Tuesday, May 31

Chilly, cloudy, windy, and a little rain. In other words. 99% better than yesterday. We and our two housemate couples got on the road early and had a beautiful ride down into nearby Belgium.

Baarle-Herzog and it's twin town of Baarle - Nassau are about 15K south of here. They are in Belgium. but there are many enclaves within town which are Netherlands. And some if those enclaves actually surround pockets of Belgium. Along the sidewalk are painted dotted lines with B on one side and NL on the other. Many buildings are in both countries. Crazy.  Building a border wall would be a challenge for Trump.

The picture is of a well-made thatched roof. There are a lot of them in the countryside but none in the towns because of fire danger.

Monday, May 30

a.m. pouring rain. Reminder to self next time we come to Holland we will bring less sunscreen and fewer swimsuits. 5 p.m. still raining. This is what cyclists look like after 30 hours of rain. 

Sunday, May 29

Weather forecast today progressively worse. Other 2 couples wanted to start early to avoid later rain, but we wanted to take our time and be in the rally group photo. Connected with friends John and Rosemarie from Australia/UK whom we knew from the rally in Brittany 2 yrs ago. After that rally we had also met up with them in Normandy and had dinner with them. Anyway, they ride a Bike Friday as we do. Rode today not only with them but also with 3 other couples on Bike Fridays, 2 from Australia and one from Tasmania. Good to make new friends Good ride, lunch in Belgium. While we were at lunch the rain started , and the last 15 miles of the ride was in a steady drizzle, but it was not cold and we did not die.

We got back to our cottage a few minutes ahead of our roommates. We all cleaned up our bikes and ourselves while the rain came down harder and harder. In the evening Rob and Nancy drove with us to Breda for dinner. Graham and Edie rstayed back and ate at the campground's restaurant.

Pics: the other 5 on Sat. ride, one of the Dutch organizers dancing for us in his wooden clogs (clompen- good word), and one of the younger tandem pairs.

Saturday, May 28 at Chaam

No scheduled ride so we 3 couples rode the route scheduled for next Friday, when we'll still be here but they will have left. Very different riding from our wandering trip down from Amsterdam. At least in this region there is a network of bike paths and trails which lead mainly just to each other. Everything from new asphalt roads to narrow dirt paths. Stopped in one little town for coffee, and learned there was a large bike shop in town. We needed a couple little things but we also bought beautiful bike jerseys which will be our souvenirs of the trip. Just a little rain but otherwise a good day for riding and a good ride.

In the even if there was an opening ceremony for the tandem rally accompanied by a local brass band. There are about 150 tandem bikes at the rally.

Friday, May 27 to Chaam

A short ride to our tandem rally destination at Chaam (pronounced calm) and didn't want to arrive too early to ck in so we killed as much time leaving Breda as we could. But not to worry- we got lost so many times it was 2 o'clock before we got here. Sharing a 3 br cabin with 2 other couples, old friends Rob and Nancy, and Graham and Edie from Vancouver Island, whom we hadn't met before. We all arrived about the same time. While they assembled their tandems we cleaned 2 wks of mud and grime from ours. A warm, sunny day; we actually ate dinner outdoors.

Thursday May 26th to Breda

Because of rain we didn't have much chance to see Dordrecht yesterday so before leaving town this morning we got on the bike and toured the Old Town. Very interesting old houses and small streets, but the best thing for us was that a festival of antique ships and boats is due to start tomorrow and the participating vessels were already in town and tied up to the wharves. Some were relatively small yachts and fishing boats but most were large cargo vessels once fitted for sail, dating from about 1880 to 1910. The showstopper was a huge sloop, in beautiful condition. To get it all in the frame of a picture I had to get far enough back that the details don't show, but this ship must be at least a hundred and fifty feet long. The largest single masted boat I have ever seen. The steel boom must be 90 or 100 feet long. I would not want to be in the way of an unintentional jibe. Like all Dutch boats now, even the small ones , all of these vessels are built of iron or steel.

