Amsterdam

For the last day of my holiday I went all out. I fully indulged myself - and it was glorious!

My day in Amsterdam has been pretty much planned since I booked the ferry. There is a specific wool shop linked to a knitting designer that has a wide following. And that's where I was heading. I also planned to do a bit of back to school shopping and to find nice places to eat. 

I started off with a little cycle to the ferry (although it's not really a ferry, it's more like a water bus - I think of it like a bridge with no legs. I found out about them by accident a couple of years ago and they have revolutionised my Amsterdam travel) and left my bike on the quiet side of a canal (it's like a park and ride - mixed similes, I'll stop).  The boat (however we're describing it, it's definitely a boat) dropped me right at Amsterdam Central which - as its name suggests - is an excellent central starting point. 

Stop one, second breakfast. Stop 2, famous wool shop. How long did I spend there?  I'd say a an hour or two.

A little while ago I lost one of my favourite hand knit shawls. Devastated doesn't describe it but, it's hasn't turned up and life has worse things to throw at me I'm sure so, let's get on. My plan has been to reknit this scarf with wool that I love. I'm a very process driven crafter and it's important to me that the wool I'm using brings me joy.  It's the memory of when I bought the wool or what was happening as I knit it that give the things I make extra meaning for me. 

That being said, remaking is a complicated conundrum. To remake the same or to start again?  That was basically my dilemma for about three quarters of an hour. I could match the original colours but that wasn't bringing me joy, just a bit of sadness (the wool I had used was from several stops on a different holiday).  It wasn't the same. So I started again and chose a whole different palate. Then, I found one ball of something I really liked. Then, just as I was about to pay I got waylaid and also bought something totally different. So, I spent quite a bit of money. I tell myself that this is perfectly ok because I've saved on all the meals out I didn't have. Those roadside picnics and campsite stews were an excellent idea. 

After that sheer indulgence I decided to continue. My next target being a stationery shop for my new term notebook. I know I'm not the only teacher that takes great delight in starting off the year with the perfect notebook. I fact, I think most do. I'm just quite picky. Flat lay, think paper, not lined, a colour I can easily find. And again, something that makes me smile when I look at it. 

The stationery shop was top notch. I eschewed my usual Leuchtturm 1917 notebooks for a Belgium brand called De Kempen in a tasteful orange. And seeing as I have a research project coming up I got a notebook for that too - Japanese dotted since you ask. And one pen. It's important to have a pen. I was quite restrained really. 

In a further act of restraint, I went into a bookshop (a brilliant book shop, very like the much missed Bauermisters on the bridges for any Edinburgh readers of a certain vintage) and only brought a post card despite being half way through the second book I bought in Utrecht. 

To round off my perfect day I had truffle croquets and chips  then headed back to the park and ride.

I'd say the day has made the ferry journey, the train journeys and the month of cycling totally worth it.  

Amsterdam

Today's ride was 50km long. Not the longest day but, a decent length. Of that ride, 7km was to get out of Utrecht, then the next 30 were along one canal. One bend (the only bend) lasted 3km. I crossed over it once at kilometre 28. 

I did not see a cafe. I ate lunch under a bridge. 

I passed 2 ladies who were out for a walk. They commented with pride about the excellent bike paths. There is a lot of pride about the bike facilities. I've been told it's the best country in the whole wide world to cycle in several times. Me, the 30km canal and the 17mph consistent cross wind beg to differ. Lovely as the infrastructure is, I find the flatness and straightness a bit discombobulating. The Dutch seem very happy with it though. 

Eventually I crossed over several other canals, motorways and railway tracks until I hit the growing suburbs of northern Amsterdam. Stopping only for a bridge to open and then a smaller bridge to be delivered I arrived at the campsite feeling very much like I'd done a good long session at the gym. 

The following photos give an accurate feeling of the day -

Unexpected rain shower, tent packed up very quickly and mostly dry. Towel left to dry in mesh bag. (Towel did not dry).

Canal path 

Canal path 

Canal path 

Alternative view for variety and interest. 

Canal path

Lunch 

Bridge 

Canal from bridge

Canal path 

Canal path

Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Campsite 

Also chatted to a cat.

A tent near Utrecht

 What have we done today ladies and gentlemen?  I think the official term is 'bugger all'.

I haven't had a lazy day all holiday so as it quite throughly chucked it down I decided to make the most of the weather and lounge around in my tent. 

I watched phone tv, I read, I knitted, I napped.  I basically relaxed and throughly enjoyed it. I did have vague notions of going out in the later afternoon but when it came to it, and what with the rain lasting longer than predicted, I decided not to bother. 

