We managed to take two wonderful bike trips from Leeuwarden during our days there. On the first one we headed due west to the old city of Franeker via a number of tiny old villages. The day was incredibly windy, but promised to be dry, so we took off mid-morning and headed through the small crescent of housing ringing the town and then immediately through wide open fields towards Marssum. The Dutch use an interesting and very practical system of crossroad meeting points—referred to as knooppunten-- as a way of marking the bike routes. Instead of needing to know whether one needs to turn left, right or at all, one simply follows the signs for the next designated number on the map. At each crosspoint there is a map showing one’s location, and with that, one can easily determine the next “number destination”. It is therefore actually possible not to even have a map, although having one with these bicycle points helps from a planning point of view.
We biked straight into a hefty headwind that sometimes left us almost standing still. Along rivers and canals, through endless wide-open(read wind-swept) pastures, and through a handful of delightful tiny towns. The few homes and buildings gather around the often very old church—we ran into several that were 13th and 14th century—although granted many have been restored to at least some degree. Horses, cows and sheep speckle the wide open landscape. We came to another small bicycle/pedestrian ferry and finally reached Franeker, where we were fortunate to enjoy out and out sunshine while we ate outside. Home to the world’s oldest working planetarium, which alas we were unable to visit, it also has a stunning town hall as well as a host of other older buildings. We walked around to get a sense of the place, but then had to jump back on our bikes and hope the wind hadn’t changed, charting a slightly different route back to Leeuwarden. A worthwhile and enjoyable outing.
Our second trip, at the recommendation of our hosts, took us north of Leeuwarden along the Dokkumer Ee, a canal cum river with quite substantial boat traffic, that connects with other waterways and eventually to the North Sea. The path skirts the river for the majority of the trip that we took. From time to time the way takes a small detour through a town, many of which are just as lovely as yesterday's crop. Here, too, there is the possibility of ferrying across the river—as there are few bridges north of Leeuwarden—, but when we arrived at the ferry, we discovered it only crossed in the afternoon, so we continued on until we arrived at the town of Birdaard, which lies at a point where a bridge does cross the river, and where we also discovered a working wind mill. A fair line of boats was waiting at each of the two drawbridges. We watched the first bridge open, while boats moved into the next stretch of river, where they then pay the drawbridge master the small toll for passing. Meanwhile lots of bicyclists—predominantly locals just crossing from one side of town to the other--, waited on both sides of the river. For the tiny town that it is, a major traffic jam, although not a single car to be seen!
We were able to visit the mill, which burnt down about one third of the waydown a while back, but was rebuilt under the guidance of the local miller and volunteers in about 1987. It was a saw mill and a flour mill, and continues to be both. We were basically given a private tour of the building, with very detailed explanations on everything from loading the logs into the mill, to the fact that the gear wheels within the mill are still completely made of a very hard local wood, and we were able to climb up to the fifth (of seven)floor within the mill along with our guide, up incredibly steep stairs, and out onto the “balcony” where one is at the level of the bottom of the windmill’s arms. As the wind is often not strong enough, there is also an electrical mill within the same building. Today’s millstone continues to be stone, however. The complexity of breaking down the grain, separating it into all its components—all done through inner passages in the mill—is actually quite fascinating. The flour milled today is made from locally farmed grains, and is all for private farms, not for any large corporation. Some farmers bring in quite small quantities of grain, and have their own “label”. It did make for an unusual tour, and our guide (a volunteer who grew up on a farm in the area) was really knowledgeable.
From Birdaard we wove our way through still more tiny towns until we stopped for a snack in Oenkerk. Again it was nice enough for us to enjoy the outside patio of the café, and as we were chatting with the waitress about all the horse-drawn carriages that were clip-clopping by, she asked whether we were planning to stop at the Tegeltjesbrug (little tiles bridge), which is the last bridge that the skaters pass under before reaching Leeuwarden during the Elfstedentocht. This 11 towns of Friesland tour—done on speed/ice skates when the canals freeze sufficiently solidly, last occurred in 1997. It's a huge and often last minute all-out operation to put together and brings close to 2 million peoplefrom around the country to watch the approximately 290 km race. The tile bridge shows a picture of the skaters speeding by on the canal, and is made with individual portrait/photo tiles of past participants in the race. Naturally we made the slight detour to catch that little bit of local color and then gradually rode back down the Dokkumer Ee back into Leeuwarden. Another excellent ride.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Roaming Leeuwarden
Arrived from Texel in Leeuwarden, capital of the province of Friesland, in the far northeast of the country. The bus trip took us over the almost 30 km afsluitdijk, the large dike that closed off the Zuider Zee and transformed it into the Ijsselmeer. Both ends of the dike still have locks and bridges through which vessels can access the open sea. After leaving the water behind us, we’re back in endless very green farm pastures, dotted with livestock—notably more horses here—and beautifully thatched Friesian farmhouses.
