Netherlands Bike Tour
March 27, 2023
Kim & I left Seattle and flew to Amsterdam with a 1 hour layover in Reykjavík, Iceland. The first flight was comfy since I had a bulkhead seat. I didn’t sleep at all on the flight since it was only around midnight when we arrived in Iceland. I was excited to check off another country on my list!
The second flight to Amsterdam was miserable. There wasn’t much leg room, the guy in front of me leaned his seat back, it was very hot on the plane, and the woman beside me had heavy scented hand lotion that she kept reapplying.
March 28, 2023
We arrived in Amsterdam around 12:30pm and took the 397 bus close to our hotel. We had to walk five minutes, dragging our luggage along on the brick sidewalks. After we checked in, we had to carry our heavy bags up some very steep steps. One of the staff saw my struggle and carried our biggest bags for us (thank goodness!). Hotel Weismann is lovely…very quaint. I took a couple hour nap before going out for dinner with Kim.
We found a small place a short walk away and I got the catch of the day. The fish would have been good except it wasn’t very warm when they served it. The fries were overcooked and the vegetables were cooked but ice cold. Kim’s burger, however, looked fantastic!
I didn’t have much of an appetite so I went back to the hotel where I showered and was asleep by 9:00 p.m.
March 29, 2023
After getting up and dressing, I went down to have breakfast in the hotel and it was lovely. They had really nice choices of bread rolls, sliced meats, and cheeses, I was happy! I was so hungry I ended up having two row stuff with meat and cheese!
I walked with Lori, another person joining our bike tour, to Mr. Stacks, which is a vegan pancake house. I wasn’t hungry, having eaten such a big breakfast, but I did feel queasy in my stomach. So, I had an apple, carrot, and ginger juice which really settled me.
Following Lori’s breakfast we walked to the dock where we caught the Captain Jack to go on 1.5 hour canal cruise with snacks and drinks. We learned a lot of interesting history and facts about Amsterdam on the tour.
After the tour, I walked around the museums, but didn’t go in since the lines were too long, then walked back to the hotel. Along the way, I went into a souvenir shop and made some purchases.
At the hotel I took a short nap, then went down to the lounge for some tea and relaxation. Kim and Lori showed up eventually and we all went to dinner at Joe and the Juice which is a place I like in Seattle that offered vegan options for Lori.
March 30, 2023
After consulting Google Maps, we had a choice of walking from the hotel to the Flora, our barge, which would take 30 minutes or more while dragging our heavy suitcases along the brick sidewalks, or using a car service. I downloaded the Bolt app and found that I could get a 50% discount off the first ride. Kim and Lori joined me as we zipped off to our destination.
We were told that our day’s plans had changed due to bridge closures and would not be riding that day. We also had to drop off our luggage and not allowed to go onboard yet because the barge had to be inspected first. Instead, we would be talking to Central Station and taking a tram to see a working wind mill called the Molen Van Sloten (1990) & Kuiperij Museum – Windmill.
Once off the tram, we had to walk a bit through an Amsterdam suburb to get to the windmill. As we walked, a local opened up a tiny police station for us to view.
We learned it was a type of windmill that pumped water to keep the canals from flooding. It was interesting to learn about all the different kinds of mills (pumping, sawing, grinding, etc).
After visiting the mill, we walked back to the tram and took it to Kudelstaart where we were to meet the barge. We walked at a very brisk pace for several miles then found out that the barge was stuck behind a bridge closure. The tour leader, Suzie, had to call three Uber vans to pick us up and take us to the barge. I was just glad to be done walking…I didn’t know we would be doing this much walking (over three miles that day) and hadn’t brought my trekking poles or hiking shoes, so my back and feet were really hurting me. I probably could have been fine, except for the brisk pace (around 4mph instead of my usual 2mp pace). My pleas to please slow down were ignored. Needless to say, this put me in a grumpy mood.
That evening on the barge, we were served a wonderful meal by Jonne (pronounced Yawna). After a salad, we were served Dutch Boerenkool Stamppot (mashed potatoes with kale and sausage), plus Gehakt Ballen (giant meatball). It was excellent! I don’t recall the dessert, but it was delicious, too.
I was so tired from all the walking and still adjusting to the time difference, I was asleep shortly after 7:30pm.
