Saturday September 11, 2010
Domburg, Netherlands to Dudzele, Belgium (80k).
This morning we arose from our chamber in the castle, ate another delicious Stayokay breakfast, and boxed our complementary afternoon breakfast as usual... We then headed out, backtracking over our route from yesterday back to Vlissingen and took a20-minute ferry across the bay (which surprisingly was free today!!) where we easily conected up with the bike route and headed south toward Belgium. The weather today was very pleasant, sunny and mild, and despite a strong headwind we covered ground faster today because our navigation skills are steadily improving. We worked out a system where we write down a list of all our intersection numbers in order, then McKayla keeps us posted as to what we're looking for as we ride along (amie is usually otb and therefore catches the signs Erin and McKayla miss). We took a break in Sluis, a cute little bike friendly town just outside the Belgium border. We ate our boxed afternoon breakfast in the town center and bought groceries all the while wadling around clutching our bladders because we are too cheap to pay 50 cents to go to the bathroom when we can pee for free on the side of the road. Thirty kilometers later, we made it to Dudzele where we finally bought fuel for our fuel bottle(straight out of a gas station pump) and successfuly managed to live up to our unneccessary extra 10k hostel searching routine (yesterday we were bicycling up a sandy beach path in search of our unmarked castle and we were actually not that far off). Upon arrival, we cooked the most amazing dinner of whole weat pasta with zucchini, spinach, peppers, onion, tomato sauce, cheese, and various spices along with a bottle of wine (yes we ate it all and the entire meal only cost us 10 euro!). We finished it off with european tea cookies dipped generously in Nutella (thank you grandma corso for the nutella). The hostel has free wi-fi which is AWESOME (because nothing is free in Europe), so we made some phone calls home and have uploaded pictures onto the internet for your viewing pleasure: http://picasaweb.google.com/111756067304857775012/TheNetherlands?feat=directlink
Tomorrow we're going to head into Brugge to explore and perhaps do some errands, and then hopefully bike a bit of a short day to another hostel down the coast of Belgium.
WHAT WE'VE LEARNED SO FAR:
1) they are so trustworthy that no one checks to see that you actually paid for your train ticket in the Netherlands... everybody must be very honest ...
2) don't book a hostel online, it's costs 2 euro and you can't cancel, but if you call to reserve only, it's free and you can cancel
3)write down route intersection numbers, DON'T pull off to look at the map every 2k
4) Free WI-FI is there if you look (McDonalds, for example, all have free wifi in the Netherlands)
5) DON'T FOLLOW THE "Red signs" - white signs with red writing and bicycle pictures, probably meant for cars, and all full of shit.
6) Free breakfast = free breakfast and complementary lunch.
7) skype calls are 2.3 cents per minute, anywhere
8) McKayla and Erin were in the same second grade class...the class sang "my heart will go on" for the librarian and she cried because the class was so good
9) Unclip both peddles when looking at maps... erin....
10) "Donkya" means "thank you" in Dutch, but in French means "up your ass"
Quote of the day:
The best routes are the ones you haven't ridden. You could pedal the same loops year after year. Many people do, literally or figuratively. But to grow, you need new rides. Risks. Turn down lanes you've long seen but never traveled. Get lost once or twice, then double back to where you started and try again.
Live like this and you come to see unknown territory not as threatening, but as intriguing.
