76.26km//4hr45min//17.9km/hr
Thursday August 29
Poppet got the first flat of the trip!
We started our day in the Nieuw Land museum+archive+study centre to learn about polders and the creation of Flevoland. We pretty much had this awesome, large, and interactive place entirely to ourselves. Bonus: we got to leave our fully loaded bikes, complete with towels and cloths hanging/drying off the back racks, sitting in the giant front foyer with the reception staff. We were in there for 4 hrs!!
Flevoland recently became a province of the Netherlands, because it only recently existed... above water. It was made by building not one but two dykes, closing off the sea, pumping water around, and creating a massive freshwater reservoir. It took the Dutch half a century to complete this operation. They had to build the dykes, then slues, canals, and weirs to control the water levels, and ultimately create their "polders" (ie pieces of land that used to be under water). Conveniently, the project also afforded flood safety. The city of Lelystad in Flevoland was entirely planned, and saw its first residents in 1987. The well meaning powers that be built a city to mimic the close community living of the rest of the Netherlands. I.e row housing.....the problem is, this row housing resembles a project gone wrong, and has none of the quaint, unique, and personal touch seen in the rest of the country. We couldn't help but think this was actually a giant study on how to build a test tube community... the study isn't going so well.
Nevertheless, the museum was great! After 4 hours, we were ready to ride...over the Merkermaardijk dyke, out of Flevoland, and into North Holland. This man made dyke is impressive at 30 km. Headwind didn't help our progress, neither did thick swarms of little green aphids. As we got closer to shore we came the Naviduct! A concrete bridge built over a motor freeway, with a tall ship passing through it. These clever people built a lock over top of the highway! You had to see it.
We rode through what I think is the coolest, prettiest, little city in Holland so far, Hoorn. The streets were lined with old tall buildings with beautiful roof lines indicating the wealth the city once had. Many of the houses were built on wood piles which, now quite old, have started shifting. Consequently, houses are leaning not quite right, knocking shoulders with their neighbors in every possible direction. Hoorn had lively city square with patios full of people dining, and one young punk riding his dirt bike, wheeling up and down the streets (2 stroke mosquito). The city square has suffered the tragic fate of a yarn bombing. Good to see its not just Seattle.
Sadly, we didn't have more time to look around Hoorn. We can't do it all! Courtesy of our magical book, we found a camping spot behind a community center that was all ours, and free (since they were under construction, although it looked to me like they were just growing new grass).
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| Water! Jenn practices her dyke making skills in an interactive museum but just for her. |
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| Madalene is not to be left out |
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| Going over the dyke, you can see North Holland approaching. |
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| The Naviduct! See the mast! That's a boat going over a highway! |
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| The Naviduct from above. |
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| The Dutch are generally quite tall, but this is ridiculous. |
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| The sun setting on Hoorn's wobbly buildings and yarn bombed lamp posts |
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| Our private campsite doesnt look like it needs any work. |
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| One of these things just doesn't belong here... |
