The Netherlands & Belgium

We have been back on our bikes for less than two weeks, but it has flown by. So far we have visited the Netherlands and Belgium and have really enjoyed the history, people, food, beer and of course the cycling.

We left London on May 11th, and it was a full-on day....a 15km ride across London at 5am, a train trip to Harwich, a 7hr ferry across the channel and then a 25km ride north to Den Haag (the Hague). We have never received a better reception on public transport and the staff couldn't have been more helpful. In Den Haag we stayed with the lovely Jasper, who we met through our Scottish friends Alex and Lauren. On our arrival Jasper had dinner prepared and we later shared a few drinks at his local pub to celebrate Kate's birthday.



We had been anticipating the excellent set up for bikes in the Netherlands....and were not disappointed. Cycle lanes were everywhere with excellent sign posting. The lanes are not just painted strips on the road but completely separate main roads. They even have specific traffic lights... Our first impression of the Dutch was that they extrememly active people - within an hour we had seen people surfing, kite-surfing, running, walking, wind-surfing and of course riding their bikes. And there are bikes EVERYWHERE! They are truely replacing cars. People of all ages ride with excellent carriers, trailers and baskets, perfect to load up with groceries or up to three children! There are estimated to be 16 million bikes in Holland!! Europeans tend to ride old fashioned style bikes and we look quite out of place with our mountain bikes.

A typical parking lot...
Jasper has a wealth of knowledge about cycle touring in Europe, so we spent some time pouring over maps and picking his brains. We spent a very relaxing day in Den Haag visiting the International Peace Court and enjoying the cities beautiful parks. The following day we set off north for Amsterdam. We followed a long-distance cycle route that rambled its way through the Dutch provinces. It was all just as I had imagined- canals, windmills, green fields, dykes and lots of small villages.

The Netherlands is one of the most densely populated countries in the world with 17 million people living in about the equivalent area of Otago! The houses are narrow and tall and squashed together- perhaps stemming from an historic tax system based on the width of your house! We arrived in Amsterdam late in the evening and eventually found Marije and her Mongolian Ger. We had a arranged to stay with Marije- a woman we had made contact with through Warm-showers, a cycle touring website. Marije is also a keen cyclist who recently spent two months riding in Mongolia. Following her experience there she decided she would like to spend some time living in a traditional Mongolian Ger. The Ger was lovely- very spacious and warm inside with four inches of woollen felt for insulation. (One night we got back wet and cold, got the fire roaring, and within 5 minutes we were stripping down to underwear...it was like a sauna!!) Marije lives about 2km north of Amsterdam in the countryside and it was cool staying outside the city amongst the farmland. We spent a few days exploring the beautiful narrow, tree-lined streets of Amsterdam, criss-crossing the extensive canal system. We visited the Anne Frank museum, set in the house where she was in hiding during WWII. It was well done and a very moving experience. The centre of the city was somewhat overwhelming with millions of tourists, marijuana smoke wafting from the many coffee-shops and lots of sex-shops. We unknowingly wandered into the red-light district which is located in the central city. It was kind of bizarre seeing all the semi-clad women in booths behind glass-windows trying to attract customers.
From Amsterdam we headed south along the North Sea coast and two days later were in Belgium. We visited a beautiful city called Brugge and cycled around the cobbled streets, ate waffles and had a few beers. There are over 500 types of beer in Belgium and so far we have found them pretty good!! We stayed in a place called Gent for 2 nights with Nele and Jakob (also from Warm showers). They live in a gypsy caravan and have recently cycled through Poland. We got on really well with them and enjoyed sitting around a camp fire at night talking and sharing stories.

At my Mum's suggestion we decided to take a side trip to Flanders Field where many New Zealand soldiers fought during World War I. Belgium was a neutral country at the beginning of the war, but Germany ignored this and invaded Belgium lands in order to reach France, thus drawing England and subsequently New Zealand into the war. Belgium territory served as a strategic point along the Western Front and many thousands of lives were needlessly lost in gruesome trench warfare. The town of Ieper was almost completely destroyed during the war but was rebuilt in an identical fashion after 1918. We took the train from Gent south to Ieper and spent many hours at the fascinating 'In Flanders Field Museum'. The museum was the probably the best we had ever visited. In the afternoon we cycled out into the countryside where there are many cemeteries and old battlefields. We visited the Polygon Woods Cemetery and the New Zealand Memorial. There are both known and unmarked graves in these perfectly maintained cemeteries. It was a very moving experience to see the hundreds of grave-stones of Kiwi boys who died so young in this foreign land.

That evening we had a night out in Gent with our hosts Nele and Jakob. We rode across the city to their favourite pub to meet with a group of their friends and sample some of the many delicious Belgium beers. It is great to meet locals, hangout with people our age and really see what their lives are like. The night ended with a 3am cycle tour of the beautiful city with its canals and castles.

The next morning, a little hung-over, we set off for Antwerp (or was it afternoon?) The ride was mainly along canals and we were once again blown away by just how many people were out on their bikes. We rode into the city late and were lucky to once again have accommodation with some locals through a friend of a friend. After a whirlwind look around Antwerp we began our two day ride to Koln (Cologne, Germany).

The first day went smoothly- more canals, strawberries and ice-cream, small pubs, beautiful countryside and easy to follow routes using specific cyclist numbering systems. We rode until nine in the evening and managed to find a sweet wee camp spot in the forest. Day two was not so straight forward. As we crossed the border into Germany the sign-posting we had been relying on became unreliable and erratic. We were planning to buy a map at the first town that we came to, but all the shops had been closed. With no map and after realising we had just done a big circle, Ken reappeared for the first time in weeks. Just when things were looking quite grim a group of four cycle tourists went whizzing by. We set off in pursuit hoping to look at their map and get some instructions. They were at the end of a ten day journey and were generous enough to give us their German Map. Even with the map the day was pretty difficult and navigation was trying to say the least.....so many roads, crucial sign-posts missing, big motorways, complex villages. We realised navigation had never really been as issue in South America as there was usually only one road! Finally at nine in the evening and after covering 290km in two days we were stoked to arrive at our destination- a small village north of Köln on the Rhine River- where we were greeted by our lovely hosts Heidrun and Martin.

We have really enjoyed our first two weeks in Europe. It is so very different to South America. Although in many ways things are more easy, cycle touring in Europe presents a whole new set of challenges. We are excited about our plans for Germany and will probably be heading south down the Rhine as you read this update.

A few more photos:

With our big appetites back, we were pleased to discover that European bakeries are goooood...
After misplacing our spare tube, Matilda finds the puncture leak in the canal water...
Kate trying out Marije's recumbent bike...a few seconds later she crashed...

One of the many beautiful little villages...

Ciau for now...