Netherlands Bike Trip: May 2013
We've all heard about how good the biking is in the Netherlands and since we are so close we decide to check it out. The bike lanes/paths/roads are amazing - apart from traffic, wide, well marked - the country truly is set up for bike riders. The scenery is lovely, the terrain flat, BUT there is lots of wind and we always seem to riding in the direction against the wind!
The train ride up is great as we take our usual train north, only take it further than we have before - it stops in Emmerich which is right across the border from the Netherlands. We had one night in a lovely rustic cabin in a "Sports Park". This time of year it was not crowded, but I imagine in the summer it can be quite loud. A national park is very cool - with admission to the park comes a free bike rental. There are hundreds of 'park bikes' available for riding in the park. Inside the park is a building that houses an exhibit of Van Gogh paintings - who would have guessed we would stumble upon this treasure. Upon leaving the park we look up our next hotel to find that there are 2 hotels with the same name and the one that I have booked is 90 km away! The staff was very nice, they never did charge us for the reservation even though it was past time to cancel and we were able to make a different reservation in a hotel by the same chain. It was a lucky mishap as the ride to the new hotel took us through some beautiful country roads next to lots of water.
How can you not like a country that puts chocolate sprinkles in their breakfast bread??
The train ride up is great as we take our usual train north, only take it further than we have before - it stops in Emmerich which is right across the border from the Netherlands. We had one night in a lovely rustic cabin in a "Sports Park". This time of year it was not crowded, but I imagine in the summer it can be quite loud. A national park is very cool - with admission to the park comes a free bike rental. There are hundreds of 'park bikes' available for riding in the park. Inside the park is a building that houses an exhibit of Van Gogh paintings - who would have guessed we would stumble upon this treasure. Upon leaving the park we look up our next hotel to find that there are 2 hotels with the same name and the one that I have booked is 90 km away! The staff was very nice, they never did charge us for the reservation even though it was past time to cancel and we were able to make a different reservation in a hotel by the same chain. It was a lucky mishap as the ride to the new hotel took us through some beautiful country roads next to lots of water.
How can you not like a country that puts chocolate sprinkles in their breakfast bread??
