Day 23: Schermerhorn-Wilnis (via Amsterdam)

82.18km//4hr36min//17.8km/hr

Saturday August 31

It was decided that Amsterdam warranted another visit. This time we entered from the north (last time the south), and were pleased to find the route much more scenic. Think canals and locks, green fields, and placid livestock, the stuff Holland is made of! In addition, there were dozens of young and old men alike, perched in chairs, sitting on the edge of the canals, fishing. Quaint. We followed one of the many canals to a pedestrian only ferry that takes you a short trip across the water, and into the heart of Amsterdam (letting you off next to the train station. The station is quite the site...for bicycles that is. Hundreds and hundreds of bicycles lining the rails, posts, streets, canals, and filling and overflowing a three level bike parkade. They say abandoned bikes is a big problem in Amsterdam and I can see why!!! There are many frames locked up and nearly completely rusted in place, some missing integral parts, others bent and twisted into unfamiliar shapes, or harvested and left for dead.

In Amsterdam, among other things, the tent saga continued with a visit to Carl Denig (a local outdoor store). It has become clear that Canadians demand more from tents that Europeans do, and we are hard pressed to find one that we feel has sufficient water proofing.

After all our time cycling through the countryside and cities, seeing the network of beautiful canals, it has been decided that we should plan a massive canoe trip through Holland. In lieu, we succumbed to the most popular tourist attraction in the country, namely, the Amsterdam canal tour. It was neat to see everything  from water level, and see how the canals function as their own system of roads and highways. However, we did feel a little like herded cattle being spoon fed little but much quoted facts on this or that. Luckily, we sat near the driver, who ad-libbed quirkier truths (or lies) about bikes, boats, and bodies lost in the canals. The real show saver was the improbable game of bumper boats that occurred between the commercial tour boats and the little boats filled with young men or hen do's. 

After our boat tour, we cycled out of Amsterdam to a campsite that was a sight to behold - a mash-up of a campsite and a zoo. 

Blinded by the bikes

Day 22: Alkmaar

Cycle: 31.61km//1hr40min//18.82km/hr

Friday August 30

It is good to travel with someone who loves to read and research and can do it all very quickly!

Somewhere along the way Madalene read about a famous cheese market that occurs in Alkameer every Friday. Like many of the places we've visited, the question isn't so much why go, but rather, why not go? And so off we went.
 

This market was big, and there was an old weigh house complete with massive scales for weighing rolls of Gouda. Next, a fenced off area where the cheese runners would demonstrate the traditional way of carrying, weighing, running, and shipping cheese. Strangely, it was all being videod (included aerially from a helicopter), and projected onto a TV screen in the city square. Cheese is a big deal, and there were a lot of spectators.
 

We walked around the many vendors, sampling green, red, regular, and spiced gouda. We even found some 30+ year old Gouda. Dry, crumbly, rich, and delicious Gouda.

Aparently what makes the cheese from North Holland so good is the land where the cows graze is saline, and this aparts flavour to the milk and the cheese. It definitely taste different, and amazing.

In Alkmaar we also found a bike shop where Madalene finally bought a new rear tire for Poppet. That girl has been riding with a big bulge in her tire for >1000km... a situation made worse by the flat a couple days ago. I would ride behind her for hours watching and hearing her tire go wobble and thump on each revolution. Maddening.
 

On the way back to camp we fulfilled one of our "must see" Holland items, and visited the Schermerhorn Windmill Museum. A 17th century windmill in working condition. The Museummolen is one of the eleven windmills left from the former windmill complex of the Schermer polder (wind mills now replaced by a pumping station).  The windmill was all wheels and screws (made of thick wood), thatched roof, and a sweey thick smoky smell. We were in the very top of the windmill when the wind picked up. The windmill sped up,  the noises amplified, the entire building creaked, shifted, and strained. We felt like we were going to go fly away in this thing.

 

In North Holland we also found some roadies! On top of that, a large number of bikes is set up with aerobars/tribars, ready for the ever present headwind. We also finally figured out the "numbered" bike routes system (and frequent maps) and started enjoying care-free cycling from one number to the next.



Schermerhorn at sunrise.





Rolls of Gouda after being weighed.

 

Cheese cheese cheese.

North Holland Gouda is so tasty because these are happy cows munching on green green grass grown in saline water.

 

Cheese Runners.
 

Approaching the Schermerhorn Windmill Museum



The heart of the windmill

 

Day 21: Lelystad to Schemerhorn

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).

Water! Jenn practices her dyke making skills in an interactive museum but just for her.

Madalene is not to be left out

Going over the dyke, you can see North Holland approaching.

The Naviduct! See the mast! That's a boat going over a highway!

The Naviduct from above.

The Dutch are generally quite tall, but this is ridiculous.

The sun setting on Hoorn's wobbly buildings and yarn bombed lamp posts

Our private campsite doesnt look like it needs any work. 

One of these things just doesn't belong here...

