A log about those Silly Folks and their Escapades

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Purmerend to Edam to Volendam to Amsterdam

by Larry

Today was our last day of bicycling and we are going to finish strong at +50 km and finally a day with sun shine, warmth and a little breeze. We headed off from Purmerend towards Edam. Edam is named after Edam cheese and the town is very picturesque with small houses and canals. Edam is home of the cheese museum which has a tour including a floating basement….. very odd. The buildings really are leaning…. it’s not the camera operator. After Edam we cycled towards Volendam; and as our tour guide explained it, Volendam is a tourist trap, to us though Volendam looked like a beautiful seaside village complete with lots of shops, restaurants and lots of touristy stuff. The one interesting thing about Volendam is the old original hotel. On the walls are paintings from many famous and not so famous painters. In the past those staying at the hotel would pay their bill by doing a painting and it became property of the hotel……very unique and interesting. We then cycled to a cheese farm where we saw traditional dutch costumes and were explained the process of cheese making and got to taste some samples. Finally we rode into the chaos of Amsterdam at 5:00 pm; across a passenger ferry and bicycled through huge crowds and congestion to finally arrive at the dock where we originally boarded the barge “Holland”. So in the end the bike and barge was everything we thought it would be and more. What a way to see the country of Holland. It was truly a fabulous experience and we would do it again in an instant.

May 19, 2010   No Comments

Alkmaar to Hoorn to Purmerend – “Mabel Day”

by Larry

Today we cycled 50 km. We left Alkmaar right at 9:00 a.m. and headed off towards Hoorn. Before getting to Hoorn we stopped at a working windmill museum complete with a film documentary and history of draining the dikes in Holland. Part way to Hoorn we stopped to take a picture where Brenda’s friend Mabel became separated from her bike group when she and Ken did the same trip a couple years ago. Pictures are attached of Jannie the guide, Brenda and I pointing the direction to head and finally the location where Mabel was reunited with the group. Jannie calls it ”The Mabel Story” to make sure everyone pays attention on her tours. Hoorn is a beautiful city right on the inside of the North Sea. We have a calendar at home that has a picture of Hoorn and we were able to see the exact location where the picture was taken. Also, it must be a great location for other photos because when we were having our lunch along came a group and they were taking photos of two models riding bikes by the harbour in Hoorn. After a picnic lunch in Hoorn we left and rode by a condominium development that had a working farm right in the middle courtyard; sheep, chickens, pigs, etc…. can you imagine living in a condo in Canada and looking out from your front room to a farm on the complex? We then cycled on to Purmerend for the evening which included a group drink at a local bar.
 
 
 
 

 

May 19, 2010   2 Comments

Alkmaar to the North Sea

by Larry

After arriving in Alkmaar the barge stayed here for 2 days. This gave everyone a chance to sight-see in the area or if you were really crazy go for a large loop bike ride to the North Sea. 2 people were a little saner and opted for sight-seeing. However 10 of us were a little crazier and headed off the the North Sea and the Sand Dunes of Holland in a cold, windy rainy morning. After a couple hours of cycling we started into a National Park complete with a sparse forest (which was our first sign of any forested lands) the start of the sand dunes and an actual change in elevation (hills to climb). After the National Park we came to the North Sea where the wind was really howling, thankfully our tour guide found a cafe where we could have a coffee and warm-up. The North Sea bike path is paved and very wide and it is made up from a dike which is sand/earth piled high and then very large cement blocks are interlocked to the ocean side to prevent erosion. From the coffee stop, where we were to the next town was over 5 km and the wind was right in our face. Our small group started off and we slowly lost riders, however a few hardy souls drafted off each other and we probably got about 3 km before turning back. The ride back with the wind at our back was fun, fast and no peddling was required. Overall it was a great day and we got to put our hand in the North Sea….. today was about 45 km.
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

May 18, 2010   No Comments

Haarlem to Alkmaar

by Larry

Today we cycled 50 km. The highlights were the statue of Hans Brinker; the tale of the little dutch boy who put his finger in the dike to stop the flooding. After a good morning ride we had our picnic lunch at an open air windmill museum which included a traditional dutch village. The weather was windy, a little drizzly and cool, but we continued on, actually we had no choice as the barge always heads off in anotherdirection where we meet it later that afternoon. Today also included two ferry crossings as part of our adventure. The countryside had many farms with a variety of livestock, mostly sheep and goats. The farm houses were very impressive; most are brick construction on the main living level and many had thatched and tiled roofs which were very peaked. The peaks were built at 52 degrees which is the same as the Egyptian Pyramids……. not sure the history on this. However, in the past the family lived on the ground level and the hay and livestock feed was stored in the upstairs peaked area. The thatched roofs were considered a poor farmers roof at one time, however nowadays they are extremely expensive as it is a dying art. So what you do see in a lot of new home construction is thatch and tile combination; plus the peaked area upstairs now is all living space with small dormers or skylights.

May 18, 2010   No Comments

Thanks for the Comments

by Larry

Just a quick note to all those who have posted comments. We really appreciate reading them and know that someone out there is actually interested in reading about adventures. Hat Tours kept us very busy on the bike barge plus the internet signal was very sketchy; usual instructions were ”Brenda put that tinfoil hat back on, stand on the boat railing don’t worry about falling in I think we finally have two bars on the signal indicator”, not really but you get the idea. So, we got a little behind on updating our blog, however we did make some notes, take some pictures and will do updates when we get a chance. Keep those comments coming.

