to do a cloverleaf kind of path to cross over a barge lock / canal, and then we were back to peaceful riding looking at boats parked along the canal and cute little houses and the occasional restaurant. The rain let up, but our French couple was falling further behind, which slowed Sandra down too. We’d just get warmed then we’d stop. I asked permission to bust out ahead. She was worried about us getting lost, but I was confident I had my bearings. The 5 of us plus a couple from Colorado sprinted off. It felt good to push it and move. However, I must admit I breathed a sigh of relief when we turned the corner and saw the boat just where I thought it would be moored for the night!

April 13, 2018. Oude Wetering back to Amsterdam

Our last cycling day and it was a very different day today. Most of us (just mom, Jim and me from our clan) were up early for the optional tour to Aalsmeer for the “flower auction.” A bus picked us up at our boat at 6:30am, and drove us about 15 minutes to Aalsmeer, where it dropped us off at Royal FloraHolland. Supposedly, this is the 2nd largest building in the world (footprint wise), and the largest international trading platform for plants and flowers. Here are some facts and figures from their brochure:

* 4.4 billion Euro turnover per year / 9.6 million per day (100,000 transactions per day) * 20,000 different varieties of flowers and plants * 12.5 billion flowers sold annually which is 34.5 million per day! * 3.7 billion roses and 1.7 billion tulips annually * 3,500 employees * 1,300,000 sq meters of space (55,000 cold storage)

The visitor area was a raised walkway where you could look down at the flowers and plants being moved and sorted, and also look in at the trading space where bidding was actually happening and we could follow along on the screen. Lots of tulips going out at this time of the year in bunches just like I buy back home. I can’t quite grasp the timing: they come to the auction house, are shipped to the “buyer,” put on display where I can buy them, I put them into a vase with water and the next day they open into beautiful blossoms. What a magically process. I really enjoyed seeing this end of it.

After 90 minutes, the coach scooped us up and we met up with the boat with perfect timing. They’d departed soon after us and had already travelled two hours through lakes and canals. We had a real breakfast onboard and then we sat on the front deck while we cruised through the suburbs of Amsterdam and back to our original dock site. It was fun to be on our ship as we cruised past apartments, schools, cafes, etc. It was a beautiful morning and the city was very active. We had a little trouble with a malfunction at one lift bridge where a young man was trying to operate the lift. He had to call in help and an older man came and fiddled with something and was successful in the operation. We cruised down to the next bridge and it was the same man as the operator, having ridden his bike down to the next bridge along the canal!

We changed into our bike clothes and prepared for an afternoon ride north of the city - about 20 miles. I was skeptical about the ride in Amsterdam, but we caught a ferry across whatever body of water this is (Het IJ), and soon we were out of the city and riding with views of the IJmeer Sea on our right, and a dyke on our left. We rode through darling little villages: Durgerdam, Ransdorp, and Zunderdorp with a lunch stop Broek in Waterland. The weather was mild, and it was warm while we were riding. It was interesting to get an up close and personal look at water management again - lots of canals, little dams, dykes, etc. Once we had three different water levels right around us.

We made a loop with another two ferry rides, and soon we were back in Amsterdam proper. The cycling on this trip far exceeded my expectation. It’s been amazing to see the canals and villages close up this way, not to mention the flowers!

Back to the boat at 4:30pm. San and I hit the hot tub, which felt wonderful! Then it was time for our last dinner - another great 4 course meal. One more night on the boat, and tomorrow we’ll take the train to Gouda for phase two of our journey.

Saturday April 14, 2018

We had breakfast on the boat, then they kicked us off. We took the tram to Amsterdam Central. San and Matt stayed back in Amsterdam for the day, while the rest of us took the train to Rotterdam for a few hours, before continuing on to Gouda.

We checked into the apartment I’d booked through VRBO about 3pm and everything went wonderful with that - always a relief. We walked around Gouda - it was a little crazy with a market and art walk around local galleries, but a very nice change from the larger cities. We stopped in a grocery store and bought snacks, beer and wine and went back to the apartment to relax and await arrival of Sandra and Matt.

Sunday April 15, 2018 Gouda

No big plans for the day, but it was an enjoyable relaxed day anyway, the way Sunday ought to be I guess!! We enjoyed the morning being able to have breakfast at the apartment, having bought a flat of fresh eggs, sausage and some yummy bread at yesterday’s market. Geo and Jim cooked eggs and sausage, and figured out how to make “toast” without a toaster.