So the only photos I can offer you are the inside of a soggy tent. 

Utrecht

 Utrecht

I quite like Utrecht. It's a busy but calm city full of people eating and drinking in the cafes that line the streets and canals. 

I woke later and did little with my morning. In the afternoon I headed out to explore. I enjoyed an excellent pancake brunch, mooched round little shops and had a look round the cathedral. 

Apart from that I've been relaxing, reading and knitting. Exactly how a holiday should be. 

Utrecht

Another easy day on the bike paths - especially after I persuaded google maps that ferries were a viable option thus cutting 15km off the journey.  After my usual coffee I packed up, said goodbye to my new friends (it really was a lovely site) and set off to the big smoke. 

Much as the Netherlands is fully set up for cycling, it can be confusing. I think it's probably most like driving abroad, because there is so much infrastructure and so many bikes, you need to know precisely what you're doing. And as I'm following a sat nav, and left/right are confusing, I often don't. I'm also driving a heavy bike with a massive turning circle so try to proceed with caution. 

All this is to say, the shorter cycle to Utrecht was uneventful. I stopped in a pretty town just after the ferry and had a very good breakfast. Then it was a lot of orchards - cherry and pear - then some horses and maize, then some moorhens and goats, then some woods, then a camp site. 

I was here that early (luckily I'd booked once I noticed it was the weekend) that I set up, had a banana and then headed off into the city centre. 

I did some shopping in including visiting a yarn shop, a bead shop (neither had what I was looking for) and an English bookshop. (Deleted rant about lack of variety in bookshops). I eventually managed to find something suitably dark and went on my way.

I rounded off my day with Nachos, a (virgin - bike) cocktail and my new book in a bar overlooking the square. 

Near Tiel

I've had rather a nice day. 

It started off strong with an early start and a farm shop breakfast. After that it was a little windy - giving me weather related anxiety - but that soon died down. 

I cycled along quite happily, enjoying the  floral country side interspersed by occasional farms with lots of sheep and horses. 

I even stopped for lunch, because I passed a sign at just the right time. That was the point I checked my navigation. The site I had been aiming for seems to have been one I'd visited before on the 'disaster tour' (injuries, thefts etc. - you know the one). With absolutely no desire to revisit those memories I diverted to a new site not too far away.

The site itself is a little hidden (took me a while to locate it) gem with community lounges and an honesty cafe.  

No breakfast but a quiet night's sleep seems likely. 

My map of where I have been (mainly cycling, a little walking) - the red is the London - Berlin disaster year, with a gap where I was probably in a pit of despair, little did I know.  The teal is this year and the arrow is me now. Before you get all impressed, the blue is two years, without all the stops marked. 

Kekerdom

Bloody weather!  I'll take cooler days over hotter ones any time but, can we leave the head winds out of it? I think I'll be riding into them all the way to Amsterdam. 

I was glad to be back in the country side (although I quite like an industrial view) and after arriving a bit early at a few sites, I thought I'd have a slower start. 

I think that slow start made me feel slow all day. It was quite a pleasant ride overall, through the north of Germany and into the Netherlands. With the church spires popping out of wooded horizons it's a bit like cycling through a gallery of Dutch Masters. 

The only thing that marred it was the near constant head wind, it varied in strength but it was always there and with more miles of straight lines that was rather annoying. 

I feel like I should clarify here - and I'm sure I've said it before. Tail winds and cross winds do exist. Cross winds you notice and if they're strong they have a bit of an impact. A tail wind however, that you never quite feel until you turn around. In a bit of a metaphor for life - you never notice the wind at your back. 

That little gate is the border between Germany and the Netherlands. At least that's were the language changed on the signs. 

Annoying wind aside, it was a pleasant ride and the campsite - along with farm shop - is lovely. Right down to the breakfast I've ordered for the morning. 

Xanten

Started the day off strong 

I'm finally out of the cities - Cologne, Düssledorf and Duisburg all sort of merging into one factory filled sprawl. Compared to yesterday, today was a bit more starting, a bit less stopping. In fact, my only stops were at the supermarket and in a couple of bus stops to eat the food from the supermarket. Which impressed me because it was one of my longest rides. 

I dotted in and out of towns and through a chempark or two. Eventually I hit the long straight (probably Roman) stretches that took me into the country side, easy riding marred just a little by a slight headwind.  Nothing too strong, but noticeable when you're heading in a straight line for miles. 

I arrived at the campsite too early to check in - that's been a bit of a theme (unusually for me). I spent the time hunting for the toilets.  Then set up, had some coffee and cake and settled in for the evening.