The city of Leeuwarden is a warren of smaller and larger canals lined by a wealth of older gabled houses along with newer stylish ones, a harmonious composite effect. The predominantly pedestrian center shares walking ways with plenty of cyclists and occasional cars. An imposing new square is being built to house the soon-to-move Fries Museum. We pick up a map at the local VVV—as always very conveniently close to the train station, and after a stop for sustenance meander to our newest B&B, which turns out to be fabulous. We settle in to the upstairs room which comes with a delightful terrace laden with all manner of flowers and a picnic table, and return to the center to begin our preliminary exploration on foot.
On the following day we spend time in the beautifully appointed Fries Museum, which has a stunning collection of silverwork by Friesian smiths of old in a basement with old brick, low-vaulted ceilings that cannot but create a wondrous atmosphere for the pieces. There is also a floor dedicated to the German occupation and the local resistance on the top floor of the museum—but as there is a lot to read and it is all in Dutch, we browse. From this gem we move to the Princessenhof, a museum dedicated to ceramics, located in a beautifully remodeled palace. The quantity of pieces is staggering, to say the least. There are collections by a couple of locals who have amassed copious amounts of tea cups and saucers, serving bowls and dishes from all over. There is a stunning collection of Delftware, and also tiles of all sorts from central Asia to Turkey, as well as Chinese and Japanese pieces. In short, overwhelming.
We admire the leaning tower called the Olderhoeve, which was to become a church when it was originally built, but the plans were abandoned when the builders found no way to correct the slant of the building, which was already apparent at a height of 10 meters. Today it is a mere tower. This particular weekend there is a non-stop music festival staged on the open side of the Olderhoeve, and as we wander throughout the day we catch classical, klezmer and later even tango being played. We enjoy an excellent meal at a local Indian restaurant, Jamuna, both exceptionally tasty and surprisingly economical. For the rest we wander all over town, through the more outlying, almost prefabricated neighborhoods to the more stately and older homes in the inner city. The beautiful old weighing house De Waag (for butter and cheese, in years past) as well as the beautiful chancellery, town hall and other notable buildings lend color and life to an otherwise more staid and quiet town. Despite long summer days, later in the evenings, many areas are surprisingly empty. With daylight lasting until almost 11pm, it is difficult to end the day, but anticipating more bike riding nudges us under the covers after late night conversation with our wonderful (and most interesting) hosts, Frans and Els.
The city of Leeuwarden is a warren of smaller and larger canals lined by a wealth of older gabled houses along with newer stylish ones, a harmonious composite effect. The predominantly pedestrian center shares walking ways with plenty of cyclists and occasional cars. An imposing new square is being built to house the soon-to-move Fries Museum. We pick up a map at the local VVV—as always very conveniently close to the train station, and after a stop for sustenance meander to our newest B&B, which turns out to be fabulous. We settle in to the upstairs room which comes with a delightful terrace laden with all manner of flowers and a picnic table, and return to the center to begin our preliminary exploration on foot.
On the following day we spend time in the beautifully appointed Fries Museum, which has a stunning collection of silverwork by Friesian smiths of old in a basement with old brick, low-vaulted ceilings that cannot but create a wondrous atmosphere for the pieces. There is also a floor dedicated to the German occupation and the local resistance on the top floor of the museum—but as there is a lot to read and it is all in Dutch, we browse. From this gem we move to the Princessenhof, a museum dedicated to ceramics, located in a beautifully remodeled palace. The quantity of pieces is staggering, to say the least. There are collections by a couple of locals who have amassed copious amounts of tea cups and saucers, serving bowls and dishes from all over. There is a stunning collection of Delftware, and also tiles of all sorts from central Asia to Turkey, as well as Chinese and Japanese pieces. In short, overwhelming.
We admire the leaning tower called the Olderhoeve, which was to become a church when it was originally built, but the plans were abandoned when the builders found no way to correct the slant of the building, which was already apparent at a height of 10 meters. Today it is a mere tower. This particular weekend there is a non-stop music festival staged on the open side of the Olderhoeve, and as we wander throughout the day we catch classical, klezmer and later even tango being played. We enjoy an excellent meal at a local Indian restaurant, Jamuna, both exceptionally tasty and surprisingly economical. For the rest we wander all over town, through the more outlying, almost prefabricated neighborhoods to the more stately and older homes in the inner city. The beautiful old weighing house De Waag (for butter and cheese, in years past) as well as the beautiful chancellery, town hall and other notable buildings lend color and life to an otherwise more staid and quiet town. Despite long summer days, later in the evenings, many areas are surprisingly empty. With daylight lasting until almost 11pm, it is difficult to end the day, but anticipating more bike riding nudges us under the covers after late night conversation with our wonderful (and most interesting) hosts, Frans and Els.
