30 November 2014 - Rest Day Amsterdam

It was great to have a rare lazy day. The breakfast room here at the Bicycle Hotel doesn’t open until 8am. Apart from hanging about in our tiny room, there is nowhere else to escape to in this compact Hotel.

It was also good to be able to linger over breakfast. Our room is relatively cold. The breakfast room, which doubles as a sitting room, computer room and administration area for the Hotel, is much warmer so we were happy to not rush breakfast, but also to catch up on emails and also read.

There was no plan for the day. We felt that we had seen all we needed to see of Amsterdam, and were happy doing nothing except repacking bags and being ready for Julie’s early departure for the airport before dawn tomorrow, and my big day for the trip to Rotterdam.

The temperature outside was barely above zero. Our weather ‘app’ was telling us that tomorrow would be possibly Minus 2 warming to maybe 3C by the afternoon. It could be an interesting trip to Rotterdam.

I used some idle time to look closely at the map, to sort the best way to get from Amsterdam to Rotterdam. It seems twice the distance on the map to the distance we cycled from Leiden, which was 60k. By shaving a few corners, I am hoping it will be 90-95k at best, but which is nevertheless a solid day considering the bike load, the stops for photos and coffee, and some allowance for getting lost and/or working out the signs along the way.

My main worry though is negotiating the major built-up area around Rotterdam. The Hotel is in the dockland area, but which looks very complicated on the map.

We enjoyed a final dinner with our man at the lovely ‘take-away’ around the corner. It is actually a very good dinner for relatively little price. He seems to be quite impressed that we would choose his homestyle cooking rather than a classier restaurant, of which there are plenty around.

So not much action today. We enjoyed our lazy day, feeling a little saddened knowing we part company tomorrow morning, and I will be a lone cyclist once again heading off into the cold morning all on my own.

From our quaint, cool room on the 2^nd floor of the Bicycle Hotel on Van Ostadastraat, we send our love

Photos - 29 November 2014 - Leiden to Amsterdam

29 November 2014 - Leiden to Amsterdam

We went to bed knowing that we had to get an early start. We weren’t absolutely sure of the distance, but we were anticipating about 60k back to Amsterdam. That doesn’t sound a lot in normal conditions, but when you are unsure of the way, and stopping frequently to work out directions every few kilometers, taking photos and also getting caught in conversation with locals, it is amazing how the time passes quickly.

We were up and sitting at breakfast at 7am, and virtually packed. It was a cold start to the day – our faithful weather ‘app’ was registering 1C outside, with prospects of a maximum not much higher than that. The consolation was that it promised to be a sunny day. In effect, these kinds of days reminded us of a perfect Canberra winter’s day. Breakfast was a feast for Kings (and Queens). The building was centuries old, literally right on the Rijn Canal which runs through Leiden just beyond the confluence of the ‘Oude Rijn’ (Old Rhine) and the ‘Nieuwe Rijn’ (New Rhine) just a hundred meters further up from our Nieuwe Minerva Hotel. The interior was still under renovation but was very advanced, reminding us a little of the interior of a well furnished and plush medieval castle. It reeked of quality and history.

The morning light didn’t arrive until almost 8:30am. We were feeling pleased with ourselves that we were all packed and ready to go at about 8:50am, having pumped up Julie’s tyres. It was very ‘fresh’, the cold air rushing against our faces as we maneuvered our bikes through the wet, narrow cobbled lanes of the old centre of Leiden, avoiding the markets just starting up in the central market place at the point where the rivers converge.

It was one straight cobbled street for several kilometers in an easterly direction to get ourselves out of Leiden. We were not fully confident though until we eventually saw a small bikeway sign that presented us with options. We were finally away, doing a slightly curved exit which took us slightly south-east towards the town of Alphen ‘aan den Rijn’ (which means on the Rhine). We tracked along with the Rijn canal for many kilometers, keeping pace with the early morning rowers plus their support crew on bikes with loud hailers giving occasional instructions. It was all quite nice so early in the quietness of the morning.

The air was chilly. There was a cold breeze into our faces from the north, just enough to make life a little more challenging, and cooler. My GPS had settled on 1C, but which gradually warmed to 3C by 1pm, before settling on 3C for the rest of the day. It was technically very cold, and a little tragic if we stopped for photos. The sun however was lovely, but struggled to compete with the cold which had consolidated around us. It wasn’t unpleasant while moving, but if we stopped for any length of time, it was hard to get rolling comfortably again.

