From Leer, I crossed the border west to Holland and continued cycling west toward Groningen. I didn't have that much mileage to do and the terrain was very flat so I wasn't rushing... and soon was passed by 3 German cyclists ringing their bells... I passed them a bit later when they had stopped for breakfast and I didn't see them again till around noontime after I had stopped for lunch in a field and was cycling back on the cycle path... Again they rang their bells forever, but wouldn't ride around me. They finally passed me riding on the grass and muttering... Well, I decided that I'd show them what having cycled 9,000 kms in 5 months could do and passed them again maintaining the lead easily for the next 20 kms... almost till Groningen... and they gave up... couldn't keep the pace.

We met again in Groningen and talked a bit... we may meet again as they're headed for Amsterdam before going back to Germany.

I spent an extra day in Groningen getting used to Holland and wandering the city. It's a nice old city and a canal surrounds the center core. On both banks of the canal, houseboats are moored one behind the other. Most of them look like they haven't moved in years, some even have street numbers on them. The “red light” district... where women sat alluringly in their undies behind window fronts or in their doorways trying to attract customers... particularly amazed me

The day was beautiful... sunny with some clouds and cool, so the cycling was enjoyable as I headed south. It's so flat, with very few trees to break the horizon, that it's impossible to get lost here... If you're not sure which road, you can just aim for the church tower up to 10 kms away and head for it...

I reached Meppel a little over noon and took a break. After a snack, I headed south again towards Zwolle.

When I arrived at Zwolle, there was a fair in the town center, with a lot of people dressed in period costumes. So I stopped for pictures and walked around the fair before continuing on my way as I wasn't inclined to stay here with all the noise and crowds.

Cycling southwest I then arrived at Oldburg, a little town of new developments surrounding an old core. There was a fair here as well, but it was limited to the old core... Well, it was getting late, so I settled here for the night. Spent the evening at the fair and, in the morning, went back and took pictures of the center, when all was quiet, before leaving on my way.

Cycling southwest from Oldburg, I reached Amsterdam towards the end of the afternoon. It's a big city made up of concentric rings of canals... It's a zoo... Packed with people and traffic everywhere... I search for the tourist office and find it... but there's a line-up that'll take hours to clear... At a hotel reservation agency, the cheapest they can find is a room at a Best Western for the equivalent of Can$100/night... Ah well !... I have to do the Amsterdam thing once in my life...

I ended up staying 3 nights and 2 days in Amsterdam wandering around the city.

Well, Amsterdam's got something for everybody, from the "red light" district to gay boat parades on the canals, stores selling soft drugs legally, museums, street foods to "posh" restaurants, etc... But it's not quiet, and after a couple of days I was ready to leave.

When I got up it was pouring rain, but by the time I was ready to leave it had stopped raining. So I headed towards the western coast of Holland to Haarlem. There wasn't much there, an outside market with lots of junk. It seems the Dutch like to organize themselves into outdoor markets rather than having individual garage sales like in North America.... By this time, the sun is shining and I continue down the coast to The Hague. But I can't see the coast as the cycle path is not near enough and the road that appears to follow the coast is forbidden to cyclists. Well, The Hague is a big modern city with lots of construction, traffic, etc... As I don't feel like spending time in another big city, I continue down the coast and settle down in Poelijk, a nice little village.

In the morning the cycling was slow as I have to stop often to find my way (there are few indications on the bike paths). I have to backtrack a bit along the inlet to Maassluis where I take a ferry across the Nieuwe Waterweg to Rozenburg and continue southwest crossing the Haringvliet on a dam.

On the other side of the dam, I passed through Goedereede, a quaint little village.

Then across the Brouwersdam to Schouwen, followed by a bridge to Middleburg. At Middleburg, there was a big fair and the whole center was in a state of congestion, so I decide to push towards Vlissingen (the next day I'd only have to cross the ferry to Belgium). However on the coast all of the hotels and campings are fully booked. In the campings, only a certain number of tents are allowed and camping owners are worried of fines if inspectors come to count tents... Anyway, I spend a couple of hours backtracking, trying to find a camping spot and end up around Koudekerke for the night.

Travelling in the high season, without reservations, is a pain.

My impressions of Holland... it's flat... and I mean really flat !... no forests, just clumps of trees here and there... and an incredible network of canals... in fact, a lot of Hollanders live on houseboats which are more or less permanently moored... some even have numbered addresses. Villages are built on the sides of canals... larger towns are surrounded by a canal and large cities, like Amsterdam are built on a concentric network of canals.

Aside from a few large and multicultural cities like Amsterdam, Hague and Groningen, I found Holland interesting for its quaint little villages and its beautiful, warm and open people (not mentioning their permissive attitudes, like the red light districts...).

They pride themselves on being (so they say) the cycling capital of the world. Well, they very well may be... but in the Chinese sense... and I think the Chinese have them beaten...

A lot of bikes are used by a lot of people, mostly for commuting within city limits... I saw very few cyclists on the roads (or cycling paths) between cities... and whenever I would ask for directions to a town or village they would invariably comment : "... but that's 20 (or 40) kilometers away !..." like they think I'm weird cycling such a distance...

And they all ride old beat-up bikes ("Gazelle" being a very common brand)... some even ride on flat tires... and cycle shops carry very few spare parts since the Dutch never seem to get their bikes fixed... And I thought that recumbent bicycles were popular in Holland, but only saw 3 or 4 during my stay in the country.

As well, they have cycling paths going everywhere... and you're supposed to use them... in fact you get fined if you're caught riding on the road when there's a cycling path.

I found their cycling paths to be a real pain in the *** ! literally !!!

Very few are asphalted... many are terrazoed or cemented with bad foundations... Tree roots have grown underneath and pushed surfaces up so that the surface is all bumpy... The signage is very poor and Holland has taken so much pain in having the paths avoid traffic, that the paths are discontinuous, circuitous and very confusing... I'd much rather ride on proper asphalt roads with the traffic !

As for the food... most commonly, you find Italian, Chinese or Continental restaurants. The Dutch supposedly make great dishes with potatoes... but I couldn't find any to sample... As well, their pastries are all Danish, and aside from fast food "croquettes" (which are meat or cheese battered and fried dumplings) the food in Holland is all but interesting...

However, Amsterdam is unique in the world, I believe... a real zoo !... one must see it to believe it... Certainly the most interesting place I've visited in Holland !