Photos from Holland - 1991

Netherlands 1991 - Final Entries

Wednesday, May 1

Today we do not bike. This is our first day out of the saddle. We hope to find interesting wool and hand knits. The exchange rate is good – we enjoy a wee advantage in value received. John and I went to the P.O and bank before starting the stores. It is a small town but their wool shops for yarn and hand knit sweaters is excellent. Practically everyone bought a sweater or two. I bought a pair of shoes (Italian) but all good values plus a ton of yarn to knit for the children.

We drove to De Koog for Pannekoukens – today I had ham and cheese. Then back to Den burg for more shopping. I bought wooden shoes for the little ones at a hardware store just like the farmers’ children wear, leaving them at the door as there is so much mud.

Dinner in Oudeschild at Pakhuss where we had shrimp called “Gambas” about 6 “ long. Great vegetables served in restaurants, family style. Fun evening – lots of laughs. We ended up with a discontinued $100 bill they would not accept. Will try to straighten that out at a bank tomorrow. We have a long ride tomorrow.

Thursday, May 2

We left Den Burg after breakfast. Marion and Don are in the van today. It is bitter cold – must be 35 degrees, but at least it is dry. The wind is unrelenting – blowing a gale. We rode to the ferry, mostly with the wind and enjoyed a hot chocolate on board. Our trip down to Hoorn was about 40 miles but the wind was at our backs and it was sheer fun. We know with this temperature it would be impossible for us to go to the opposite direction. We took the 10:05 ferry and arrived about 3:30. Our lunch was not much but some of the towns were beautiful. We loved Abbikirk in particular. Our bikes are stored in the pantry of this hotel in Hoorn. The shelves are full of liquor and supplies and 10 bikes fill the floor space. This town is very nice – very old and picturesque. Some of the buildings look as if they are leaning toward the street. Our dinner was fabulous – a new little restaurant called Pablos. Very fine, very pretty. I had lamb and it melted in your mouth. We stopped for a glass of Port in the bar in our hotel before turning in.

Friday, May 3

We left Hoorn about 10 after a trip to the bank and the leather store. It was a nice ride although rain threatened. The wharfs in Hoorn were very interesting. The buildings have beautiful ornamental facades and look as if they are leaning toward the street. John had a flat tired halfway to Edam but after a short repair stop we were on the road again. Edam is lovely – very old picturesque with charming shops. Our hotel is the Fortuna. It is a picture-book place with lovely gardens. It is cold. John and I drove to Volendam but didn’t stay long. It is a tourist trap and held nothing of interest. We had a brief nap before dinner at the Dam Hotel. Charming old hotel with beautiful dining room and 4 star food. We had another fun evening. We had grilled salmon – excellent, but not as good as The Beatrix. I’ve had fish every night except one.

The van has been great and has worked beautifully. We have it when we need it. Today it came by as we had our flat tire so we had the big tire pump to use. Thanks to Bill for bringing that.

Jack and Carol Sweeger, who left our group last Sunday, came to Edam on their last day in Holland used The Fortuna for a hotel. He left a note at the desk for us saying what a wonderful time they had with us. He suggested a place for lunch and dinner and suggested the Fortunas’ gardens needed a bit more color. The joke being that the place is a reat of color. We did go to the Dam Hotel for dinner, which was his recommendation.

Saturday, May 4

Rain. Sky cleared before we left Edam. We can’t believe our good luck. We waited for an antique shop to open so we could see Marion’s demi0-tosse spoons. She bought them – 200 guilders for 6 sterling. I think it is a good buy. We had more fun in this shop – stuff we all would have grabbed if we had room to carry it. I ended up with a little dilft plaque for J&J’s kitchen. Dianne Fearen went beserk – “like an alcoholic in a brewery” she said.

