Den Haag to Haarlem

High temperatures have hovered in the mid-80’s – about as high as they get around here – for the past week. A few stray summer thunderstorms have passed quickly over Amsterdam, but skies have largely been clear. It looks like we’re in the middle of the elusive, unpredictable Dutch summer.

My friend Yoel, who lives in Utrecht and works in Tilburg (both cities in the Netherlands), suggested that we take a bike ride on Thursday, when the winds were forecast to be calm and the skies were forecast to be sunny. Since I’d taken a Northern route in my past few rides, I suggested that we take the train south to Den Haag and ride back north toward Amsterdam from there, along the North Sea coast.

So, after biking to Amsterdam Zuid (train station) and buying my train ticket– as well as the “supplement” for taking my bike on the train – I took the 40 minute trip from Amsterdam to Den Haag and met Yoel (who was coming from Utrecht) in Den Haag Central Station. After a bit of wandering through Den Haag, we found the correct bike path and were on our way north.

The path snaked from a few kilometers inland, where we were surrounded by grassy sand dunes, to roads that passed between the beach and seaside restaurants and hotels. The number of hotels and restaurants along the beach was remarkable; I’m guessing that there are no more than 30 days out of the year when the weather is sunny and warm enough to want to spend much time on the beach, yet apparently there is enough demand to keep business going.

The sun was indeed unusually warm and bright for the Netherlands, and, although I didn’t get a noticeable sun burn (in terms of red skin and pain), I have experienced some peeling since Thursday. Yoel and I stopped at the Jopen (one of the more famous Dutch craft breweries) brewery and restaurant for lunch and a beer in Haarlem and, after 55km in the saddle, we decided to take the train from Haarlem to Amsterdam rather than biking the addition 20km alongside the car filled highway.

Volendam and more

I bought a new road bike ("racefiets" or racing bike, as it's called here) in April, since the one I purchased when I moved to Amsterdam two years ago wasn't quite working for me. Our spring and early summer weather was terrible, in terms of temperature and precipitation. But it has warmed up and dried out a bit in recent weeks. I tried to bike from Amsterdam to Volendam, a small "traditional" town north of Amsterdam, on Wednesday, but I misinterpreted the sign posts that direct cyclists, and I ended up going in a rather unsatisfying loop through dairy land on a cloudy, windy day.

Temperatures were supposed to be in the upper 60's on Saturday, and the skies were forecast to be mostly clear, so I set out for another attempt, with two modifications: 1) I researched the route a bit more, and 2) I decided to try strapping my camera around my back so that, unlike the ride on Wednesday, I could take some photos of the countryside. This was the route that I ended up taking (which was pretty close to what I'd initially planned).

After crossing the IJ river, the city quickly dissolves into countryside. My route took me along the western bank of the IJmeer, which is an artificial lake created by damning the sea. The water is brackish, and it is bordered by lands that used to be regularly flooded during high tides and heavy rainfall. Much of the path is located on a dike, and it is wide enough for an elevated bike path and a road for cars below. I alternated between taking the lower car road (as most of the road bikes did) and the elevated path, which allowed for some cool views of the IJmeer and the surrounding countryside.  

A group of adolescent girls rode toward me, and I stepped off the path to allow them to pass. A group of men cycling were coming up from behind the girls, and they decided to pass as this point. The horses remained calm throughout.

After riding the dike, I turned to the east and then to the north. I managed to use the sign posts correctly this time, and I passed through Monnickendam before heading north to Edam and then back down through Volendam before taking a ferry to Marken and then cycling back to Amsterdam.

Animal friendly meat does not exist

Street in Monnickendam

A scene in Edam

Houses along a canal in Volendam

Houses in Marken

Cheese shop in Edam

Sign advertising the weekly (Wednesday) cheese market in Edam

Canal in Edam

One of several Volendam shops in which you can take a picture in traditional Dutch clothing

Outdoor restaurant in Edam

Street in Edam

Departing Volendam on the ferry

Beer break after 20 miles

Apart from the obvious beauty of the scenery, I noticed a few other things during the ride. First (and this is not exactly surprising or new for me), the landscape is remarkably flat. The winds were calm, and there was little resistance from incline. It made for excellent riding. Second, most of the trip was spent on paths that were only for bikes, and driver behavior was exemplary during the few times I shared a road with cars. Third, there were a lot of cyclists on the paths, and at least half of them were not on road bikes; they were simply, leisurely, riding around on their "city bikes," which are the big, clunky, heavy bikes that typically don't go much faster than ten miles per hour. And, finally, as a summary of these observations, I reflected upon what a biking utopia this country is. Where else on earth could you have such an experience?

Bachelor Party Boat Trip

My friend Dan is getting married in September in Venice, where I'll be going to attend the wedding. I took charge of organizing his bachelor party, which took place yesterday, during some of the nicest weather to touch Amsterdam this year. I organized the bachelor party into two phases. Phase one was a four hour boat trip down the Amstel river, and phase two involved dinner and an evening in the center of Amsterdam, with a sort of scavenger hunt of tasks that Dan had to complete. 

Our boat trip ran along the bike route I've taken to Oudekerk aan de Amstel multiple times, and it gave me a chance to see the river and a bit of the city from a different angle than I'm used to. 

Seeing how boats like this from the river level is one of the treats of taking a boat ride.

The river was busy, and there were several interesting scenes such as this of a dog and a shirtless man standing on a boat.

Dan with the scotch I bought him two years ago as a thank you for allowing me to stay at his apartment when I moved to Amsterdam.

Restaurant and terrace at Oudekerk aan de Amstel

Real estate advertisement along the river

A classic car on top of a house boat

Sunbathers were ubiquitous on the river

My apartment is about 200 feet from this rowing club.

There were a lot of boats on the river, and there were even more people on the bike paths adjacent to the river. Some people raced along the path on road bikes; others leisurely road on city bikes, often with children; others walked or lounged on the banks of the river.