Before leaving town we stopped at a bike shop located only a couple of doors from our B&B. We bought waterproof seat covers , and new leg warmers for Sandy since I stole her previous ones. We also bought a beautiful leather Brooks handlebar bag which I have wanted for a long time.

We finally did get on the road to Breda. It was a beautiful day for riding , finally , with sunshine and temperature in the high sixties.

We had time in Breda to  walk to the nearby famous park, see the castle where William of Orange made his headquarters until he moved to Delft where he was murdered. We also visited the 12th century Cathedral , Protestant since the seventeenth century , which was where all the kings were buried before William of Orange.

Our B&B is a townhouse which has been a guest house since it was built in the 1890s. Our room has a comfortable sitting room and a curtained bed enclosure. We have only been a handful of places on this trip so far but we're sure seeing a wide variety of accommodations.

The pictures are mostly boats and ships in Dordrecht, but there is also one which if you look closely you will see is a selfie.

Wednesday May 25th to Dordrecht

Another grey day with light rain most of the time. But it was chilly enough that we could ride comfortably with our rain jackets and rain pants.

The ride today was through very picturesque countryside. Many sheep cows ducks swans canals and windmills. Despite all our navigation resources we took a wrong turn which led us a long way out of our way, but we did not mind because the scenery was enjoyable and the ride was not very long: about 35 miles the way we did it.

Dordrecht is the oldest city in Holland and a seaport. Our B&B is directly on the harbor,  and I took a long walk around to see all the coastal trading ships. The B&B is a nineteenth-century house which a woman and her son are working on. We think our room is the only one , but it is large and has old furniture and paintings, and a beautiful garden view out the back. The ceiling is 19th century original and features cupids representing thel four seasons.

Dinner at a waterfront neighborhood pub. One man had his dog on the stool beside him. The dog put his paws up on the bar and the bartender gave him treats. Definitely a regular.

Tuesday May 24th side trip to Rotterdam.

Took a train to Rotterdam and visited their excellent art museum. The only difficulty was buying tickets for their tram system. Locals all have transit debit cards and all the instructions are in Dutch. But with the kind help of strangers we worked it out. After lunch we headed back to Gouda. Not feeling top-notch so we took it easy otherwise. The pictures are a medieval Madonna we liked , and a Rubens portrait we thought looked a little like our painting of Sandy's grandmother.

Monday May 23rd at Gouda

Our plan for today was to either ride a 30 mile loop to the east or to take a train into Rotterdam. But at least a couple of the places in Rotterdam we would like to see are closed on Monday. We have an extra day built into our plan so we will take it here in Gouda today and go into Rotterdam on Tuesday. Still raining steadily this morning.

In the morning we spent a long time at a famous huge local church with many surviving medieval stained glass windows. They were taken down and hidden from rampaging iconoclasts in the fifteen hundreds and again from the Germans in the 1940s. In 1947 they added a "Liberation" window. See pics.

In the afternoon we walked a few blocks to a harbor with a collection of privately owned historical ships and boats. See pics.

Went to the movies in the evening at a charming tiny theater. Saw Demolition,  English with Dutch subtitles. Not great movie but a fun outing regardless.

Sunday May 22 to Gouda

A thunderstorm came through about dawn in delft, but by the time we got on the road it was just a very light rain, and not too cold. The route took us through a picture-book rural scene of sheep and dairy cattle on dedicated bike paths. The rain stopped and the sun tried to shine through, and before long we were riding without jackets or warm clothes- for the first time on the trip.

The second half of the day's ride was on a bike path parallel to a major highway and took us past a long stretch of prosperous office and industrial buildings.

Like all old Dutch town centers so far , Gouda (pronounced HOW-duh, while clearing your throat on the initial H) is a complicated warren of streets and canals but we found our way to the little B&B. By the time we showered and changed and headed out to look for a late lunch , it was raining again. That limited the afternoon's sightseeing but we saw a couple of things.