March 31, 2023
Because of weather and logistics, the decision was made to take a train to Gouda and do a long walking tour. My back was still hurting and I didn’t feel like doing more fast paced walking so I opted to stay on the barge and meet up with everyone in Gouda. It was relaxing and I took a 2-hour nap during the journey. I was also glad to not be walking in the steady rain that day. Dinner that night was a vegetable curry and rice. It was good, but I prefer my curry to be spicier, but I also understand that not everyone likes spicy and best to go mild.
April 1, 2023
We were finally getting to ride the bikes! We rode to a water bus then continue to our main attraction for the day. We rode along the polders (low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes).
One the way, we saw that a working mill was open. The volunteers welcomed us for a tour of the mill, which was making corn flour.
After the tour, the rain was really picking up as we rode to the Kinderdijk, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Once there, we quickly ate our packed lunch before riding down the canals and taking photos. I rode fast since the rain was getting pretty heavy and the wind quite cold. I wish the weather would have cooperated so that I could have enjoyed the site more, but we don’t always get what we want.
Once we were finished at the Kinderdijk, we rode across the street and caught another water bus into Rotterdam. Along the way, I saw Noah’s Ark – not something I ever expected to see in the Netherlands!
We got off the water bus and rode our bikes through Rotterdam and by the old marina filled with gorgeous wooden sail boats. Then we were back to the Flora where it had docked.
The ride was fun, but very cold and wet. After laying my wet clothes out the dry, I was asleep by 8pm that night.
April 2, 2023
More logistics problems with bridges was causing another day of not being about to ride our bikes. Instead, we were taking a train from Rotterdam to Delft to tour the famous Royal Delft pottery factory.
Along our walk, we kept seeing signs that showed a Santa holding a dildo. At the end of a long walk, there was a statue of the same thing…too crazy! LOL
After walking to the train station, we boarded the train and got off at a stop close to Royal Delft. That was when we discovered that Jerry, one of the tour guests and 82 yrs old, was missing! Lidia and Forest (a tour guest) took the train thinking he just didn’t get off with us and went to the next stop, our original plan. I didn’t relish a long walk to Royal Delft then to the town center because my left foot was very painful. I decided to take the train to the next stop in Delft with Roger (Suzie’s husband) and wait for everyone to eventually show up at the town center. We met up with Lidia and Forest at the station and walked to the town center where we ran into Jerry! Amazing! He said he wasn’t lost….he figured we would show up there eventually. We all ended up going to the De Waag, the old weigh house for the town, where we had excellent food for lunch and lots of coffee. I started my addiction to latte macchiatos there.
About two hours later, we met up with the rest of the group in the town center where we were on our own for the nest two hours. I ended up buying some souvenirs to take home and taking photos.
That night on the boat, we had a beet salad and fish for dinner. After dinner I saw around talking to some other guests.
April 3, 2023
After breakfast, we got off the Flore and rode our bikes out of Delft along country roads. Our destination was an organic dairy farm owned by one of Suzie’s friends, Lidia and Teo. Their farm is called The Vierhuizen.
I really was looking forward to this stop! It had been a long time since I was around cows and calves and I had so much fun getting slobbered on by them!
Lidia showed us where the milk was collected to make the cheese and told us about the process. We were then taken to their cheese shop where I purchase a large wedge of gouda cheese to bring back home.
After leaving the farm, we cycled to Leiden, making a stop by a Rembrandt statue and some fortress ruins, before riding to our boat for dinner.
April 4, 2023
We were off riding our bikes again through country roads after we finished breakfast. Along the way, we stopped at Teu;omge castle in Voorhout that had a lot of history and did a tour.
We next rode to the Keukenhof, a big tourist destination in the Netherlands. We spent around three hours there touring the gardens and shops.
After visiting the Keukenhof, we took a short ferry across a canal and rode back to the boat for dinner in Kudelstaart.
April 5, 2023
On our ride today, we rode along the Kalverringdijk by historic buildings (and lots of tourists) and finally onto country roads. At one point, we came upon a hand-crank ferry where one had to turn a wheel to bring the ferry across the canal on a chain. It could hold about seven people with bikes on it, but we loaded around 10 on to go across. The rest of us road along the canal to meet up with the others at a bridge a few miles down the road. It was one of my favorite stretches because several of us got to ride ahead really fast (we had been doing around 9mph and we got up to around 18mph). It felt good to have our heart pumping!
At the bridge, Suzie discovered that the ferry only ran on the weekend and here it was only Wednesday. We had to skip some of our meandering ride through farmland and ride along another canal until we got to Alkmaar and the boat.
April 6, 2023
The day was pretty cold and raining and I didn’t feel well enough to ride to the north sea with the group, so I stayed on the boat to rest. I was coughing, was very congested and a bit fatigued. I still thought it was from the seasonal allergies I get when things are in bloom.
