Bike and Barge

My second summer holiday was planned by Tim and a friend from America - a "Bike and Barge" trip from Amsterdam to Brussels.

The fearsome foursome in 's Hertogenbosch

Our friends arrived in Brussels on July 4th from North America after 10 days in London and Wimbledon. After a quick stop in Leuven (Belgium) we welcomed them to our new-to-us home in Venlo. We enjoyed a few fun-filled, yet relaxing days visiting the Floriade and Nuenen (the "Van Gogh Village") before setting off for Amsterdam.

Our hotel for the week

The trip was a great way to reconnect with old friends and make new ones! The daily cycling distance was about 25 miles (40 km), so the trip was not strenuous. We had time and energy for a guided city walk nearly every evening after dinner on the boat. Because I was "in training" for a big walking event, I did a little extra walking each evening, usually to a geocache to two (by the end of our trip, everyone knew what a geocache was, and one of the other passengers was hooked). Sometimes there was a special treat, such as a carillon concert in Mechelen.

Mechelen, Belgium by night

Staying on the boat was an option for those who needed a rest day or just wanted to avoid the rain. But because the wind is always blowing in the Netherlands, the rain tends to come in showers. So when it wasn't raining, the skyscapes were lovely.

Willemstad, Noord-Brabant (the Netherlands)

Despite less-than-perfect weather, the trip was a blast. The boat was crewed by the owners, including their two sons, about 6 and 9 years old. From sailing the boat to serving dinner, everything was done with a smile, making us feel like welcomed family guests. The other passengers came from Australia, Italy, South Africa and the US and were excellent company, which made the close quarters cozy and congenial even though we spent a lot of time indoors.

The passengers on our cruise
saying "tot ziens" at Brussels Station

Even though we had met only a week before, it was hard to say goodbye to our tour companions, our guide Ingrid, and the boat's crew. Our rainy week was brightened by the warmth of the people around us!

Visiting my heart

This week students in our town returned to school, so it's perhaps appropriate that I return to my blog with a "what I did on my summer vacation" essay. This summer was the busiest of my life with content for several posts, which I plan to write about chronologically.

Summer 2012 started with a visit in June to my three daughters who live in the American Pacific Northwest - in other words, a visit to my heart. My daughters were great about making time for me, as were a number of friends who made time to hang out, catch up, and hike together (I was in training mode for a walking event later in the summer, more about that later). 

The visit was sparked by the graduation of the youngest from high school and (concurrently) community college. She's a middle child, following two high-achieving older sisters, which is a lot of pressure. But she has figured out a way to make her own path, while continuing to fulfill family expectations. We are proud of her for (1) completing high school mostly on her own; (2) finishing an Associate (two year) college degree at the same time; and (3) finishing high school as a valedictorian. 

With surrogate mom of the year

Equally important, I hadn't seen any of them since Christmas, and six months was starting to feel like a long time. We celebrated being together by hiking in the Chuckanut Mountains, walking Alki Beach, and sampling beer in Vancouver, BC (as well as here, here, here and here). 

Enjoying a brew or two

Although we still call them "the girls", our daughters are now young adults with their own priorities, relationships and busy lives. The trip was a good opportunity to practice our new relationship roles; they as independent young women and I as ... I'm not sure what, but it involves a lot of listening and a certain amount of tongue-biting. Still and all, it feels great to see them opening up their wings and soaring into adulthood. Ahhhhhh ....

photo by Oast House Archive

Guinness and Fiddles

I must admit, Dublin wasn't on my "must visit" list when we moved to Europe. But when I found out discount airline Ryan Air is based in Dublin, I decided we had to go. We chose to skip Carnaval in Limburg (a controversial decision) in favor of a long weekend in Dublin, before the summer crowds and prices hit. Did it rain? Yes, a bit. Were there partying students? Yes, they just added to the charm. We'll definitely be back, and it will be a longer visit so we can see more of the country next time.

Five outstanding reasons to visit Dublin:

Photo: Em' Milie

They say that Guinness tastes better in Dublin than anywhere else. More Guinness stout is produced here than anywhere else in the world, including every pint consumed in America. Having enjoyed it on two continents, I can affirm that it tastes good, no matter where you are.

Photo: munksynz

The Book of Kells is neither a book, nor is it from Kells. But it is a cultural gem and Trinity College's Old Library is a lovely setting. Don't forget to go upstairs and check out Ireland's oldest harp.