Day 20: Fort Spion to Lelystad in Flevoland

Cycle: 87.2km//5hr//17.36km/hr

Wednesday August 28

 

On the move again today, headed for the wild and untamed (i.e. uncommon tourist destination) Flevoland! Once again it was a glorious day of picturesque forests, fields and farms, each with their token horse, mini pony, donkey, goat, chicken, sheep, and sometimes even a llama. Answer me this: What is a mini-pony good for??? Please tell me! Is it like a dog?

 

Once we crossed the bridge into Flevoland the views changed to oceanside flats and coastline. And the wind...we came upon incredibly high winds blowing us back the entire way to Lelystad (our ultimate destination for today). Why did we ride up here? A question frequently posed to us by local Flevolanders and Randstanders alike. Simple fascination with the feat of draining the sea to create new land!  We arrived at the Nieuwland Museum (documenting the entire process) too late to enjoy, so we ended up camping in the heart of Lelystad, with plans to return in the morning

 

Cycling to Flevoland the winds picked up... clearly not an unexpected thing in these parts.

Glamour shot! Ha

We arrived in Lelystad and saw a mighty ship.

 

The bikes are useful for stringing a clothesline. Sandals are useful for weary feet.

We attempted Stompot with instant potatoes, spinach, and hotdogs. It was shockingly good.

Day 19: Day trip to Loenen and another night spent at Fort Spion

Cycle: 8km//41min//11.6km/hr

Tuesday August 27
 

Today would prove to be a lazy day with a slow ride into Loenen to sit in the library for the internet. I did some bike maintenance and Madalene did some route mapping.  Lazy lunch by the lock, speculaas, rozijnenbollen, and spilt pea soup. Need I say more?

A lovely library! I look dubious, Im not sure why.

 

And another windmill

 

A new way to hold a pannier hands-free. More useful than one might think.

 

The fixins of a tasty lunch. Spiced Gouda, how I miss you! You too speculaas.

 

Jenn prepares..


They descend.

 

Eat quick, before they take it all away.



A spectator sport, watching boats move through the locks and canals.

Little Fury bobs peacefully, watching the proceedings.

 

Day 18: Day trip to Amsterdam (stayed at Fort Spion)

Cycle: 75.64km / 4hr53min / 15.45 km/hr

Monday August 26

Today is Amsterdam day!! Leaving all our bags in the tent, and happy to cycle without the extra weight for a change!  Arriving in Amsterdam after an hours ride we decided to start off with a lunch and a beer along one of the many canal before cycling into the heart of the city. The canals are clean, they don't smel, and they are a haven for the birds. We saw a little platform floating in the water for the birds and the turtles! The canals are endless and they are their own little infrastructure for transportation. Tourists and locals all boating from one place to another. Water highway.

We cycled aimlessly for a long time, agreeing that we could continue to cycle for days in circles here and still be interested in what we saw. The narrow streets, the houses all stacked together with beautifully expressive gables fronting on the canals. The sheer number of bicycles and people cycling is hard to explain and the pictures will never do it justice. Yes, we rolled through the red light district and past all the pot smoke shops. We saw some fantastic street performers playing big band kind of music.                    

It was getting late in the day but we were energized after riding around Amsterdam....We decided to go through the Anne Frank house. It was really just an empty house with some artifacts displayed but it did bridge the gap between ones imagination and the reality of what her life, the war experience might have been.   

It was getting dark very fast and we had taillights but neither of us had brought our headlamps. We took the train as close to our camp site as possible, but we still had a bit to ride after the train. We hit the country road......and pitch black night. Literally, it stopped us in our tracks. We pressed on once our eyes adjusted (at <5km/hr) as we were on a bike only path but every time a car went by it blinded us all over again. I pulled off my taillight and we used the solid red beam to get the rest of the way back.   Amsterdam is lovely!

We bough this homemade fruit salad for 5, or 10, euros. We cant remember which. It was delicious, and a nice change. Plus, at the time, we had no food, and the nearest grocery was far far away. Thanks Tina for the chop chop chopping.

Jenn enjoying her morning cafe at Fort Spion.

Fort Spion had many fruit trees. Here Madalene acquires a pear. 

Look at that hair!!! He..he. Every couple of days, Jenn declares  she's going to get a haircut. Approx 50 days later... no haircut.

Westmalle for the win! And only 1.15 Euro in a supermarket! This is our lovely picnic site by one of the small canals in Amsterdam.

Birds and turtles live in this canals... happy animals!

Pictures dont do Amsterdam justice. Well, not our pictures. We were busy trying not to get run over.

Narrow streets, pride flags, canals... all Amsterdam.

Day 17: Stone Hotel to Fort Spion in Loenen/Loosdrecht

Cycle: 28km//1hr48min//15.57km/hr

Sunday August 25

It is always a bit of a dilemma on what to do when you arrive in a city and stay overnight. You very much want to go sightseeing, but there is always a long list of more basic things that need to be done. First of all, we had a bed to sleep in, so naturally we indulged and got up a bit later than normal. The Stone Hotel was small, but packed in a lot of people. Consequently, making breakfast was a challenge as we had to play twister around other people to get to the counter space. This hostel also had the narrowest, steepest, smallest, most spider-webby staircases imaginable. I couldn't help but look for the escape routes.

