Utrecht to Gouda: wetlands and baby waterfowl

April 16, 2012

WEATHER: mix of sun and cloud, slight intermittent headwind, no rain

We were very relieved when we woke up to clear skies and no wind. We packed up quickly and took off after breakfast, past the central square and then the packed bicycle parking lots of the Utrecht train station. As with yesterday, we basically followed the route suggested in 'Bicycle Touring Holland' and this took us along canals and through the northwest suburbs of the city. Gradually the surroundings became more rural, and one of the highlights of the route was the Kasteel de Haar, a (brick) castle dating from the 16th century. After that, the route followed bike paths and quiet roads with a short stretch along a river into Woerden.

Kasteel de Haar from the bike route. Presumably structures like this made some sense to some people at some time.

We stopped for lunch in Woerden and actually sat outside in the sunshine-what a difference from yesterday! It clouded up just as we were finishing, but there was still intermittent sunshine all afternoon.

Lunch in the sunshine in Woerden on the way from Utrecht to Gouda.

The ride after lunch was quite beautiful along canals and polders (fields) through the 'Groene hart' (green heart) of Holland. This is an area of wetlands, lakes, and rivers, reserved mainly for nature and recreation, with some agriculture. We saw many cute babies--ducklings, goslings, lambs, goat kids--and huge swans sitting on nests. Lots of bird life, including oystercatchers. Water was everywhere, and farmhouses were often practically on islands, with ditches and canals surrounding them on all four sides, and bridges connecting them to the road. We also went off our route for a few kilometres when we got confused by multiple churches in the historic town of Oudewater and used the wrong one as a landmark.

Black and white lambs, which we don't see back home in western Canada.

As we got closer to Gouda, we rode along narrow roads in the Reeuwijkse Plassen, or lake area, past quaint houses with neatly tended gardens. Luckily there was not much traffic, because cars could go in both directions and there was no shoulder. Several times we pulled over to the side and got off our bikes when cars passed us. This was so different from most of the cycling we had done on dedicated cycle paths or roads with wide bike lanes. Groups of cycling high school students passed us going the opposite direction as we entered the outskirts of Gouda. We went right through the centre of town on brick roads, past the main brick church to our hotel, de Keizerskroon, near the old fish market just off a canal. As we parked our bikes we noticed that it still felt nice and warm in the sun, but quite cool in the shade of the buildings.

A large cycle route map showing the Groene Hart wetland area around Gouda.

Our room (#8) in the newly-finished annex was small with a high ceiling. It seemed fine until we took off all our cycling gear and realized how cold it was. There was a large radiator, designed to be placed horizontally, but since there wasn't enough space along any wall, it was mounted vertically, which left the control about eight feet up the wall, above which was an open window. Luckily Al was just tall enough to reach the radiator control and the window latch by standing on the room's only chair. After turning on the heat and closing the window in the room, we discovered that the window vents in the bathroom were permanently set to 'open', so we had to keep the bathroom door shut. There was no heater in the bathroom, which meant the temperature in there stayed frigid.

We had booked the hotel for two nights, planning to ride the 60 km Kinderdijk windmill loop on unloaded bikes the next day. The weather forecast was not good, however, so plan B was to stay in Gouda for the day. After we got settled, we set out on foot, still in sunshine, to check out the picturesque centre of Gouda and look for a place to have dinner.

The market square in the afternoon sunshine shortly after our arrival. We spent time here the next day, when it was cold, cloudy, and windy.

We found the restaurant, Brunel, right around the corner from our hotel and had an excellent five-course meal there for 25 euros. We started with a small piece of smoked salmon with salad, then spinach soup with one large shrimp, then a scallop with sea asparagus. These introductory dishes were followed by a main course of lamb filet and a dessert of mango bavarois with citrus sorbet. It was one of the best dinners we had on our trip. We returned to our hotel room, which had finally warmed up, and fell into bed.

Mango Bavarois with citrus sorbet dessert at Brunel in Gouda.

Today's ride: 60 km (37 miles)
Total: 115 km (71 miles)

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