On the wall of the city hall is a plaque listing hundreds of Jewish residents of Gouda during World War II , with their names, ages and the concentration camp where they died. Ages range from 2 months to 85. One interesting sequence was an old man and his son and daughter-in-law who died at Gouda, and their children who died at concentration camps. Just imagine how that happened.

The city is very proud of its fifteenth-century municipal building which until the 1980s was used to weigh cheeses to determine the amount of tax the farmers owed. They still have an outdoor cheese market here on Thursdays.

Mexican for dinner- not bad

Reactions so far to Holland- people are tall , few beards or tattoos. Friendly, but on a bike they are solemn - no greetings or eye contact. They don't seem to have a national cuisine so the food is varied but in our experience uniformly excellent. Restaurant prices , adjusted for the Euro and lack of tipping are just about what we pay at home when we do go out. A large proportion of the buildings in the town centers were built in the seventeenth century. The streets and roads are built around the assumption that you are traveling by bicycle.

May 21 at Delft

A full, fun day. After breakfast at our B&B we walked over to the Old City and while waiting for the William of Orange Museum to open we wandered into the Old Church. It happened that they were practicing for a choral concert of Mozart's Requiem for this evening. We estimated there were 800 in the chorus. Between the volume of the voices and the acoustics of the cathedral and the musical power of Mozart, the effect just about knocked us over.

We moved on to the Prinsenhof, which was the seat of William of Orange , the Founding Father of the Netherlands. He was a prince and advisor to the emperor Charles V of Spain, but broke with him in the religious wars of the last part of the 16th century. He was assassinated at the Prinsenhof , and there are even bullet holes in the wall at the site of the murder. (Pic)

Also at the prinsenhof was a special exhibit. Vermeer's famous painting of a Little Street, (pic)which usually is at the rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, is on loan here in delft where it was painted over 300 years ago.

After lunch we went to the Vermeer Center , which is a museum with no original Vermeer paintings but images of all 39 known Vermeer works from around the world with great commentary background and analysis. We came away not only knowing more  about Johannes Vermeer, but with a special appreciation and love for his work.

We then saw the New Church, where all the monarchs of the Netherlands are buried, with a special monument to William of Orange.(pic)

But wait there's more. After a little down time we rode the bike a short distance to the next town to an evening Mass. The big churches in delft have been Protestant since the time of William of Orange. It was a very modern Catholic service with music and emphasis on the children which reminded us of the Shrine of St. Joseph, where we were active in New Jersey long ago.

We rode the bike directly into the main square of delft , had a good dinner there and finally rode back to our B&B in the fading late twilight.

May 20-extra

Our bedside clock in Delft

Friday May 20 to Delft

Slept late, had a lazy breakfast, and then packed up and did a short ride to Delft. Bike trails and paths almost all the way. Started in a chilly light rain, but the sun came out and the temperature climbed into the sixties. After checking into our strange but friendly little B&B, "Soul Inn", we walked a few blocks toward the centtral square and had a late lunch. Spent the afternoon relaxing and doing laundry. pics: view from our window, incl a windmill and the Oede Kerk, old church, 1300-something, the main square with the Nieuwe Kerk and the town hall.

Thursday May 19th Leiden and The Hague

Spent the morning in Leiden at the Lakenhal art museum and the city's rijksmuseum, which has an amazing collection of Etruscan Greek Roman and Egyptian artifacts. They even have a complete Egyptian burial temple, a gift from Anwar Sadat for helping deal with floods in Egypt. After lunch we sought out the hard-to-find little American Pilgrim Museum. The pilgrims had taken refuge in Holland but wore out there welcome here and set sail for New England from Leiden. The museum is in a house built in 1365 and furnished with pieces that old. The curator is an American who has lived here for at least 40 years, a real character who knows about all there is to know about the Pilgrims. (pic: museum room, 14th century floor, fireplace and wall)