-Mark Remy, Bicycling Magazine 9/01
Saturday, September 11, 2010
The past two days
Thursday Sept 9th, Amsterdam to Den Haag (95k)
This morning we had to make our way out of Amsterdam toward Christiaan's (Amie and Erin's friend from Bowdoin who's dutch) house in Den Haag. Making our way out of the city was about as nuts as making our way into it! Narrow paths, crazy dutch cyclists, fast cars. We made it onto the route of trails known as the LF cycling network. Sometimes the trails were alongside roads, through forests, along canals, or made of cobblestone. The trails system is made up of numbered intersections. We made a slow way to Den Haag, since navigation was so tough we got a lot of help from locals. One couple even found us looking lost on a street corner between two signs that said "Den Haag" in different directions. They rode us about 10 blocks back to the proper trail - they were planning on spending 5 months biking through China! They're crazy. Shortly thereafter, we thought we'd made it to Den Haag, but found ourselves in Zeihoseiorghslklg.hjskhllll.... somewhere, as a dog walker kindly informed us. So we were tired and hungry (erin was a little hangry) and we still had to find Christiaan, without a phone and without definite internet... At a gas station we found a map of Den Haag and found a Stayokay hostel that happened to be nearby. We called christian, locked up our bikes, and went out to drinks and dinner with Christian and two of his friends from home. It was a great way to end the long day with a familiar friendly face. Tomorrow we'll head south to Domburg.
Friday, Sept 10th Den Haag to Vlissingen on a train, then Vlissingen to Domburg, 30k
So.... Domburg is actually really far away, something like 100k (60mi) and with the crazy, twisting paths to navigate and strange terrain we can't cover ground that fast. What's cool about biking here is how the paths constantly change direction, surface, view everything. Anyway, we decided we didn't want to get ourselves into a situation by trying to navigate the whole day (in bad weather, it was windy and rainy today). Plus we're sleeping in a castle tonight... so, we wanted to get there to play in it first. So we hopped on a train (the station was right next to our hostel) to Vlissingen (sounds like flisinger). In Vlissinger we found a library (bilioveek...) where we caught up on emails and got the next day's hostel booked. Then we hopped back onto the LF trail system, and biked about 25k to Domburg (more like 30 maybe because we did some lost off-roading right around our hostel before we found it.) Then there wasn't room for dinner there... and we don't have fuel yet (though we do have a new bottle), so we biked into Domburg center and found a bunch of very up-scale vacation-townie restaurants. McKayla spotted a decently cheap one so we had an awesome dinner and biked back to our Castle for the night. We're heading south to Belgium near Bruges tomorrow!
This morning we had to make our way out of Amsterdam toward Christiaan's (Amie and Erin's friend from Bowdoin who's dutch) house in Den Haag. Making our way out of the city was about as nuts as making our way into it! Narrow paths, crazy dutch cyclists, fast cars. We made it onto the route of trails known as the LF cycling network. Sometimes the trails were alongside roads, through forests, along canals, or made of cobblestone. The trails system is made up of numbered intersections. We made a slow way to Den Haag, since navigation was so tough we got a lot of help from locals. One couple even found us looking lost on a street corner between two signs that said "Den Haag" in different directions. They rode us about 10 blocks back to the proper trail - they were planning on spending 5 months biking through China! They're crazy. Shortly thereafter, we thought we'd made it to Den Haag, but found ourselves in Zeihoseiorghslklg.hjskhllll.... somewhere, as a dog walker kindly informed us. So we were tired and hungry (erin was a little hangry) and we still had to find Christiaan, without a phone and without definite internet... At a gas station we found a map of Den Haag and found a Stayokay hostel that happened to be nearby. We called christian, locked up our bikes, and went out to drinks and dinner with Christian and two of his friends from home. It was a great way to end the long day with a familiar friendly face. Tomorrow we'll head south to Domburg.
