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 14th 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 16th 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 12th 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.
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