Can't believe we've been on the road for five days! Today was great, the best riding so far. Great breakfast (eggs are good for riding) then we set off at a superfast pace. We lost some time due to a ferry being closed on Sunday but with help from another cycling couple we found our way. Our alternative route was part of a benefit ride for the Dutch Red Cross, and we were treated to some very welcome bananas (we made a donation when we got home, and encourage readers to support their local Red Cross chapter).
Arrived in 's-Hertogenbosch (better known as 'Den Bosch') at 1pm, the earliest finish so far. We were very happy to be able to park our bike in a secure bike parking garage, and the attendant even let us check our panniers (the bike garage has only been open for two months and there are no lockers yet).
Shallow stairs made the bike garage easy to access
We had a quick picnic then visited the Hieronymus Bosch Art Centre, which was interesting both for the explanation of his art and the setting, a Byzantine-Romanesque church. Then we visited St. John's cathedral which was beautiful. The highlight of our day was the boat parade, an annual summer event, with about 25 floats that follow the Binnendieze, a network of partially covered canals. The floats are all based on the art of Hieronymus Bosch, some literally, others figuratively. Here is a sampling of a few of the floats we saw, courtesy of ronvanzeeland and YouTube:
After the parade we retrieved the bike and rode a few more kilometers to our overnight accommodation, a dairy farm/bed and breakfast in a village dear Den Bosch. The cows were being milked when we arrived. Our hosts at the B&B speak only Dutch but we did okay. I'm beginning to think I would know a lot more Dutch if most people didn't speak English! After settling in at the farm, we pedaled to the village for a massive dinner (we need to keep our strength up).
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