Friday, Sept 10th Den Haag to Vlissingen on a train, then Vlissingen to Domburg, 30k
So.... Domburg is actually really far away, something like 100k (60mi) and with the crazy, twisting paths to navigate and strange terrain we can't cover ground that fast. What's cool about biking here is how the paths constantly change direction, surface, view everything. Anyway, we decided we didn't want to get ourselves into a situation by trying to navigate the whole day (in bad weather, it was windy and rainy today). Plus we're sleeping in a castle tonight... so, we wanted to get there to play in it first. So we hopped on a train (the station was right next to our hostel) to Vlissingen (sounds like flisinger). In Vlissinger we found a library (bilioveek...) where we caught up on emails and got the next day's hostel booked. Then we hopped back onto the LF trail system, and biked about 25k to Domburg (more like 30 maybe because we did some lost off-roading right around our hostel before we found it.) Then there wasn't room for dinner there... and we don't have fuel yet (though we do have a new bottle), so we biked into Domburg center and found a bunch of very up-scale vacation-townie restaurants. McKayla spotted a decently cheap one so we had an awesome dinner and biked back to our Castle for the night. We're heading south to Belgium near Bruges tomorrow!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Ring your bell, don't honk your horn
We started our day in strides, literally, with a morning run in Vondelpark, which turned out to be a very entertaining experience. We got an inside look at morning bicycle communiting and culture. Even though it was raining, we saw adults and schoolchildren pedaling through the park and making their way onto the city streets via the bicycle lights. It seems like everyone plays up the effortlessness of their biking, often riding with no hands or multitasking while riding. As outsiders it appeared there are unwritten and unspoken (literally, it was dead quiet in the park while we ran) customs that we were barely able to pick up on. Anything goes, and yet we still felt a bit out of place.
After our run and morning breakfast (yes, amie, as opposed to afternoon breakfast), we hit the town. We were on a mission to find bike maps, a bicycle shop, fuel bottle, notebook, pen, and internet (still lost in cyberspace). We first stopped in at Mac's bike shop and spoke with Bram and Sabine. They gave us an inside perspective on bicycling in the city:
-Amsterdamers own an average of 2.4 bikes per person
-obtaining a driver's license here is incredibly difficult
-according to Bram (who owns 7-9 bikes), there are two places in the world, Amsterdam, and not Amsterdam
-we should have finished our tour in the Netherlands, because apparently it's downhill from here (we'll report back)
-electric bikes are becoming more popular in the city (go mom and pop corso)
-there's a map-specialized bookstore about 3 blocks from our hostel
From Mac's bikes we hit the streets to acheive our quest. We explored a grocery store, saw dozens of "coffee shops," bike rental shops, "erotic entertainment," and utilized McDonald's free wi-fi. We made our purchases, took a lunch break in a small cafe, explored the incredible map shop for hours, and figured out our route for the next couple of days.
We opted for dinner breakfast (yes amie), stopping at Sara's Pancake House and devoured some spendy dutch crepes. We selected both their savory and sweet selections, including "the Italian pancake" topped with pesto, tomato, onion, mushroom, and cheese.
On our way back to the hostel, we had our first run-in with Amsterdam's notorious pick pocketers. Don't worry, nothing happened, but we had our first reminder that wallets don't belong in back pockets. We were walking down a busy street, just after McKayla and Erin had stopped at a nearby ATM. A man wearing a teal trench coat on a street corner holding a city map asked us if we knew where we were. Obliviously, Amie pointed out our location, although it did seem that the man was Dutch, and unlikely to be truly lost. We walked on unscathed, before McKayla informed us that a man that had been walking toward us on the street had pointed at us and made eye contact with the map man. McKayla kept her eyes peeled while Amie gave the directions, and nothing was stolen. It was the first time we felt truly unsafe in the city. As a result, we now have a group code for uncomfortable situations. The next time someone wants out of a situation, they'll ask, "Where did Anthony go?" Then we're free to "go find him" in a safer direction.
Back at the hostel we made plans to bike to Den Haag Thursday to meet Christiaan and stay with his family the next night. We looked at our bike maps and figured out a tentative route, it's approximately 60km from Amsterdam. We are ready and excited, although a little uncertain about what riding will be like outside the city, to start our first day of bike riding!