Friday, June 22, 2012
Biking around Texel
Moving to the northern tip of the Netherlands’ western provinces, we arrived in Den Helder, where we caught the huge car ferry to the island of Texel. Largest and westernmost of the small island archipelago in the North Sea, it’s one of the country’s holiday havens as it has kilometers of windswept beaches on its western coast as well as a wealth of bicycling paths that link a handful of tidy and picturesque villages around the expanses of sheep-dotted fields.
We took the bus—at the exit from the ferry—to within a kilometer of our next B&B, situated outside the miniscule village of De Waal. After some geographical confusion, we ended up being found in the middle of the fields by our hostess and then taken to the B&B. We’d made a wrong turn in the middle of nowhere…
Our several days on the island were mostly consumed with bicycling. We spent the bulk of the sunniest day heading to the western side of the island and exploring the gorgeous bike path that skirts the beach and dunes (a national park), making a stop at an area called De Slufter. This is an area where the dunes are interrupted, where people subsequently tried to build up the sand barrier but never succeeded. Instead the area has become a wetland surrounded by dunes, a haven for migratory birds—according to what we read, it is a stopping ground for Canadian as well as Siberian birds, who use this as a resting/feeding area in autumn. In the spring it becomes a breeding/nesting area for the same creatures.
For those of us who enjoy the likes of Brazilian tropical beaches, these are not exactly the kind of beach to be looking for—especially with very cold North Sea waters—, but on a sunny and not overly windy day, it makes a nice escape from the often grey skies of northern Europe. We followed the bike path to the northernmost tip of the island, home to a bright red lighthouse, and then slowly headed south along the eastern coast. Stopped in De Cocksdorp, a tiny village from which it is apparently possible to catch a ferry to the other islands in the small archipelago, and then the path on the spine of the dike until it veers inland to the town of Oosterend—easily the most picturesque village on the island, and home to a handful of potters.
We spent our days wandering the many bike paths, running into wonders like a pig on a couch, and generally enjoying the rides, the tiny cafes, the endless bleating sheep who are seldom out of eyeshot, and the indescribable kindness and generosity of our hosts at the B&B. There was time for sitting in the garden, and enough time to explore and revisit favorite spots. We even made a visit to the library in Den Burg, as it was one of the few places on the island with wi-fi!
We took the bus—at the exit from the ferry—to within a kilometer of our next B&B, situated outside the miniscule village of De Waal. After some geographical confusion, we ended up being found in the middle of the fields by our hostess and then taken to the B&B. We’d made a wrong turn in the middle of nowhere…
Our several days on the island were mostly consumed with bicycling. We spent the bulk of the sunniest day heading to the western side of the island and exploring the gorgeous bike path that skirts the beach and dunes (a national park), making a stop at an area called De Slufter. This is an area where the dunes are interrupted, where people subsequently tried to build up the sand barrier but never succeeded. Instead the area has become a wetland surrounded by dunes, a haven for migratory birds—according to what we read, it is a stopping ground for Canadian as well as Siberian birds, who use this as a resting/feeding area in autumn. In the spring it becomes a breeding/nesting area for the same creatures.
For those of us who enjoy the likes of Brazilian tropical beaches, these are not exactly the kind of beach to be looking for—especially with very cold North Sea waters—, but on a sunny and not overly windy day, it makes a nice escape from the often grey skies of northern Europe. We followed the bike path to the northernmost tip of the island, home to a bright red lighthouse, and then slowly headed south along the eastern coast. Stopped in De Cocksdorp, a tiny village from which it is apparently possible to catch a ferry to the other islands in the small archipelago, and then the path on the spine of the dike until it veers inland to the town of Oosterend—easily the most picturesque village on the island, and home to a handful of potters.
We spent our days wandering the many bike paths, running into wonders like a pig on a couch, and generally enjoying the rides, the tiny cafes, the endless bleating sheep who are seldom out of eyeshot, and the indescribable kindness and generosity of our hosts at the B&B. There was time for sitting in the garden, and enough time to explore and revisit favorite spots. We even made a visit to the library in Den Burg, as it was one of the few places on the island with wi-fi!
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