We rode to Markson, an island connected now by a causeway. It was against the wind going out. Quaint little fishing village. We stopped for Proffer tjres – little 50k sized pancakes with powdered sugar and butter – delicious and coffee. The coffee here is good – almost as good as the chocolate. We headed South toward Amsterdam and Abcoude. It was a gorgeous ride except where we ran through Amsterdam, which was a little hairy for a short time. We were tired after the long day. Stopped at La Taverna in Durgurdam for lunch – old Tavern written up in Travel and Leisure Mag, but nothing special. We have seen and been to so many old antique places that are truly beautiful that this place just looked seedy. Holland is very clean. We haven’t been in a dirty rest room the entire trip. The hotels have been immaculate – the food definitely superior. We have had fabulous restaurants every night. We arrived in Abcoude about 4:30 and the proprietor was out to shake hands with each of us. He remembered John and me from three years ago. We immediately set to taking our bikes apart and packed for the trip home on Monday.

Our dinner will be at the wakend Hen here at the hotel. He had it set for us and they (Suzie and Chip) had chosen a set menu to save time. Every night we have spent 4 hours having dinner so this will be a relief. The dining room is so beautiful, all in seafoam green – walls and drapes with pink tablecloths, black chairs. The windows are all leaded and reflect the candlelight. We had 2 minutes of silence at 8 o’clock for Liberation day remembrance. May 5 is the day Holland was liberated from German control.

Sunday, May 5

8 o’clock breakfast and we were happy to see cornflakes. You do get tired of cold cuts for breakfast although I haven’t eaten them since first two days. We planned to go to the Niew Church of St. Catherines, but the church was having a Press Photo Exhibit funded by KLM and Kodak. We enjoyed the exhibit but never did get to church. We had lunch at a sidewalk restaurant to watch the weirdos. This town has many and it is crowded today. The flea market has taken over the streets near Leidesplein and you can hardly move. Their flea market makes ours look like Neiman Marcus. We went to the Van Gogh Museum and it was great. They have over 200 Van Gogh’s and some of Claude Monet’s, many Pissarro sketches besides many other artists. It was mobbed and we couldn’t wait to return to Abcoude.

Dinner at the Oyster Bar alone. Everyone has gone their own way today. We met six of our friends at Central Station on our way back. A drink together at Merrill’s room and John and I were in bed.

Monday, May 6

John and I drive to the airport to return the van. We have a swing day but have hired a truck for the bicycles and luggage. We had fun in the Duty Free Shops; there are a great variety. We bought cheese, candy and scotch. We have discovered that there are six racing teams on board going to New York for the Tour de Du Pont – many young, handsome men in uniform clothing. We are kidding that we are the seventh team: The Geriatric Team.

Netherlands 1991

Monday, April 22, 1991

KLM Flight 652

Leave Baltimore 5:40 p.m.

Arrive Amsterdam 6:45 a.m.

Tuesday, April 23

Arrived Schiphol Airport at 6:22 after a very smooth flight. As we expected, the job of assembling our bikes was the most stressful. A representative of KLM met us and made the arrangements so we could use the baggage arrival area and we were stared and ogled by many Indians, Pakistanis and airport personnel inspected the American bikes with admiration. Getting out to the vans with luggage, bikes and those huge boxes was as smooth as you could have asked, but took many trips through heavy crowds during morning rush hours. The vans are great and the trip to Abcoude with the boxes went about as expected but the weather is cold and wet. Those bicycling arrived bedraggled at 3:30 in Woubrugge – tired from jet lag and wet from the rain that leaked into their shoes. John and I with Pat and Al had van duty. We drove into Luden for lunch – very disappointing. Our hotel is adequate – like Holland Hotels it is very stark looking but immaculate with good bed linen so we are very comfortable. Dinner here in the De Weger Hotel was good – slow service. They send out for the fish when you order it so it is fresh. Outstanding B.O. on our hostess!!! Snookie lost her pants and they turned up in the lobby!

Wednesday, April 24

Perfect day – sunshine and 50 degrees. Early 8 o’clock breakfast of hard-boiled eggs, orange juice, cold cuts, toast and coffee. We headed off for what we expected to be a short ride of about 25 miles to Keukenhof Gardens. Bicycling is great! The bike paths are fabulous, but our trip turned out to be 44 miles round trip. Fortunately we had good weather and the gardens were gorgeous at their very peak of perfection. I ordered 100 yellow tulips for 78.50, which amounts to about $40 – a very good price. After arriving home at 7 o’clock we went for dinner in the town of Woubrugge to Het Oud Restaurant – right on the canal. It was fabulous. I had salmon poached – beautifully presented with a puff paste round and fabulous sauce. The veggies were served on a platter – large scoop of spinach, string carrots, cauliflower, braised celery and leeks and corn. Beautiful and delicious! Fun evening for all!

Thursday, April 25

Another sunny day – early morning brisk 40 degrees, but warming up to 55. We said goodbye to Woubrugge and the vans took our luggage. We biked 35 miles to Noordwijk Aan Zee. It was a smooth trip – almost entirely on bike trails. We had lunch at a deli after arriving sitting on the sidewalk in the sunshine. Our hotel is Golden Tulip Beach Hotel and we have a room overlooking the beach – saw a sulky on the sand – lots of horses. Many people are here for the flower parade on Saturday. Dinner was fabulous at de Lwann in Katwijk Aan Zee. I had poached Dover Sole. It was wonderful – served with baby carrots, tiny brown potatoes, onion and pepper salad. Dessert of apple pie with raisins and vanilla ice cream. Feel good tonight after little nap so we’ll be ready for tomorrow.

Friday, April 26

Breakfast at 8 was a nice surprise – cereals, scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon if you wanted it. Nice change from cold cuts and hard-boiled eggs. We were on the dune trail by ten o’clock heading toward Zandvoort and Haarlem. What an experience – the dunes are up and down peaks of sand from the shore of the North Sea inward for miles. They are covered with scrub grass and the bicycle and walk and bridle paths pass through them. We climbed for about six miles but the incline was very gradual – all the way to Zandvoort, a beach resort about 15 miles North of Noordwijch Aan Zee.

We biked another 5 miles over to Haarlem, a quaint little town. Lunch of Appepannenkoeken (Dutch pancakes). They are delicious and they make them with a choice of fillings – ham, cheese, bacon, apples, mushrooms, etc. We visited the Frans Halls museum and the St. Bavo Church, which turned out to be one of two St. Bavo churches in Haarlem. This is not the one with Mozart’s organ that he played at age 11. Frans Halls died here but was born in Antwerp. 250 of his paintings are in existence, about 15 are here in Haarlem. We loved the trip back down the dune trail – fast, mostly downhill. Relived the day as a “come as you are” cocktail party in our room. BYOB as we haven’t had time to look in a store with this fabulous biking weather. After a shower we dined with the Oakleys and Royers at a little Italian restaurant. Soup and salad was all I needed after our snack time and a relief from all the rich meals we have been having. Tomorrow is the big parade!

Saturday, April 27

Another glorious day of sunshine. Temps from 45 degrees to 55. We had a leisurely morning, as we met at the garage at 11:00 a.m. with a lunch for ourselves and something to share. I spent my morning getting lunch and wine and cookies to share. The bake shops have the best cookies I’ve ever had from a bakery. They use lots of almond paste. I bought lots of almond macaroons as John can eat them. We biked about 10 miles to Hellegon. Luckily there was a part on the parade route for our picnic. Hundreds of people lined the 25 mile route from Haarlem to Noordwijk Aan Zee. Parade terrific! Flower floats fabulous! It was a terrific day. We came home through the dunes and had our get together in Fearens’ room.  Then we went to see Glenn Millers Orchestra at the Hotel Orange next door. They were great and we finished about 11 as the bands and floats arrived here. We’re going to bed hungry as everything is closed even though the streets are still filled with people. It was a fun day and we are tired. The group gave us a Dilfz vase, as a thank you for John’s planning. The Sivighs and Caldwells leave for home tomorrow.

*Spelling needs checked on the names: Fearens, Sivighs, Royers, and Dilfz vase.