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Total distance: 1000 km (625 mi)
Holland - Belgium - Normandie - Bretagne by bicycle
Thomas Driemeyer2005-10-13 22:32:33
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HOLLAND
The tour began in Holland. We took the train to the Amsterdam Central train station, right in the center of Amsterdam. We had a reservation at the International Budget Youth Hostel, Leidsegracht 76 (020-6242784). I picked it from the hostels advertising on the Internet, and it turned out to be an excellent choice. Small but central, in an area less crowded with tourists but plenty of restaurants and shops.
We spent two days in Amsterdam, mostly walking around town. Amsterdam downtown consists of canals (grachten) forming concentric half-rings with the train station at their focal point, with numerous radial canals and bridges. The whole downtown manages to be uniformly charming with its narrow, paved streets and narrow old houses. Nearly everybody rides incredibly decrepit bicycles (to prevent theft) with massive locks. We left our bicycles locked in the hostel.
We left Amsterdam to the west, along the Haarlemmermeerpolder, and reached the channel coast near Noordwijk. Holland has a dense network of bike paths, most of which isn't shown on the Michelin maps. Paths are usually paved with small flat stones, which makes them less than perfectly smooth but still comfortable to ride. The path shown in the picture is divided into a pedestrian lane, a bicycle lane with occasional speed bumps, and an equestrian lane. They are thoughtfully routed, without dangerous intersections and unexpected merging with motor traffic, wide and well-maintained. In other words, perfect. They do, however, usually stop at city limits.
We didn't want to go through Rotterdam, so we crossed over at Maassluis. As usual there was a flawless bike path. After taking the ferry to Rozenburg we followed the N57 road through four narrow islands connected by dams, through Brielle, Ouddorp (where we stayed in a small hotel), Renesse, Haamsteede, Delta Expo, Middelburg, and Vlissingen.
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See photographs from:
Netherlands Gallery
,
France Gallery
,
Belgium Gallery
