Sep 12 2011
Highlights of Holland bicycle/barge tour
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 16th: time to say good-bye to the bikes
Even though we spent a day in Alkmaar, site of a famous cheese market, and have cycled past countless cows, goats and sheep that produce milk used in cheese, today was our first chance to stop by a cheese farm and learn more about Dutch cheesemaking. We started with a stop in Edam, home of the famous cheese and a beautiful town in its own right.
Edam
Our appetites for cheese whetted, we cycled on through the countryside, stopping for lunch at the Irene Hoeve cheese farm in Katwoude. Hoeve means farm in Dutch, and that’s exactly what this family-run business was all about. We watched a demonstation of making the classic Gouda cheese, which I learned is correctly pronounced “how-duh” where the ‘how’ part sounds like you’re clearning your throat. After sampling over 10 different types of Gouda, I choose the latest flavor to bring back home: summer pesto.
Irene Hoeve cheese farm
Back on the bikes we cycled along the Markermeer, a large, shallow fresh-water lake that used to be part of the Zuiderzee. It was fun to cycle along the top of the dikes, watching a variety of boats and waterbirds on the lake to the our left, and green fields dotted with cows and sheep to our right.
Our last day on the bikes was drawing to an end, which meant cycling back into the bustle of Amsterdam. We were surrounded by bikes, with people commuting to and from work, doing errands, or just out enjoying the day. As we peddled back toward the Tijdgeest it was hard to believe this was our last night on the barge.
Tijdgeest
Over the past week we’ve bicycled through much of northern Holland, visiting windmills, small towns, and historical buildings. I’ve walked cobblestone streets alongside canals that were built in the 1500’s and learned to admire the Dutch people for their tenacity against the sea in creating and maintaining their homeland. Along the way I’ve learned a lot from my fellow travelers about their countries, shared stories of home, and found we share more similarities than differences.
We’re already planning our next bicycling vacation!
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15th: sunshine and windmills
The wind finally died down and the sun came out today, making for a gorgeous day of cycling and viewing windmills.
17th century windmill
The Dutch have a saying: “God created the world, but the Dutch created Holland” to explain all of the land they reclaimed from the sea. We not only cycled past several windmills dating from the 17th century today, but we also stopped at the Schermer windmill museum, and climbed inside a windmill!
kitchen inside a windmill
These windmills were originally used to drain the sea and reclaim land, called ‘polders’. A good wind could move 60 cubic meters of water per minute - that’s 15, 850 gallons of water per minute! Much of the Netherlands lies below sea level, which the Dutch call the ‘NAP’ - Normal Amsterdam Piet. The windmill museum is about 6′ below sea level:
We continued cycling through the green, lush countryside until we reached the harbor town of Hoorn, which was a thriving port during the heyday of the Dutch East India Trading Company. Today it’s still a beautiful town on the IJselmeer, with many buildings from the 17th century. Lunch on the harbor was a special treat.
harbor in Hoorn
After lunch, our route took us along the IJsselmeer, the largest lake in western Europe. It was created by a system of dikes in 1932 to drain the Zuiderzee and reclaim hundreds of acres of land. At times we cycled right on top of the dike, looking out over the lake.
IJsselmeer from the top of the dike
Our day ended in Purmerend, a bedroom community for people working in Amsterdam. Tomorrow is our last day on the bikes, and we’re looking forward to an evening cruise on Amsterdam’s canals.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14th: Cheese, beer and a walking tour
We opted to stay in the town of Alkmaar today, and followed the suggestion in the Lonely Planet The Netherlands guidebook and purchased a walking tour brochure from the information center in town. The detailed descriptions of 20 different sites throughout the old part of Alkmaar provide tons of information, along with a few laughs. It’s a must-do self-guided tour!
We started at the Cheese Museum in the Waaggebouw, the 400-year old weighing house that is still the center of Alkmaar’s booming cheese market.
Waaggebouw
The Cheese Museum details the fascinating centuries-old cheese industry in Holland, complete with an informative movie and a small sample of cheese to whet our appetites.
Fortified with cheese, we set off on the 2-hour walking tour through tiny, narrow cobblestone streets lined with homes from the 17th and 18th centuries, across small canals, and along the old stone and dirt city walls that were built for protection against the Spanish invasion in the 1500’s.
Kooltuin
City Hall
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13th: windmills!
Today we rode over 50 miles from Haarlem to Altmaar, in the northern part of the Netherlands. Our first stop was the beautiful old town of Spaarndam, founded in 1285 when the dam was built to control the river flooding.