Many people have asked what it is like to cycle all day in near freezing temperatures. To experience what it is like, ask your local butcher if you can set up a stationary bike in his meat cooler room, which is about the same temperature. Set up a large fan in front of you while you cycle slowly, setting the fan on medium. Get someone to occasionally spray your face with a light wispy spray which keeps your face moist all day, and stay in the fridge for about 6 hours. That goes close to experiencing what it is like. Let me know how you go.

At Alphen, we passed through the centre of the village, so we used the opportunity to enjoy a ‘Maccas’ coffee and use the toilets. It also had free wifi. We sat next to a local family who engaged in pleasant conversation, and then the young manager sat with us and just wanted to chat. It was hard to get away. He was a descendant of the famous Royal Delft family, proudly showing us the Royal Delft tattoo on his upper arm. He offered a free round of coffee, but we really needed to get on the road.

We had to track across country, at all times working our way north while drifting easterly, if that makes sense. We followed our map carefully. The country opened out. We were tracking through large and beautiful farms, alongside canals, through small forest breaks and small villages. It was also windmill country. Many lovely windmills took our attention. We were aiming for Uithorn, which for us was the place to which we cycled the previous Sunday from Amsterdam, which was at the 20k mark to go. Once we got there, we knew where we were and what was ahead of us.

We were tracking on dead straight rural roads to get there, which required us to zig-zag as we worked our way to Uithorn. Apart from the constant and deepening cold, the run from Alphen to Uithorn was 25k of very pleasant country, the final 10k being along the lovely canal that eventually joins the Amstel River at Uithorn. It seemed an age coming, but we were finally delighted to roll up out the front of the tiny quaint pub where a week ago we had coffee on our little outing from Amsterdam.

It was 1pm. We were at least confident now of making Amsterdam long before dark. However, we also had to factor in getting the bike back to Mike’s Bikes before the shop closed at 5pm. It was time though for coffee, so we enjoyed the respite from the cool air inside the quaint little pub, which was nicely filled with locals having a quiet Saturday midday ale.

The tall blonde lady at the bar recognized us when we came in from our visit a week previously. The coffee was lovely, the warm cosy room a nice respite from the cool air outside. However, at 1:30pm we hit the road again for the final run into Amsterdam, a road we knew very well by now. There was no more need to check the maps. We followed the Amstel River all the way into Amsterdam, the closer we got the busier it became with other cyclists, who all ride much faster than we were riding.

Julie did a great job on her jalopy of a bike. It was a most inappropriate bike for the kind of journey we undertook. However, having paid ‘blindly’ for it over the ‘net’, we didn’t have many options when it was presented to us. We couldn’t be more disappointed with Mike’s Bikes who have displayed hardly a trace of the courtesy and hospitality that we have otherwise experienced here in Holland.

We paused momentarily for final photos at the point where Van Ostadastraat meets the Amstel River. It was Julie’s last view of the River that had been a great companion. We would finish the day at exactly 60k. We rolled back down Van Ostadastraat, feeling a little excited eventually to see the lighted bike up the wall of the Bicycle Hotel. We decided to check-in, drop off my bike and the bags, and then do the final walk with the heavy machine of Julie’s to Mike’s Bikes, wondering what we should say if asked. However, their reception was about as shoddy as our departure a week ago! No ‘hi, how did you go’ or ‘hey great to see you, did you have a good time’.

We walked in the door. The same young guy was sleepily sitting behind the small counter. The other young guy saw us from the rear workshop and bike storage area, walked straight out and took the bike from me without basically a word. I stopped him then and reminded him that we were also returning the lights, tubes and jockey straps that they supplied. He hadn’t shown interest in getting them back. Only when Julie asked to use the toilet, did he ask her on the way past ‘how was the trip?’ Julie was nicely polite in her reply of course.

