Europe 2013, part 4: Holland

In this episode, we explore the countryside in Holland, which had a different feel from the city of Amsterdam (Incidentally, Amsterdam is in Holland, and both are in The Netherlands. But that's why I titled the episodes as "Amsterdam" and "Holland").

Monday morning, May 6, 2013, Linette and I again awoke to the sound of "Don't Worry, Be Happy" aboard a Stena Line overnight ferry from England to The Netherlands. We went up on deck to watch as we pulled into the harbor at Hoek van Holland.

I thought it was fun that it said "Bedankt" ("be thanked", or "thanks), and "Tot ziens!" (See you later!), because these were two of the very few phrases I happened to know in Dutch.

We took a train to Schiedam and then another one to Amsterdam "Centraal" station. I spoke to a French lady as we rode along, and Linette woke up at the end to say hi.

As we crossed one of the many bridges, I looked down and saw a cluster of garbage that a bird had used to make a nest with a whole bunch of eggs. Well, whatever works.

We dropped our luggage at the Prins Hendrik hotel (which seemed appropriate, since my Dutch ancestors trace their line through Hendrik Hendrikson). Then we rented bikes at Yellow Bike around the corner.

We took the free public ferry across the "Ij" (body of water that fronts Amsterdam, connected to the North Sea by a series of locks. Pronounced as "eye").

From there we rode in a very general direction towards Zaanse Schans, where they have some cool windmills. But we mostly meandered, riding wherever it seemed pretty, which was almost everywhere. 

There were adorable neighborhoods with a little bridge to each house, over a canal the flowed through.

There were beautiful rivers (canals?) all over.

Here you have to look close to notice that there's a McDonald's over there. The section on the left is actually a small but long island full of chicken coops.

At one point we thought we were at a trailer park, but a lady indicated that it was a park, so we parked our bikes, sat on a bench, and read books for a bit. It was a gorgeous day.

Ducks waddled by, which was cute.

There were stone mushrooms all around, which gave it a fairy tale feel.

Linette tried out the little zip line that was there.

As we continued to ride our bikes, I asked a guy on a bike for directions, and he said we could follow him for a few kilometers. His name was Lenort, and he worked for the city, so he told us some of the history of some of the buildings. Finally, as we rode through a long park he showed us what direction to go and bid us farewell.

We stopped for lunch at an empty restaurant and opted to sit outside in the shade so we could enjoy the view of the adjacent waterway. When the food came out it was so huge we didn’t think we could eat it, but somehow, we polished off the whole thing.

We saw a couple of traditional windmills as we rode along.

Eventually we came to a "T" in the road, so we randomly turned right, and saw some beautiful farmland. The farm below had some ducks and wild rabbits.

We rode up a tree-lined road that was so long and so straight that it seemed to disappear in infinity. I thought it was fun that there was a bike lane on each side, and just one lane in the middle for cars.

Each house along the road seemed to be kept with pristine lawns and gardens.

Sheep, cows and geese adorned many of the farms.

This house had a cute little statue of a dog...

...and a real dog that looked just like it.

At one place, we saw a big black horse with big feet. I thought it was beautiful, so I had Linette go stand by it for a picture.

We she was standing there, a lady came from across the street and said, "Would you like to see my horse?" She opened the gate and led us inside. We had a little chat with her, and she was so nice!

Eventually we met a couple who were out on a date, and I asked them for directions to Zaanse Schans. The guy said, "You're going de wrong way." We had ridden for some time in totally the wrong direction, but it was a "happy little accident" (as Bob Ross would say), because we saw some beautiful things along the way.

On the way back to where we had started our detour, we saw a boy and girl with a horse and a pony.

Eventually we arrived at Zaanse Schans, just as my energy started to wane. It was a pretty area with traditional houses and traditional farm activities going on.

Some gals walked their horses through the area. (I can't remember if we got gelato at the Italian ice cream place there, but it would be hard to imagine that we didn't...)

They had goats and other farm animals that you could pet.

And they had a building where they showed how they made and aged cheese.

Zaanse Schans also featured several full-sized traditional windmills, which I believe were moved here from other locations.

The Netherlands still uses a lot of windmills to keep the ocean out, since 26% of The Netherlands is below sea level, but now they use the modern metal kinds. These classic ones look awesome, though.

Here's my windmill imitation (the shirt adds to the spinning effect).

As we rode away from the area, we kept seeing pretty views.

We stopped to sit for a moment at a little park, and saw this cute kid doing jump rope.

It was a beautiful day.

Unfortunately, at this point, we had ridden 17km plus quite a few more during our "side trip", and we were pretty worn out. We considered trying to ride a bus back, but decided to buck up and ride it.

Finally we got back to the ferry and rode it across the Ij ("eye") to Amsterdam.

I noticed a "Wilson" cargo ship. It looked like a fine vessel.

We rested up for a bit at the hotel before heading out for a disappointing dinner with poor food and, towards the end, mice (I haven't ever spent as much time planning where to eat as what to see. Maybe we need to get better at that.)

The Yellow Bike place was closed by the time we got done with our ride, so we locked them to a random light post, and hoped they would still be there in the morning. ("When in Amsterdam...")

The next morning, we had a couple hours before we had to head for the airport, and we had rented the bikes for 24 hours, so I went for a ride around Amsterdam itself, while Linette went for a jog.

I never got tired of seeing the beautiful canals everywhere.

There were some cool old ships out there, possibly left over from the Queen's Day armada.

I saw a horse-drawn carriage going by, too.

I couldn't quite tell, but it sure looked like this garden (including the trees) was floating rather than anchored to the ground.

There was a traditional windmill on the east side of town that I'm not sure I noticed before. (I was making much better time on my bike than we had on foot).

This is de Gooyer mill, which was rebuilt in 1725 to replace the original one built in 1609. It was used to grind corn.

If it looks like the buildings are leaning in towards the road, it's because they are: By building the buildings at a slight angle, they're able to get more square footage on the upper floors for the same sized "footprint" of the building.

Finally, we turned in our bikes, did a bit of shopping, and then caught our train for the airport.

We flew from Amsterdam to Seattle, watching several movies along the way. Once we arrived in Seattle, we saw the first drinking fountains we could remember since we left, and thought, "Oh, yeah...those are handy."

    While we waited for our flight in Seattle, I heard an announcement about a flight to London that was departing from two gates over. I still had £5.50 in British coins, which the exchange places wouldn’t take, so I walked over to the announced gate, picked the first guy I saw, and asked, “Are you going to London?” He said he was. “I just came from there, and I have some British Pounds left over. I’ll trade you 5 pounds for 5 bucks.” A lady heard me say that and said, “I’ll do it if he won’t!”

    The guy said he’d do it, and then said, “I’ll give you $7,” so I gave him my £5.50 (worth $8.25), and it was a win-win situation for both of us.

    Finally, we took our last flight home (where it took so long to go through my photos and write in my journal that I didn't get around to writing up this trip until 2021, following a year of no international travel due to the pandemic.)

    What a wonderful trip it had been! The conference was a great success. The weather was amazingly cooperative. Exploring ruins and the cathedral in Cologne, the amazing canals of Amsterdam, The Anne Frank House, Queen’s Day, Keukenhoff Gardens, ferries to and from London, London Tower, seeing the Venturas, The British Museum, The Lion King, Westminster Abbey, and bicycling in Holland—what a grand adventure. I was so glad for the chance to gain an appreciation for that part of the world, and so happy to have Linette join me for most of it.