Cycling across the Sea - a tour of the Netherlands on two wheels (part three - the coast)

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July 5th 2012

Published: September 6th 2012

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Backpackermatt

Scenic stop

Enjoying a break (and some sunshine) on the way to Haarlem

Well if the title of my last blog wasn't strictly accurate, this one actually is - for after spending two nights on the Waddenzee island of Terschelling and then taking the ferry back to the mainland at Harlingen, I soon found myself tackling the 30km-long stretch of the Afsluitdijk, which cuts straight across the North Sea from Friesland to North Holland... against the wind all of the way, of course!

Having been built in response to a catastrophic North Sea flood in 1916 - and completed in 1932 - the Afsluitdijk (meaning 'Closure Dike'😉 is another marvel of Dutch engineering, forming a 30km-long barrier between the Waddenzee (the part of the North Sea that is bounded by the Dutch mainland on one side and the Wadden islands on the other) and what was formerly known as the Zuiderzee (South Sea), a large bay extending 100kms inland between the provinces of Friesland to the north and North Holland to the south.

With the Zuiderzee having been cut off from the Waddenzee upon completion of the Afsluitdijk, it was subsequently transformed into a freshwater lake known as the Ijsselmeer; and with an average depth of no more than five metres, large

Speed limit

130km/h - not a speed that I was ever likely to reach

parts of it were then able to be pumped free of water, with much of the reclaimed land forming the new province of Flevoland. What was left of the lake was then divided further into the Ijsselmeer and Markermeer upon the completion of a second dike of similar length, known as the Houtribdijk.

None of which was of any particular interest to me as I found myself once again pedalling directly into a strong south-westerly North Sea breeze! For the best part of two hours I soldiered on, with the only change in scenery being the number on the distance markers spaced at one hundred metre intervals along the side of the road! In fact, I even made a point of stopping every five kilometres to take exactly the same picture of exactly the same view, to demonstrate how monotonous the scenery can be! Having said that, I hardly think the people responsible for the dike had scenery in mind when they built it!

Even after completing my crossing of the Afsluitdijk I still had another 90kms or so to go along the LF-10 North Sea cycle route before I made it to Haarlem, with the wind once

Bend in the road

Looking back toward the start of the Afsluitdijk

again doing it's level best to halt my progress - though at least with the sun shining down for most of the afternoon and with no real deadline for getting into Haarlem to worry about I could afford to stop whenever I liked and was able to enjoy the day, though it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the most enjoyable part of the day was once again arriving at my hostel for the night - at 9pm, a full twelve hours after I had cycled off the ferry in Harlingen! And needless to say I was pretty glad that I had chosen to take the 7am ferry across from Terschelling rather than the 10:45am ferry - that I had been considering taking so that I could get an extra three hours sleep - which as things turned out would have had me getting into Haarlem sometime after midnight!

Yet even after arriving at my hostel (after taking the free car ferry across the North Sea Canal just north of Haarlem) my two-wheeled adventures for the day were still not yet over, as I then had to track down somewhere nearby to get something to eat... which with

Fietsknooppunt

One of about a thousand cycle route network maps I must have passed

the hostel actually being located on the outskirts of Haarlem about five kilometres from the centre of town was nowhere near as straightforward as I had imagined it would be! After being told by the receptionist that there was a pizza place just up the road, I decided to leave my bicycle behind and walk the kilometre-and-a-half... only to discover that the pizza place had already closed for the night - by 10pm on a friday night no less!?! So after then walking all the way back to the hostel empty-handed and being told that there would probably be nowhere else open nearby at this time of night, I had little choice but to hop back on my bicycle and pedal the five kilometres or so into town.

And then, just when I thought the longest day of my trip was finally drawing to an uneventful close - after finally stumbling upon a burger joint that was open until 4am and stuffing my face full of greasy fast food - I was taught a very valuable lesson for anyone thinking of embarking on any sort of cycling trip, whether it be a thousand kilometre circuit around a foreign country

Golden crossing

View from the North Sea Canal car ferry

or a quick trip down to the corner store: if you're going to ride your bicycle whilst carrying a milkshake, always do so with the milkshake in your right hand! I unfortunately found this out the hard way - when I was forced to hit the brakes suddenly when a car came out of nowhere, only to realize that with my milkshake clutched in my left hand and my right hand therefore being the only one free to apply the brakes, it would be the front brakes that would bring me to a sudden stop... or at least bring my bicycle to a stop, while I went sailing straight over the top of the handlebars and headfirst into the pavement!

So there I was in the centre of Haarlem on a friday night dressed in shorts, singlet and flip-flops, gingerly dragging both myself and my bicycle up off the ground as a scrum of presumably-innebriated Dutch folk gathered around asking if I was okay, whilst clutching what remained of my delicious vanilla milkshake! Some lessons you only need to learn once - this was one of them.