Meanwhile, I’m standing at the front counter. Only then did the young fellow come to life a little, and plucked up courage to ask me how the journey was. I also responded rather graciously, but said that it was a most inappropriate bike for that sort of journey and that my wife deserves a medal for riding it so far and so well despite its limitations. I wanted to know if ‘Mike’ was in the shop, but probably fortunately for both of us, Mike was apparently in Munich! However, the young guy had been researching my emails during our week away, for some odd reason, probably wondering if there was to be some explaining when we got back.

Anyway, we left the shop without making bad friends for our country, and ventured out into the cold once again. It was about 4:40pm. Our job was done. We decided on an early dinner at the lovely “Bagels & Beans”, splashing out also on a high calorie dessert and two rounds of ‘macciato’ or something similar, before getting out of the freezing night air and into our almost warm room on the 2^nd floor of the Bicycle Hotel, and a long hot shower.

It has been a great experience to be on the road with Julie, triumphing over the conditions to enjoy the magnificent Dutch countryside with all its beauty and history. We have a free day tomorrow, a sleep in, a long breakfast and a chance to re-pack bags for Julie’s early departure to London on Monday morning.

Strangely, I’m feeling the slight ‘jitters’ about having to do it all again on Monday, except much further, on my journey from Amsterdam to Rotterdam, which is back past Leiden and also Delft, and then further to Rotterdam. I’m not sure of the distance, but it will be 80-90k, plus the complications of getting into the city centre of Rotterdam before the curtain of darkness. The prospect of doing it alone once again is the cause of slight feelings of trepidation.

From our almost warm room at the quaint 2^nd floor of the Bicycle Hotel, we send our love.

Photos - 28 November 2014 - Delft to Leiden

28 November 2014 - Delft to Leiden

The room at the Leeunwenbrug Hotel was by far the nicest (and largest) room we have had on this adventure, including my solo journey through Germany. The fact that it also had a bath was a very big plus for my travelling companion! It was a very comfortable night, and in some respects we were not feeling all that energetic to be back on the bikes and back into the cool air quite so soon.

It was good though to linger over breakfast. The Hotel was unusually busy, so there were many other travel companions sharing the breakfast with us. We would describe the breakfast lounge area as ‘plush’, a very dignified and beautifully furnished ground floor area which included the numerous ‘nooks and crannies’ where the breakfast tables were also nicely set.

It was our ambition to be on the road by 9am or so, so we weren’t far behind schedule when we pushed away from our lovely Hotel on the canal at about 9:40am. The day was cool, staying at a lovely 5C for most of the morning, but made more invigorating by a strong, blustery northerly breeze all day that at times seemed to add an unwelcome chill factor that made the day feel more like a normal European winter’s day.

We cycled back to the market square again to see it without all the market stalls. The market square was large and open, giving much better views of the ancient ‘stadhuis’ (Town Hall) at one end and the magnificent Dom, the Nieuwe Kerk, which dates from the 14^th century and which is the resting place for William of Orange who was murdered in Delft in 1584, at the other end. Sadly, it was all locked up, stopping us from paying our respects at William’s magnificent mausoleum inside.

We therefore ‘hit the road’, retracing our route from the previous evening except in reverse, finding our way easily out of the town limits and into the wonderful vast lakes and dense parkland that surrounds Delft from the northern side. It was cold, blowing a good breeze and seemingly wanting to rain, so it was a slight challenge to travelers like us on bikes. It wasn’t long before we were on new ground, but trying to find our way out of the dense bush-land and waterways of this lovely thickly wooded forest.

We were not actually far from The Hague which was just a few kilometers to the west. As much as it was tempting to drop in, we felt we just wanted to keep things simple, rather than spend a few hours negotiating many kilometers of urban fringe and the busy city centre of the political capital of this great country. Instead, we worked on a course that basically pointed north then north-east of Delft, gradually swinging back in the direction of Amsterdam.

For what seemed like ages, we were cycling through built up urban development. It seemed slow going for us today, the time passed slowly, the kilometers all felt long, and the conditions were more difficult than usual due to the rather biting wind from the north which did its best to slow our forward momentum. We pressed on with a happy spirit, enjoying the experience nevertheless.

The countryside changed after some 10-12k, into beautiful parkland at first then into open farmland for vast wide expanses. It was very lovely. Incredibly, we entered the magnificent heavily wooded parkland which had numerous canals, ponds, small lakes and numerous paths going in all directions. We lost our markers in there somehow, and were completely lost. We had no idea where we were or how to get out of what was effectively a massive maze of paths, ponds and heavily wooded parkland. We eventually stopped a cyclist who was happy to lead us out to the first bikeway sign, after which we were happily on our way again.

