Posted by Les Faber in Helen & I decided to take a train from Assen to Utrecht as cycling time has become a scarce commodity. Whomever said that the Netherlands is small country forgot about the over 11,000 kilometers of bike routes that crisscross this beautiful country.
Read about Days 1 (here), 2 (here), 3 (here), 4 (here), 5 (here), 6 (here), 7 (here), 8 (here), 9 (here) & 10 (here) of our Netherlands cycling adventure.
What a marvelous day!
After a long ride yesterday with David Hembrow, I wasn’t sure that my legs could handle another 60 or so kilometers. It appears that I was wrong.
We departed Utrecht mid-morning. Unfortunately I had gotten it in my head that the train station was in the north end of town and that our hotel was in the south end (when in fact the reverse was true). So my ability to understand the most obvious directions was “diffused”. In other words I thought left was right and right was left. The end result was Helen and I doing an unscheduled tour of our friend Marc’s hometown. It all worked out as we did see quiet a bit of Utrecht. Like Groningen, it is a university town – with all the trappings. A recommended stopover for any trek to the Province (named Utrecht also). Once we found the tunnel under the tracks by the train station, we were off and on our way.
The Province of Utrecht is flat like the rest of Holland. The difference is that there seems to be more trees (and large ones also).
Author’s Note: The Dutch go to great extents to ensure that cyclists are not inconvenienced by any type of construction. As you will see in the image below, the detour is almost as good as the finished product!
Our ride took us through some beautiful areas. The fietspads are superb. I cannot describe how beautiful this area is. It is cycling heaven. Quiet country roads. We cycled along rivers and canals with few interruptions. I often felt like I had been transported to my own little Nirvana (corny but true). Imagine cycling down a quiet country road – lined by huge trees on both sides – for hours on end. Helen’s pics prove my point.
and then getting passed by a Herbie the Love Bug Rally!
We visited so many great towns and villages.
Of note:
Kasteel de Haar - a beautiful 19th century moated castle (in the middle of nowhere)
Oudewater (an absolute must visit) – this 16th century village is spotted with churches. The ride here is amongst the best we have had whilst in Holland. History has it that suspected witches were weighed here at the Heksenwaag (witches weigh station). If you were too light, it was believed that you were a witch – as one could only fly if they weighed very little.
Gouda – a town known for its giant cheese market. Too bad the main square was ruined by a traveling carnival!
Read comment & enjoy!
Your father had very good memories of his teenages leaving in’LaHaie’ and horse back riding on thr beaches.H#1
There must be something about Utrecht’s railway stayion. I also went the wrong way out of it the first time I went there a couple of years ago…
I promised to send you details of Houten, the town a few km south east of Utrecht which was a prototype for many of the things done in other developments since to encourage cycling. There is a video, a bit of an explanation and some links to articles here:
http://hembrow.blogspot.com/2008/09/eco-town.html
Wow, they think of everything over there! I love the little track to wheel your bike down the stairs.
The photos are fabulous, I don’t think I’d ever want to come home! Everything just looks so utterly charming.
@digitaldame: What you see is what you get in the Netherlands. Those bike tracks saved our bacon a few times. And you should see the various types of bike racks!
@digital dame: well, actually, Les sobbed a few times on their last day, uttering ‘I don’t wanna go home’, while planting his head on Helen’s shoulder :-p