Photo: Éole 

Speaking of harps, Dublin is a great place to experience traditional Irish music. To learn a bit about it, we joined a musical pub crawl our first night there, and the next night visited a pub recommended by the musicians (it turned out to be right around the corner from our hotel). The music was amazing, probably because the musicians were playing solely for their own enjoyment.

Photo: Fergal of Claddagh

Dublin is crammed with history and the architecture is varied and delightful. We enjoyed old churches (St. Michan's hosts a slightly creepy crypt tour complete with mummies you can touch), parks such as St. Stephen's Green and Merrion Square, and charming Georgian terrace houses.

Dublin's best treasure is Dubliners. People were very willing to encounter us, and invariably friendly, gracious and welcoming.

Photo: me!

We were standing in front of this pub Monday morning, looking at a plaque. A man came out of the pub and asked if we were James Joyce admirers; we told him we were following the Ulysses walk. He told us the pub didn't open until 11, apologized, and invited us in for a look around. Which we did (we now feel as though we must read Ulysses, but that's another story ...)


Still not sure Dublin is for you? Check out this video:

Town Mouse and Country Mouse

A fun town and country adventure in Belgium today. We started with perhaps the largest fair in Belgium, the annual winter market in Sint-Lievens-Houten. In addition to the usual fruits, vegetables, cheeses and sausages, and imported items of every kind (clothing, toys, household furnishings, to name just a few) there were plenty of cows, horses and tractors.

We saw John Deere and Lamborghini tractors, among others

The fair has been designated by UNESCO as part of the "intangible cultural heritage of mankind". Food plays a major role. I was tickled by the menu offerings at the many snack carts:

On the menu: hamburgers, hot dogs and escargots (snails in garlic sauce)

We skipped the escargots and instead enjoyed a grilled sausage slathered with mustard and grilled onions. Our snack was washed down with champagne since the fair's pavilion featured products of that region. The fair was fun, and different from our town's own Saturday market mostly in scale and language. In Sint-Lievens-Houtem we heard both Dutch and French spoken. In Venlo, it's Dutch and German (mostly the latter).

On the way home we stopped at Mechelen, a university town near Antwerp. I read recently that Belgium became a country in 1830 - as a political entity, it's younger than the United States. Mechelen has a much older feeling - we visited the 13th century Gothic cathedral, climbed the 15th century tower, and watched and heard the restored 18th century clockwork chime the hour. As the light began to fade we searched for chocolate pralines (an obligatory stop when in Belgium) and enjoyed an early dinner on the Grote Markt (main square).

Cafes on Mechelen's Grote Markt

I must be a town mouse*. I'm already planning our next visit to Mechelen, sometime in the late spring or summer. I'd love to hear the double carillon played (Mechelen is also home to a world-renowned carillon school) while sitting on the Grote Markt enjoying a Gouden Carolus beer.


*The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse is one of the Aesop's better-known Fables, and maybe my favorite. Unfortunately the Town Mouse doesn't come off so well, at least in the version I am familiar with. But I'm pretty certain that farm life isn't the life for me.

Road Trip

Vineyard near Husseren-les-Châteaux

My parents are volunteering in the Black Forest for a few weeks, giving me a good excuse for a spontaneous road trip.

Splashing in the fountain, Eguisheim

I drove south through Germany on the A61 motorway, aka autobahn. The one thing everyone seems to know about the autobahn is that there is no speed limit. It can be a bit startling to be passing a truck that's going 80 km/hour (about 50 mph), only to be passed on the other side by a car going close to 100 mph. Add in rain and construction diversions, and it turned out to be a fairly stressful drive. Luckily the weather was partly clear and I was able to enjoy the spectacular scenery just south of Koblenz, aka the Romantic Rhine, an area I hope to revisit soon.

Despite weather and traffic I arrived safe and sound, and in time to enjoy a good German meal with my folks. It was great to see them again, and we had good travel stories to swap as they had recently been in Tanzania and we had just returned from Greece. It's pretty obvious who I got my travel bug from!

Cobblestones and 16th century residences in Equisheim

We spent Saturday exploring the Alsace region, my first visit to that part of France. It's a beautiful area, a hilly patchwork of vineyards spread nearly up to the forested tops, ornamented with charmingly historic villages. Although now part of France, it is historically tied to Germany as well, as shown by place names like Kaysersberg, Obermorschwihr, and Steinbach.