May 16, 2010   3 Comments

Leiden to Haarlem and “The Keukenoff”

by Larry

Todays ride was a total of 25 km. We started by eating breakfast as the barge headed to Lisse which was close to our first stop. This was the Keukenoff Day and it was terrific. The Keukenoff is the world’s largest tulip exposition and this years show was titled “To Russia With Love”. The tulips displays were breath taking and how they combined them with the many other varieties of bulbs was spectacular. However the tulips are only one part of the exhibit; the other spectacular displays were in buildings named after members of the Dutch Royal Family. The exhibits in the buildings included Orchids, Summer Flowers and the most impressive was the worlds largest display of Lilies. We spent 4 hrs at the Keukenoff and Brenda could have spent twice as long. Another highlight of the day was that the “Giro D’Italia” was passing by the front of the Keukenoff.. The Giro D’Italia is second only to the Tour De France. After the group left the Keukenoff we cycled past many tulip fields to get to Haarlem for that night. The evening walk through Haarlem included a visit to some Alms Houses and of course a group drink at a local bar. We also managed to purchase a new digital camera at the end of the day. The following pictures are from our Quebec bike friends Alain and Lisse who kindly let us download their amazing pictures of the Keukenoff. Merci Beaucoup Alain & Lisse!

May 16, 2010   4 Comments

Kudelstaart to Uithoorn-Leiden

by Larry

Sunday the real cycling began. Today we headed off in a light wind and drizzle to Uithoorn-Leiden the distance will be 55+ km. Along the way I took a picture of our group cycling among sheep on one of the bike paths and when I put the camera back in my jacket the lens must have closed on a piece of kleenex or lint in my pocket  and then the lens would not open or close properly and the camera would not work for the rest of the day; so not a good start. even worse we are headed to the Keukenoff tomorrow with no “frickin” camera. Divorce is eminent! Later in the day I also managed to get one foot completely covered in asphalt oil/tar that was on top of a mud puddle we went through and as they say “things happen in three”, so put an end to a “bad day” somewhere in Holland is my cellphone. Thanks to Tricia and Johnny for canceling it and we’ll sort it out when we get home. Anyway back to the cycling, the bike paths here are amazing and the people are all very respectful of bicyclists……. it’s a way of life and a culture in this country. After a great dinner we were off for a city walk where we were introduced to “Alms Houses” which were homes for the poor. Leiden was the native city for Rembrandt and another famous painter named Jan Steen. So much history and interesting things to see while cycling and also on our evening walks. We are having a sensational time!!
 
 

 

May 16, 2010   5 Comments

Amsterdam Bike & Barge – Hat Tours

by Larry

Saturday, we (Fred, Barb, Brenda and I) walked from our hotel in Joordan district of Amsterdam to the Barge “Holland” which was located next to Central Train Station located near the NEMO Science Center. Boarding time was 12:30 p.m. and we set sail at exactly 1:30 p.m. Their are 15 people on board and 12 are bike riders. 4 people are from Italy, 1 from Germany and the rest are from Canada. The Canadian group consists of 2 from Quebec, 3 from Ontario and us 4 from B.C. We sailed from downtown Amsterdam through the canals, locks, bridges and then across a large lake and finally ended in Kudelstaart. After dinner we had a short ride of about 20 km through the countryside.  

May 15, 2010   No Comments

Amsterdam

by Larry

We arrived in Schipool Airport close to on schedule and caught the train to Amsterdam Central Station where we were met by Fred & Barb right outside the station exit. It was great to see familiar smiling faces amid the thousands of people, bikes, barges, etc. The first thing you see when you exit is a three level bike garage where there has got to be 10,000 bicycles of all shapes, types, sizes and descriptions. After a short walk we arrived at our B&B and were met by the host – Jasper. After settling in we headed off on a walk in the Jordaan area. Amsterdam is a very large and very old City. The buildings are very old, lots of history, many are leaning, lots date back to the mid 1600’s and the canals are magical. Everyone has a bicycle and you learn pretty quickly that pedestrians really need to be aware because bikes have first priority. UPDATE! UPDATE! The bike garage is 4 levels of bicycle parking….. we’ve added pictures below.

May 15, 2010   1 Comment

Holland & France – The Adventure Begins

by Larry

Our Holland and France adventure has begun. Here we are sitting in the Maple Leaf Air Canada Lounge waiting for our plane to arrive from Frankfurt. We checked Lufthansa schedules before we left Kamloops and knew that the flight was delayed leaving so it is obvioulsy going to be late arriving. Right now it looks like about one hour late, so it’s going to be a pretty tight connection when we arrive in Frankfurt to get to our next flight into Amsterdam. Nothing we can do about it so we are going to sit back have a drink and watch all the hub-bub of an international airport. We had hoped to put up a picture; however in our efficiency for packing lightly the cord to connect the camera to the computer is in the suitcase which is sitting on a luggage cart on the tarmac. So, how did we get the picture posted????? Well our new netbook computer has sd-card slot and is that ever slick….. no more wired connections for us. Stay tuned once we get to Amsterdam.

May 5, 2010   5 Comments

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