We took a train to Den Haag to have dinner with old friends from our business days. While there we visited the Mauritshuis, a 200 year old art museum with a collection of the very top Dutch artists from their golden age of the 17th century. We saw Vermeer's Girl With a Pearl Earring and his landscape View of Delft. An especially fun dinner with Tom and Susie, and then an easy train ride "home". (pics: Mauritshuis and pond)

May 18th to Leiden

A riding day of about 25 miles , passing through several small villages and one of the major tulip growing areas. The tulips have mostly been harvested now but some of the fields still had colorful flowers. we reached Leiden in the early afternoon and checked into the room we had booked ahead, which turned out to be a canal-side apartment even featuring a garage for the bike. Rode the bike through town on one Excursion to the tourist office, but otherwise took it easy and tried to stay warm. When we started to go out to dinner we faced what one of the locals called an apocalyptic storm. Actually typical Tampa Bay thunderstorm , except much colder. Good thing the bike was
protected in the garage. After we had waited just a few minutes the storm was over and we ended the evening well fed.

Leiden is a very pretty small city with many canals filled with small pleasure boats, canal boats and barges.

May 17th at Haarlem

In the morning we visited the Frans Hals Museum. He was the favorite son of Haarlem, and especially in the last century has then considered one of the top 17th Century Dutch masters. The museum features large group portraits of the Civic guards, and there was enough explanation and context to make them interesting.

By early afternoon the weather had warmed up considerably so we took a bike ride over toward the beach on the North Sea. We rode a long loop on bicycle paths through the  Zuid Kemmerman National Park. The park is a large expanse of forest on top of dunes. At one spot the dunes had covered the  trail entirely , and the picture is Sandy bushwhacking. There are wild horses, which we saw, and many other wild animals including European bison, which we did not see. It was a very good ride of about 25 miles.

A good day.

May 16th at Haarlem

We took our time getting ourselves and the bike ready to leave Amsterdam, and got on the road about 10:30 with the temperature in the high 40 s and a light rain falling. We are basing our route on a guidebook for cycling the Netherlands Belgium and Luxembourg. This was the first day to test the directions, and we got out of town without any confusion, almost entirely on dedicated bike paths.

The route to Haarlem was very short, and at about the halfway point we stopped at a windmill and were treated to a excellent and detailed guided tour. This particular windmill is used to regulate the water level for a large region, lifting water about two meters through an Archimedes screw pump  system. Ingenious. The Dutch figured out this system a long time ago, to offset the subsidence of land which had been reclaimed from the sea.

We stopped for lunch at a hotel very close to the airport , and while there we made a reservation to stay for the last night before we return home.

We reached Haarlem and our B&B hotel in improving weather, and after a rest took a short walk to the town square. This is a much better hotel than the one in Amsterdam. There is plenty of room to swing a cat. The hotel is just two blocks from the central square facing the second largest church in the Netherlands. This is a national holiday, Pentecost, and everyone was out enjoying it. A feature of the celebration was a festival of calliope street organs. There was a different calliope about every block and people were dancing to the music. Most of the organs were hand operated by cranks.

Haarlem is a beautiful small city with many many 17th century homes and public buildings. It was largely spared damage during World War II, and the city has been wise enough to carefully preserve itself.

There are many small private boats along the canals , including  many old  style Dutch boats,  but curiously people don't seem to care what their boats look like. Maybe it is too early in the season for people to have cleaned up and fitted their boats out for the summer.

Just about everybody in the Netherlands is on a bicycle. They ride fast, confidently, and with great skill. People ride in crowded bike traffic without giving it a second thought while carrying a package or a baby in one hand. 99% do not wear a helmet. The typical Dutch bike has a single speed, and coaster brakes. They set their bikes up with a very high stem and handlebar and ride sitting straight up. The Dutch people are very tall , and to see a 6-foot woman riding a bike sitting straight up is quite a sight.

By the time we went out to dinner, the party was over, and they had effectively rolled up the sidewalks. We had never eaten Indonesian food before , but we had a spectacular 'rice table' dinner. Many different dishes, all good.

