dutch treat

t was a beautiful, sunny morning when we got on our , it is now connected to the mainland by a three- Amsterdam’s bicycles and joined the myriad cyclists weaving mile causeway. Marken’s seafaring tradition is evidenced in canals form through Amsterdam's narrow streets. The historic center the tightly packed green-and-white houses, built on poles to symmetrical rings that Iof the city is shaped by the symmetrical rings of canals keep them “open like a that open like a fan, displaying gracefully arched bridges above water and gabled houses. Cycling is an excellent way to see the level. Tidy, fan,” reveal- PRA city. Clearly delineated cycle paths and traffic signals for colorful Nuts and Bolts ing this ava beautiful cyclists ensure a smooth flow of traffic and safe access to interiors LOCATION: The , half the size of Indi- Du city. every part of the city. Bicycles are used for all manner of mirror the ana, is comprised of 11 provinces. The country the transport in Amsterdam; from doing the grocery shopping to order of is often the moving households. Busy CEO's with chic leather briefcas- ships’ quar- referred to min es balanced behind their backs, elderly ladies with their ters, and the as , Sun poodles tucked into pink silk-lined baskets, and mothers local church mainly Al with infants all share the road. boasts a because of cris The Dutch, like the land itself, have always been full of marvellous the histori- we surprises. In the 16th and 17th centuries, they fought an 80- collection of cal impor- ver year war with the Spanish to gain ship models. tance of Holland stro their independence and declare the Just the goo Republic of the Netherlands, and down the provinces tow then in 1813, in a complete rever- road, Mon- of North yo sal, they chose to live under a nickendam, and South Holland. monarchy. To appreciate the which trans- ACC Netherlands you have to look lates literal- TRANSPORTATION: A superb transportation network cam beyond the stale cliches of wind- ly as “dam links the country. For an additional fee, bikes for mills, tulips and wooden shoes. built by can accompany rail passengers on most routes. pri We took the ferry across the monks,” Good-quality sturdy bicycles are also available sho River IJsselmeer and began our was estab- for long- or short-term rent from all railway fre journey of discovery. A mere half- lished in the stations, and at numerous locations in cities and hos

