Bike ride to Bunschoten-Spakenburg

We had a very pretty bike ride on Wednesday through farm land to Bunscoten-Spakenburg, a small port on the edge of the freshwater lake, Eemmeer. The weather was lovely and warm, I can't believe it but everyday it gets better and better.
This picture shows the type of landscape that we rode through, the grass was so green and the sky so blue.

We stopped for a late lunch in the village square, so lovely sitting in the sun :-)

A typical bike path...not sure of the exact translation of the sign...if any one can help out that would be great :-)

In the distance we could see a huge wind farm.

This is the harbour at Bunschoten-Spakenburg with some old boats , typical of the Zuiderzee.

I tried the kroquetten which had been suggested as a local dish to try, they were very tasty.

It was lovely to see several ladies in traditional costume. I didn't get a picture but Ineke sent me these pictures that she took a while ago. I love the little lacey hat.

This isn't us but hopefully very similar, on a typical bike path.

On the way back we crossed the canal in a small ferry

Chris with our bikes.

Windmills, windmills and more windmills....

After visiting Delft we drove just south of Rotterdam to a place called Kinderdyk. A great place to look at windmills...19 altogether in a very small area.
These windmills were built here to pump the water out of an area of agricultual land that is below sea level.
There is a much more detailed description in the link above...

This windmill is having its thatch repaired.

We hired bikes and rode around which was fun.

Delft

Yesterday we had a lovely day exploring the pretty town of Delft and looking at a Delft pottery. After Delft we drove to Kindedijk for the most scenic display of windmills !! more of that in  the next post.

The first stop in Delft was one of the remaining potteries that still hand paint their designs. We had a tour showing how it was all made which was very interesting. As blue is my favourite colour I was in my element !

This is the artist that painted my bowl !! The paint looks black before it is fired.

There are two styles of pottery the blue and white and the coloured version shown below.

After the pottery we explored the town of Delft.

I loved the really narrow canals lined with houses.

Not sure what happens when you walk out these doors !!

Lots of shops selling the pottery.

Everything is so beautifully clean in Holland, the parking stations look more like car sale rooms !
At the moment I feel the need to scrub my house from top to bottom !!...sure that won't last.

More Bike Riding

Before Jo went home we just had to introduce her to bike riding in the local area.
The bikes are so comfortable and easy to ride.

During the bike ride we met and patted two Golden Retrievers !!! Ellie would love it here as dogs are allowed so much more freedom....unfortunately I don't think she would like the plane flight !

Later in the day we explored the area some more.

This is a bike track we really love with water on both sides

This is lunch on our balcony before we took Jo to the airport....still sunny :-)

Unfortunately I gave Chris my cold and he is feeling pretty sick in this photo :-(

This time we rode through farm land...just stunning and looked even flatter..

More windmills!

We found more pretty villages to ride through.

and of course more 'rope' boats !!

Amsterdam

 On Sunday we caught the train into Amsterdam.

The first thing we did was to jump on one of the many canal cruises.

Notice short sleeves...such a novelty.

As it was such a lovely day every man and his dog were on the canals !! made it so interesting.

Such a memorable day in Amsterdam. Still so much more to see.

Such a beautiful city it's hard to know when to stop taking photos.

I particulary love all the bikes everywhere.

 So many boats of the canals.

Watching the world go by.

Jo and I shared a Pizza

More bikes

Before heading off to dinner we sat and rested our poor feet in the park.

Volendam and Marken

As it was such a beautiful afternoon we decided to stop off at the towns of Volendam and Marken on the way home, sorry Ineke just couldn't resist ....

We had fish and chips in Volendam sitting by the water and then drove on to Marken.

We arrived in Marken just as it was getting dark but it was still interesting to look around.

On the way to Volendam we stopped to look at a Dike. You can see the diference in height of the land and water in this photo. 

The water was amazingly calm, not sure how unusual this is.

When we arrived in Volendam is was bustling with people enjoying the lovely weather

Lots of souvenir shops.

Such a beautiful place to be.

Dinner was fish and chips sitting by the boats in Volendam.

Marken

Marken

Finished the day watching the sun going down.