Haarlem to The Hague

June 6, 2022

wind and rain!

It was darn windy. We watched the weather coming in and kept trying new apps to see if it improved. No joy. Wind was in our face 35-45 kph most of the way today which made the 62 km seem about 100. However, the rain held off until we got into Wassenaar (near The Hague), and that made us very happy!

We originally planned to bike along the coast, next to the sea. But with the wind of that velocity, and rain forecast, we decided on a less scenic, inland route. Still, when we got into Wassenaar, the trees were gorgeous, the cycle path was perfect, and we got to see the town we used to live in, saw the house the Coits (friends) lived in, and saw the Canadian embassy.

houses had boats tied up beside their yards. here, S of Haarlem

You can see the weather doesn't look so bad! What you cannot see of course, is the wind. We are a few km inland from the sea, heading south.

The town we used to live in, although not in this gorgeous area. This cycling was hard to beat. Flat, with incredible scenery. The houses here were enormous on beautiful grounds (somewhat hidden) and are probably worth a fortune.

the entrance to the Canadian embassy grounds

These embassy grounds were given to Canada by a grateful nation for keeping Queen Beatrice safe during WW2 (in Canada), and for being a big part of the liberation force in Holland. They stretch along this road for about a km or so, and must be hectares in size. The Netherlands has asked if they could have this property back, but so far, Canada has demurred. I can't imagine how much this land is worth.

actually inside The Hague only 2km from our hotel in the city center!

We were astounded by these paths inside the city. Den Haag (The Hague) is a large, important city yet the cycle paths felt like you were in a vast forest (ok except for the bus stop in the photo). We exited this forest and emerged into the city center, 0.7 km from our hotel. The trees had kept most of the rain off, and now we realized that it was really coming down! The Novotel had a locked bike storage place, the hot shower felt so good!

Now for that ice wine we brought...

this was the planned route, but the high winds and rain decided us to bike more inland, although roughly the same direction and distance

Today's ride: 62 km (39 miles)
Total: 142 km (88 miles)

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David SwordNice — great distance covered too.
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2 years ago