A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That . .: 08/22/17

Day 0: USA - Amsterdam

Our trips seem to always start with traffic jams. As usual there was one on I-684 and of course on Van Wyck Expressway, that one never fails. This time we flew from JFK to Dublin and caught a connecting flight to Amsterdam. We are staying at our favorite hotel there, Grand Hotel Amrath. They did not disappoint us this time either. We got a little bit bigger room, but not the suite.

We headed out to town for a short walk and to meet Jeff's co-worker Mark,who lives and works in Amsterdam. We had drinks and something small to eat at an Irish pub called The Tara. We were exhausted from all the travel that day so after saying goodbye to Mark we headed back to the hotel.

Amsterdam

Day 1: Amsterdam - Haarlem

We checked out off the hotel and headed down to Oosterdok where our barge was waiting. The arrival time for passengers was early afternoon. Our barge is called Zwaantje or Little Swan. The captain, Martijn is also the owner of the barge with his wife Marjorie. I think that is one reason why it was so well cared for and they also took such a good care of all of the cyclists. They also had a husband a wife team helping them out. The husband, Kris is the chef and his wife Gosia was helping with serving the food and cleaning the cabins. We also had a tour guide Felix and his girlfriend, Mirta who joined us on this trip. There are four other couples from USA and the rest are from Brazil. The barge has 12 guest cabins so there were a total of 24 cyclists.

Zwaantje, Oosterdok, Amsterdam

Main cabin, Zwaantje

Our cabin, #12, Zwaantje,

Sundeck, Zwaantje, Oosterdok, Amsterdam

We sailed out off Amsterdam to Spaarndam where the barge docked and we got out with our bikes. We started cycling to Haarlem and did stop in couple of places to see some sights.

Leaving Amsterdam

Going under a low bridge

Hey, that's Wending, the barge we were on last time

My wheels for the next week

Ready to start from Spaarndam

On the way to Haarlem

Teylers Hofje, Haarlem

After arriving to Haarlem we had a lovely dinner on the barge. Tonight we had vegetable soup, spaghetti bolognaise and creme brulee. After dinner Felix took us on a tour of Haarlem.

Dinner on the Zwaantje, Haarlem

Grote Markt & St Bavo Church, Haarlem

St Bavo Church, Haarlem

Town Hall, Haarlem

Day 2: Haarlem - Keukenhof - Leiden

We headed out after breakfast towards the Keukenhof Gardens. This is the first week that they are open to the public this year. These gardens are only open for couple of months and so worth seeing them. But before we got there we went past lots and lots of flower fields. It was still a bit early for the tulips but the daffodils and hyacinths were in full bloom. We stopped at one warehouse/farm near Hillegom. And also for a quick snack in the town of Hillegom.

Leaving Haarlem

Near Hillegom

Hillegom

Then we arrived at Keukenhof. We had a few hours there to wander around and take a lot of pictures. The grounds were beautiful. They also have a windmill where you can climb up and see the gardens and several pavilions. The Beatrix Pavilion had an orchid exhibit. There are so many different kinds of orchids, some of them were in some unusual arrangements. Oranje Nassau had flower arrangements, Juliana had history tulips etc and Willem-Alexander had tulips. Just amazing selection of tulips. I don't think we even made it to all the pavilions.

Even the grass had a different colored border, Keukenhof

Keukenhof

The Mill, Keukenhof

Wooden shoes, Keukenhof

Beatrix Pavilion, Keukenhof

Juliana Pavilion, Keukenhof

Oranje Nassau Pavilion, Keukenhof

Willem-Alexander Pavilion, Keukenhof

Keukenhof

View from the Mill, Keukenhof

Then it was time to head towards Leiden. We did stop at another flower field to take more pictures. While we were there someone was flying a drone over the fields, probably trying to get an aerial view. We arrived to Leiden before the barge did so we parked out bikes in bike garage, which was free and went looking for a place to get a drink.

On the way to Leiden

Bicycle garage, Leiden

For dinner we had prosciutto wrapped melon, baked cod and fruit yogurt.

Prosciutto wrapped melon for dinner on the Zwaantje, Leiden

Baked cod dinner on the Zwaantje, Leiden

Our guide Felix telling about tomorrow
on the Zwaantje, Leiden

Day 3: Leiden - Gouda

Today we didn't start cycling from Leiden. We stayed on the barge and sailed to Groenendijk. From there we bicycled to Hazerwoude where we stopped at a cheese farm. This one was called Sol, but it might have a different name now since the owners just changed. We had a tour of the farm, saw how the cheese was made, saw the cows and some of us even tried milking them. We were also able to buy cheese if we wanted to.