PHOTOS BYPHOTOS GARY MACFADDEN hour from the center of Amster- 9th century towns throughout the Netherlands. acc dam, Durgerdam's tranquility by a group stands in stark contrast to Amster- of Frisian dam’s bustle. We stopped for a cool drink and took in the monks. At What would charm of this tiny hamlet, the fishing nets hanging in the the height of its prosperity in the 16th century, Marken suc- a story about sun, the boats tucked in the reeds. We followed the dike in cessfully competed with its great trading rival, Amsterdam. Holland be the direction of Marken, stopping often to take in the beauty Only when the Zuider Zee began to silt up, did it relinquish without tulips? of surroundings. its position and become a quiet town, well respected for its Marken is firmly rooted in the past in part because of its delicious smoked eel. isolation from the mainland. Once an island in the We rode quickly through the masses of red-faced sun- bathers in , eager to be out of the noise and chaos By Lorraine Weber and on to quieter Edam. Although now more famous for its Adventure Cyclist • January/February 2000 cheese, in the 16th century, shipbuilding locks the sand in place, preventing was Edam's main source of revenue. More erosion. For two days, we fol- than 33 shipyards provided the vessels that lowed a series of meandering contributed to the trading boom of Holland's cycle paths, watching the play of Golden Age. Finding a campground on the light and shadow and the chang- shoreline, we watched the sun set over the ing colors of dawn and dusk in the IJsselmeer, imagining what it must have dunes. looked like when the horizon was silhouet- Holland's bulb fields skirt the ted by impressive frigates. The next morn- edge of the dunes, but there is lit- ing, as the sun began to rise, we headed to tle to see unless you come in May, Hoorn. at the height of the color explo- To see Hoorn is to understand the impor- sion. Instead we went on to Lei- tance of trade in the creation of Holland's den, the center of Holland’s 15th- Golden Age. Hoorn was the major trading century textile industry. Leiden port and headquarters of the Dutch East also had the country's first univer- Indies Company. The harbor harkens back sity, and set the standard for its to the seafaring glory of this period, when renowned educational system. Dutch explorers gave their names to many The ride from Leiden to Gouda parts of the world; Spitsbergen, Tasmania was not particularly interesting, and Cape Horn and, closer to home, Staten but that was more because of bad Island. planning, than lack of a better The ride to Alkmaar took us over the route. I redeemed myself when we polders; a landscape of dead-straight lines, arrived in Gouda, catching the end revealing an almost obsessive concern with of the market that takes place in the shadow 1300s, when it was one of a ribbon of 20 order. We took our time, riding with the of Holland's most spectacular Town Hall, fortifications running through the province. wind at our backs, delighting in the beauty dating to the 1400s. We liked the square so Money was plentiful in Holland's Golden and peacefulness of the intricately patterned much, we decided to find a campground Age, and many of the estates and gardens fields, stopping occasionally in small vil- and come back for dinner. that line the Vecht reflect that abundance. lages and, once, to go inside a windmill The next day, we took the route along Merchants built gazebos at particularly which was open to the public. We arrived the Vilst canal and found it to be one of the scenic points, overlooking luxurious gar- loveliest on our trip. In the past, barges dens and the canals that ringed their estates. were pulled by horses (and sometimes by In the past, the Vecht was a major water- PRACTICAL TIPS: Good maps and information are hand) and carried pro- way and peat barges available at the VVV tourist offices, and at the duce and passengers plied the rivers. These di- Dutch equivalent of the automobile association, along the many water- days, the queues at the try the ANWB. English is widely spoken both in ways that linked the locks are for pleasure the major cities and the countryside. Bear in nation. In 1839, the first craft. At some point mind that most shops and offices are closed on steam locomotive line around Loenen, the Sunday. opened between Amster- money or initiative gave A local and national network of cyclepaths dam and Haarlem, and out and affluence fades criss-cross the cities and countryside. Dutch the character of transport away as the river winds weather can be less accommodating and is changed dramatically. its way through the pold- very unpredictable. Winds can be extremely We followed a series ers, with only an occa- strong. Be prepared; dress in layers and take of canals into Utrecht, a sional farmhouse or good rain gear. Every respectable village and city whose name fully windmill in sight. town has a bicycle repair shop. Don't leave signifies its importance, It was getting dark your bike unlocked or on the street at night. past and present. In and we had obviously Roman times it was missed the camping site ACCOMMODATIONS: The country is dotted with called Trajectum, or marked on our map. We ork campsites, and nearly all of them have an area crossing point, and func- were tired, and the sky for tents. Most sites provide a reasonably tioned as a border settle- looked threatening; we es. priced “tourist” restaurant, and have a small ment for foot soldiers. debated only a few min- le shop where you can purchase supplies and Corrupted through time utes before deciding to fresh vegetables and fruit. There are also youth and laziness, the name go back to Amsterdam. and hostels, rooms with breakfast, and hotels to was shortened to Trecht. Riding hard to beat the accommodate any price range. Though little remains of showers, in Hilversum its Roman past, Utrecht’s we ran for the last train function as a hub has and, once inside, sighed changed little over time. with relief as it began late in Alkmaar and decided to stay at a Nowadays, as the focal raining buckets. campground just outside the town. In the point for the Dutch trans- morning we settled into our saddles and port network, most train lines pass through headed for the dunes. Utrecht. Adventure Cycling member Lorraine Weber A natural sand barrier against the North We continued along the Vecht River, one is a freelance journalist living and working in Sea, the dunes are an excellent filtering sys- of the most beautiful rivers in the Nether- the Netherlands. tem for the area's drinking water. Years of lands. Zuylen Castle soon appeared on our experimentation produced the grass that right. Its foundations date back to the

Adventure Cyclist • January/February 2000