Barb Koziatek

Last day was spent in Amsterdam, no biking. Was a great day, I managed go to the Van Gogh museum, the Stilks musuem, the Ann Franke musuem, shopping, the red light district and a "coffee house". Played the tourist all day, lunch at an outdoor cafe, late afternoon beer watching the crowds and a late night dinner at a nice restaurant. Weather, like all the rest of the days, was great. Home now, long way home including overnight in New York airport...but flights went smooth and were on time. And the good news is I am still off of wor for another week!... read more

Yesterday was the warmest and sunniest day yet, only did 30 miles yesterday so that we could get to Enkhuizen early enough to visit their outdoor musuem. Popular place that recreated a city of old houses, stables, stores, etc. by relocating the actual buildings. We were docked on a lake, and went swimming before dinner (along with happy hour). The ride was along the North Sea the whole day - great view. Trivia: front doors with no handles are common here, they are only used twice, once when you get married and carry the bride through and once when you die and are carried out. Roofs with tile and thatch showed prosperity - tile was expensive and thatch was cheap (opposite today). ... read more

Today was a free day - guides took us to the first stop for coffee and dessert and then abandoned us. We broke out into small groups, four of us decided to hang together. Nice to ride without the constraints of the group, the four of us are faster riders and did more miles than the others. Wonderful weather again, sunny all day with a nice wind. Took a path all the way around the Island (about 45 miles) and then inland for a few sights. Stopped late day at an outdoor cafe, had a lunch of pancakes (more like a pizza without sauce), tomato soup, and french fries - shared amongst us. Along with a local beer. All of it was delicious. The food in Holland has been wonderful, they are especially fond of desserts ... read more

Good weather still holding out through yesterday. Pretty gloomy this morning, hope the rain holds off, rained quite a bit over night. Biked 41 miles through small villages and dunes, very nice. Amazing how small the villages / towns are and how many we go through each day, Haarlem to Spaarndam - Assendelft - Krommenie - Uitgeest Alkmaar. We are in Northern Holland now and seeing a few wooden houses, you never see that in the South. Wood is scarce and takes too much maintenance. They use wood in the North because of the weight, evidently the ground is sinking and they regulate the weight. Trip towns so far: Kudelstaart, Bodengraven, Reeuwijkse, Passen, Gouda (yes the Cheese, although we say it completely wrong), Kinderdijk, Krimpen aan de Lek, Krimpen ann de Ijssel, Capelle aan de Ijssel, ... read more

Off day for the guides, a day to roam Leiden. Went to the Pilgrim Musuem, really more of a house than a musuem. A very knowledgable person on the subject gave a talk, it was interesting. After that headed to the Botantical gardens and the open air market. Another wonderful weather day - in the mid to late 70s and sunny. Biking today to Haarlem. (Pictures from the NEW Church in Deflt (built between 1483 and 1510), way at the top of a tower, 370 steps I had to climb to get there!) ... read more