We shopped for fruit at the Saturday market in Rouffach, enjoyed a delicious lunch of French and German specialties (the onion tart was especially yummy) in Eguisheim, tasted Riesling and Pinot Noir wines in Ammerschwihr, and listened to an impromptu organ concert at the Romanesque church in Kaysersberg. I was surprised at the good wine values, and it was interesting to see how the French spend a sunny afternoon - eating good food, then shopping for wine to accompany future meals. I could get used to that!

Marché du samedi in Rouffach

For the trip home, I chose a route through France, partly to avoid some of the construction diversions that helped slow me down on Friday, and partly just to see some different scenery. The French motorway was definitely different - the pavement was rougher and there were no rest stops. But with a speed limit of 130 km/hour, at least I wasn't startled by cars zooming by.

The most interesting sight I saw on the return trip was the disused, seemingly abandoned border checkpoint near Lauterbourg, France. Seeing those rusty, dusty buildings helped me better understand what Europe gained by unifying. I imagined a world of abandoned checkpoints, where instead of wasting time and energy fearing and distrusting each other, we enjoy a good meal together and then shop for wine. I could get used to that, too.

Photo credit drw25

Greece

If my major - Liberal Studies - had been a Girl Scout badge,
it would sport an image of the Parthenon

No posts the past two weeks because we were in warm and sunny Greece. While this adventure was definitely outside Limburg, it is a typically Dutch vacation destination. People here tend to take their holidays in sunny places like the Canary islands, Turkey, Spain and Griekenland.

We decided on our vacation destination just two weeks before departure, after considering Ireland, Barcelona and a driving trip through Germany and Austria. I'm still excited about visiting those places; maybe next year.

Gaudi's Church of the Sagrada Famila (Sacred Family), Barcelona
Photo credit Roy Stead

Normally I make pretty elaborate vacation plans, but the kids were hoping for some relaxing beach time, so we kept our itinerary simple: a three-day bus tour to some out-of-the-way ancient sites; a few days at the mainland beach town Nafplio; a couple of days in Athens; and four days on non-motorized Hydra island.

This was the first time we've tried a bus tour, so we didn't know what to expect. It was great! Not only did we have a great guide and driver, there were only 13 people on the tour (on a full size tour bus) and we were the only Americans. The only other kid in the group was the same age as our younger daughter, and they got along great (she's from New Zealand, so language wasn't a problem). Five members of our group were from Brazil, and the other was a Aussie traveling on her own.  I can't imagine a better group; we had a great time together visiting the ancient theatre at Epidaurus, the site of the original Olympic Games, and Delphi.

At the starting line of the 200m "stadia" run at the original Olympic stadium

It was hard to say goodbye to our new friends, but we were ready for a little beach time, so we boarded the Greek equivalent of Greyhound bus to Nafplio. In this seaport town and original capital of independent Greece, we found ourselves surrounded by Greeks; relatively close to Athens, Nafplio is a popular weekend getaway for Athenians (about one third of all Greek residents live in the Athens metro area). We enjoyed hiking to the hilltop fortifications, swimming in the warm and salty water of the Aegean, watching beautiful sunsets and eating tasty Greek food. If you ever get a chance to visit Nafplio, be sure to stay at the Pension Rigas and say hi to Lena for us.

View of Arvanitia beach from the hilltop fortification

Rested after our beachy sojourn, we returned to Athens to see the sights. Climbing the Acropolis was a peak experience for me, but I think the rest of the family preferred viewing it from the air-conditioned comfort of the Acropolis Museum restaurant. We really appreciated that many of the ancient sites stay open until 8 pm, since the middle of the day felt really warm to us, with temperatures in the mid- to upper-90s (high 30's Celsius). We chose to visit several wonderful museums (such as the Acropolis Museum and the National Archaeological Museum) when it was hottest, saving the sites for the early morning or evening. We even had time to ride the funicular to the top of Lycavittos Hill for a great view of Athens and the Acropolis. That was on one of the hottest days, so we followed up with some liquid refreshment, including my new favorite coffee drink, Cappuccino Freddo.

Iced espresso, lightly sweetened, topped with frothed milk foam. Yum!

