Once we were through passport control (9am-ish) at the 'Rotterdam' ferry terminal we were off like rockets along well-designed and signposted cyclepaths. There were several route we could have taken into Rotterdam - with so many cycleways it is easy to become confused & lost getting around Holland until you understand the codes to the very efficient system. The Google map route we had planned to follow was soon thrown aside as we chose to follow the signs pointing to Rotterdam, then Dordrecht as we saw them.
Anyway, luckily I had realised before we left the UK that the P&O Ferry terminal is NOT actually in Rotterdam but 30-35km away at Europoort opposite The Hook of Holland. Thankfully our breakfast of bananas and an apple kept us going until we found a suitable place to stop & refuel for the rest of our journey to the YHA just the other side off Dortrecht. The ride in from the ferry was quite stunning - not because of the beauty of nature but for the sheer intensity of industrial development along the Hartel Kanaal, Briersemeer & Neuwe Waterweg. There was Koch Industries, Shell and other pertroleum or chemical industries, and smack in the middle was the Kleiburg Golf Club .... an oasis of green amongst the steel tanks, pipes and huge chimneys. It was internationally eclectic too as companies from many parts of the world had their names on a number of sites; I am reminded that Rotterdam has long been an entrepot.
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| I felt safe w/o helmet |
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| Watched the Viking Tialfi ship load then turn down the Rhine |
Refueled we continued on our way, continually amazed by how easy it is to cycle in Holland - traffic lights are responsive to cyclists and where there are none, drivers stop & wait for cyclists to pass. I was constantly nodding my thanks when drivers stopped to let us cross ..... they must think, "Silly tourist!"
We continued to look out for a cafe as we cycled and just as we spied one we saw that it was right by the Zwijndrecht, Veerplein ferry that could take us across to Dordrecht old town for €2 so in the blink of an eye we were onboard, along with several other cyclists & that bit closer to our accommodation for the night. The water buses are all designed to take many bikes - not a lot of seating as most canal crossings take no more than 5-10 mins ....... so efficient.Into Dordrecht to find an abundance of cafes - Yay! - Cake & a cuppa was in order! And many offering organic or vege options .... double Yay! We enjoyed a cold smoothie - mine a ginger one and Caroline had a strawberry & possibly spinach smoothie. Both very tasty and soooooo good for us! We then pushed our bikes up the longest shopping strteet in Holland - Voorstraat - a pedestrianised street for most of its length, enjoying just "window shopping but never stopping to buy". We turned right off the end of it onto Torenstraat, remounted our bikes and cycled on to the YHA or Stay Okay Hostel.
That 30 minutes ride took us over another two canals along Noordendijk and a Randweg on Merwedepolder-West until turning onto Baanhoekweg which took us to the doorstep of our hostel. It is situated in the heart of the Biesbosch National Park which seemed very popular with Dutch tourists as the place was pretty busy with family & cycling groups. We had an ensuite family room all to ourselves so did a bit of handwashing before heading back outside to our bikes to give them a clean & oil before storing them in the LARGE bike shed...... it was full. We had our evening meal catered for by the hostel - a self-service three-course meal with enough options to keep vegeos happy. We had thought of going for a walk around a bit of the park but a thunderstorm hit just as we were putting our shoes on, and it absolutely hosed down for an hour or so. Needless to say we stayed inside & got on with p/card writing & sleeping.
The next morning we ate the hostel breakfast - museli rather too sweet for me but penty of bread, fruit & cheeses to choose from. Packed up our bikes & set off for the ferry that was accessed through the park - missed the 9.57 ferry so hung around by the lake beach & Merwelanden Restaurant for an hour. Interesting to watch the lake supervisors check the lake's water quality & place a coloured board up indicating whether it was safe to swim or not. Didn't really look like a place I'd be keen to swim at but a number of family groups were turning up as we left.
We hailed the ferry by pushing a button which set off a flashing light; it took us across the Benede Merwede to Sliedrecht Middeldiep from where we followed the signs to Gorinchem. In Gorinchem we stopped by De Caponniere to watch boats come under the raised bridge into the Grote Merwedesluis- the biggest lock we'd seen in Holland so far. Gorinchem seemed a lovely town, bathed as it was in sunshine & full of ambling tourists enjoying the scenery and outdoor restaurants.
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| http://www.gorcumsmuseum.nl/english |
Not long after we crossed the stunning Zaltbommel pylon bridge over the Waal - lovely wide two-way cycle path (cycling-on-the-bridge-near-zaltbommel)- to get to Heerewaarden where were to stay with another Warmshowers host. Felt really safe on that bridge as we had plenty of room and the wind wasn't blowing too hard!!