We decided to attend the 9am service at the main church in town - Sint-Janskerk (St. Johns). The church is renowned for its stained-glass windows (Gouda Glass), and they were spectacular from the inside on this gorgeous morning. I would have been happy sitting in the folding chairs in the back (where they had TVs so you could view what was happening up front), but Jeff wanted the whole experience so the two of us squeezed into the middle of a pew. The folks around us were so nice, offering their bulletins and hymnals so we could pretend we were following along.

The service was much like what we’re used to, and we all even understood the service was about “hope” but it was just the 2nd week after Easter so Christians all over the world are talking about hope, right?

After church, we toured the Gouda Museum - great displays by local famous artists, and I particularly enjoyed the pottery display.

Then we split up - Jeff and I took a walking tour of the outskirts of town, then others went to a bar for some lunch and then window / grocery shopped.

We reunited back at the apartment just before an evening rain storm. It was fun to watch the canal out front to see if the water would overflow (it didn’t). San and Matt made a wonderful stir fry. We ate dinner, and had dessert of syrup waffles, windmill cookies and chocolate. We drank a lot of wine and played dice. Then we decided to venture back out to watch the puppet show on the side of city hall - it’s supposed to run every 30 minutes. It didn’t, but we still enjoyed the quiet walk on a Sunday evening after the rain.

Monday April 16, 2018 Bastogne Belgium

Jeff and I rented a car today and headed south east to Bastogne, Belgium to tour the Battle of the Bulge memorial site. I’d been there over 25 years ago, and thought Jeff would want to experience it since his dad was in Belgium during WWII.

It was great to see the countryside and what a contrast Belgium was to Holland with its trees and hills! We ended up with a brand-new Volvo from Hertz - and Jeff was able to drive the autobahns with no problems while I handled the navigation - no issues!

The memorial was awesome. It’s impossible to imagine what the experience would be like - 7 years of German occupation, liberation after D-day, to be followed by a resurgence attack and a final hurrah battle over Christmas.

We got back to Gouda about 5p. Our family was still out on their all-day adventure to Delft when we got back to the apartment, so we headed down to the city center and had a great dinner there.

Tuesday April 17, 2018. Hoge Veluwe National Park

Awesome day today traveling to the Netherlands largest national park. It was a test of our logistics as well, traveling by two trains, and two buses, and later bicycles.

Jim and Cris left after breakfast - heading back to Chicago today. The rest of us took the train to Arnhem, transferring in Utrecht. From there, a bus to Otterlo, and a second bus into the Hoge Veluwe National Park. The park itself is a remarkable story - a wealthy couple, him an avid hunter, her an over-the-top art collector. Her collection is the largest privately owned Van Gogh collection - better than what the Van Gogh museum has! They purchased land (55 sq km) in 1914 and built both a hunting grounds and a museum - in 1930 they donated the land to the state, and in 1938 the Kroller-Muller museum was opened to the public.

We took the bus from Otterlo directly to the museum and toured the inside first. My favorite were the Van Gogh’s and they were arranged to show the progression of his craft during the short part of his life when he was creating. There was also a wing of modern sculpture, but I’m afraid that was lost on me. It had turned into the most gorgeous day of our trip so far, so we peeled off layers and enjoyed our lunch outside amid school kids giddy with the spring weather and a field trip.

There was also a vast sculpture garden, and in a 20-minute walk we only saw a portion of it. You’d need the whole day to take all the side trails and discover all the art along the way.

Then for the good part. There were hundreds of free “white bikes” parked at the entrances and parking lots within the park. We selected some bikes and hit the trails - what an amazing way to experience a national park! Supposedly, you could potentially see wild boar, Rams and red deer … But all we saw were some boar in the distance (thankfully), along with evidence of the uprooting they are known for.

We rode through pine forests, then vast open dried prairies where we felt like we were on the Serengeti, then open spaces of sand dunes. We came upon “Jachthuis St Hubert” which was the “hunting shack” which looked like a small castle.

Mary and Geo opted for a shorter ride, so we directed them to ride back to the Otterlo entrance and we’d meet them at a bar near the bus stop. Somehow, signals were crossed and they weren’t there when we arrived. San and Matt jumped back on the bus and found them at the park bus stop. Jeff and I volunteered to wait at the bar just in case they appeared (they did 45 minutes later on the bus with San and Matt). We took the time for everyone to have a beer, before starting our travels back to Gouda. Following Facebook, we’ve seen that there are terrible snow storms back home (in April), so it made soaking up the sunshine today extra special!

We had an easy trip back to Gouda retracing our steps and we arrived about 7pm. Geo, San and Matt and I made another trip to the grocery store - fish tacos on the menu tonight. It was so awesome to have the airy apartment to come back to after a day of travel. Seems a little emptier without Jim and Cris though, and will be even more so after Jeff and I leave in the morning.