Before we left for this trip, several friends (who must have been watching the news earlier this year) asked us if it's safe to visit Greece. We felt very safe, even when surrounded by camping protesters when walking through Constitution Square. Greeks are proud of their ancient democratic heritage as well as more modern democratic practices such as free and spirited public debate, and rightfully so.

Photo credit Tilemahos Efthimiadis

Athens was great, but we were ready for a break from the noise of the big city. Fortunately we had saved the most relaxing part of our trip for last. We boarded a high-speed FlyingCat catamaran to the non-motorized island of Hydra, and saw this when we disembarked:

Hydra Island is officially non-motorized

Admittedly donkeys aren't silent, but there is something relaxing about listening to them clop-clopping up the cobblestone paths. The best time of the day for donkey-watching is early in the morning, when the pack trains queue up at the waterfront to load up cases of tomatoes, bottled water and sacks of hay for deliveries all over Hydra town. We spent four very relaxing days swimming, playing cards, napping and celebrating our 28th wedding anniversary, which was a great excuse for eating more delicious Greek food (including grilled octopus, stuffed grape leaves, gyros, and the very yummy vegan giant beans).

Does anyone have a recipe? These are so good!

We loved Greece! Maybe it's the delicious food, maybe it's the warm and sunny Mediterranean climate, maybe it's the warm and friendly people. It's probably a combination of all the above and more. One thing I'm sure about: we'll be back.

Goodbye, Hydra town

Ride Across the Netherlands, the Last Day

Although it wasn't marked as such, this appeared to be the end of LF7

Woke up late, must have needed the rest. Breakfast was much like Belgium - a melange of the best cultural elements of France and the Low Countries - in addition to the usual coffee, boiled egg, ham, jam, and yogurt, there were two kinds of aged cheese including a wedge of deliciously moldy blue, plus baguette, croissant, and my favorite pastry, pain au chocolate. Our breakfast host, who speaks Dutch (the regional language in this part of Belgium) and French but not English, asked me how to say "eet smakelijk" in English. I pondered this for a moment, then pronounced: bon appetit. We shared a bit of a giggle about this linguistic oddity.

The skies were threatening but we rode dry and fast. Found the turnaround point south of Maastricht by about noon and rode back to the station by about one o'clock. A quick stop at the station Albert Heijn for sandwiches and juice, and we were on the train headed north. Enjoyed a conversation with an Amsterdam University student on the train. He was bringing his grandfather's bike back to school, his third bike this year - the first two were both stolen - a common problem in Amsterdam but fortunately something we have yet to experience.

Heading north near the terminus of the LF7 in Kanne

Arrived home by 3 o'clock to a sudden dose of reality: Tim had a business dinner in Nuenen so I drove him to the restaurant and continued into the village to find a cafe where I could reflect about our week on the bike path. 

Our experience was in many ways typical of this lovely country: varied, pleasant, and with adventures to suit the taste of Goldilocks. In a relatively short time we saw a wide array of landscapes and met people from different walks of life; even the weather joined in the display of variety. We cycled through two countries and passed within a few kilometers of a third. It was an idyllic first European touring experience.

Are we planning another cycling adventure? You bet! Where would you go? Suggestions welcome!

Our route to Maastricht and home again.

Ride Across the Netherlands, Day 7

After a breakfast including heerlijk fresh squeezed orange juice, we signed Henk and Reik's guest book. They have been providing accomodation to cyclists for more than 10 years; the book we signed was volume four, but we were their first non-Dutch guests. At Henk's suggestion, we stopped at the scenic National Park of the Great Peel:

Another really hot day, with humidity rising as the day progressed. We chatted with another fietser during a water break. He was meeting his wife in Maastricht, a ride of at least 120km by our calculations. Wish I had taken a picture - he was dressed in slacks and button shirt, and riding a normal (rather heavy) Dutch bike. More than 75 miles on a really hot day - no big deal!

We stopped for ice cream at Thorn, a village very near the Belgian border. The town has an interesting history which led to its nickname, the "white village". In this land of red brick buildings, Thorn has a very different look:

Photo credit Benjamin Rossen

After shopping for picnic supplies we crossed the Belgian border and had lunch by the river Maas. The route signage is a little different in Belgium, and there are fewer cycle paths, but the riding was still pleasant and (mercifully, considering the weather) flat. We found our overnight accommodation easily. It's a small and elegant B&B and horse farm. They were also getting the hay in because rain is expected by tonight. Can't come quickly enough for us, it's so warm and humid that a dip in the Jacuzzi is refreshing!

