 There were whale paintings on the road, and many whale-flags. |
 ferry approaching |
photos from 10 September
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Category Archives: travels
Lelystad to Zaandam; zedding in Zaandam
We had decided to finished the holiday with a few days in Zaandam. We came here in late 2016: here’s our stories from then. So yesterday (Sunday 8 September) was taken up by a relatively long (42 miles) trip. No rain, little wind but much wiggling: https://cyclemeter.com/dd47ea6f33590baa/Cycle-20190908-1049-80348. I’d been keen to see the completely reclaimed countryside of Flevoland, and got it.
 street-names en route |
 Miles of straight, smooth tarmac made this a pretty smooth run. |
 crossing from Flevoland to Muiden (mainland) |
 Crossing from Flevoland to Muiden (mainland) |
Today has been a deliberately lazy day: breakfast, shopping, coffee, more shopping, more coffee, dozing, cinema, sleep Tomorrow we might be energetic!
Our hotel in Zaandam
Lelystad looping
Hello from a cafe outside the Batavia Museum! There is much on how they are rebuilding old sailing ships here. Not a surprise that this is a lively area. We are in a city, a city on land reclaimed from water. Cycling through wiggly suburbs is such a change to cycling through countryside! Continue reading
photos from 6 September
 setting off along the dike |
 streamlined recumbent |
 approaching Lelystad |
 approaching Lelystad |
Around the Zuiderzee museum at Enkhuizen
 street-name |
 Enkhuizen marina |
 about de Taanhuis |
 inside de Taanhuis |
 about the smoke-houses |
 inside the smoke-houses |
 about a house from Merken |
 inside the house from Merken |
 about a corner-shop |
 inside the corner-shop |
 inside the corner-shop |
 random building |
 around the museum |
 about a house from Marken |
 inside the house from Marken |
 about a fish-auction |
 inside the fish-auction |
 about tanning |
 more about tanning |
 more about tanning |
 more about tanning |
 more about tanning |
 about the Aeronef |
 the Aeronef |
 about a dike-house |
 the dike-house |
 about chalk-ovens |
|
 museum layout-information |
 museum layout-information |
 about the Zuiderzee museum |
 more about the Zuiderzee museum |
 looking back at the museum |
 I was intrigued by the ride of this thatched hut. |
 another view of the thatched hut |
|
 about the bronze-age hut |
 bronze-age hut |
 bronze-age hut |
|
 about the brush-maker |
 outside the brush-maker’s |
 inside the brush-maker’s |
 Elly is not an exhibit! |
 Shy sheep |
 flounder |
 boiler-room(?) |
 about the boiler-room |
 steam engine |
 boiler and steam-engine |
 about the steam-laundry |
 laundry |
 about van der Kamp laundry |
 more about the van der Kamp laundry |
 about Zuiderzee tastes |
 What to use for polishing your stove! |
 forge |
 about the high street |
 painted radiator |
 about the pharmacy |
 Enkhuizen marina |
 sailing |
 about Paulus Potter |
|
 Paulus Potter sketching a goat… |
 … and his model. |
 Note the weathervane |
 view of Enkhuizen |
 view of Enkhuizen |
 view of Enkhuizen |
 Bookbinder Street |
2nd September: to den Burg, then de Koog
Today was a shopping and sightseeing day. Cyclemeter map for now, photos below.
Den Burg sheep-market
 Sheep in Den Burg market |
 The White Angel – sells all manner of Texel wool |
 how to use a sheep |
At the ‘Flora’ shipwreck and beach-combing museum
 A nation of cyclists! |
 Hope to auction fish |
 Elly gaming |
 outside exhibits |
 Jutter boat, previously used by Texel jutter Sil Boon. (A jutter is a beachcomber or scavenger.) |
 about the next few photos |
 lifeboat capsule |
 inside the lifeboat capsule |
 lifeboat capsule pilot’s station |
 inside the lifeboat capsule |
 about the lifeboat capsule’s air supply |
 ship interior |
 mammoths! |
 mammoth tusk |
 wine, women and song? |
 rubber gloves |
 penicillin |
 whiskey galore |
 Aye-aye captain! |
 snail-flour! |
 de Koog beach |
 de Koog beach |
 de Koog beach |
1st September: round Texel
OK, it’s an island and it has tarmac, so Bruce has to go around it. Fortunately, Elly isn’t averse to a little cyclo-circumnavigation, either, and so off we went. Of course there was headwind both ways, so please don’t laugh too much as the speed on the cyclemeter map.
But we had 37 miles of being tourists, hence a lot of photos! Continue reading
Stars and bars
So we are at the hotel 14 Sterren, on Texel. It’s a Saturday afternoon and there is the sound of a wedding in the background. It’s going on at the restaurant in the buildings next to where we are staying. We have had a short but fun ride to get here, and that was yesterday, cycling from Alkmaar to here.
Today’s very short cycles were into the centre of town and back:
Cycling without luggage was welcome. I don’t think we are at the full strength of former years at the moment. That is, we could have done the 36 miles from Alkmaar to our place in Texel in a morning or even the full 58 from IJMuiden to Texel, (i.e. IJMuiden to Alkmaar and Alkmaar to Texel) in a day if we had wanted. But we didn’t want. This is holiday, which means we don’t have to strain our bahookies. Continue reading
Alkmaar to Texel
 vegan breakfast! |
 central Alkmaar |
 Central Alkmaar – with weird pano effects |
 coffee! |
 random hefflump photo |
 ferry to Texel |
 Bruce is windswept and interesting… |
 … as is Elly |
 outside of our hotel’s bar on Texel |
Alkmaar ambulations
Hello world! We are in Alkmaar’s main square, by a canal. So stereotypical, I suppose, but I am loving still being able to have such holidays. Elly is faster than me, and my left foot still tingles if I sit down too long doing nothing to distract my mind. (Hence blogging helps me ease tingles as well as being able to say hello to my audience.)
So where are we saying hello from? Well the canal is called Voordam, and we are in the main square next to an about-to-close cheese museum. So that’s a thing to do tomorrow, as is returning to this square tomorrow morning because there will be a cheese market. Personally, I am looking forward to miles of tarmac at my admittedly slow pace. However, I am currently not wearing Lycra, just sitting and enjoying.
Not many miles today: here’s the Cyclemeter map: https://cyclemeter.com/dd47ea6f33590baa/Cycle-20190829-1012-08925
There has been no rain, unlike yesterday. We got wet yesterday on the way to North Shields, then froze waiting to be let on the ferry. That was after the traditional 10 miles from Newcastle: https://cyclemeter.com/dd47ea6f33590baa/Cycle-20190828-1318-84841, and of course earlier the fun cycle along Princess St: https://cyclemeter.com/dd47ea6f33590baa/Cycle-20190828-1020-86136
So total cycling so far is 32.5 miles. That’s enough for now! Photos are below the cut. Continue reading
Digital evidence that Bruce might have a life 