In recent weeks we have done something that we haven't done since we were teenagers. We have gone bike riding - twice! Hiring a bike to ride in Europe is like using a pay phone. Very easy, and most cities have a system where you can check out, or check in, a bike at stations all over town.
I'm not so keen on cycling in traffic, but in the Netherlands we went to a large national park near Arnhem where the bikes were free, so you just grabbed one and went. It was fun and I only had to avoid crashing into other cyclists. I am not the best bike rider, and I put that down to not having the opportunity to learn until I was 13. Just a little late for it to be natural. But the best part of this park was the gallery in the middle with a worthy collection of Van Gogh paintings - what a treat!
Bikes are what stuck out the most in the Netherlands - I presume they are all born on one. Certainly we saw lots of infants and children on the back, or in the cart in the front (big wheelbarrow like contraptions that can hold up to 3 children). In fact, being a pedestrian is a risky business as the bikes seem to have the right of way, everywhere. I know I stepped out in front of many cyclists, but it was a very appealing approach to personal transport.
Of course the reason they are all happy to cycle so much is that the biggest hill they have to climb is the gentle rise of a bridge over a canal. Phil thought it very graceful to watch the pendulum like rythym of bikes crossing bridges; Bridges over canals that were lined with boats. So the dutch must be big on boating too.
Back to art. This was one of our main reasons for wanting to visit Amsterdam. We agree that Vincent van Gogh was an outstanding artist and we wanted to see lots of his paintings; And we did and they were great. I wish I could go back again and again to feast on his brush work. Better again, just have some of his paintings hanging on our own walls (dreams are free). The other treats were 1. The MC Escher gallery in Den Haag (The Hague). Yet another brilliant mind, but this one focused on exquisite detail, mathematics and design; and 2. Visiting Rembrandt's 300 year old house in Amsterdam with a special exhibition of his stunning etchings.
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| MC Escher |
We timed our visit for spring so that we could go to the tulip gardens - a place called Keukenhof. Somehow I managed to pick the busiest day of the season to visit - the day of the huge flower parade - so by noon we had to share the park with literally thousands of other people, all trying to stay off the grass even when there was no path left to share. The flowers were nothing short of magnificent. Beautiful. Enchanting. And in the surrounding fields the flowers are grown like rainbows; not just tulips, but hyacinths, narcissus (daffodils) and iris. We spent 5 hours in the park looking at flowers and it was only the crowds that pushed us to leave.
Our final stop was Delft, the town famous for blue and white pottery. For us, Delft is famous for wonderful food at reasonable prices. We used the opportunity to celebrate our anniversary one night and my birthday the next night (well they were our pent up excuses to indulge in one Michellin star fine cuisine). The chef introduced us to some palate tingling cheeses which we were subsequently able to buy from a local speciality shop to bring some home and extend the taste sensation. The most memorable was the Delft Blue - definitely a challenger to a good Kapiti version. This is Delft below.
We didn't see many windmills, but it wouldn't be a blog about Holland without a photo of one so here it is (snapped on the highway). My final thought is of friendly people. The country is full of them and that made our visit so much more enjoyable.