After cleaning up and rehydrating, we pedaled about 5km into the lovely town of Masseik. After a quick stop at the tourist information office for a map, we collapsed at the nearest cafe for more water and a Belgian beer. This refreshed us enough to find a dinner spot. We found a cafe with sidewalk seating and a friendly waitress. The tables around us filled up with locals, all of whom seemed to know each other, the server, and most of the passersby. All very pleasant and charming ... until the thunder started. I quickly moved our plates to a table inside, while Tim went to get the bike under cover. He returned with news - the tandem has a flat tire, and our spare tires and tool kit are 5 km away at the B&B. Our helpful server offered a pump but the tire would not hold air. She offered us a ride (in an hour, when her boyfriend was to arrive) and finally two umbrellas, which we gratefully accepted.

We returned the umbrellas the next day (hanging on the door knob)

Tummies full, rain temporarily stopped, we set off, pushing the bike. I was wearing ballet flats, not designed for a long walk at a fast pace. Fortunately, the thunder was still far away and the rain didn't start in earnest until we were within sight of the B&B. Tim stabled the bike with the horses and brought the wheel with the flat up to our room. There was an enormous hole in the valve stem - fortunately we had two spares.

In the end, Tim was able to replace the tube and pump it up enough to ride on. We went to sleep lulled by the sound of rain on the roof, to rest up for the last day of our adventure.

Map of our ride into Belgium.

Ride Across the Netherlands, Day 6

I could look at little cows like this all day!

Hottest day of our trip, high of about 36 degrees (Celsius, about 96 degrees Farenheit). As we neared our destination we crossed a large dry heath, a sandy plain with sparse, mostly low-lying vegetation, and very few trees. Part of the route followed a cattle track of deep sand, which was very challenging on our bike, weighing more than 350 pounds with us and our gear.

Photo credit David d'O

Because there was really no place to shelter we pushed on, arriving at our host's home at 2:30 - earliest arrival so far. The house we stayed at is on a dairy farm which is part of the Campina cooperative. The cows sleep on water beds, decide when they want to be milked, and looked very happy. The neighbor said they are spoiled!

Our hosts today don't speak much English, and our hosts last night didn't either. It's helping our Dutch! After a nice dinner in town we sat in the garden with coffee. Our hosts Henk and Reik (her name sounds like "Rick") invited an English speaking neighbor, Annamarie, to sit with us and facilitate conversation. Then we went to watch the haying. We watched until 11 pm when they finished for the night. Henk says they will start again at 5am. Rain is forecast for tomorrow afternoon so they have to finish snel!

Tot ziens, Henk and Reik!

Map of our very warm ride.

Photos from the Pieterpad

Another beautiful day on the Pieterpad, this time with lovely daughter Robin. We rambled through farm land, heaths and woods. She had the camera and I enjoyed seeing the landscape through her eyes.

In the Quin Nature Reserve

The Pieterpad guide describes the Quin as a "great fen fed by seepage water and rain. Goats and Highland cattle graze. A 30 meters high river dune offers a beautiful overview. Wet heath vegetation, such as sundew, lavender, beak rush, and different kinds of amphibians."

Gennep town square

 Our walk ended in Gennep, where we enjoyed a well earned rest and cold drink.

Thanks, Robin, for a great day!

P.S. I'm behind with details of our cross-country ride but have a great reason: a visit from Bellingham friend Alex, who is on a fabulous adventure of his own. Do check out his blog - many of the photos are taken from a moving bike!

Ride Across the Netherlands, Day 5

Two of these nylon covered figures are rowing the boat

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).

Up close and personal in the milking parlor

Map of today's excellent ride.

Ride Across the Netherlands, Day 4

Photo by Arthur Chapman

One of the delights of this trip has been the wildlife. We've seen many of these grey herons; I'm not enough of a birder to recognize the other birds we've seen. Squirrels here are mostly red and even the insects are new and interesting!

Rain until 2 pm made today a little less than perfect.We started shortly after breakfast even though the weather radar was predicting clearing by 10. Good thing, because it rained most of the day. Fortunately we are from the Pacific Northwest and are used to riding in the rain. Our hosts last night are experienced bike tourers, and they recommended a rest day or even two after every 3-4 days cycling. Sounds good to us!