After our run and morning breakfast (yes, amie, as opposed to afternoon breakfast), we hit the town. We were on a mission to find bike maps, a bicycle shop, fuel bottle, notebook, pen, and internet (still lost in cyberspace). We first stopped in at Mac's bike shop and spoke with Bram and Sabine. They gave us an inside perspective on bicycling in the city:
-Amsterdamers own an average of 2.4 bikes per person
-obtaining a driver's license here is incredibly difficult
-according to Bram (who owns 7-9 bikes), there are two places in the world, Amsterdam, and not Amsterdam
-we should have finished our tour in the Netherlands, because apparently it's downhill from here (we'll report back)
-electric bikes are becoming more popular in the city (go mom and pop corso)
-there's a map-specialized bookstore about 3 blocks from our hostel
From Mac's bikes we hit the streets to acheive our quest. We explored a grocery store, saw dozens of "coffee shops," bike rental shops, "erotic entertainment," and utilized McDonald's free wi-fi. We made our purchases, took a lunch break in a small cafe, explored the incredible map shop for hours, and figured out our route for the next couple of days.
We opted for dinner breakfast (yes amie), stopping at Sara's Pancake House and devoured some spendy dutch crepes. We selected both their savory and sweet selections, including "the Italian pancake" topped with pesto, tomato, onion, mushroom, and cheese.
On our way back to the hostel, we had our first run-in with Amsterdam's notorious pick pocketers. Don't worry, nothing happened, but we had our first reminder that wallets don't belong in back pockets. We were walking down a busy street, just after McKayla and Erin had stopped at a nearby ATM. A man wearing a teal trench coat on a street corner holding a city map asked us if we knew where we were. Obliviously, Amie pointed out our location, although it did seem that the man was Dutch, and unlikely to be truly lost. We walked on unscathed, before McKayla informed us that a man that had been walking toward us on the street had pointed at us and made eye contact with the map man. McKayla kept her eyes peeled while Amie gave the directions, and nothing was stolen. It was the first time we felt truly unsafe in the city. As a result, we now have a group code for uncomfortable situations. The next time someone wants out of a situation, they'll ask, "Where did Anthony go?" Then we're free to "go find him" in a safer direction.
Back at the hostel we made plans to bike to Den Haag Thursday to meet Christiaan and stay with his family the next night. We looked at our bike maps and figured out a tentative route, it's approximately 60km from Amsterdam. We are ready and excited, although a little uncertain about what riding will be like outside the city, to start our first day of bike riding!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Bicycle Culture Shock
It's 7:06 pm here, we haven't sleep yet, Amie just lied down next to the computer and exclaimed, "omg, horizontal feels so good, we haven't done this yet!" We've been too busy exploring this incredible city.
After getting off the plane, we realized it was 50 degrees and raining in Amsterdam. great riding weather. So we picked up our bike boxes, dragged them through the airport, and obtained train tickets to Amsterdam central station. Oh, and Erin chatted up the New Zealand men's triathlon team who are on their way to the World Championships in Budapest. We also ran into a guy who (upon noticing McKayla's adress on her bike box) told us about how he grew up in Cape Elizabeth and went to Cape High School. Weird, it's a small world. Anyways, outside the train station we put together our bikes and hopped right onto the bike path. Amsterdam is FULL of bikes. As Amie put it, it's nearly impossible to tell the difference between bike paths, tramways, actual roads, and sidewalks, they all blend together and wind in every direction. People off all ages speed by you on bikes carrying bags, dogs, small children, WHATEVER, without a second thought. It's absolutely unreal. The bikes that people aren't riding line the streets and fill the bike racks, cluttering the city literally by the thousands. There are special traffic lights for the bikers, which light up with red, yellow, or green bicycles to direct the bikers. We are the only people who wear helmets.
After making our way to the hostel, we dropped off our belongings and set off on foot to explore the city. We obtained cash, maps, and looked for an appropriate phone service (fail). We ate whoopie pies for breakfast, falafel for dinner, and now we are ready for bed....An altogether wonderful start to our adventure.
