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A One Week Bike Trip in Holland

Day 6 - Utrecht to Weesp

I awoke between 5 and 6 AM, looked out the window to see this gorgeous pastoral scene - a pasture across the river, with a low thin mist hanging over it, and the sun rising in a hazy morning sky. It was the prettiest day I had seen so far. After using the big old bathroom and packing our panniers, we headed down to breakfast at 8:15 AM. The breakfast was served this time, which did not make it nearly as interesting.

On the bike path along the Vecht

(40K) 573 x 390

We hit the road about 9:15 AM, heading north along the river (crossing the river leaving town, we saw a big river boat cross below us, with the words "Mississippi Queen" on its sides - where are we, anyway?) We headed to a VVV office that we had located on the map, just a short detour and a short distance north, planning on making reservations for that night (we didn't want to face another situation like we had faced the day before.) The VVV office was supposed to be in the train station, but there was nothing there, not even signs like we normally see. We decided to continue riding through the neighbourhood we were in, in the direction we were headed, to pick up the bike path further north, rather than backtracking. We spent some time wandering through the winding streets of the area, consulting our maps, debating which way to go, until we finally found the path just at the edge of the neighbourhood. The path followed a tree-lined canal which was another pretty bike route. We headed to another VVV office, where we make reservations for the night in a pension in Weesp, just on the outskirts of Amsterdam (f74.00).

(61K) 572 x 393 Lunch stop
Since it was noontime, we bought lunch (about f20.00) at a local cafe in the area, which looked like another small community serving the summer tourist trade.

Check the map again
(26K) 393 x 567
After lunch, we head North to Weesp. The sun was shining, it was comfortably warm, and we had lots of time (we said we would be at the pension at 5 PM) so we took some back roads, wandering though some wooded areas on various bike paths. Many of the roads were paved with bricks, which were hard on the butt. (Matt does not want to see another cobblestone street again.)

We arrived in Weesp in early afternoon, so with time to kill, we stopped at the VVV office to get some maps (free ones) buy some fruit (f3.95) and ice cream (f2.00) and then hung out in the town square eating fruit and ice cream. Getting bored, we headed to a local attraction, an old fort, which was closed. We then found some old windmills near the river and hung out there for a while, sitting in the sun on a park bench, watching the boats go by, then went to our residence for the night.

(51K) 396 x 582 Killing time in Weesp
Our host and hostess informed us that we must take turns with another couple using the shower and bathroom and our allotted time bathroom time is from 8 to 8:30 AM, with breakfast at 8:30 AM. We hauled our panniers up a set of narrow, winding stairs again, make smaller by a rail mechanism that had been installed for use by an elderly parent before she died (in our room, maybe?) After resting awhile, we went downstairs, where I showed the owners some pictures of where we (my wife and I) live, our house in summer and winter with all the snow, and our dog. They seemed genuinely interested, asking about various things in the pictures I had brought with us.

Matt and I rode our bikes to a restaurant that our hosts had recommended - the place did not have many customers, which I wondered could be due to the time of year, time of day, quality of food, or the not overly friendly staff (maybe they were trained in Paris.) Anyway we had snitzel (f51.00 for two), which wasn't all that bad. As we were leaving it started to rain (again - it had rained a little while we rested in our room), but it was light, so we rode around town a little more, stopping to get some more ice cream. We returned about 9 PM, and our host put our bikes in the fenced backyard. We read for awhile, but birds outside the window almost drove Matt nuts. I made mental plans to go jogging about 7 AM since going any earlier might be an imposition on our hosts, as they would have to get up to unlock the front door.

Day 5 - From Gouda to Utrecht

Day 7 - Back to Amsterdam

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Last updated 1 May, 2002