Our host for the evening was the wonderful Evelien, an educationalist/teacher initially for primary children but now working for the district as cultural and environmental educator. We had quite a bit in common, which meant a great evening of conversation. We were particulalry interested in what she had to share with us about the Dutch dike and polder system, and the history of floods and subsequent prevention measures. We poured over the atlas for ages getting a handle on the amazing technology required.
Her 18 year old son, Ari, came down for dinner, played his guitar for a while then ambled off. Her husband, a sculptor, was away at their summer house in the north of Holland; we saw a large commissioned piece he as working on for a boat building company & were impressed. Evelien had made a lovely vege meal of potato muffins accompanied by a warm broccoli salad - very yummy. We had bought fresh berry fruit so had those later with yoghurt after we came back from our walk around the village. The family dog, Boson, a large Dutch shepherd crossed with American bulldog was rather soppy but apparently we wouldn't want to know him if he saw another male dog while out walking.
We slept in one of the upstairs rooms in the house Evelien and Joris rebuilt from the remains of a 200 year old one 17 years ago. A house full of quirks and personality - loved the fact it wasn't a square box and had a thatched roof. They also had a garden full of flowers, food and sculptures - all situated right at the entrance to a small village between the Meuse and the Waal. We woke relatively early the next morning as Evelien had an appointment in the larger town despite this she made pancakes for breakfast. Yum!
Another delightful Warmshowers host had generously opened her home to complete strangers & shared a bit of her life with us, and we with her ..... PRACHTIG!
It was overcast as we left but we were hopeful that it wouldn't rain on us. We were quickly back on the Waalbandijk heading toward our end point of Millingen ... or even somewhere across the border in Germany. The cycling was pretty easy as we generally had the wind at our back so we went through Dreumel, Wamel, Druten, Deest, and Winssen pretty quickly stopping occasionally to take photos of the flat landscape and the various bits of art work along the route. One sculpture in particular represented the importance of the dikes in protecting twons/cities fro rising seas. Information panels along the way also explained the continuing engineering works required .... or at least we think that's what they were explaining ffrom the pictures & the few words we could understand! Saw quite a few traditional windmills on this day, too. The open land was intensively farmed (loved the brown & white sheep/goats we saw everywhere) and in many places were covered in huge glasshouses. Other areas were obviously reserved as flood catchment areas with plenty of trees on the edges of the huge stopbanks with aim of protecting nearby settlements but also acting as nature reserves & parkland. And on the Waal itself there was a constant movement of barges and ships - a very busy waterway indeed. In little inlets off the Waal we saw communities of house-boat dwellers, some of them quite large & beautifully built.
The weather turned a little wet just as we were looking at information panels about Operation_Market_Garden during WWII - all about trying to retake the bridges and canals from the Nazis. As we pedalled into the big city of Nijmegen the rain cleared & people were out shopping at the markets and in the stores. I spent a bit of time looking round the beautiful Stevenskerk built between the 13 & 15th C, and damaged during WWII. Quite starkly beautiful compared to say English cathedrals and definitely to French cathedrals. There were many other buildings we could have visited but time (& interest) was against us BUT both Caroline & I were taken with the size of the cheeses being sold at the market and in the cheese stores! Took photos of them! For our lunch stop we found the brewery, which had been recommended to us by a couple of local women, for our lunch stop .... as the clouds were darkening again we decided to eat inside but just as we'd settled in the sun came out in all its glory. Never mind, we ate a lovely veg set lunch at Plaats1 - the dessert was a thick Dutch yoghurt with fresh berries. Yum!
The afternoon had moved on by the time we finished so we hi-tailed it out of Nijmegen as we knew we had at least 25-30km or more to go before we found accommodation. Under the newish Waal bridge - all about 'room for the river' - and then the route right around Groenlander on the Ooysedijk & then Ooijse Bandijk as we remained keen to observe the comings & goings of boats, birds and bikes in the area. The wind had turned somewhat so the going was a little harder - a steel 'chapel' became a great refuel stop for us & to discuss whether we would push on into Germany.
The weather decided that for us in the end as it was raining as we came into Millingen & I had become decidedly fed-up with the fickleness of the day .... would have liked to have had a paddy but I'm not 3! Poor old Caroline stood under a tree trying to keep out of the rain (I'd gone to a cafe to dry out) searching for accommodation for the night - no room at two places but luckily she saw a sign for a small camping & hostel place, phoned them and we got their last room. C finally joined me for two hot chocolates at the cafe, we then bought some food at the supermarket for a picnic tea. As it turned out the evening was dry & warm so we could have camped had push come to shove, instead we had a lovely room in an old barn overlooking farmland.
Breakfast was included; a good start to our last hours in Holland. By 9.30 we were pedalling away from Derijn Hof into town and out ........into Germany, just like that!
P&O Ferry to Dordrecht 62km
Dordrecht to Heerewaarden 70.6km
Heerewaarden to Millingen 64.82km
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