After getting off the plane, we realized it was 50 degrees and raining in Amsterdam. great riding weather. So we picked up our bike boxes, dragged them through the airport, and obtained train tickets to Amsterdam central station. Oh, and Erin chatted up the New Zealand men's triathlon team who are on their way to the World Championships in Budapest. We also ran into a guy who (upon noticing McKayla's adress on her bike box) told us about how he grew up in Cape Elizabeth and went to Cape High School. Weird, it's a small world. Anyways, outside the train station we put together our bikes and hopped right onto the bike path. Amsterdam is FULL of bikes. As Amie put it, it's nearly impossible to tell the difference between bike paths, tramways, actual roads, and sidewalks, they all blend together and wind in every direction. People off all ages speed by you on bikes carrying bags, dogs, small children, WHATEVER, without a second thought. It's absolutely unreal. The bikes that people aren't riding line the streets and fill the bike racks, cluttering the city literally by the thousands. There are special traffic lights for the bikers, which light up with red, yellow, or green bicycles to direct the bikers. We are the only people who wear helmets.
After making our way to the hostel, we dropped off our belongings and set off on foot to explore the city. We obtained cash, maps, and looked for an appropriate phone service (fail). We ate whoopie pies for breakfast, falafel for dinner, and now we are ready for bed....An altogether wonderful start to our adventure.
McKayla's Air Travel Report
1pm: drive from Cape Elizabeth to PWM with parents and Skyer.
1:34pm: Meet up with Erin, Amie, Mrs. Hatton, and Dana. Graffitti bike boxes with phrases such as "please handle with care" "fragile" and "omg so fragile"
2pm: Receive boarding passes after heckling for lower baggage rate. Check our prescious cargo and watch airport security slice open our oh-so-carefully packaged bikes boxes.
3pm: goodbyes. My father's final piece of advice, "before pulling out onto the road with your bike, check which side of the road the cars are coming so you know which side to ride on"
3:36pm: reading for takeoff, 15 minute delay. Then ready for takeoff
4-5pm: facts McKayla learned from "US airways The Magazine": 1) people who travel and study abroad are "better problem solvers and display more creativity" 2) horses need passports 3) the Munduruku language has no words for numbers beyond five
5pm: arrive in Philly on time, smoothly take bus to terminal A11 and board next plane within twenty minutes
6:40-7:45am: fly up in the air across a large ocean, a few time zones, fittfully sleep a bit, and viola just a hop, skip, and jump and we are in the Netherlands!!!
1:34pm: Meet up with Erin, Amie, Mrs. Hatton, and Dana. Graffitti bike boxes with phrases such as "please handle with care" "fragile" and "omg so fragile"
2pm: Receive boarding passes after heckling for lower baggage rate. Check our prescious cargo and watch airport security slice open our oh-so-carefully packaged bikes boxes.
3pm: goodbyes. My father's final piece of advice, "before pulling out onto the road with your bike, check which side of the road the cars are coming so you know which side to ride on"
3:36pm: reading for takeoff, 15 minute delay. Then ready for takeoff
4-5pm: facts McKayla learned from "US airways The Magazine": 1) people who travel and study abroad are "better problem solvers and display more creativity" 2) horses need passports 3) the Munduruku language has no words for numbers beyond five
5pm: arrive in Philly on time, smoothly take bus to terminal A11 and board next plane within twenty minutes
6:40-7:45am: fly up in the air across a large ocean, a few time zones, fittfully sleep a bit, and viola just a hop, skip, and jump and we are in the Netherlands!!!
Monday, September 6, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Getting Ready
Tomorrow's the day! I (Erin) picked up Amie at Bowdoin today and Mckayla joined us to sort through our gear and box up our bikes. Everything is ready to go for our departure tomorrow. I was surprised by how little stuff we actually have. Amie made a list of everything we needed after her experience biking across the country this summer (http://www.biketobowdoin.blogspot.com/) and it seemed like quite a daunting amount to fit into two panniers and a handlebar bag. However, we fit it all, and still have some room to spare! We'll arrive in Amsterdam early Tuesday morning, fight off the jet lag and put together our bikes. I'm nervous, but feeling better now that we've packed everything!
McKayla put together a list of cycling quotes for each day of our adventure. We'll send off with this: "When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race." ~H.G. Wells
McKayla put together a list of cycling quotes for each day of our adventure. We'll send off with this: "When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race." ~H.G. Wells
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