Leaving Leiden

Sailing over a highway, leaving Leiden

Getting ready to leave at Groenendijk

On the way out off Leiden

Cheese farm in Hazerwoude

Tour of the cheese farm in Hazerwoude

After leaving the cheese farm we headed to Boskoop. We stopped at Stolker Plants nursery for lunch. They have a lovely little cafe and eating area. And some really interesting plants for sale. Too bad we couldn't buy any to bring back home.

Bike trail in Boskoop

Near Hazerwoude

Lunch break at a nursery in Boskoop

After lunch we headed towards Gouda. It seems to be a bit bigger town than I thought. It was a bit hair raising to cycle through it with five road intersections and schools getting out at the same time. Those kids and adults too, were just zooming by us really fast. There was couple times I thought I'd lost everyone from my group. Eventually we did find our barge. We had dinner on the barge. Tonight it was mushroom soup, minced meat rolled in bacon and for dessert ice cream.

Town Hall, Gouda

We were docked next to this windmill, Gouda

Dinner on the Zwaantje, Gouda

Day 4: Gouda - Kudelstaart

We didn't leave right after breakfast as usual. We had a tour of Gouda instead. We first walked to Oosthaven where there were some old ships and barges. From there we went to Sint Janskerk church. This church was built in the 1500's and has some amazing stained glass windows with lots of stories to tell. We then walked around the market square and saw the Town Hall clock which did a little performance.

Oosthaven, Gouda

Marketplace, Gouda

Museum entrance, Gouda

Sint Janskerk, Gouda

Town Hall, Gouda

Cheese Guild & Museum, Gouda

We had to be at the barge at a certain time otherwise they might have left without us. Jeff, Cliff and Kurt decided to bicycle from Gouda instead and meet us at Alphen aan den Rijn. The rest of us took the barge.

Jeff, Cliff and Kurt heading out by themselves from Gouda to Alphen

Barge dog, Gaston

Sailing from Gouda to Alphen

Sailing over a highway on the way from Gouda to Alphen

Once we got to Alphen we met the guys and headed out all together. We stopped at an asparagus farm in Woubrugge. They had not only delisious fresh asparagus but lots of cute baby sheep and of course cheese.

Zwaantje, Alphen

Asparagus Farm, Woubrugge

At the Asparagus Farm, Woubrugge

From there we continued to Leimuiderburg for a coffee break. And then we went the long way around Lake Westeinden. We even had to take a small ferry to cross a canal in Rijsenhout. The barge was docked at Kudelstaart. In the same place we were last year. This year we had an amazing sunset. We had dinner on the barge, tonight we had goat cheese on French bread, escalope Espagnole and mousse chocolat. There really is nothing much around Kudelstaart and since we have a very early morning tomorrow, everyone went to bed early.

Waiting for the ferry, Rijsenhout

The ferry, Rijsenhout

Dinner at Zwaantje, Kudelstaart

Kudelstaart

Day 5: Kudelstaart - Zaanse Schans

We had a very early morning today. After a quick breakfast we all headed out around 7 am. We are going to one of the biggest flower auction houses in the world. This one is called Royal Flora Holland and it is in Aalsmeer. It was just couple of miles away. This place is huge. The whole building is 1 km long. They have a walkway above the floor where you can see the whole operation. On one side they bring in the flowers from all over the world. In the middle is a big auditorium where the auction is all happening. It's done with computers, no actual auctioneers like you might normally see. On the other side are all the flowers that were sold heading out to their new destinations. It is all computerized with people driving something that looked like a cross between a Segway and a go-cart. The whole operation was amazing to see.

Royal Flora Holland, Aalsmeer

After we left the flower auction we headed towards Aalsmeer's marina where our barge had moved. From there Jeff, Cliff and Kurt headed out on the their own again towards Amsterdam. The rest of us sailed there. We had some lovely views of the area along the canal and a nice little concert by our tour guide Felix and his girlfriend Mirta.

Sailing to Amsterdam

Beekeeping lessons at a school, Sailing to Amsterdam

Felix on Zwaantje, Sailing to Amsterdam

The barge dropped us off somewhere along the Westerkanaal closer to the Central Station. We rode to the Station, which was a bit scary with so many other cyclists and cars. Behind the Station is a ferry terminal and we took the ferry across the IJ. We met the guys on the other side near a small cafe where they were having their second breakfast of the day.