One fun experience today was the hand operated ferry we used to cross one of many canals along our route. As we pulled up to the ferry, we saw:

These cyclists were already crossing when we arrived at the pontveer

Tim pulled the ferry back to our side of the bank but generously allowed me the fun of cranking us across. We have been picnicking lunches but went to a bar-cafe for koffie verkeerd, hot soup and tosti sandwiches today. The warm meal really lifted our spirits and the rain cleared up shortly after we resumed riding.

Photo by marie-II

Today we saw crew rowers on the Amstel and the unique Utrecht red-light district, had a hard time finding our way out of Utrecht (the route is not well marked in the big cities), rode really hard to make up for lost time, and took far too long to find our B&B, but arrived in time for an afternoon concert at the Grote Kerk in Vianen. The concert featured a young organist, Satoko Okitsu, and the three young artists of the Augellin Ensemble: a mezzo soprano, a cellist and a young man on recorder. The program featured cantati by Scarlatti, J.S. Bach, Handel and Pepusch. Delightful! After a shower at our homey canal-side bed and breakfast, we walked back to the old town in a cloud of mist for a delicious dinner.

Click on the link to see the map of our rainy ride from Duivendrecht to Vianen. For dessert, here is a YouTube video of a performance by Satoko Okitsu (on harpsichord) playing Bach:

Ride Across the Netherlands, Day 3

The smell at the cheese market was amazing

We woke up to rain in Alkmaar and decided to finish the walking tour we started last night, hoping to avoid a wet ride. As it happened, we were in Alkmaar on the morning of the once-a-week cheese market so we stayed until it opened at 10am. Strong cheese smell!

By the time the cheese market was in full swing the rain had stopped, so we rode dry again. We rode on top of dikes, across polders, and through lots of farmland where we saw many, many windmills. We got lost and ended up back where we started at one point but figured it out in the end. The circle in the middle of the map shows where we got lost.

We crossed this scenic bridge three times

We crossed the Amstel river via pedestrian and bicycle ferry to arrive in Amsterdam. Finding our way through the city was frustrating. The bicycle, tram, pedestrian and automobile traffic in Amsterdam is intense, and the route we were following disappeared. Turns out the LF7 merges with another route, the LF2; cyclists following other routes through Amsterdam are meant to follow the LF2 signs. It took us a while to figure that out, and my backseat driver navigational assistance probably didn't help.

Dinner with our Warm Showers hosts Leo and Annette was delicious and inspiring. They've cycled from Alaska to Mexico along the continental divide route, down South America all the way to Tierra del Fuego, and throughout Indonesia and Southeast Asia. We enjoyed learning how they travel, and they encouraged us to dream big. Getting to sleep will not be difficult; we are tired after a challenging day, and we need to rest up for another 70km ride tomorrow.

Want to see our route? Click here for the day 3 map.

Ride Across the Netherlands, Day 2

Bedankt, Mireille, for this wonderful ontbijt!

After an amazing breakfast in our little caravan, we rode to the dunes national park on the west side of Texel, then to the ferry back to the mainland. In Den Helder we visited the Dutch Navy Museum where among other things we toured a cold war era submarine and a 19th century ironclad ship.

Then we had a tough ride along the seawall, about 8km with a very strong headwind. After that the wind was not so bad. We rode through more dunes along the west coast, then turned inland through some beautiful, wild farmland. We saw many houseboats along the canals in that area, several windmills, and lots of thatched houses, including a new house being thatched. Then through some woods until we came to the long-distance route 7, the "Overland Route" which we'll be following the remainder of our trip.

Start of LF7

Our ride for the day ended in Alkmaar. We had time for a quick visit to a beer museum, and a pause for refreshment in the basement pub. Our hosts for the night, courtesy of Vrienden op de Fiets, are a very nice couple with a beautiful home. 

Our Vrienden in Alkmaar had a peaceful view of the canal 

We showered and went out for dinner at a Scottish restaurant, where we enjoyed a new beer, Hielander Porter, custom brewed for the restaurant. More Belgian than British, but still very good. It was a warm evening so we made good use of the late sunset by taking ourselves on a self-guided walking tour of the town. Alkmaar is beautiful, kind of like a little Amsterdam, which we'll cycle through tomorrow.

For the truly curious, here is a link to a map of our route this day (the first real riding day of our birthday trip).