Our last five days of this 2015 Spring trip in Europe brought us country #7, Holland. Another language to learn, another culture to adapt to, and different foods to enjoy… we followed the Oude Rijn (Netherlands) towards Utrecht and on to the North Sea at Katwijk.

From Katwijk we cycled north along the North Sea through the dunes to Norwijk and then on to Amsterdam to catch our flight home.

We spent a day in The Hague touring Madurodam ( a model village with landmarks from all over Holland built on a scale of 1/25). We also visited the Escher Museum – fascinating artist with a unique childhood.  He did not like school!

We spent three days in Amsterdam which increased our appreciation for the cyclists in Holland. Bicyclists are in the majority and take right of way over drivers. Amazing country designed from the get-go with cyclists in mind, Holland is a true cyclists paradise.

Planning for our next adventure – cross-country cycle trip from San Diego to St. Augustine for Fall, 2015

Cycling towards Koln, we passed the bridge ruins at Remagen captured intact by Allied forces in 1945 but collapsing while bridgeheads were established on the east bank and pontoon bridges were used enabling the Allied advance. A Peace Museum exists in one of the bridge towers.

In Koln we visited the Cathedral. While this beautiful edifice survived intact,  heavy bombing in World War II, caused considerable damage in the rest of the city.

We found the next section, the Rhine Gorge, to be the most beautiful stage with castles perched on the heights of the rocky cliffsides and vineyards up and down the cliffs.  While we cycled past the famous Mouse Tower and Loreley Rock, the Tower was under renovation and the Loreley Rock was not visible from the cycle trail but only from tour boats cruising the river. Many of the castles were originally built as defense battlements to protect the landholdings of the owners.

Passing by Basel and into France, we entered into a large agricultural valley and followed canal towpaths on the Canal du Rhone for about 30 kilometres.  For another 30+ kilometres we were traveling through the countryside and small, farm villages.

We reached Strasbourg and were able to spend some time cycling through this beautiful, but busy, city. I found a bookstore which sold fiction written in English. My French is good, but I would prefer to read in English.

During the next section of our travels, we used car ferries to cross back and forth at several points along the Rhine.

We visited the cathedral at Speyer and also passed by the  Liebfrauen church, famous for the Liebfraumilch vineyard in Worms, as well as a beautiful church on the hillside overlooking the town of St. Gereon.