Ferry across the IJ, Amsterdam

We cycled along more marshy areas to Landsmeer where we stopped by a WWII memorial for Wellington LN-C Monument (This link has some info about what happened.) Soon after we stopped at Paviljoen Twiske at Oostzaan for lunch.

Landsmeer

WWII Memorial, Landsmeer

Landsmeer

Lunch spot, Oostzaan

We are spending tonight at Zaanse Schans, which is more or less a museum. They have several windmills, some of them working museum, all kinds of stores, museums and also a wooden shoe workshop with demonstrations. We had some time before dinner to go and wonder around to different places. We did see a wooden shoe demo which was quite interesting. We had dinner on the Zwaantje, tonight was soup, chicken curry and fruit crumble. After dinner a few people went to a bar, that was owned by Martijn's uncle, who ended up not being there that night.

Zaanse Schans

Cheese store & museum, Zaanse Schans

Chocolate factory, Zaanse Schans

Paint Mill, Zaanse Schans

Spice Mill, Zaanse Schans

Wooden show workshop, Zaanse Schans

Zaanse Schans

Chicken Curry on the Zwaantje, Zaanse Schans

Day 6: Zaanse Schans - Alkmaar

The day started rainy, but before we headed out we all went back to the wooden shoe workshop to see another demonstration. By the time that was over it had started pouring. I even had to buy an umbrella since mine was on the barge, which had already left. We had to wait about an hour before it stopped and we were able to continue since nobody wanted to bicycle in the rain.

Wooden shoe demonstration, Zaanse Schans

In Oostknollendam we had to take a different kind of ferry across the canal. This was a ferry that you haul yourself, either by pulling or if you are on shore, turning a wheel. Since there so many of us we had take 2 ferries. Half of us piled up on the ferry and the ones on shore turned the wheel so we could get across. Once we got off they hauled the ferry back and then one of us wheeled the rest of them to our side. I guess if you are crossing alone, you'd have to pull yourself across.

Ferry across in Oostknollendam

We bicycled along canals and fields and ended up in DeRijp for lunch break. They had a market open that day so most of us ended up in there. We also walked around a little bit and checked out the tourist office with it's little museum part. They had the oldest fire-"engine" in Netherlands. I think they said was about 300 years old.

De Rijp

Oldest fire-engine in Netherlands, De Rijp

We headed out again and ended up at a windmill museum in Schermerhorn. They showed us a short movie first and then we were able to go inside the mill. The mill keepers used to live in them. Some of them have been turned to modern homes also. They also had a restaurant and a small gift shop for those who were interested.

Windmill Museum, Schermerhorn

Rental cars at Windmill Museum, Schermerhorn

We continued past several flower fields. They were mostly hyacinths. Eventually we arrived to Alkmaar and thought that the barge was docked at a certain place but it wasn't there. They must have just missed us since we had bicycled past the spot already when we got to it.

Stompetoren

Tonight we were alone for dinner since the Kris and Gosia had the night off. We walked to the Cheese Market and had a drink there and then headed out to find a restaurant. We ended up having dinner at Portofino Restaurant. After dinner we went back to the barge and had a nice little chat with Kris and Gosia who had also just come back.

Alkmaar

Cheese Market, Alkmaar

Town Hall, Alkmaar

Alkmaar

Cheese Market, Alkmaar

Day 7: Alkmaar - Amsterdam

Today is rainy and since I don't like riding in the rain I stayed behind. Most of the people went for the ride. It was actually quite lovely to be on the barge and mind my own business. We came directly back to Amsterdam and I had a chance to walk around the Nemo and the Oosterdok area before the cyclists came back. They saw the Cheese Market in action, in the rain, in Alkmaar and had also stopped at some heritage bulb gardens. They also almost missed their ferry back and if they did they'd have another hour to wait.

Ready to go in the rain, Alkmaar

Sailing from Alkmaar to Amsterdam

Arriving to Amsterdam

After getting back the Brazilians had a party on the sundeck. We were all invited. Lots of music and cheese trays and drinks going around. We had our last dinner on the Zwaantje. Tonight we had tomato soup, Chicken Gordon Bleu and the Grand MPS Zwaantje dessert.

Chicken Gordon Bleu

Grand MPS Zwaantje Dessert

Tomorrow we all head out. We have a flight to catch from Amsterdam to Geneva. More of that part of the trip in the next blog entry.

A Little Bit of This and a Little Bit of That . .

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Tuesday, August 22, 2017

Europe - Part I - Tulip Tour - April 2016