September 27, 2014
The Long Way Home. Day 3: Monchengladbach to Hoek van Holland.
If we'd been of a mind to, with an early start, we might have made the day sailing from the Hook, a cheaper option. [no need for a cabin on a day sailing]. We were in no mind to hurry after yesterday and took our time leaving. Even still, we were in Rotterdam Centraal before 3pm. We found a supermarket in a shopping precinct not too far from the station and ate what we'd bought on a bench on the station square. The last time we were here, the station was under redevelopment. It's finished now and it's a showpiece, a stunning piece of architecture. We sat in the warm sunshine admiring it for a while before setting out for the port.
On the train, we spoke to a very enthusiastic [for his subject, that is] retired English teacher, from Arnhem, out on a lonely excursion to the seaside - Hoek van Holland Strand. He'd picked a perfect day for it. Unusually for The Dutch coast, as we found when we got off the train by the harbour, there was no wind and it was still warm, almost barmy.
We met another cyclist, Tom from the west of England, who was on his way home from Berlin, {must go there soon] Tom and I spent our last Euros in the Albert Heijn supermarket in Hoek van Holland town centre, while Barbara looked after the bikes. Here in the Netherlands, I can indulge myself in one of my favourite confections; liquorice or as it's called here, drop. There is such variety, sweet, salty, fruity, in different shapes and sizes. all sorts in fact.
Another pair of cyclists I spoke to in the embarkation queue, a couple of a certain age from Norfolk, had just finished a Rhine Valley ride. They were new to long-distance cycling and had enjoyed it immensely. I read on the BBC Sport website that, while cycling in UK has increased in popularity, the number of golfers is in sharp decline; an improvement in the health of the nation, both physically and also mentally I'd say.
The warm, still weather meant a calm and uneventful crossing. There was no tell-tale jingling of the liquor bottles in the on-board shop, when we got out to sea.
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