The next day (saturday 30th June) I started out cycling leisurely

All vessels, big and small

Contrasting modes of transportation on the North Sea Canal

alongside the North Sea Canal before crossing the impressive Ijmuiden Sea Locks - with the largest of the three sets of locks measuring 400 metres in length, 50 metres in width and 15 metres in depth - before circling back and once again taking the car ferry back across the North Sea Canal. I then left the canal behind and cycled south to the Zuid Kennemerland National Park to spend a couple of enjoyable hours pedalling my way through the forested dunes just inland from the coast at Bloemendaal.

The following day happened to be the most important date on my summer calendar - July 1st, the day of the Euro football championship final! And in a stroke of good fortune, another Dutch friend of mine from Melbourne named Simon had agreed to meet up with me in nearby Amsterdam to watch the match. So after heading into the centre of Haarlem that morning to explore the streets and canals of the old town by bicycle (what better way could there be to explore a Dutch city?), I hopped on the train to Amsterdam to meet up with Simon and head to a nearby Irish bar to cheer on

Spokes and smoke stacks

Rest break between the Ijmuiden Sea Locks

the all-conquering Spanish side (sour memories of Italy's ill-deserved victory over Australia in the 2006 World Cup still not yet having subsided) as they put on a footballing exhibition to destroy the Italians 4-0; and in doing so become the first team in history to successfully defend their European crown. Not exactly the mayhem-inducing Dutch victory that I had originally hoped for when the tournament had gotten underway three weeks earlier, but certainly preferable to either Italy or (God forbid) England winning!

After three days in Haarlem I set off down the coast on monday bound for Den Haag (The Hague), though with no more than sixty kilometres to cover for the day - and with the sunny skies allowing me to wear clothes more appropriate for the beach than a cycle tour - it was a far more relaxing and enjoyable affair than the previous few days I had spent on the bike. I was even able to stop off for a swim not once but twice - firstly at a beautiful little lake nestled amongst the dunes in Zuid Kennemerland NP on the way out of Haarlem; and then again a couple of hours later at the

Boats around the bend

Canal in Haarlem

Netherlands' most famous beach, Scheveningen, on the way into Den Haag... where I discovered first hand just how butt-numbingly cold the North Sea can be, even in the middle of summer!

Tuesday brought the chance for a more thorough exploration of Den Haag, which combines both a historical core full of charming canals and impressive palaces, churches and mansions; with a decidedly modern city centre consisting of skyscaping office blocks and high-rise apartment buildings - in fact it would have to be the only city that I have encountered on my travels through the Netherlands (not only on this tour but in previous trips as well) where I have been confronted by such an engaging contrast of old versus new.

It also came as little surprise to discover that Den Haag - which despite being replaced by Amsterdam as the official capital is still the home of both the royal family and the Dutch parliament - is full of parks and gardens, giving the impression that it must be a very liveable city. From the Binnenhof (where a large lake-filled park lies adjacent to the Houses of Parliament), to Noordeinde Palace (the official residence of the Dutch royal

Famous strand

The impressive pavilion at Scheveningen

family), and the Peace Palace (where the International Court of Justice convenes), the city is full of stately buildings; while it's well-heeled northern suburbs are graced with tree-lined streets full of ambassadorial homes that only add to the overall grandeur of the area. And how many cities in Europe have a world-class beach sitting on their doorstep?!?

Perhaps the most impressive park of all in Den Haag turned out to be Haagse Bos, where no sooner had I crossed the motorway from the city centre than I found myself in the midst of some sort of primevil forest! The contrast between bustling metropolis and evocative, eerily silent forest was immediate, as the city seemed to melt away into the background almost instantly. And in possibly the craziest coincidence I have ever experienced, as I finally left the forest and headed back toward my hostel I happened to randomly cross paths with an Egyptian guy named Mohammed with whom I had worked at a backpackers hostel in Dundee, Scotland almost one year ago - who happened to be working on the defence team for Saif Gaddafi at the International Court of Justice; and whose boss had just the day before

City of skyscrapers

Den Haag's modern city centre

been released by the Libyan authorities after being held captive for the past month! What a crazy world.

Having brought forward my return ferry trip to England from thursday morning to wednesday evening - partly to give me a little bit more time to get ready for my flight to Canada on friday afternoon, and partly because I simply enjoy overnight ferry trips so much - my final day in the Netherlands (wednesday 4th July) brought a slow start, followed by some further exploration of Den Haag, before I finally set off along the coast to cover the thirty kilometres or so back to the ferry terminal at Hoek van Holland where my Dutch cycling adventure had started so auspiciously seventeen days earlier. And sure enough, upon reaching the immigration station at the ferry terminal and trying to clear customs, I was confronted by a couple of puzzled Dutch customs officials who couldn't work out how I had managed to enter the country without getting an entrance stamp in my passport...! God bless the Netherlands!

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