May 15 in Amsterdam

Cold morning, mid 40's, but high 50's in afternoon. Took a tram to city center for Mass- very traditional , Latin hymns. Ornate church which apparently escaped destruction during the religious wars, or maybe it hadn't been built then. After church a very good brunch at a cafe nearby , then another tram to the impressive Royal Palace. Walked across the Dam Square and through the Old Town to Rembrandt's house, which has been restored to how it was when he lived and worked there in the 1600's. Then back to the hotel for a break. After an Italian dinner nearby, we called it a day.

Tomorrow we get on the bike and on the road to Haarlem. Hope the weather does not challenge us.

May 14 at Amsterdam

A change in the weather. In the forties this morning with a strong North Wind.

Walked a mile to the van Gogh Museum. Most of Vincent's work stayed in his estate until donated at the time the museum was built in the 1960s. Great collection , large but well-behaved crowd.

After lunch we took a tram across town to the Anne Frank House Museum. Waited in line 2 1/2 hrs to get in, during which we got storm winds, rain and even hail. Made many new friends in line. It was worth the wait. Museum is well done and moving. Only her father Otto Frank survived the war , and he later said he was amazed at the depth of thought and feeling she had put into her diary; she had shown no signs of it to him. He came to believe most parents do not really know their children.

Before getting back on the tram we enjoyed a good Thai dinner- place run by a Dutchman and his Thai wife. Warmed us up for the trip home.

May 13 at amsterdam

In the morning we walked along the canal a mile to the national museum, Rijksmuseum, stopping at a cafe/bakery along the way. Spent several hours at the museum, including an interesting highlights tour. The Netherlands has a goal of every Dutch child seeing Rembrandt 's iconic painting The Night Watch, thought to symbolize the nation's independence, at least once while growing up. A good percentage were there this morning.

This afternoon we took a canal boat tour around the city. Gave us a better feel for the old city, and a look at various old Dutch boats and houseboats converted from old barges and canal boats. Great fun.

Took it easy otherwise; still adjusting our brains' clocks.

Beautiful day today- sunny, windy, temp about 70. Forecast chilly and cloudy.

Off on a new trip: day 1, 5-11/12

We flew to Amsterdam Wed. To begin a 7-wk bike tour of the Low Countries. Trip notes:

Long layover at London Gatwick. Flt to Amsterdam delayed 1 hr. Didn't matter. We were zombies anyway.

Amsterdam is having a very warm day and everyone is out enjoying it and thousands of people are on the streets on bicycles.

First impression at Amsterdam was I wasted my time with Dutch lessons; the signs and all the people are English-speaking. Taxi to hotel. Our room is the very smallest hotel room we have ever seen, but we have not been to Japan. If it were any smaller it would have needed bunk beds. The plus is it is clean and all of the fixtures and facilities are ultra-modern, and the staff has been very helpful so far. I had not thought to build out the tandem bike until we were about to leave but everyone here seems to be riding bikes so I spent the late afternoon building the bike out on the sidewalk. I went upstairs briefly and someone was about to go off with our bike cases from the sidewalk, but our hotel desk clerk rescued them for me. In fairness, they were right beside the trash, and I have been known to be a packrat myself. We tested my newly devised electronic wireless alarm system, and if anyone disturbs the bike my receiver unit will vibrate and play Fur Elise.

In search of dinner, we walked along the nearby street fronting a canal. Made our way to a street with many restaurants and happened into one of the best meals we have ever had anywhere.  small place, fixed menu, fixed price. Didn't know what we would get but what we got was 3 courses of small portions but when we were done we were well satisfied, and the main thing was that each course was accompanied by an extraordinary wine. An Italian something with the appetizer, a Pinot Noir with the Easter lamb main dish, and a Sauterne with dessert. We left quite a few Euros behind, but it was well worth it. Life is good.

Don't be picky about spelling and punctuation. I do know somewhat better but Google doesn't.

Pic: our Bike Friday and friends.