I did venture out for a bit and walked to a grocery store to pick up some lunch and paracetamol, but didn’t do much else.
When the group returned, they were pretty wet. I was sorry that I missed seeing Forest shed his shoes and socks and dance into the North Sea surf!
We were spending another night in Alkmaar and were on our own for dinner that night. I found an Italian restaurant about a block from the boat. I had a latte macchiato while waiting for Kim to return from an early evening tour that I didn’t want to do. Once she arrived, we both had a glass of wine while waiting for our food.
I started with a crab salad that was scrumptious! My entrée was pasta noodles with a venison & porcini ragu…it was amazing tasting! I couldn’t eat all of it, so I had them box it up to take with me.
April 7, 2023
Our last day of riding started with a short jaunt to the Alkmaar cheese market. Thousands of visitors from all over the world visit Alkmaar for its cheese market, a particular spectacle which includes a market filled with cheese and hauling cheese carriers. In 1365 Alkmaar was granted weighing rights and a weighing scale, and in 1612 this number increased to four. Exactly when the first cheese market took place is shrouded in mystery. Old documents have been found that confirm the cheese market definitely took place in 1622, but there is also evidence that the cheese bearer’s guild was founded in 1593; we can therefore deduce that there must have been a cheese market at that time as well.
After we left the market, we had a long ride back to Amsterdam. Along the way, Suzie treated us to coffee and apple cake in one of the small villages.
We were on the outskirts of Amsterdam when Roger crashed his bike and need some medical attention. He tore his pants and skinned his leg, plus bruised his ribs.
While waiting for him to get doctored, a guy walked by and one in the group said hi. The guy spit on the ground and started cursing at us like an insane person. I guess there are crazies everywhere!
For our last dinner that evening, we had an Indonesian meal that was excellent (all of Jonne’s food was fantastic), followed by a dessert of pavlova (something my daughter-in-law has been wanting to make for me).
After dinner, I made sure I was fully packed to disembark in the morning after breakfast.
April 8, 2023
We ate breakfast and said our goodbyes to everyone, then carried our bags down the gang plank. Some were going home, others were going to Belgium or France. Kim and I were going to a hotel by the airport to spend the night, then fly home the following day.
The tour itself was ok for the amount of money spent. The food was above expectations. The boat staterooms were about what I expected…a bit cramped with beds that were decent, but not exactly comfortable (the hardness gave me a back ache the whole time). We had bad weather and bridge closures that couldn’t be helped. It sucked that I was sick during that last half. My only real suggestion was to have better communication while riding our bikes and have back-up plans prepared in advance when the planned route was impossible.
After leaving the boat, Kim and I walked to central station where we easily bought our tickets from a kiosk and only had to wait a few minutes for our train to depart once we boarded.
When we got to the airport, we went outside to the shuttle area and only waited about 15 minutes before we were off to our hotel.
At the hotel, we did have a snafu with our reservation. The hotel couldn’t find it! I contacted Hotels.com, but it was such a big production, I opted to just make a new booking directly with the hotel. It actually saved me about $50 by doing so.
While waiting for our room to be cleaned, we walked next door to McDonald’s and ate our first junk food in a while. We then got our room, got comfortable and spent the afternoon lounging. Dinner that night was at the hotel next door (which joined ours and owned by the same company).
April 9, 2023
We got to sleep in at the hotel, then went down to breakfast. The hotel had a really good buffet that included custom omelets (though the options were only onions, cheese and tomatoes and took forever since one chef was trying to cook for dozens of people). I found that I liked the smoked salmon on Wassa crackers.
Soon it was time to checkout and catch the shuttle back to the airport. Before we left, however, Kim pulled out some Covid tests and we both did one. We were both positive! No wonder we had been feeling like crap! We masked up and wore them the whole way home.
It was a little confusing finding our check-in and baggage drop at the airport, then finding our gate. Once on the plane, it was pretty uneventful to our layover in Iceland.
Since we had 90 minutes before our flight back to Seattle, I did some shopping and spent way too much money on 66º North tee shirts.
I tried to sleep on the flight, but was too anxious to get home. I think I watched 3 or 4 movies on the flight.
After William picked me up and I got home, I did another Covid test (different brand) and it was also positive, so I definitely had Covid (though a much milder case than I did in March 2020 in Tasmania). I didn’t test negative until April 11th.
All the routes I rode in the Netherlands:
