Nieuw Biejerlande to Delft

Wow, how to describe what a wonderful time we have had staying with Gerda and Dick in their home. Vrienden op de Fiets is designed to cater to cyclists and walkers. Dick and Gerda belong to the latter group and share a passion for seeing the world on foot. They have walked the Camino in Spain, but this pair did it from their home. They regularly participate in long walks, perhaps 160 km and they do it within 24 hours. They are passionate about seeing and exploring, but only by foot. Respect to them as they are living their dream in retirement, without compromise.
The second passion is Dick’s dedication and love of flower gardening. His father’s profession was in this field, and in Dick’s retirement, he has devoted his energies to creating a magical place in their garden. Over 200 pots and other plantings of beautiful plants. He overwinters everything in their glass enclosed patio. He explained that today, he will be part of a garden tour in the village, so everything is at its peak. Somehow they manage to do epic walks in the off season or when the plants are not as needy. As well, they rent a garden plot for vegetables. These are busy and hard working people.

We started the day with breakfast on their patio…the ever popular Hagelslag, buttered buns, an egg and fresh cherries and strawberries. It is always a perk to stay with people who love to garden.

Of course, we also had eggs, fresh bread and buns, juice, coffee and some veggies. Vrienden op de Fiets have a mandate to provide cyclists/walkers with a nutritious breakfast, a safe place for your bike, a private comfortable place to sleep and a bathroom ….Gerda and Dick provided this and so much more.

Gerda and Dick are retired and embody what you hope for in retirement... good health, being active and enjoying the pursuit of their passions. Plus they are very kind and have a good sense of humour. We laughed lots and talked endlessly about our travels and lives. Thank you for your hospitality.

A wonderful photo of their trip walking trip in Patagonia, Argentina.

Our breakfast space and where we spent time relaxing and visiting with them.

Dick loves each and everyone of the flowers he has planted. Each has a story and he was so happy to share his garden with us.

Calla lilies…this rose colour was beautiful. He also had calla lilies that are white, , a rusty colour of yellow/orange and a lighter pink shade.

The sign for the garden show at his home.

The first of his visitors…arrived on a bicycle with a trailer filled with plants.

Oh dear, I can’t remember the name of this beauty. He also had this plant in a beautiful burnished copper colour and white with yellow tones. Update: thanks to readers Karen, Steve and Bill…it is Brugamansia..Angel’s

The curly edges of this beauty are very eye catching..

Dick has created an oasis on their property. The only downside is that there are some trips Gerda would like to do, but it must work when the garden needs him less.

Their daughter in law brought some small pieces of pottery that she has made to sell to visitors.

It is hard to capture the dramatic beauty of this yellow lily. The colour is so pure and strong.

Such a beautiful combination of colours in the leaves of this plant. With the light coming from behind, the colours were dramatic and almost fluorescent.

We are discovering some good grocery stores in Holland. Albert Heijn is a well established store that we know. But we also like Jumbo and Plus grocery stores. An important note…Albert Heijn no longer offers a communal area to visit with free coffee. This stopped with Covid which is a shame as seniors loved to go and visit with others. Jumbo and Plus still offer free coffee, so we happily indulge when we can.

We had a great breakfast, but we passed this local bakery and decided a second coffee and a sweet was in order. The strawberry pastry was divine….flaky and delicious.

We think this may be the oldest windmill we have seen this trip…1703 - impressive.

Through this town, they have successfully made the train areas more attractive by painting the pillars below the tracks. Who came up with this design first…the painters of the pillars or the people who made ME’s jersey?

This mural caught our eye. What a smart thing to do. By painting the pillars and adding murals like this, they have transformed a normally unattractive area into something fun and vibrant.

The Dutch excel at making forgotten spaces, like this, attractive.

The design of this bridge is so interesting. We were trying to figure out how we could cross it….and then we figured it out. When there is car and/or bike traffic, the centre section comes down and when ships need to come through, it will go up.

You don’t see this on the river everyday.

Of course, when we exit the bridge we have our own bicycle road.

Swans are so often in the waterways we pass. They don’t want us too close but they are more social here.

The kids who live at this house have a fun life…under the shark is a bouncy room as well.

We have been riding alongside a huge industrial area on the outskirts of Rotterdam near the Europort. Shell is based here.

We haven’t ridden alongside industrial areas like this in Holland. Nonetheless it is interesting and the infrastructure for cyclists is excellent.

Then it got really interesting…we got a bit lost until we understood that we were going underground to go through the Benelux Tunnel. Unbelievable infrastructure has been created to get us through this crazy area.

If this doesn’t say that bikes rule in Holland, then nothing does. Imagine the cost and work to create this tunnel that went quite a distance.

For some reason this cracked us up. We know that this blind is there to see a special type of kingfisher. Barry checked it out, but there were no birds. We got a little crazy imagining how funny it would be if they continued to stand there and the bird walked behind them.

Just a picture sharing how beautiful the bike path can be….and paved.

Love this number system for navigation. We are heading to our hotel for the night and we have stopped to jot down the numbers to get us to our destination. No need for google maps, which is not always the best bike route and is hard on your phone battery. This is so much easier and reliable.

An example of what we see along the canals. Beautifully landscaped, well cared for homes and the relaxing beauty of the canal alongside.

The bird life along the waterways is incredible…herons, many varieties of ducks, geese, swans, etc.

The canals are also used for fishing, swimming, boating….

These kids are propelling their wooden boat through the water with a long paddle and a circular motion. Hard work.

We have made it to our hotel…another incredible day of riding. We see so much in a day. If we didn’t keep a journal we would forget. Our hotel has the unique distinction of having an IKEA next door.

The featured IKEA dinner is the same world wide with the addition of some different desserts. Reliable, inexpensive and tasty as always.

Some of their displays were fascinating….and we got an insight into how small some of these apts are. This one was pretty tiny, yet there was room for the bike. We did cringe a bit though at having the bike suspended on the wall above the turntable.

This one is designed for three people to live in a space of 55 sq metres.

A late night snack at our hotel….fully loaded frites with chicken, onions, sauce etc.

A view we won’t forget and a lovely sunset too.

Today's ride: 35 km (22 miles)
Total: 1,863 km (1,157 miles)

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Karen PoretJuly 12
Hello! Hope you are both well and still traveling minus major issues.
Please let us know you are fine!..really!
Thank you!
Karen
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5 months ago