Our to do list was pretty big:

1-find bike route maps and camping maps.. in english

2-find a pot to replace the one that the cobblestones ate through

3-research a tents available to replace the Hubba Hubba.

Utrecht on a Sunday morning was wonderful to cycle around. Completely different from Saturday afternoon, when we had to squeeze though the crowds for many blocks to get out of the train/downtown area and to the hotel. It just so happens that our arrival in Utrecht coincided with a musical festival AND a mussel festival. We happened upon a live outdoor stage, found chairs on a open patio, and enjoyed delicious dark beers (Trappist Westmalle Dubbel) while soaking up the energy of this lively, pretty city. In Utrecht's tourist information office we found a little handbook on small natural campsites in Holland, guaranteeing few people, natural surroundings, and eco friendly practices. Jenn speaks Dutch conversational, but never learned to read or write, so it was an amusing challenge to pick apart the directions to these little places (we didn't realize how lucky we were to find this book until later).

The little book that would lead us to all the best small natural campsites.

Stone Hotel agreed to hold our panniers for the day, and when we returned they were exactly where we left them... (so much for the storage locker).. a.very antisocial piece of luggage. We set off for the Fort Spion natural campsite, directions courtesy of our little book. The bike paths in Holland are amazingly beautiful and endless. They have paths on every road, but they also have a path system that will take you to your destination on more scenic routes. At Fort Spion, we found a little lane and a  typical Dutch home. Chickens  in the yard (silkies too!), sheep a little further along, gardens....We road in and began going through the large gates before a small bridge when we heard a women calling out to us. Eyes in the back of their heads I tell you! Tina greeted us and started to explain the layout in English, I confessed that I knew a little dutch and off she went talking in Dutch a mile a minute....I managed to extract the location for the tents, showers, toilet....everything else was superfluous.

Fort Spion is one of the many forts along the Nieuwe Hollandse Waterline, a unique defense line nearly 85km long consisting of sluices, dykes and canals. This waterline forms a protective semi circle around Holland's major cities (Utrecht, Rotterdam, Amsterdam) and would be used to flood the land during times of war, making it difficult for the enemy to pass through. Genius. Although, it never really got serious use.

Madalene and I strolling through Utrecht bike and bag free (Note Poppet and Tatonka locked to post) 

Typical canal, some buildings line the canal directly and often there is a walkway with restaurants/patios/shops to sit on and watch all the boats pass by.

Utrecht Domtoren, the tallest church tower in the Netherlands (112.5 meters/368ft). I loved the dressed up man on the left.

classic self portrait sitting in the window enjoying our beer and music festival.

One last stop for lunch in the park at the mussel festival before we leave town

 Beware any low hanging fruit, Madalene will find you and eat you. Spiders and webs....ma...she doesn't discriminate.

Day 16: Wissel (wild camping, windmill site) - Utrecht (Stone Hotel)

Saturday August 24
Cycle: 44.99km // 2h52m // 15.66 km/hr
Today we woke up next to an abandoned windmill. We quickly and discretely made breakfast and came up with a plan to escape our predicament (predicament: dirty everything and tired of camping). The plan was to train to Utrecht in Holland, bypassing less desirable cycling through big cities and surrounding spraw and get a hostel for the night. We rode from our makeshift campsite to the nearby town, Kleve, and then on to Nijmegen (crossing the Germany-Holland border in the process, yippee!). In Nijmegen we discovered a very old city centre and an bustling Saturday food market underway. We nabbed some tapas (probably the most flavorful thing we've had in a week), our first syrup waffles, and then proceeded to the train station. We got on a 4:30 train to Utrecht, and found our way to the Stone Hotel. First on the must do list was shower. Next was wash our dirty dishes from the day before. Then, buy food, do laundry, and fall asleep watching a terrible TV movie (in English!). The Stone Hotel sort of ruined our budget, but was necessary in light of our state. The lesson seems to be, don't let things get too dirty and stretched, otherwise you get desperate. Wild camping multiple days  in a row is impossible because of the lack of shower.

Our wind mill camp site. We pitched the tent to the left behind a bush. Not quite visible from the road, but close. It doesn't really look abandoned, does it...

Only 1000m to go to Holland!

Its official, we are now in the Netherlands.

Jenn strikes a celebratory pose

I was on the lookout for food in Nijmegen, but Jenn spotted the curious legs.

On the train to Utrecht the bikes have a jumbled spot.

I am so sweaty and gross, I stick to the seats... and hope that no one sits next to me. Jenn's feet are also a deterrent, along with the pile of panniers. The novelty of moving at high speeds under someone else's power held sway over me for a while. Then I fell asleep.