The vast wet farmlands were simply beautiful. We passed friendly horses, sheep and cattle, as well as more swans than we have seen in all the days combined. The soil was black and rich, the grassland lush. With the bracing wind into our faces, it was rather chilly but nevertheless quite a beautiful experience to cycle through, just requiring to keep dodging the plentiful piles of manure on the path.

Numerous cyclists passed us. I managed to get a superb photo of a line of four cyclists crossing a narrow white arched bridge over a narrow canal. The farmlands moved into outer suburbs of Leiden. Leiden is quite a highly populated place, so the urban fringe started some 10k out from the centre. It was actually difficult going – negotiating roadworks which had blocked our bikeway, bridges, railway lines, expressways – all of which required much twisting and turning. At this point we still had no idea of where the centre of town was or how to get there. However, we managed to find a sign finally that said ‘centrum’ so we decided to take it. It turned out to be a straight run on one very long street that took us into a very large old town centre, with beautiful canals almost everywhere we looked.

We must have looked a bit dazed, as a woman who had passed us on a bike stopped and turned back to ask if we needed help. We had no idea where our Hotel was, although we knew it was ‘down the street’ from the old ‘stadhuis (town hall). She said she had no idea where that was because she was only new, but she could take us to the station, where she was going. We tracked along behind her, but something told us she was taking us astray, so we thanked her and took our leave.

Looking disoriented once again, I was about to get out the GPS when Julie caught sight of a small sign to ‘Nieuwe Minerva Hotel’. We couldn’t see it at first, but again Julie looked up one of the magnificent canals and written in very large letters on the whole side of a building about 200mtrs away was the name of our Hotel.

It is always a great feeling to arrive. It was 1pm. Our total for the day was 30k, our shortest by far, but each one of those kilometers seemed like we had to fight hard for it. We were glad to get in, and then have three more hours to explore the beauty of this very ancient town.

After Amsterdam, Leiden is the city with the most waterways of all cities and towns in Holland. Leiden was part of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish in the 16^th century, but was besieged by the invading Spanish invaders. The citizens fared badly through disease and hunger, but held out bravely. The Spanish finally fled when the forces of William of Orange came to the rescue, entering the city and distributed food to all the starving inhabitants of Leiden – half a loaf of bread and cheese and a herring for every person. This was called ‘the Relief of Leiden’ which is still celebrated annually right up to the present day with a gigantic local party. As a reward for standing against the Spanish invasion, William of Orange founded Leiden’s University on 8 February 1575, the other thing for which Leiden is important today – a University city.

Yesterday I made a slip – I said that Leiden is famous for daffodils. I meant ‘tulips’. In spring if you travel to Leiden from The Hague you pass through magnificent fields of beautiful tulips.

While Julie was showering, I took a walk through the narrow lanes to St Pieterskerk, the beautiful Cathedral in the centre of Leiden. It dates back to the 12^th century at least, but is probably better known as the burial place for many of the Pilgrim Fathers including the leader John Robinson. The Pilgrim Fathers were religious refugees from England in the early 1600’s, who settled in Leiden in 1609. Many emigrated from Leiden in 1620, and via Southampton aboard the Mayflower sailed to New England, establishing the Pilgrim colony near what is today Boston. It is an interesting history with the connections to the city where we sleep tonight.

The old centre of Leiden is large and historically very quaint and beautiful, especially by night. We enjoyed a brief night walk to the Albert Einstein restaurant (a pub really), and enjoyed a final nice meal to celebrate the final night of our mini-tour of southern Holland together. Tomorrow we have a rather large trek across country to get ourselves back to Amsterdam, to arrive in time to return Julie’s bike, and get ourselves to the Bicycle Hotel in the Pijp district before the curtain of darkness falls. It looks like being a sunny day, but if the wind does not drop it will be a tough day in the saddle for both of us.

From our lovely Hotel room at the Nieuwe Minerva Hotel, which is in a centuries old building on the canal of the Nieuwe Rhine river, we send our love.

Photos - 27 November 2014 - Gouda to Delft