Spaarndam
Spaarndam is also the site of a statue of Hans Brinker, commemorating the centuries long struggle by the Dutch against the sea. We primarily ride on top of dikes, with water on one side 6-10′ higher than the canal on the other side of the dam. Reclaimed land, or polders are everywhere, lush and green and dotted with sheep, cows or horses. No wonder Hans Brinker is so popular!
We saw many windmills, both new and old along the ride today, culminating in a visit to the Zaanse Schans museum, home of 6 restored windmills. We went inside one windmill called the Kat, or cat, that continues to grind paint pigments today. It was fascinating to view the intricate wooden workings of the machinery powered solely by the wind.
windmills in Zaanse Schans museum
We ended today’s ride in Alkmaar, known for its cheese market. I’m looking forward to exploring Alkmaar tomorrow!
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 12th: wind, sand dunes and more wind
Luckily for us, today our bicycle route took us primarily north toward Haarlem. That meant the wind was primarily at our back, which was a good thing because it gusted up to 40mph, making it difficult to stand upright at times! Instead of flat, green fields separated by canals, we rode through sand dunes on our way to the Atlantic Ocean.
Atlantic Ocean
We reached Haarlem around 4pm, so Mike and I took the opportunity to wander around the narrow, twisting, cobblestone streets before dinner. Our goal was the Grote Markt, and especially St. Bravo’s church, home of a gorgeous organ played by both Mozart and Handel. The 98′ tall organ takes up the front wall of the church - that’s about 8 stories tall! Someone was playing the organ when we visited, and the sound from its 5068 pipes echoed throughout the church.
organ in St. Bravo's church, Haarlem
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11th: First full day on the bike!
Sunday was our first full day on the bikes, starting off at 9am after breakfast at 8am. We each have a waterproof panier that attaches to our back fender for our lunch, waterbottle, and extra clothing. We peddled almost 40 miles today, most of it into a stiff headwind which significantly slowed our pace but did nothing to dampen our enthusiasm for the scenery.
We stopped mid-morning for a break, then again for lunch in Woubrugge, where we sat alongside the canal and watched the boats go by as we enjoyed our lunch.
Our destination today was Leiden, birthplace of Rembrandt and home of Netherlands’ oldest university. It’s criss-crossed by canals, making it easy for our barge to tie up for the evening. As soon as we reached the ship, I went out for a run along the cobblestoned sidewalks, enjoying the opportunity to stretch my legs and get a better sense of the city.
The old part of Leiden, like many European cities, was surrounded by a defensive wall. Only two towers remain today, but the city retains it’s charm with narrow, twisting streets and densely packed brick homes.
FIRST DAY OF THE TRIP
We arrived in Amsterdam on Friday, taking a high-speed train that traveled up to 100 mph from Munich on a trip that lasted 9 hours.
our train in the Munich station
Today we spent an hour wandering around Amsterdam before we met our barge for the start of the Highlights of Holland bicycle/barge tour. We headed to the Dam, a beautiful square that marks the spot where Amsterdam was first founded around 1200 by a group of fisherman. Today the Koninklijk Paleis, the official residence of Queen Beatrix, stands in one corner of the Dam. We didn’t have time to go into the Paleis today, but instead enjoyed the sights and sounds of several Draaiorgel, which are player pianos/organs on beautifully decorated carts.
Draaiorgel in Amsterdam
Then it was on to the Amstel River to meet our home for the next week, the Tijdgeest. We are part of a group of 20 adults, plus a set of 17-month old twin boys, on a bicycle/barge trip that winds our way through Holland. We started off with a 1.5 our trip down the Amstel River on the barge before we took our bikes off the barge and went on a 7.5 mile bike ride through the outskirts of Amsterdam. We’re led by Mijntje, our Dutch guide for the week, riding 7-speed hybrid bikes. It was fun to get outside the crowded streets of downtown Amsterdam into the forests and countryside.
countryside outside Amsterdam
After 12 days in the Alps on a motorcycle, this is a completely different experience. We traded mountains for pancake-flat fields dotted with horses, cows and sheep. Instead of hairpin turns, we travel on bikepaths that gently wind their way through the countryside. There is water everywhere we look: lakes, rivers, large canals and small channels. Instead of sitting on the bike of a motorcycle all day, I’m pedaling my own bike, at my own speed. We spend each night on the barge instead of unpacking in a different Gasthaus each night. Our group is more diverse, coming from the UK, New Zealand, Australia, Italy, Canada and Germany. Instead of a common interest in motorcycles, we share a love of travel and learning about other people and cultures.
It promises to be another exciting part of our European adventure!